Electric Quest

[AbramClark]

Having enjoyed my electric Sofrider so much over the last 1.5 years, I wanted another so both me and my partner could ride assisted and in laid back fashion. I also wanted to try out bringing an electric bike with me on airplane trips, but the 26" wheels may make this impractical. I've yet to find a luggage case to fit it into.

Since I've found my Sofrider motor to be quite overpowered compared to a human powered bike, I decided to make this electric build much lower power, lighter, and efficient. It only adds 12 lbs to the bike instead of ~20, and encourages exercise a lot more given that unlike my first, pedaling is actually required on the steeper hills. I haven't had a chance to test the range, but I imagine it's longer than the typical 50 miles I get from the original with 50% pedaling.

The additions / modifications:
Radical Design Medium panniers (I like Radical Design bags a lot, and I'm putting them on all 3 of my Cruzbikes)
Cute 100H hub motor, 36V 10Ah LiFePO4 battery and s06s controller from bmsbattery.com
180mm rear disc rotor and brake adapter to fit larger hub

Here are some pictures from around San Francisco, and close-up of rear hub motor and bag (currently carrying battery and controller until I get a small dedicated frame bag):

 

[jond]

wow you are on a quest and pushing the boundaries. getting some exercise is good good good.

 

[ratz]

I also wanted to try out bringing an electric bike with me on airplane trips, but the 26" wheels may make this impractical. I've yet to find a luggage case to fit it into.

So you could do that. The change would require you to get the wheels redone as 451 or better yet 406's so you could get big apples etc. Then you'd swap out the front chain stay for the shorter version, cruzbike should have them and if they don't I have two in the parts bin. Then Poof it fits in a samsonite suit case; and with 406's that smaller motor would probably climb even better.

Either way that's excellent.

 

[tiltmaniac]

Very nice!

If you can fit a Silvio and 700c wheels in a Co-Motion travel case, you can probably fit 26" wheels and the quest as well. Worth a shot if you can bring it over to a place that has one locally and just try it out...

 

[Jim Parker]

Great pics! For those that don't know Abram, at the 2013 Recumbent Convention in L.A., they held a contest to see which bike/rider could make the shortest radius turn without putting a foot down. Abram hopped on a Q and won! I forgot the radius, but it was very tight.

I agree with Ratz - go with a 406 wheelset and the short chainstay (we have them in stock in Portland). You might want to put on a Patterson drive or a double/triple chainring to replace the function of the Dual-drive hub. I really like the Metropolis Patterson drive (I have it on my Q in the garage), but it's a bit heavy and pricey. It should all go in a Samsonite 31" F'Lite or eqivalent suitcase.

Jim

 

[AbramClark]

Thanks for the Co-Motion travel case suggestion tiltmaniac. I've been looking for something like that. I'm reluctant to switch to the smaller wheels, because I've ridden a Quest with small wheels and it felt too low, and the bottom bracket wasn't high enough. Also, I went with a lower RPM hub motor, so with the smaller rear wheel, it would be really sluggish. I should mention that this bike is mainly for my partner. Here are a few more pictures with her on the bike:

 

[ratz]

I've ridden a Quest with small wheels and it felt too low, and the bottom bracket wasn't high enough

Only as an fyi for those following along: The stock 20" quest has a smaller chain stay. You can leave the long one on and maintain the BB height and still get the foldability. The other problems you noted of course remains. We have a longer chain-stay on one of our Quest 20" bikes and I much prefer having the higher feet myself.

 

[AbramClark]

Here are a couple more pictures. I've been hauling water on my Sofrider, and took the Quest today instead. I've got two 35 lb carboys of water on either side in Radical Design bags with some groceries squeezed in on top. It rode very smoothly and handled about the same with the +80 lbs just sluggish of course, and the little 350 watt Cute 100H just purred straight up the small hills.

 

[Frisard]

Having enjoyed my electric Sofrider so much over the last 1.5 years, I wanted another so both me and my partner could ride assisted and in laid back fashion. I also wanted to try out bringing an electric bike with me on airplane trips, but the 26" wheels may make this impractical. I've yet to find a luggage case to fit it into.

Since I've found my Sofrider motor to be quite overpowered compared to a human powered bike, I decided to make this electric build much lower power, lighter, and efficient. It only adds 12 lbs to the bike instead of ~20, and encourages exercise a lot more given that unlike my first, pedaling is actually required on the steeper hills. I haven't had a chance to test the range, but I imagine it's longer than the typical 50 miles I get from the original with 50% pedaling.

The additions / modifications:
Radical Design Medium panniers (I like Radical Design bags a lot, and I'm putting them on all 3 of my Cruzbikes)
Cute 100H hub motor, 36V 10Ah LiFePO4 battery and s06s controller from bmsbattery.com
180mm rear disc rotor and brake adapter to fit larger hub

Here are some pictures from around San Francisco, and close-up of rear hub motor and bag (currently carrying battery and controller until I get a small dedicated frame bag):View attachment 949 View attachment 950 View attachment 951 View attachment 952
View attachment 953

Abram, I am in the process of electrifying my QX100. Having a bit of difficulty with the disc brake rotor clearance. The hub motor is 6.5". What motor do you have, and size of rotor? Appreciate any advice you have.
Cheers,
Fred

 

[Frisard]

Thanks for the Co-Motion travel case suggestion tiltmaniac. I've been looking for something like that. I'm reluctant to switch to the smaller wheels, because I've ridden a Quest with small wheels and it felt too low, and the bottom bracket wasn't high enough. Also, I went with a lower RPM hub motor, so with the smaller rear wheel, it would be really sluggish. I should mention that this bike is mainly for my partner. Here are a few more pictures with her on the bike:

View attachment 1271 View attachment 1272 View attachment 1273 View attachment 1274

Check out Maria and Jim's trip to Vancouver. The packed their QX100's in a bike case.

 

[AbramClark]

What motor do you have, and size of rotor?

It's right in the original post: 180mm disc with appropriate adapter, and Cute 100H motor. The motor is about 115mm in diameter at the widest point, the outside of the spoke flange (it's hard to measure when laced into a wheel and on the bike).

 

[Frisard]

Thank you very much. The info is very h

So you could do that. The change would require you to get the wheels redone as 451 or better yet 406's so you could get big apples etc. Then you'd swap out the front chain stay for the shorter version, cruzbike should have them and if they don't I have two in the parts bin. Then Poof it fits in a samsonite suit case; and with 406's that smaller motor would probably climb even better.

Either way that's excellent.

As to taking a battery on an airplane; my understanding is we have to send battery ahead by FedEx.

 

[ccf]

The additions / modifications:
Radical Design Medium panniers (I like Radical Design bags a lot, and I'm putting them on all 3 of my Cruzbikes)
Cute 100H hub motor, 36V 10Ah LiFePO4 battery and s06s controller from bmsbattery.com
180mm rear disc rotor and brake adapter to fit larger hub

Did you build the wheel yourself or buy the complete wheel from from bmsbattery.com?

-Cliff

 

[AbramClark]

Did you build the wheel yourself or buy the complete wheel from from bmsbattery.com?

I laced up the wheel myself. I had a local bike shop measure the rim and motor with calipers and calculate the appropriate spoke lengths, and then I ordered the special spokes from an ebike shop, single butted to fit both a standard rim / nipples and the larger holes in the hub. You can find tutorials on lacing a wheel n YT. I used a normal 3-cross pattern because that motor is so small. For a medium sized motor, a single-cross pattern is better to prevent the spokes from bending at too sharp an angle and fatiguing.

 

[Elisa]

Hi Abram - Can you let me know what type of rack you have on your Sofrider?
Thanks Elisa

 

[Frisard]

Latest e-Cruzbike. Liked Abram's Radicals. Keeps the battery pack low. Motor is a Bafang 8fun 36v 500w geared hub. Battery pack 36v 13.6ah hiding in the pannier. 200mm rotor. The red bungee is simply an accent. Not that a CruzBike needs an accent to catch someone's attention.
This ride weighs in at a hefty 50lbs! Hmmm, hopefully the motor will pull more than itself. At 500w it is like adding two riders...without the riders. So it should.
Ready to go on a weekend tour!
Peace

 

[Elisa]

Just electrified my Sofrider with 36V 12Ah lithium battery with a MXUS FX15F motor.

 

[TalleyHo]

I thought I'd join in on this CB Utility e-bike party. I just did a re-mod of my e-assist Sofrider which has been in operation for 2 years. The new mod is the return to freerider bars (love to open cockpit) and the addition of what I call a cockpit fairing. The fairing was a Zipper brand originally bought by me in 1997 for my first recumbent. The project floundered and the fairing stored until a few days ago when I cut it up to make this abreviated version; good for keeping electronics dry and a measure of aero efficiency and comfort. The front hub is Nuvinci CVT, the rear a geared motor creating a dual throttled machine that when operated in concert make for very quick acceleration. A low eco-footprint, hi value transport machine is my aim. The CB utility bikes rival their performance bikes, IMO, as break-thru bike-design innovations; the best of both worlds, DF and bents.

 

[Frisard]

Just electrified my Sofrider with 36V 12Ah lithium battery with a MXUS FX15F motor. View attachment 3820 View attachment 3821

Very nice. Where did you source your battery pack? I like the pack bottle.

 

[Frisard]

I thought I'd join in on this CB Utility e-bike party. I just did a re-mod of my e-assist Sofrider which has been in operation for 2 years. The new mod is the return to freerider bars (love to open cockpit) and the addition of what I call a cockpit fairing. The fairing was a Zipper brand originally bought by me in 1997 for my first recumbent. The project floundered and the fairing stored until a few days ago when I cut it up to make this abreviated version; good for keeping electronics dry and a measure of aero efficiency and comfort. The front hub is Nuvinci CVT, the rear a geared motor creating a dual throttled machine that when operated in concert make for very quick acceleration. A low eco-footprint, hi value transport machine is my aim. The CB utility bikes rival their performance bikes, IMO, as break-thru bike-design innovations; the best of both worlds, DF and bents.View attachment 3822

I like your battery bottle. What are specs? And, where would one source it?