The Motor
I recently added an electric motor to the front wheel of my
Kett and thought the experience might be of interest. I looked at the Hase
system but was put off by the price and the lack of power of the basic system. The
kit came from The Electric Transport Shop and has a 36V battery.
The front wheel came ready built with special washers to
avoid the wheel "spinning out". The battery fits along the top tube
leaving just enough room for the cranks to miss it on both sides. The weight of
the battery (it's heavy!) helps to avoid wheel spin on hills. It can be removed
with a key but I tend to charge it in situ. The controller is behind the seat
on a plywood platform that also holds my tool kit, and there is half sized
twist throttle fitted on the left - Rohloff changer is on the right hand side.
Performance is startling! Acceleration from a slow rolling
speed is quite noticeable and it's worth about 4 gears on hills. Mileage still
being checked but have managed 30 miles and 2600 feet of climbs with about a
quarter of the battery remaining. (There's a button on the battery with 4 LEDs
to show how much power is left). On really steep hills the motor is less happy
but it is still able to contribute. The only wheel slipping has been on poor,
steep wet surfaces.
There is no appreciable drag from the motor when
freewheeling but regenerative power is not available.
Lights
I have always been keen to have flashing front and rear lights during
daylight and found some robust (and expensive, when shipping and tax is added!)
lights from ebikes in Canada (ebikes.ca/store/store_lights.php)
which run off the electric motor battery. They have three positions: off, on
and flashing, and will remember the last state when power is turned off - very
convenient as turning on the main battery turns on both lights as you left
them.
And for night riding I have a Philips Pedelec front light
run off the battery which throws a wonderful amount of light. There is no
switch for this so I fitted a toggle switch behind the seat in the plywood
platform, which allows me to turn the light on and off when riding
Garmin GPS
Fitting a GPS is not too easy so I have a tube attached to the boom which is hinged so that it can be folded
forward when getting on and off. When riding it sits between my legs and is
easy to use and view. The same tube also has the front flashing light attached
- there wasn't room at the front of the trike for that as well as the Philips
light.
Umbrella
When I was planning a trike trip across the Sates a few years ago on an ICE
Explorer, I fitted a small umbrella (from a child's pushchair) to the amusement of a number of cynics (it
looks daft/it will blow off). However in really hot weather and when grinding
up long hills, having your head and shoulders in the shade is a huge help. Yes,
it inverted once or twice but this was solved by fitting a cord which also
allowed it to be moved to an appropriate position as the sun moved about. So
the Kett now has its own brolly and was used to great effect in Brittany last
year.
Tyres
Have fitted the new Tryker tyre especially for trikes: schwalbetires.com/bike_tires/recumbent/tryker.
Very pleased with them so far: quiet and they roll well. And seem to be just as
comfortable as the Big Apples that I had before.
I recently added an electric motor to the front wheel of my
Kett and thought the experience might be of interest. I looked at the Hase
system but was put off by the price and the lack of power of the basic system. The
kit came from The Electric Transport Shop and has a 36V battery.
The front wheel came ready built with special washers to
avoid the wheel "spinning out". The battery fits along the top tube
leaving just enough room for the cranks to miss it on both sides. The weight of
the battery (it's heavy!) helps to avoid wheel spin on hills. It can be removed
with a key but I tend to charge it in situ. The controller is behind the seat
on a plywood platform that also holds my tool kit, and there is half sized
twist throttle fitted on the left - Rohloff changer is on the right hand side.
Performance is startling! Acceleration from a slow rolling
speed is quite noticeable and it's worth about 4 gears on hills. Mileage still
being checked but have managed 30 miles and 2600 feet of climbs with about a
quarter of the battery remaining. (There's a button on the battery with 4 LEDs
to show how much power is left). On really steep hills the motor is less happy
but it is still able to contribute. The only wheel slipping has been on poor,
steep wet surfaces.
There is no appreciable drag from the motor when
freewheeling but regenerative power is not available.
Lights
I have always been keen to have flashing front and rear lights during
daylight and found some robust (and expensive, when shipping and tax is added!)
lights from ebikes in Canada (ebikes.ca/store/store_lights.php)
which run off the electric motor battery. They have three positions: off, on
and flashing, and will remember the last state when power is turned off - very
convenient as turning on the main battery turns on both lights as you left
them.
And for night riding I have a Philips Pedelec front light
run off the battery which throws a wonderful amount of light. There is no
switch for this so I fitted a toggle switch behind the seat in the plywood
platform, which allows me to turn the light on and off when riding
Garmin GPS
Fitting a GPS is not too easy so I have a tube attached to the boom which is hinged so that it can be folded
forward when getting on and off. When riding it sits between my legs and is
easy to use and view. The same tube also has the front flashing light attached
- there wasn't room at the front of the trike for that as well as the Philips
light.
Umbrella
When I was planning a trike trip across the Sates a few years ago on an ICE
Explorer, I fitted a small umbrella (from a child's pushchair) to the amusement of a number of cynics (it
looks daft/it will blow off). However in really hot weather and when grinding
up long hills, having your head and shoulders in the shade is a huge help. Yes,
it inverted once or twice but this was solved by fitting a cord which also
allowed it to be moved to an appropriate position as the sun moved about. So
the Kett now has its own brolly and was used to great effect in Brittany last
year.
Tyres
Have fitted the new Tryker tyre especially for trikes: schwalbetires.com/bike_tires/recumbent/tryker.
Very pleased with them so far: quiet and they roll well. And seem to be just as
comfortable as the Big Apples that I had before.