It's been a couple years since I last posted here. I have visited on a regular basis, but haven't posted.
I wish I could say I am back by popular demand, but in reality it's because of singular need.
I live in Washington state. A landslide occurred less than a footbal field away from my home, and my road was taken out. (And occurred again. And again. And ag... well, you get the idea.)
I am not in Oso. Our slide was not that large. No one died here. But engineers and geologists are saying that our slide is 'loaded up', and ready to do the same as Oso, at any time.
The slides started in december. Our road was taken out, then repaired a couple times. Taken out, then barely open. Then taken out again, for good.
For several weeks we had no way out of here, except to make our way through constant rain that was so thick we had to use a knife to cut our way through. Over wet clay that was slick as snot on a doorknob. Up and down very rough, narrow, winding, steeply inclined paths. And all the while having to poke ahead of ourselves with sticks because there were places where it was literally quicksand, and you couldn tell it from any other piece of ground you looked at. In at least one place, you could step in, and be completely lost...
About a week and a half ago, some of us went down and built an ATV trail, past the slide area. An actual road cannot be put in, because every time they try, the very next day, it is gone again. The trail is small enough and light enough and far enough off to the edge of the slide area, that so far, it has lasted.
Up to now, people have had someone bring groceries and supplies to the bottom area of the slide, and we go down there on foot and carry the stuff up those paths.
Now that we have the trail, people can bring in larger loads, on ATVs.
But I don't have an ATV.
And I have an enlarged heart. Which makes it impossible for me personally to carry anything back up that 1/2 mile of hillside.
So I am once again, looking at building a motorized bike. This time because I need one. Not just because it would be fun to have.
In my state, the laws are not "moped friendly". And they consider any bike with a gas engine to be a moped. So I have decided on electric.
I thought I had a good start on one, when I discovered a couple of little E100 razor scooters. But everything is rusted through and through on them. And the ruined motors are only 100w anyway. So I am back to the drawingboard.
Here's my thoughts for what they are worth, and my questions...
I weigh close to 300 pounds.
For the same reason that I can't walk up that hill, I can't pedal a bike up it.
And I won't be able to lend much assisstance to a motor on my bike. I need a motor that will do most of that work for me, with just some assistance from me. Pedalling over flat terrain is fine. I can keep up with that. So the motor has to take over from there, on an incline.
So for instance, in a friction setup, I am not sure if even a 500w motor will do the job.
The three options I am considering are...
Rack mount. Unknown drive type.
Friction drive.
Or pusher.
The problem I have with the idea of a pusher, is the thought of that poor little trailer sitting back there, having to push all my bulk up a steep incline, through gravel. So far the gravel isn't even all that packed down, so it can be a bit like driving through sand.
The upside to the pusher idea is that I do not intent to do all the futzing around with small batteries that everyone else seems to do. Trying to get better performance and longevity out of tiny batteries.
I intend to use a full-sized marine deep cycle battery or two.
So all that weight on the trailer means two things. 1. I don't have all that weight on the bike itself. and 2. the trailer gets a better "bite" in the gravel because of the extra weight.
And the batteries should give better performance because of the amperage capability. And longer running, because of the greater capacity.
Understand, the longest this will get used is to maybe run in to the closest town to get drinking water, and to check the mail. About 6 or 7 miles, round trip. Up and down some steep mountain gravel roads. But about half of it is fairly flat.
It will be used most exclusively for an occassional trip down to the bottom of the slide, and back up.
So I am not building this to be ridden every single day, on long commutes.
The budget for this is almost completely non-existant. And by that I don't mean I have a bit of extra money that I am not willing to give up for this. I mean, I simply do NOT have the budget.
So I am going to have to try to make this from stuff I already have on hand.
I am ready and willing. Now I need to settle on ideas, and get busy.
I need suggestions. Which drive system do you think is going to be best to do most of the work of pulling my 300 pounds up that hill?
Which do you think is easiest to set up, and why?
Which is more reliable?
Thank you, my friends!
I wish I could say I am back by popular demand, but in reality it's because of singular need.
I live in Washington state. A landslide occurred less than a footbal field away from my home, and my road was taken out. (And occurred again. And again. And ag... well, you get the idea.)
I am not in Oso. Our slide was not that large. No one died here. But engineers and geologists are saying that our slide is 'loaded up', and ready to do the same as Oso, at any time.
The slides started in december. Our road was taken out, then repaired a couple times. Taken out, then barely open. Then taken out again, for good.
For several weeks we had no way out of here, except to make our way through constant rain that was so thick we had to use a knife to cut our way through. Over wet clay that was slick as snot on a doorknob. Up and down very rough, narrow, winding, steeply inclined paths. And all the while having to poke ahead of ourselves with sticks because there were places where it was literally quicksand, and you couldn tell it from any other piece of ground you looked at. In at least one place, you could step in, and be completely lost...
About a week and a half ago, some of us went down and built an ATV trail, past the slide area. An actual road cannot be put in, because every time they try, the very next day, it is gone again. The trail is small enough and light enough and far enough off to the edge of the slide area, that so far, it has lasted.
Up to now, people have had someone bring groceries and supplies to the bottom area of the slide, and we go down there on foot and carry the stuff up those paths.
Now that we have the trail, people can bring in larger loads, on ATVs.
But I don't have an ATV.
And I have an enlarged heart. Which makes it impossible for me personally to carry anything back up that 1/2 mile of hillside.
So I am once again, looking at building a motorized bike. This time because I need one. Not just because it would be fun to have.
In my state, the laws are not "moped friendly". And they consider any bike with a gas engine to be a moped. So I have decided on electric.
I thought I had a good start on one, when I discovered a couple of little E100 razor scooters. But everything is rusted through and through on them. And the ruined motors are only 100w anyway. So I am back to the drawingboard.
Here's my thoughts for what they are worth, and my questions...
I weigh close to 300 pounds.
For the same reason that I can't walk up that hill, I can't pedal a bike up it.
And I won't be able to lend much assisstance to a motor on my bike. I need a motor that will do most of that work for me, with just some assistance from me. Pedalling over flat terrain is fine. I can keep up with that. So the motor has to take over from there, on an incline.
So for instance, in a friction setup, I am not sure if even a 500w motor will do the job.
The three options I am considering are...
Rack mount. Unknown drive type.
Friction drive.
Or pusher.
The problem I have with the idea of a pusher, is the thought of that poor little trailer sitting back there, having to push all my bulk up a steep incline, through gravel. So far the gravel isn't even all that packed down, so it can be a bit like driving through sand.
The upside to the pusher idea is that I do not intent to do all the futzing around with small batteries that everyone else seems to do. Trying to get better performance and longevity out of tiny batteries.
I intend to use a full-sized marine deep cycle battery or two.
So all that weight on the trailer means two things. 1. I don't have all that weight on the bike itself. and 2. the trailer gets a better "bite" in the gravel because of the extra weight.
And the batteries should give better performance because of the amperage capability. And longer running, because of the greater capacity.
Understand, the longest this will get used is to maybe run in to the closest town to get drinking water, and to check the mail. About 6 or 7 miles, round trip. Up and down some steep mountain gravel roads. But about half of it is fairly flat.
It will be used most exclusively for an occassional trip down to the bottom of the slide, and back up.
So I am not building this to be ridden every single day, on long commutes.
The budget for this is almost completely non-existant. And by that I don't mean I have a bit of extra money that I am not willing to give up for this. I mean, I simply do NOT have the budget.
So I am going to have to try to make this from stuff I already have on hand.
I am ready and willing. Now I need to settle on ideas, and get busy.
I need suggestions. Which drive system do you think is going to be best to do most of the work of pulling my 300 pounds up that hill?
Which do you think is easiest to set up, and why?
Which is more reliable?
Thank you, my friends!
Last edited:
