Cycling Without that Pesky Peddling

1
Cycling Without that Pesky Peddling
2
Introduction

• Bicycles are a very cheap, healthy and a simple
  form of transport available to everyone.
  Unfortunately bicycles are best suited to flat
  terrain, which is why they are so popular in
  holland and the like where there isnt a hill in
  sight. However for most of us who live in
  undulating or worse hilly terrain or countryside
  cycling soon becomes far more trouble than its
  worth. Peddling up long shallow gradients let
  alone a hill can drain you of energy and leave
  you demoralized, panting for breath, and with
  quivering thighs that no longer seem capable of
  turning the pedals. Most of the time it is easier
  to get off and walk, pushing the thing. But it
  doesnt need to be this difficult. For now it
  appears there is a simple solution to cyclings
  biggest flaw use electricity to turn the
  pedals.

3
Table of Contents

• Some brief history of the electric bike.
• The science behind the e-bike.
• The batteries.
• Hub motors.
• The frame.
• Wheels and brakes.
• Different types of electric bicycles.
• Full power.
• Power assist.
• Legal status.
• Electric scooters.

4
Some Brief History of the Electric Bike

• If like me you have never seen an electric bike
  before you problem imagine that they are some
  modern invention. However like the electric car,
  scooters and mobility\golf buggies they have been
  around for some time. Indeed a flourish of
  patents for electric bicycles designs first
  appeared back in the 1890s. These early designs
  using battery powered DC motors to drive either
  one of the front wheel, back wheel or crankshaft
  were re-invented in the 1990s and briefly went
  into production. An example of this was the zike
  which was built upon early design principles by
  adding torque sensors and power controls. Despite
  this sales were slow and few other electric
  bicycles were in production but by the late 2000s
  the technology had improved to the extent that
  they had a range of between 25-30 miles at a top
  speed of 20 miles per hour. These e-bikes then
  began to become more popular in europe and the US.

5
The Science behind the e-Bike

• The basic concepts behind the electric bicycle
  have not changed much since the early patents
  back in 1890. There are only four key components
  to an electric bike, 1) a sturdy frame, 2) a
  battery, 3) a DC electric motor, 4) wheels and
  brakes. The batteries are the power source that
  will drive the wheels so that you wont have to,
  so lets start there.

6
The Batteries

• In early designs the electric motor needed to be
  powered by a large heavy battery but that was
  self-defeating as you used half of the power just
  to drive the battery along. However, recent
  advancements in battery technology has allowed
  for smaller and lighter batteries of similar
  power ratings typical 350 -500W (35 -50V at 10
  amps). These newer lithium-ion batteries, which
  are also used in mobile phones and computer
  technology, have replaced the older, heavier, but
  cheaper rechargeable nicad battery. Powered by
  this new breed of battery a modern electric
  bicycle will have a range of 10 30 miles
  depending of the terrain and at a top speed of
  10-20 mph.

7
Hub Motors

• There is nothing fancy about the motor technology
  used in most electric bicycles as they are
  standard DC brushless motors. These motors are
  built into the hub of the rear or front wheel,
  the center of the wheel where all the spokes
  meet. By sending power to the motors the brushes
  inside the motor are energized in sequence which
  makes a permanent magnet attached to the wheel
  spin around and the bike to move. Whether to
  place the motor on the front or rear wheel
  depends on what sort of experience you wish the
  rider to have. Motorizing the front wheel will
  effectively pull the rider along which can feel
  strange to begin with. On the other hand
  motorizing the rear wheel pushes the rider along,
  which is a much more natural feeling as this is
  how a traditional bicycle works. An alternative
  is to place the motor at the crankshaft and this
  has the effect of spinning the large gear wheel
  where the pedal cranks attach assisting the rider
  with the peddling.

8
The Frame

• The design of the frame must also differ from a
  traditional bicycle as it needs to accommodate
  the battery but also be extremely lightweight.
  This is simply because just like with the older
  designs and batteries we dont want to be using
  up precious power moving the bike itself.
  After-all the goal is to propel the rider sitting
  on the bike so the lighter we can make the bike
  the further it can travel before you need to
  recharge the batteries. To get the strongest and
  lightest weight for the frame the material most
  designs tend to use is lightweight aluminum
  alloy. This material provides a sturdy and
  lightweight frame commonly used for those same
  properties and well proven in racing bicycles.

9
Wheels and Brakes

• The wheels used in electric cycles are not the
  same as a standard wheel used in a tradition
  bicycle. This is because if you are powering the
  wheel using a motorized hub the spokes will need
  to be stronger to prevent them buckling under the
  higher torque the turning force -supplied by
  the motor. To support this higher drive torque
  requires that the wheel whether the front or
  back being motorized will need special
  reinforced spokes and a different configuration,
  i.E. Bigger, thicker, and fewer spokes. The
  brakes also differ from a standard bicycle as
  they too have to deal with not only the
  additional torque from the motor but also the
  higher speeds. Some electric bicycles claimed to
  use a technique called regenerative braking which
  is highly effective in electric trains and cars.
  The principle behind regenerative braking is that
  starting say an electric car for example requires
  a huge amount of energy to overcome inertia and
  get the vehicle moving however that energy is
  then wasted when you have to brake as it is
  dissipated as heat through the brake pads. The
  idea is that it would be good if we could store
  that energy rather than waste it so we could
  reuse it later and that is the concept of the
  regenerative brake. The way it works is that all
  the kinetic energy that would have been wasted as
  heat loss through the brake pads can now be used
  to recharge the battery. In addition during
  periods of downhill travel when the wheels are
  rotating faster that the motor this additional
  kinetic energy can also be harvested to recharge
  the battery. This is a solid and proven
  technology in electric trains and cars but it
  unfortunately seems to be less effective in
  electric bicycles as they have far less mass and
  so far less energy loss when braking.

10
Different Types of Electric Bicycles

• As we have already seen there are three basic
  configurations determined by where the motor is
  placed so we could have the powered hub on the
  front or back wheel or driving the crank-wheel.
  However there are also different types of
  electric bicycles which are determined by the
  method of propulsion. For example there are two
  basic categories 1) full power, 2) power assist.

11
Full Power

• Bikes that are designed for full-power mode of
  use are designed to have large batteries driving
  powerful large motors that provide the torque to
  the drive wheel. The design purpose is to provide
  all the force required to drive the wheels so
  that you dont need to pedal at all. As a result
  they have lower range 10-30 miles as the battery
  needs to provide all the power and top speeds of
  around 20 mph. This is a common type of electric
  bicycle as it requires no effort on the part of
  the rider and that is often why people go to the
  effort and expense of buying an electric bicycle.
  However there is another type of electric bike
  where the rider does contribute to the effort.

12
Power Assist

• The idea behind this mode is that the rider will
  do the pedaling as they do on a traditional bike
  but can call upon assistance when they get tired
  or are struggling up a hill. This type of
  electric bicycle is quite different from the
  standard full-power version we have discussed so
  far. Power assisted bicycles do not have hub
  motors fixed to the wheels instead they have a
  different type of motor that sits beside and
  drives the rear gear sprocket or in some cases it
  drives a fly-wheel that rubs against the tyre
  providing the additional propulsion. The
  difference is that this type of electric motor
  has very low resistance to being spun without any
  power applied for example when pedaled. This is
  unlike a full power hub motor that is near
  impossible to turn manually without any applied
  power as you are effectively changing it from a
  motor into a generator. This means that as you
  are only applying power as needed to assist your
  efforts the range increases dramatically to
  around 50 -100 miles dependent on use. Also
  because they do not use fixed motor hubs there
  are kits available that can convert a traditional
  bicycle in a power assisted electric bicycle.
  Typically a basic conversion kit comprises of a
  bolt-on DC electric motor which goes just above
  the back wheel, which presses against the tyre
  driving it forward by friction alone. The motor
  gets its power from a compact battery that clips
  onto the frame. This kit may add quite bit of
  weight to the bike as the motor is around 3kg and
  the battery maybe as much as 6kg, but it does
  give you extra range and speed when required.

13

• Full powered or power assisted are the two
  general categories of electric bicycles but
  things begin to get more complicated when we up
  the power as they then may fall into the electric
  motorcycle category and this is where we have to
  consider the legal status of what is and isnt an
  electric bicycle.

14
Legal Status

• The legal status of what determines an electric
  bicycle varies from country to country so you
  need to check your own local laws. In general
  electric bicycles that are power assisted are
  termed pedelecs making them distinct from the
  more powerful electric mopeds and motorcycles.
  Because of this pedelecs are treated just like
  bicycles and do not come under the more stringent
  laws aimed at electric motorcycles. However
  full-power electric bicycles with large motors
  for example 500W with a throttle control may well
  be considered under local laws to be an electric,
  moped or electric motorcycle. If in doubt you
  might want to consider an electric scooter
  instead.

15
Electric Scooters

• These electric powered scooters are just like the
  traditional push along version but they take out
  all the leg work and effort. Importantly, as they
  are compact and highly manoeuvrable they can be
  used on pavements or walkways which might be a
  benefit is you are nervous cycling in fast moving
  traffic. However they also are lower powered and
  have lower top speeds although some do still
  managed 20 mph so often have less local
  restrictions on their legal use.

16

• Whatever you decide to go for whether it is a
  full powered or power assisted bicycle or an
  electric scooter you will want to buy a good
  brand from a reputable dealer. Although electric
  bicycles are low maintenance as they have a DC
  electric motor and a solid state battery to worry
  about having a local support and servicing center
  in your locality is advisable as you dont want
  to be shipping the bike or scooter back for
  warranty repairs. For example in canada there is
  a company called epic cycles that have an online
  ecommerce website where you can buy and have
  shipped free of charge a wide range of electric
  bicycles, electric scooters and accessories. But
  importantly they have also a wide dealer network
  with support and service options available.
  However, if you are a more DIY type of person
  they also have extensive FAQ and support service
  advice on how to perform all the maintenance
  tasks. This is an example of the type of
  extensive after sales support and services you
  should be looking for when buying an electric
  bicycle or scooter.

17
The End

• Find out more, Please Visit- https//epiccycles.ca
  /blogs/