Yeah, I’m failing to see how this is preferable to just swapping your rear wheel with a hub motor and calling it a day. You can get a very nice conversion kit and battery from the Usual Scumbags for that kind of money, or if you’re careful you can pay a lot less, and still wind up with a final product with significantly more range and performance.
And, you know, doesn’t look nearly as stupid. Front wheel friction drives are a uniquely terrible solution to the bicycle propulsion problem, and they have been ever since their inception with those nasty two stroke things from the '50’s. Their energy transfer is quite inefficient, and their failure mode when you encounter a hill too steep for the motor is to steadily fuck up your front tire.
The only possible benefit I could see from this is if you plan to regularly swap it between multiple bicycles or perhaps bikes you don’t own, like beach rental bikes or something.
Not that I’ve seen specifically for recumbents, but there are front wheel motor hub kits you can get and just swap out the front rim. You’d then be front wheel drive.
A mid drive kit from any brand would also work, and in that case you’d drive the rear wheels with your existing chain and sprocket on the axle.
Yeah, I’m failing to see how this is preferable to just swapping your rear wheel with a hub motor and calling it a day. You can get a very nice conversion kit and battery from the Usual Scumbags for that kind of money, or if you’re careful you can pay a lot less, and still wind up with a final product with significantly more range and performance.
And, you know, doesn’t look nearly as stupid. Front wheel friction drives are a uniquely terrible solution to the bicycle propulsion problem, and they have been ever since their inception with those nasty two stroke things from the '50’s. Their energy transfer is quite inefficient, and their failure mode when you encounter a hill too steep for the motor is to steadily fuck up your front tire.
The only possible benefit I could see from this is if you plan to regularly swap it between multiple bicycles or perhaps bikes you don’t own, like beach rental bikes or something.
Is there any kits for recumbent trikes around? I’ve been googling a bit but can’t find any good stores or reviews that doesn’t reek of SEO
Like, ebike conversion kit? You can use whatever pretty much, but mid drives are popular. Hubs work fine too.
If you’re looking for a brand of recumbent tadpoles, Terratrike, Sun, ICE, and CatTrike are all fairly well known brands.
Look around for dealers in your area if you’re looking at buying one, they should be able to give you a test ride.
Not that I’ve seen specifically for recumbents, but there are front wheel motor hub kits you can get and just swap out the front rim. You’d then be front wheel drive.
A mid drive kit from any brand would also work, and in that case you’d drive the rear wheels with your existing chain and sprocket on the axle.