the latest test

this is an entirely new test post

Another test

How to publish a post? Wasn't able to find any? The Publish Post option doesn't seem to work.

Test blog post from Bijit.

This is a test blog post from Bijit with the widget.

I have used 22222 as the value for blogid, which actually stands for blogid+postid, concatenated together.

Sorry David, I was testing it!

Some testing text.

dynamo is your brake ...

speaking with Dirk Steyn about this today ...

The dynamo is a bad idea ...

The way that the electric cars work is that their dynamo is your break. Dynamo's pull power from the drivetrain .... so do brakes .... so the guys that build electric cars combine the 2 such that when you are braking ... you are similtaneously charging the battery - SMART !!!

Hopefully Dirk will come up with a smarter way of implementing the dynamo on the ee(R)go bikes.

Rake & Trail

A great discussion on the importance of Trail to Chopper Geometry from Chopper Kit USA.

Elementary Chopper Geometry
Here are some basic chopper geometry facts that I discovered in my quest. Probably the most important aspect when planning a chopper project is the trail dimension. The trail dimension is a large factor in determining the handling characteristics of the bike. A proper trail dimension will insure a proper handling bike with no surprises. A trail dimension that is extreme will make a bike difficult to handle and in some cases down right dangerous.

A stock setup with normal rake and trail dimensions. With the trail dimension somewhere between 2 to 4 inches, the bike will handle easily at both high and low speeds. Flowing smoothly through curves without swaying or wobbling.

The rake angle is increased at the neck. If the trail dimension is too great, the bike will handle sluggishly at high speeds. It will seem almost too steady. You will have trouble balancing your bike at lower speeds, or on winding roads. It will feel generally sluggish and clumsy.

The rake angle is increased at the trees. With too little and in extreme cases negative trail, (steering head angle point falls behind the front axle point), the bike will handle with unbelievable ease at low speeds, but be completely out of balance at high speed. It will easily develop a fatal high-speed wobble. Extremely dangerous!

One of the major reasons that I decided to go with the AME chopper kit is the design of the steering head. AME states that "the bike retains the stock trail dimension" and "is safe and drivable up to the top speed of the bike". The way they do this is to combine both neck and tree rake angles to achieve the overall rake of 14 degrees for the kit. The rake at the neck is approximately 9 degrees and the rake at the trees is approximately 5 degrees, for the 14 degree rake total. The neck rake angle increases the trail dimension and the tree rake angle, in turn, decreases the trail dimension. So, what you end up with is a canceling effect on the trail dimension while the rake angle is increased by 14 degrees. In short, by incorporating both rake methods, the AME chopper kit DOES maintain the stock trail dimension.

Frame Builders

NoName Customs
Northwest Chopper Bicycles ... based in WA!!!

The average wheelbase ...

... of a Long Wheel Base recumbent is ... 65" to 70". From "The Recumbent Bicycle", by Gunnar Fehlau

The ideal riding position for a recumbent is to have the seat / back of the rider at 120 degrees to their legs as in this diagram, also from Fehlau's book ... apparently the angle of the legs to the road isn't of major issue other than that it's awkward to see, and easy to slip off the seat as it is tilted further backwards ... probably not a good idea.



I think this 120 degree position will be awkward for riding while not pedalling, so the rider will be able to tilt the seat more upright if required ... this all starts me thinking about the frame design - but I must finish spec'ing the drive train & generators 1st ...

Perfect Seats

For the ee(R)go ...


These are seats from Actionbent (I'm learning that "bent" = "cool" for recumbent!).

It may make sense to add some more upholstery to 'em ... the seats need to be designed "into" the wheel arches.

Something I really like about these seats is the radius in the lower back ... which will hug the rear wheel nicely. When designing the frame, we'll find a way to "tilt" these seats eaither back into recombent cycling position, or forward into chopper riding position.

Cost ... $165

Also from the Actionbent website ...

The Recumbent Advantage:

• Recumbents are fun to ride!
• Comfortable seat; no more sore butt, back, neck, or arms!
• Full cardio-healthy, no-impact workout without having to sit in a hot gym on a stationary machine.
• They look Way Cool, and they're the most fun you can have on two wheels!.
• Recumbents let you ride faster, longer, and farther.
• All Human Powered Vehicle (HPV) speed records have been set on recumbent bicycles.
• Low profile and laid-back body position are more aerodynamic. Seat angle adjusts easily
• Did I mention fun? These things are a blast!

• 
  

DriveTrain - Rear Wheel

Here's what we're looking for ....

• A fat car wheel - possibly from a street-rod
• Spoked wheel - matching a car wheel's spokes to the bicycle hubs is going to be interesting
• Space - for the hub motors. If there's one drawback in the Tidalforce motors, it's that they are quite large - compared to other similar hub motors.
• As light as possble - considering it may still be the heaviest single item on the bike.

I can't find the diameter of the hub motors anywhere - but they can apparently be fitted in wheels that are between 20" and 28" in diameter.

For the front wheel, we're gonna spec. a smaller, fatter bicycle wheel ... easy ... for the rear wheel, we're going with a nice fat street-rod wheel.


Something like this wicked wheel from Dayton Wire Wheels ...

• Can be customized in chrome, 24K Gold?, or painted to match any color
• The Only ... Wire Wheels That Never Need Truing
• 3 Year Warranty on Finish and Structure
• Paint Match with Most Color Codes
• Polish Stainless Steel Spokes
• Forged Steel Hub (don't need these !!!)
  
• Direct Bolt or True Knock Off Wheels (N/A?)
  
• Every Wheel Sealed Tubeless
• Size Range 13" to 24" (what is this dia?) - could be tight!!!
  

Here are the details for specifying the size of the Dayton wheels ...

I Love this from Dayton's advertisement ... Daytons Wire Wheels are Customizable. They'd better be :-)

Thoughts about batteries ...

It would be super-sweet if batteries obeyed Moore's Law ... we'd have all been riding around in electric Hummers by now.

It just doesn't look like we'll get there - at least not in the next decade - but still, we need to replace gas as our primary fuel for transportation.

Electricity would be a prime candidate if it weren't for batteries!!!

Progress has been made & we have many usable portable battery-powered devices today than we'd have imagined possible ... but I dare to say that more progress has been made in the efficiency of the machines they power than in the power to size ratio of the batteries themselves. My laptop will still die after 4,5 hrs away from a power source.

Of all of the silly rules we impose on ourselves for this journey, I'm convinced that running the prototype ee(R)go's non-stop is the most important ... if we can prove that that can be done, we can show that we have at least one viable option ... that's possibly even more robust than its predecessor. Speaking of which, it's probably funny to note that my biggest apprehension about pulling this off at this stage is whether my Land Rover will make the journey ... there's something in that ...

There has to be a viable option to this problem with batteries ...

There's a Russian-invented brainstorming science called TRIZ that's exactly the type of thinking that should be applied to this problem ... it seems to me that too much effort has been thrown at trying to force batteries to obey Moore's Law - & they won't, until we see some new "step change".

TRIZ says that there are only 40 standard Inventive Principles ... and 76 standard solutions to all problems. If you look at the TRIZ lists, you see simple principles of science and nature listed ... the vaccuum, magnets ... etc. etc. what's fascinating is they're not very long lists - yet they seem surprisingly complete!!! The science of TRIZ is to open-mindedly apply all of the principles & solutions to a problem that you're looking to solve - and then evalute which is most viable / succesful.

That's the aproach that we're going to take with charging the batteries on the ee(R)go. The probelm we're going to solve is how to ride the bikes continuously for 6,000 miles (stopping only to swap riders). The approach we're going to take is to TRIZ the problem of keeping the batteries charged ... and believe me, our bases will be loaded ...

I admit that haven't read through the TRIZ lists again ... but am already attached to implementing all of these strategies on the bikes & the journey ...

• Wheel-driven dynamo ... well-proven on bicycles ... should benefit from the speeds we're targetting .... must be able to "free-wheel" & offer little resistance ... simple solution but probably not good for much more than running the aux. systems.
• Solar Panels ... I'm very bullish about these. The bike's design allows for a LOT of panel surface area (considering this is a bike andd all) ... solar panels work & should be easy to spec. ... we'll place them at different points on the bike & have some good data by the time we get to Peru. the support vehicle must be able to measure weather conditions to map those to panel's performance.
• Wind Turbines ... this is a shot in the dark but could prove useful. At 30 to 45 mph, there's quite a bit of wind coming over the ee(R)go. Could we harness some of that to charge the batteries? I think we can & that there are possibly 2 good collection points ... one is at the top of the solar panels on the front forks ... and the other is at the drivers feet & over the rear wheels.
• Swappable Batteries. This is the ultimate failsafe. If nothing else works, this plan will. We need to be able to detach single batteries when they're discharged and simply plug in charged ones. The RMB1's should work well for this ... but will need some modification for simple mounting & dismounting. This picture above shows the standard connections for the RMB1. It needs to be easier, quicker, less finnecky to change a battery ... get this right and we'll be able to change batteries on the road ... charging spare batteries in the support vehicle. This is the (essential) fail-safe plan for this project ... this requirement must be nailed.

To TRIZ the ee(R)go, we're going to ride the prototypes 6,000 miles & measure the performance of each of the strategies above. The production bikes will impliment the best of what we invent ...

Drive Train - Batteries

Since the Motors & controllers are from Tidalforce, I'm going to get lazy & spec. their battery as well - maybe not lazy, they've put a lot of work into ensuring their components work well together.

This battery, the RMB1 comes as a part of a "carry-on kit" - we won't need the rest of the kit & hopefully we can buy batteries "raw". The ad above is from the Electric Cyclery in California - these guys seem obsessed - & carry an awesome range of vehicles - we should plan to stop in at "alternative vehicle" manufacturers and retailers on route ... hit me up (comment below) if you want us to swing by.

The batteries will be mounted where a traditional chopper's gas tank is - see the sketch (possibly closer to the forks than that) - we'll use at least two batteries parallel to each other at an off-set angle - for asthetic & to "mock" the cylinder heads of ee(R)go's louder ancestors.

How many batteries? It depends ... on ...
- the space we have on the frame (must design the frames first) - but I think we will have space for more than we need.
- the impact of the batteries weight on the performance
- our ability to take advantage of the extra juice ... I don't think it's an issue of more power but we should be able to get more distance out of these ...

Rechargable batteries need to be cooled by the looks of it ... we'll measure their temperature on the run ... where they're positioned, it'll be simple run the exhaust winds from the front turbines over the batteries ... cooling sorted - consider being able to run the turbines in "fan" mode if additional cooling is needed. - note - there's no water on these Bikes!!!

Here's the spec for the RMB1 ...

Battery Configuration:	30 Nickel Metal Hydride “D” cells wired in series
Measurements	13.2 x 4 x 4.5 inches
Weight	15 lbs
Nominal Voltage:	36 Volts
Operating Range:	42-29 volts
Nominal Capacity:	8.5 amp-hrs (306 watt-hr)
Charge time:	3 – 6 hours
Battery Life:	With proper care and maintenance, the battery will retain up to 80% capacity after 400 discharge and recharge cycles

15 lbs !!! only a foot long ... but heavy suckers !!!

Drive Train - In-Wheel Electric Motors

I looked at a bunch of hub motors; they're in-wheel motors that run on the wheel's axle and connect to the rim via conventional spokes. After looking at all of them, I'm convinced that the best hp/lb ratio by far is in the motor from Tidalforce.

The motor comes in 500W, 750W and 1KW versions ... naturally, we're spec'ing 1KW (see thoughts on speed below) - priced at ~ $1665 ea. - this will be a big ticket item for the bikes.

Update ... just found the 1000W motor for $1125 here.

The number of motors spec'd must be given some thought - as must power consumption - the rider must be able to switch motors on/off individually. It doesn't look like the controller that comes with the kit can natively control 2 or 3 motors - must look into this. Tidalforce talks about the dashboard and the throttle that control these awesome motors.





Tidalforce also offer an in-hub rechargable battery, usually with this motor in a kit. I looked at it & decided on the auxillary rechargable batteries instead (more later). I want to use the hubs for motors, not batteries - yes, speed IS the point (within the speed limit of course). The point about speed is that if this is a 3-week continuous journey, we'll have sore asses & probably won't cut out the time. Where-as, if we can get average speed over the distance to 40mph, it would take just less than a week!!! So, speed's where its at - just because its electric, it don't have to be impractical.

Back to the motors then ... (spec's below)

We'll put in at least two; one each front & back - but I'm going to also look into the possiblility of two rear motors. They will run in a fat lowrider spoked car wheel, there's more than enough space for two motors, so if there's a way to make the bike run better with two rear motors, then let's do it!

The front motor also makes sense (just one of them)! We should get some downward thrust & good front-wheel traction from the aerodynamics on the solar panels on the forks.

Some useful notes on this motor from Electric Rider ...

Installation

The hub motor has an inverted design. The axle and torque bar must be properly restrained while the hub shell rotates. The 750W motor is cable of 50 foot pounds of torque. The torque bar bolt, located 4” from the axis, must be able to consistently withstand loads in excess of 150 pounds. Failure to restrain the torque bar will allow the stator to spin, pulling on the external wires with tremendous force. Great care should be taken to make sure the torque bar is properly secured before operating the motor.

Cabling

The “Program” cable can only be used by WaveCrest technicians to program the motor. The “Data” cable must be connected to the motor data cable on the Alpha 750 Dashboard Assembly. The “Power (+)” and “Power (-)” cables are to be connected to any 36VDC supply capable of up to 40A peak and 30A continuous current draw.

Speed

The 500W and 750W versions have a maximum speed of 260RPM. The 1000W version has no set speed limit. The maximum speed of the motor in your desired application is based on the load.

Stuff that's included in the motor kit ...

Each Kit Includes:

Tidalforce rear wheel motor assembly include

1. Freehub adaptor

2. Freehub axle

3. 7 speed cassette

4. Quick release skewer

5. Torque bar bracket

6. All wiring for the bike is included and has been set up for you to just plug in and go. Wiring can be custom adjusted by FAE if you have an extremely long or short bike.

Control System includes

1. Dashboard with key switch

2. Two Tektro brake levers

3. Thumb throttle

4. Motor data cable

5. Battery data cable

6. Power harness

7. Neoprene cable wraps.

10. Charging time is 3-6 hours. Range of up to 20 miles on a charge

Specifications from the Tidalforce website ...

Here are some of the Tidalforce Bikes ... awesome ...

Specs & Pics of the io (~$2800)

PERFORMANCE
● Maximum speed: 20 mph (32 km/h)
● Range : 20 miles (32 km)
● Weight (with front hub battery): 64 lbs (30 kg)
● Gross payload: 350 lbs (160 kg)

BICYCLE
● Rider can add power with pedals or propel vehicle
on human power alone using 21-speed gears.
● Strong, light aluminium frame.
● Comfortable, adjustable gel-padded seat.
● Double Crown Suspension Front Fork, 26" wheels, linear pull brakes.

MOTOR
● 500-watt WaveCrest Adaptive Motor system provides exceptional power.
● Unique WaveCrest DSP controller delivers high torque across all speeds.

BATTERIES
● Front hub battery: 36V NiMH
● Charging time: 3-6 hours

Drive Train - Gears, Drum Brake & Belt Drive

The cranks drive chains that drive the Gear Hub, and the the rear wheel through a belt drive. The Gear Hub is located fwd of the read wheel, under the driver's seat, leaving the rear wheel free to be powered by the electric motor(s). Sturmey Archer comes through here again with this cunning hub, the XRD8 - it's an 8-speed gearbox for bicycles - specs. below - I'll get in touch with Sturmey Arthur and start getting quotes on all their great kit - more to come.

The hub comes with a drum brake - seems like a good place to brake the rear wheel - but went with a belt (instead of chain) drive to the rear wheel, hopefully it'll forgive sudden braking ???

There's obviously a few controllers etc. that go with this ... (list coming).

Need to research belt drives & sprockets - I know some of the Harleys have them.

XRD8

Description

• 8 Speed Internal Gear Hub with 70mm Drum Brake

Specs

• Hub Shell Material - A356 Aluminum
• Axle Diameter - 13/32” Slotted
• Axle Length - 185.0mm
• Over Locknut Dimension - 131.0mm
• Right Axle Protrusion Length - 27.0mm
• Left Axle Protrusion Length - 27.0mm
• Spoke Holes - 36
• Pitch Circle Diameter - 89.8mm
• Flange Width - 66.0mm
• Spoke Compatibility - 13g or 14g
• Sprocket Teeth - 23 or 25 tooth
• Chain Line - 45.0mm
• Weight - 1850g

Gear Ratio

• Overall Range - 305%
• Gear 1 - 1.00 (Direct Drive)
• Gear 2 - 1.28 (+28%)
• Gear 3 - 1.45 (+45%)
• Gear 4 - 1.64 (+64%)
• Gear 5 - 1.86 (+86%)
• Gear 6 - 2.10 (+110%)
• Gear 7 - 2.38 (+138%)
• Gear 8 - 3.05 (+205%)

Support Vehicle ...

My Land Rover will be donated to this cause.

Here's a spot to list expenses for the support vehicle ...

• GAS - 6,000 miles @ 16 miles / gallon ~ $ 1,200
• Repairs to make sure it makes the trip ??? - will get a quote
• Long-range gas tanks
• One (more) spare wheels & tyres
• (possibly) a generator - definitely some way to charge the bikes' spare batteries
• AAA ???

Drive Train - Cranks, Pedals & Chains

Crank Design ...

• 2 Cranks - one on either side - can rotate independently or locked at 180 degrees
  
• These aluminum cranks from Sturmey Archer look good (specs below)
• Pedals - something like these shimano ultegra pedals ($145)
  
  
• Cranks drive 2 chains connected to the hubs - double chains for safety/security/ balance /
  
• 
  

FCS80 Series

Model Numbers

• FCS81
• FCS80

Description

• Front Chainwheels with Non-Removable Chainrings

Specs for FCS81

• Number of Teeth - 33T
• Chainring Material - SS400
• Removable Chainrings - No
• Crank Style - I Beam Crank
• Crank Arm Material - A356.2 Aluminum
• Crank Arm Length - 175mm or 170mm
• 45mm Chain Line (BB Shell) - 126mm
• Total Weight - 673g (175mm)

Specs for FCS80

• Number of Teeth - 30T
• Chainring Material - SS400
• Removable Chainrings - No
• Crank Style - I Beam Crank
• Crank Arm Material - A356.2 Aluminum
• Crank Arm Length - 175mm or 170mm
• 45mm Chain Line (BB Shell) - 126mm
• Total Weight - 607g (175mm)

Team ee(R)go

The ee(R)go CROWD is ... YOU ...

The ee(R)go project invites open & active participation, it's supposed to be a community-driven project. We want to hear your opinions, please comment on this blog, we'll work on adding more ways for you to contribute to building the prototypes ... all suggestions are welcome.

Team ee(R)go is ...

David, Seattle, WA, USA
Concept, Design, Mechanics, ee(R)go rider, Blogger, Makin' it happen!

G ...
Design, Fabrication, Finish, ee(R)go rider, Blogger, Good vibes!

B ...
Design, Documentarian, Cinematography, Trip Plan, ee(R)go rider, Blogger, Creativity!

X ...
Mechanics, Promotion, Electronics, Trip Plan, ee(R)go rider, Blogger, Kickin' Ass!

Y ...
Electronics, Design, Testing Systems, ee(R)go rider, Blogger, Stunts!

The Plan

• Design and Build two prototype ee(R)go Bikes.
• Ride both of prototypes 6,000 miles non-stop from Whistler / Blackcomb (BC, Canada) to Machu Picchu (Peru, S.America).
• Film the journey, its beginnings and any interesting outcomes.
• Produce the Movie independently, release it on the Indie circuit.
• Raise funds (materials & expenses only); for the prototypes, documentary & trip support costs in exchange for equity the documentary and any incomes from the story.
• Consider launching a production range of ee(R)go Bikes, following design modifications based on experiences on the road.

Route

... at very rough estimate, based on this scale, at least 6,000 miles ... what do you think?

At an Average; 20 mph,
That's 300 hours of continuous riding, or 12,5 days !!!

Origin

Flute and Beyond
Originally uploaded by stuntmanjeff.

Blackcomb (and Whistler) Mountains, British Columbia, Canada

Destination

picchu
Originally uploaded by snowcrash.

Machu Picchu, Peru, S.America

1st outputs ...

1st inputs ...

wikipedia on recumbents

link here

Tidalforce battery spec's & questions

Below are the spec's for the additional batteries from Tidalforce. Questions ... 1) If we have 5 of these batteries, how do we get the bike to run for 100 miles? Can you have too many batteries? 2) Is this the range preformance with the 750W motor - what would the range look like with the 1000W? What about with 2 or 3 of the 1000W motors? 3) What info do I need to calculate charging time for alterante electricity sources - namely, the solar panels, pedalpower & wind turbines? SPECIFICATIONS
Type	36V NiMH
Power Source	110V/220V
Charging time	3-6 hours
BatteryIndicator	Located on the handlebar (Battery B)
Range	20 miles
Weight	16 lbs.
Size	4"x4"x13.5"
Color	Stainless steel with black accents

tri-mode pedals

Rider selects pedal modes (while riding) between:

1) Cruising - both fixed fwd
1a) In cruising mode, when the rider corners, the pedals help shift weight automatically - dropping the near foot - raising the far one.
2) Cycling/Assisting - sets resistance using bicycle gears
3) Just Cycling

Clip-in Pedals - and Cycling Shoes (the mtn bike variety that you can comfortably walk & be seen in)

Generator turbines - savonius +'s and -'s

Turbine design notes ... in praise of Savonius turbines from here.

Agreement on the efficiency of the Savonius turbine apparently has finally been reached a half century after its development. Savonius claimed an efficiency of 31 per cent in the wind tunnel and 37 per cent in free air. However, he commented:[10 ] The calculations of Professor Betz gave 20% as the highest theoretical maximum for vertical airwheels, which under the best of circumstances could not produce more than 10% in practical output.

The theoretical and experimental results failed to agree. Unfortunately, Savonius did not specify the shape and size of his turbine well enough for others to try to duplicate his results.

A small unit of approximately 2 m high by 1 m diameter was built and tested at Kansas State University during the period 1932-1938 [6 ]. This unit was destroyed by a high wind, but efficiencies of 35 to 40% were claimed by the researchers. Wind tunnel tests were performed by Sandia on 1.5 m high by 1 m diameter Savonius turbines, with a maximum efficiency measured of 25% for semicircular blades [1 ]. Different blade shapes which were tested at the University of Illinois showed a maximum efficiency of about 35% [5 ]. More Savonius turbines were tested at Kansas State University, with efficiencies reported of about 25% [13,4 ].

It thus appears that the Savonius,if properly designed, has an efficiency nearly as good as the horizontal axis propeller turbine or the Darrieus turbine.

The Savonius turbine therefore holds promise in applications where low to medium technology is required or where the high starting torque is important. A chart of efficiency of five different turbine types is shown in Fig.8. The efficiency or power coefficient varies with the ratio of blade tip speed to wind speed,with the peak value being the number quoted for a comparison of turbines. This will be discussed in more detail in Chapter 4.

It may be noticed that the peak efficiencies of the two bladed propeller, the Darrieus, and the Savonius are all above 30 %, while the American Multiblade and the Dutch windmills peak at about 15 %.These efficiencies indicate that the American Multiblade is not competitive for generating electricity, even though it is almost ideally suited and very competitive for pumping water.

The efficiency curves for the Savonius and the American Multiblade have been known for a long time [6,10]. Unfortunately, the labels on the two curves were accidentally interchanged in some key publication in recent years, with the result that many authors have used an erroneous set of curves in their writing. This historical accident will probably take years to correct.