Solar Human Electric Powered Vehicle SHEPV

Ok, so building a solar powered electric bike? Here's my story:

It all started when my wife and I moved back to Key West, Fl. once you leave you always want to come back!
Since our jobs are less than 1.5 miles from home (not to mention parking complicated at best.) it seemed appropriate to sell off our vehicle and use bikes. Of course living on this Island demands being different or unique and your vehicle should reflect that! To fulfill that demand I built a tadpole recumbent trike (2 wheels in front and one in the back, the comercial Greenspeed versions start around $1200) all out of old bikes and a chair from my hotels cafeteria. It worked great!
The downside sweating pedaling to work The Casa Marina Resort demands looking smart and smelling fresh!
Next step Currie electric drive motor 450 watts. Pull out the battery pack at night and charge it up!
1st evoloution!! After 6 months of riding the frame folded poor welding and bike tubes werent built for that.I blame the bike tubes but my welding is ugly at best.
2nd evoloution!! Weld up a 2x2 inch steel chassis, then weld a standard bike rear end, and add the 26 inch drive motor to the rear, with two new 20inch BMX wheels 14mm axles and Kevlar tires. Oh yea the extra weight  had to change from the standard Currie battery pack 10 Ah and add 2 17 Ah batteries. I dare say this design could punch a hole in a car!
Renting apartments in Key West you have to move from time to time. Our new apartment is above a store front needless to say dropping an extension cord off the balcony wasn't an option.
3rd evoloution! Add solar panels? Why not! Two 15 watt sunforce panels!! It doesn't run the motor (YET!) but keeps the batteries up! 700+ miles and 7 months I haven't had to plug in to the grid yet!! Top speed of 16mph and range of 14.

Material and tools required:
2 matched bikes for parts or 2 Matched steering head tubes, one bike rear axle frame cut to the front of the pedal crank assembly, 1 spare pedal crank tube, sprocket, crank, and of course pedals.
1 2.5x2.5 tube of pipe the (main chassis)
1 2x2 tube of pipe pedal (crank boom assembly)
1 1.5x1.5 tube of pipe (cross bar)
Heavy duty BMX wheels. I have 2 20inch in the front and Currie 26 inch electric drive in the rear. There are plenty of designs on the net that are different, I encourage you to research and experiment.
Electric bike motor kit (Rear wheel)
Batteries to match the voltage(keep in mind more amp hours more weight)
Solar panels (The more power the better! Set to match the motor and controller voltage needless to say they must fit your design)
Charge regulator (Needs to match the voltage of the motor, battery system and solar panels)
Tie rod end and ball joints (Auto parts store or McMaster-Carr has a great website for all sorts of obscure parts like this.)
A comfy seat!

Welder (ARC, MIG, TIG personal preference)
Angle grinder
Reciprocating saw
Drill
Driil Press (highly suggested)
Hole saws for metal
Soldering Iron
Crimping tools
Electric meter
Pipe bender
electric meter for DC voltage.
Various hammers and tools of destruction (I especially prefer the BFH9000)
Many frosty beverages when you are drawing and planning this design!( Don't operate equipment while drinking!!)

Also keep small children away! There are many sharp and dangerous objects! (Not too mention all the cussing you may be doing while cutting welding and grinding, getting burnt etc.....)
 

Step 1 Building the front end.

Building the head tubes(AKA steering tubes) are the most difficult. I used 2 old front forks from bikes cut the forks off and welded a mount for a 14 mm BMX axle.
They should have a negative 15 degree angle where the axle mounts  when standing verticle.
These are where the front wheels attach and must be strong!!
After cutting the front forks off I pounded out a mounting bracket for the wheel and welded it in place.The box shape design keeps it at 15 degrees. Below is also a photo so you get a better view of the tie rod and steering setup.

Comments

[epierce]

Ok so I'm tooting my own horn but wanted you all to now that I have achieved 1000 miles! 3-4 miles per day average!