180 mpg 30cc bicycle

[elhigh]

I like how the Spartamet engine is nice and low on the bike - it drives the hub directly, unlike Frank's Bike Bug's spindle drive or other bike engines that use a wide-diameter add-on belt pulley. But I worry a bit about what kind of vibration the Spartamet experiences. I just encountered this factoid the other day, that electric hubmotors die young because they receive the full vibration of the wheel on the road. Bike motors like the Whizzer and modern equivalents that put the motor in the center triangle enjoy a relatively smooth ride right in the middle of the wheelbase, but the Spartamet is right there on the hub. That looks rough.

That got me thinking about these suspension wheels I've been seeing in the news: Something like that could make modifying existing bike with add-on motors a lot more comfortable, and could inspire people to get on their bikes again.

I clicked 1marcelfilm's liink - there's lots of good instructions there on how to keep the Spartamet running and healthy. THAT's cool.

[Grant-53]

Each state has their own rules for gas and electric. New York and Ohio are highly restrictive concerning scooters and mopeds. Here one has to buy a complete vehicle from an approved list. Six miles away in Pennsylvania a motor with automatic transmission is fine up to 25 mph.

An electric motor depends on copper wire and soldered connections to work. Heat and vibration can affect them.

Frank, I recall Aqua Bug being based in Melville, NY but I don't know who designed the engine. I know the literature on my Bumble Bike engine said that a chain saw company in Ontario designed their product.

[Frank Lee]

Tanaka. Mine was marketed by AquaBug but I understand there were other marketing channels for it.

[elhigh]

I remember ads in the back of Popular Science and Popular Mechanics for the Bike Bug. Sometimes the ads were even halfway large, when the oil crunch looked like it was heating up again.

[Frank Lee]

Yup, mail ordered from Pop Mechanics.

[veloman]

Originally Posted by Grant-53

An electric motor depends on copper wire and soldered connections to work. Heat and vibration can affect them.

What are you trying to say?

I have about 18,000 miles on my two homebuilt ebikes, and never had a solder connection problem. Very very few issues, and all were easily solved (just some dielectric grease on a few connections).

[Grant-53]

What I mean to say is if a motor fails these are the two most common reasons. When these issues are addressed the motor can run trouble free.

[93hatchDX]

Yeah, nice bike.

I started riding my Aprilia sportcity 250cc bike which gets 75mpg highway.

I have abandoned the car and motorbike now in favor of the bicycle with human only power. I have to ride bicycle in order to burn calories. It has come to the point where I have ditched the car not only for the mpg but also cause of fitness.

I heard this saying that cars burn money and make you fat , bikes burn fat and make you money.

I really like the idea of a cargobike with 30cc engine. Using a pulse glide method, would be nice to get 250mpg with the suv of bicycles.

I'm looking to sell the car now permanently, use the motor bike with trailer for store trips and use pedal bike for work.


It is now becoming easier to ditch the car than it ever has been.

[sendler]

Originally Posted by 93hatchDX

I heard this saying that cars burn money and make you fat , bikes burn fat and make you money.

[Grant-53]

If enough people build these great machines hopefully there will be a category for them in the Green Grand Prix. Could we possibly see 500 mpg at 45 mph some day?