Rubbe!

[kevinmccune]

Has anyone here tried a friction drive, realizing of course every rider is not as small as Court.?

 

[PedalUma]

I have not tried it but I hear that it is sucky. It is similar to one of the first electric bikes from Zap in about 1998.

 

[kevinmccune]

Thank you that is all I need to know,I think wet traction and tire wear can be an issue, sure is an easy thing to use though, well I cant stand it I did it again, the magwheel I ordered on Ali Express came in, couldnt resist put a Maxxus rib tire on it and installed on the "Peacedove" had to remove the shimano caliper brakkes from the new suntour fork and put a 180mm( snail rotor) and new hydraulic shimano caliper might have a change of heart and keep this bike if I can get the motor and controller working, only bad thing this brake unit doesnt have a motor cutoff on it( the back set does) Looks pretty good with that new chrome Schwinn seatpost and seat on it( the schwinn got the suspension seatpost, thinking about maybe adding a small front motor to the schwinn if She doesnt have quite enough on the hills-I do like to tinker

 

[BlackHand]

The DiskDrive from Skarper looks more promising as an easy bolt on solution if/when it gets fully released. Kind of ingenious and should be compatible with most disc brake bikes.

 

[sc00ter]

Why does that gasoline powered Solex bolt-on friction drive motor pop in my head? Oh, I know! When I was a kid a friend had one mounted on the front of his Schwinn Predator bmx bike. The motor made his bmx bike haul butt BUT he always smelled of 2-stroke exhaust and was always replacing front tires. I also recall I didn't work well when the tire was damp or worse, wet.

I bet that Solex would kick butt with those solid bmx tires that looked like octopus tentacles! We tried those dumb tires and if you slammed on the brakes they would spin free from the rim, allowing the tire to still spin while the rim was locked up. Fun gimmicks.

How would you improve a friction drive? Those disc brake drive motors look interesting.

 

[PedalUma]

The disc brake drives add weight to the rear and left side. Like a sailboat designed by a nautical engineer, you want any added weight low and centered. Not at the back or off to one side. Some short cuts work, most 'easy' ones do not.

 

[BlackHand]

The disc brake drives add weight to the rear and left side. Like a sailboat designed by a nautical engineer, you want any added weight low and centered. Not at the back or off to one side. Some short cuts work, most 'easy' ones do not.

You're right, that must be why I crash almost every time I try to ride with a pannier on my bike.

I take your point, and I would greatly prefer a version with an external battery that could go in the center triangle. Having said that, the height is not bad and the weight is not extreme. How much weight do the shifters/cassette/chain/derailleur/chainring/chainguard add to the right side of the bike? Point is we are OK with adding off center weight when it adds functionality. I think the trade off could make sense for a lot of people.

 

[PedalUma]

I see the strong appeal of something that easily clips on and off the bike as a contained unit. I am on the other hand about to pull wire thru a handlebar and frame, soldering bity wires inside a mid-drive motor.

 

[Kayakguy]

You're right, that must be why I crash almost every time I try to ride with a pannier on my bike.

I take your point, and I would greatly prefer a version with an external battery that could go in the center triangle. Having said that, the height is not bad and the weight is not extreme. How much weight do the shifters/cassette/chain/derailleur/chainring/chainguard add to the right side of the bike? Point is we are OK with adding off center weight when it adds functionality. I think the trade off could make sense for a lot of people.

I've seen similar comments re/offcenter weighting, and I don't get it. Sure, logically it should make a difference, but in my experience off- center weighting makes no difference whatsoever. I have folding baskets on both sides of my rear luggage rack, and typically use only one side when I grocery shop. Sometimes the loads are fairly heavy. I notice no unbalancing effect at all. It seems my body (which must have built-in, unconscious verticality reflexes) automatically compensates. So I probably am riding with the bike a bit skewed, but it's not something I feel at all. Of course, if I did this all the time, eventually the tires would wear more on one side.

 

[kevinmccune]

I think you are right plus the 'gyro" effect, when I was still chugging on an acoustic bike I could lean the thing way over when I was putting out max effort and didnt crash,I think we automatically compensate.

 

[kevinmccune]

I see the strong appeal of something that easily clips on and off the bike as a contained unit. I am on the other hand about to pull wire thru a handlebar and frame, soldering bity wires inside a mid-drive motor.

PedfalUma, you are a "craftsman" of the "331/3" degree order. I practically gave an electric away the other day to make room something facinates me about ebikes perhaps its because I was never well off enough to "Hotroad" autos( Hotrodding' refers to making anything better than stock to suit your tastes it could be anything from a foxtail on the antenna to a monster edrive unit to drive or make a hybrid. The assist unit that attaches to a disk brake is another fascinating piece of kit.

 

[BlackHand]

We had a side by side bike growing up - used to ride it solo sometimes. You have to lean over about 15 degrees to get over the center of the bike but it was no problem to ride as long as you didn't try to make any sharp right hand turns(pedal strikes). Could turn on a dime to the left though

Really not worried about 15 pounds low and just off the center of gravity. I'll have to see if one of my relatives can dig up a picture of my sister riding with her boyfriend who was at least 2.5x her mass.

 

[gromike]

That looks like a whole lot of cooperation to ride that bike!

 

[sc00ter]

We had a side by side bike growing up - used to ride it solo sometimes. You have to lean over about 15 degrees to get over the center of the bike but it was no problem to ride as long as you didn't try to make any sharp right hand turns(pedal strikes). Could turn on a dime to the left though

Really not worried about 15 pounds low and just off the center of gravity. I'll have to see if one of my relatives can dig up a picture of my sister riding with her boyfriend who was at least 2.5x her mass.

View attachment 156850

Sam Pilgrim on YouTube took one of those side by side bikes down a mountain bike trail. A friends mom had a low end tandem that us kids would take out on adventures. Never seen a side by side in person.

 

[kevinmccune]

Sam Pilgrim on YouTube took one of those side by side bikes down a mountain bike trail. A friends mom had a low end tandem that us kids would take out on adventures. Never seen a side by side in person.

Neither have I.