The everlasting project and how to avoid it
If there's one weakness of mine, it's my desire to build everything, and then become stubborn until it's done. Around a year ago my friend and I decided to create an electric bike with an engine we found in the attic. We could get around 15 miles of range and 35mph top speed.
After a year we decided that it was great and all, but we could build better. We had previously seen an electric motorcycle that could reach 80 and we wanted to beat that. With new connections to welding equipment and other tools that we could not afford before, we decided it was possible for us to build one. I began to design and quickly realized several things.
- Metal is stronger than you may think
- Plan EVERY bolt because it will matter
- Measure every angle correctly
- Cut once but measure twice
- NEVER think its “close enought”. Its not.
- Be organized(Below is an example of how not to do that)
After several months of waiting/designing/building, we are now approaching the end. The hardest and longest part was cutting and welding the chassis which is now done. With the new design we have an 11 speed transmittion (originally it was a 1 speed direct drive) and should be able to achieve speeds close to 150mph.
Now we are on our few remaining phases of the project. All of the welding on the chassis is done (see video below for example of welding) and all that remains is general fitment of parts. The last obstacle we face is lacing the wheels. Spoke nipples normally have an OD of 6.1mm while the spoke hole is 7.8mm. This is a problem because at the moment the spoke nipples will not stay in our rims. The solution to this was custom spoke nipples that have a 8mm OD while maintaining the same threading for the spokes themselves. These have taken a longggg time to come in but should be here on Thursday, May 4th. After we get wheels laced it is a matter of making sure everything works before stripping it to get powder coated.
Below is the list of what is left to be done.
For anyone who is considering to build something large scale, the biggest thing I can stress is the importance of planning. Never make the mistake of saying you will figure it out later because odds are you will have to undo what you have just done.
Labels:Electric bike, Electric, Battery, Speed, Welding