PPV....how would add assist to this one?

[Lightning P38]

My buddy wants to set this up to give retired veterans a chance to ride around in this pedal car. I guess the wheels are about 12”, so I couldn’t find any ready to install ewheels. The front wheel has an enclosed brake hub. Rear wheel drive. The pedal drive is the bent steel rod type, so no standard bottom bracket to use.

I am thinking this will not be a easy project.....

Thx.
Ken

 

[Lightning P38]

Here is the chain drive set up on the rear axle. Never seen that many chains on a trike set up!

 

[JES2020]

I would approach it with a small geared hub in the rear,(you would have to string the motor with spokes to fit the wheel.) Then everything would be standard set up.

 

[Lightning P38]

I would approach it with a small geared hub in the rear,(you would have to string the motor with spokes to fit the wheel.) Then everything would be standard set up.

I forgot to mention it has two wheels in the back.....so it is a delta design. perhaps both rear wheels could have a motor, so the steering wouldn’t pull to one side if just one wheel had a motor.....although the passenger would not be pedaling, so just the passenger side could be electric.

Can a 12” wheel be laced up to a motor hub?

Ken

 

[JES2020]

I forgot to mention it has two wheels in the back.....so it is a delta design. perhaps both rear wheels could have a motor, so the steering wouldn’t pull to one side if just one wheel had a motor.....although the passenger would not be pedaling, so just the passenger side could be electric.

Can a 12” wheel be laced up to a motor hub?

Ken

Those geared hub motors are can be pretty small.
IMHO I don't think you would need two motors. It would drive like a car without posi traction, which was all there was for decades.
With a quick search, I found this one below, which looks like about 6 inches diameter, you might want two if more power is desired, but it does make things more complicated.

 

[Lightning P38]

Here is a better pic of the rear axle and wheel setup. And it is a 3 speed transmission, with some sort of sliding mechanism to change the gear selection, hence the 3 small chains on the drive system.

 

[JES2020]

Here is a better pic of the rear axle and wheel setup. And it is a 3 speed transmission, with some sort of sliding mechanism to change the gear selection, hence the 3 small chains on the drive system.

All the chain drive would remain unchanged. Also since it has a axle one motor would be powering both wheels.
Looks like you would need to make some kind of adapter to fit the motor to the axle.

 

[JRA]

How about a closer look at the front fork/wheel setup? Seems easiest to get a 12" hub motor wheel, they are available, that has a disc mount if the fork can be adapted to mount a caliper on.

 

[Lightning P38]

All the chain drive would remain unchanged. Also since it has a axle one motor would be powering both wheels.
Looks like you would need to make some kind of adapter to fit the motor to the axle.

Oh, that is neat with the solid axle, so one motor would power both wheels.

 

[Lightning P38]

How about a closer look at the front fork/wheel setup? Seems easiest to get a 12" hub motor wheel, they are available, that has a disc mount if the fork can be adapted to mount a caliper on.

I wondered if doing the front wheel would be easier. Who sells a 12” hub motor?

 

[JRA]

That fork looks like it could be replaced with something like this that has brake tabs

Fork with Suspension for 12-1/2" Wheel

Fork common on electric scooters, compatible with X-Treme X-360 and most other scooters with 12-1/2" front tire.

www.monsterscooterparts.com

Plenty of options for 12" hub motors, most are just attached to the rim negating the need for spokes at all.

12 inch electric hub motor - bike conversion kits

Convert your original bikes to e-bikes with leaf 12 inch hub motor electric bike conversion kits -- Leaf Bike

www.leafbike.com

 

[JES2020]

I wondered if doing the front wheel would be easier. Who sells a 12” hub motor?

That 12 inch hub motor looks like the way for you to go, You just have to decide if you want to redu the front end, (changing brake system) or see what kind of adapter you can wrangle up for the rear.

 

[Lightning P38]

That 12 inch hub motor looks like the way for you to go, You just have to decide if you want to redu the front end, (changing brake system) or see what kind of adapter you can wrangle up for the rear.

I think the front wheel motor will be my choice. Replacing the fork with a disc compatible one and adding a disc brake should be easier than coming up with an adapter for the rear Wheel.

Thanks for both your help.
Ken

 

[JES2020]

I think the front wheel motor will be my choice. Replacing the fork with a disc compatible one and adding a disc brake should be easier than coming up with an adapter for the rear Wheel.

Thanks for both your help.
Ken

No problem,
Once you get the motor you might find it easy to find an internally threaded step down pipe (see below), to thread directly onto the motor then thread the axle to fit on the other side of the pipe... done ! PS this WOULD be a single wheel drive. The other wheel would be pedal drive only.

I think the front wheel motor will be my choice. Replacing the fork with a disc compatible one and adding a disc brake should be easier than coming up with an adapter for the rear Wheel.

Thanks for both your help.
Ken