Instructable of the Day: 48-Volt electric bicycle
Click above for a gallery of the EV Board Tracker
Electric bicycles are becoming more and more common as people see a need to get themselves and little else from one place to another. Bicycles are an excellent way to travel in any case, and now that electric motors, controllers and batteries are becoming more widely available, cyclists are taking it upon themselves to create their own zero-emissions transportation solutions. Take, for example, this Instructable, which shows how to take a beach cruiser-style bicycle and transform it into an EV. There are kits available to convert normal bikes into electric machines, but this is a bit more complex than that. The result is something that resembles an old board track motorcycle that's capable of hitting speeds of 50 miles per hour for around a hour using 48-volts worth of batteries. We love the arrangement of the components on the frame, which make the machine appear as if it's powered by a V-Twin engine. See a video of the machine in action after the break.
Gallery: Instructable: Electric Board Tracker
[Source: Instructables]
Video:
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
captmatt15 8:11AM (1/14/2009)
Yay! (Comming from a former bicycle mechanic) They used and awesomely crappy suspension fork for this thing! They would've been better off going rigid instead of using that...
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Ignatius 8:14AM (1/14/2009)
Are those bicycle tires even rated to go 50MPH?
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MikeInNC 8:37AM (1/14/2009)
Kind of cool but does it strike anyone else as an electric-chair-on-wheels?
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Tim 9:35AM (1/14/2009)
I LOVE the enthusiasm, however the legal speed for electric bicycles is around 15-mph in most states.
This thing would be treated as a motorcycle with signal lights, leathers, the correct helmet and many cops would just pick it up and throw it in their trunk if they caught you doing over 15-mph.
This does however show how easily major manufacturers could put these on the market if they really wanted to.
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Jharlan 10:57AM (1/14/2009)
Very cool! I am not an expert, but in California I believe this would be considered a motor driven cycle, and street legal, but not freeway legal. At least it used to be 15 brake horsepower was required to be considered a freeway legal motorcycle. It is driven by a motor, even if it is an electric motor. Someone familiar with any newer motorcycle codes please feel free to update.
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T the D 11:06AM (1/14/2009)
I believe the legal limit is under 30mph in most states or under the equivalent of a 50cc scooter.
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eliot 12:07PM (1/14/2009)
I never saw him pedal, how is this a bicycle? It maybe a bike frame, but it's an electric motorcycle in my book.
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Tim 12:34PM (1/14/2009)
"In the United States of America, Congress has defined a low-speed electric bicycle as any bicycle or tricycle with fully operable pedals, an electric motor not exceeding 750 W of power and a top motor-powered speed not in excess of 20 miles per hour (equivalent to the Canadian 32 km/h). An electric bike or trike that meets these limitations is regarded as a bicycle [8] by Public Law 107-319.[9]"
If it does NOT meet these requirements, it's a motorcycle and subject to motorcycle laws.
http://www.omegastores.com/electric_bicycle_law.htm
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b0nes 6:14PM (1/14/2009)
I would rather have a manufactured electric bike, because when you run out of juice yu can pedal it where yu need to go. This has no pedals.
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RPM 9:06PM (1/15/2009)
Wow..so many people "worried" if its street legal because it goes up to 50 MPH...who cares! I seriously doubt a policeman is going to stop you and "toss it into the back of his car" just because it does not fit the legal definition of a bike. Plenty of bikers (non motorized kind) go over 50 MPH
To me its great to see what someone can do..and the range is great for a project built electric bike! And I even like the style of it.
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dygituljunky 12:02AM (1/17/2009)
This would certainly qualify as a motorcycle in Georgia (It has foot pegs instead of pedals and it's capable of more that 20 mph without rider assistance). And with this thing not registered, not insured, and not properly equipped with lights/horn, I would have to impound it. The driver would also have to get several citations if operated without (a motorcycle) helmet, without registration, and without insurance.
But I say that this concept is fantastic anyway. The instructable writer simply needs to acknowledge that this is a motorcycle and that it should be registered/insured/equipped as such.
And get a better suspension fork, going with a fixed fork at higher rates of speed will make it buck pretty hard on the rough streets here in Atlanta.
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