LOWRACER HYBRID SPEEDBIKE - TEST RIDE !

[ezharioperm]

Awesome, man. Look all the vids, hello from Russia.

[sangesf]

What's your efficiency?

How many watts do you pedal/generate and how much comes out, in the end?

[ssj3mohan]

great work man!!!!

[GrantsPassTVRepairs]

I look forward to seeing more of what your skill and imagination enable you to create in the future. Thank you for this interesting and inspirational series of videos.

[ChrisLuxembourg]

@GrantsPassTVRepairs Thanks! The future is now, but which bike/trike is your favorite? Maybe I get for X-Mas a new bike.....

[GrantsPassTVRepairs]

@ChrisLuxembourg I really enjoyed seeing you build the Hybrid speed bike. One point I didn't understand is why you designed it to go from mechanical torque to electrical power and back to mechanical torque again rather than just leaving out all the electronics, generators, motors and going direct. Were you making it to have the option of operating off charged DC batteries as well?

Dave

[ChrisLuxembourg]

@GrantsPassTVRepairs Because it's easiest way for heavy vehicles, the electric power hasn't any mechanical loss and it's storable! If I calculate the way of the long chain, pulleys, chain guides, planetary gear box, then I lost 15%-20% of my pedal power.

I'm riding 200Kg and my power is limited to 120-150W only, for the hub motor that's nothing.

I'm the charger(@75rpm) for the battery and the 12FET-controller is my continuously variable gearbox and heating, so I can ride until -5C°.....

[GrantsPassTVRepairs]

@ChrisLuxembourg Have you figured out what kind of losses you encounter from the motor speed controller, or even going directly from your generator to your electric motor with out a speed controller? Just charging a battery can often result in a 10 percent energy loss.

[ChrisLuxembourg]

@GrantsPassTVRepairs Of course Dave!

The most loss is in the controller with 12 IRFB-4110 FETs,

it's the hottest part in the whole trike mounted on a tunnel heat sink (0.4K/W) and it my heater for the cockpit!

Since a year I've got additional to the LiFePo-cells with "Wima SuperCap R", it can take high amps from the energy recuperation in seconds, where a conventionel cell needs at first an "ion-flow".

BUT, a perpetuum mobile doesn't exists,

if I pedal lazy I must pedal the energy later...

[GrantsPassTVRepairs]

@ChrisLuxembourg Glad to hear you know what your doing. It will make it all the more interesting to watch your progress. Thanks for the reply.

Dave

[MrLuizBlade]

like a boss

[ryoriTATSUJIN]

Hey there, congratulations in your successful attempt in making this wonderful piece of engineering marvel. You're well on your way to making this world that little more greener. I've subscribed to your channel and hope to see more from you. Amaze me! :)

[Toad261183]

cmplimenti bel lavoro!!

[ChrisLuxembourg]

@Toad261183 Grazie, molto lieto!

[moesanrath]

very inertesting idea's you have there.  follow your dreams and just let the haters hate your actually building something congrats man.

[ChrisLuxembourg]

@moesanrath Thanks! The hybrid trike works well, thousands of KM's are ridden.

The 'haters' are a bigger problem, lovely messages like you "motherf**ker" are not uncommonly!

I give everyone a chance to recreate it, for this purpose I'd created the videos #1-#5!

Dear haters, it's not nice to be envious!

[raceforspeed]

@ChrisLuxembourg this looks awsome :3 it is human and eletric powered ? if so this is one of the greatest invention !i would love it if it could be used in snow :( in quebec that yould be my choice if i would get a car ...

[ChrisLuxembourg]

@raceforspeed Both, human & electric = hybrid. For the snow I've got other bikes/trikes! Ask "Doctorbass", he's the EV-Master for Quebec....

[russellking747]

Hi Chris, great stuff! Well done for keeping it up to the end! It sounds like you put little effort in, and end up with high pedal RPM, is there a way of gearing it down a bit electronically and generating more with more effort and lower Pedal RPM? would be a better workout, and would have extra free power to go along with... if you chose to... just a thought for discussion ;)

[ChrisLuxembourg]

@russellking747 The crank RPM is only a thin line. I pedal my 70RPM and I got 39Volts, if I pedal 75RPM I got 42Volts. Now the system is running with LiFePo cells at 38.4Volts, that means I must pedal 70RPM to charge the battery slightly. If I wanna change the crank RPM, I only need to change sprocket. BUT, with 70-75rpm I've got the muscle performance. In other ultra lowracer bikes I got of course another value, here the best is 90RPM!

[russellking747]

@ChrisLuxembourg thanks for the reply!

[surfcello]

@ChrisLuxembourg So does that mean you're in trouble if you're caught speeding uphill without pedaling? :-D

What I'm saying is, if I understand your setup correctly, pedaling is just for generating electricity, independent of movement. So you could pedal steadily, like on a fitness trainer, and use the motor for movement, right?

Oh, and one reply (not 5) would have sufficed ... ;-D

[surfcello]

If the pedaling is not directly connected to drive, but rather to battery charging, why do you pedal only when going forward/uphill? Wouldn't it be much more efficient to keep a slow, steady pace?

[ChrisLuxembourg]

@surfcello It's the regulation here! If you wanna ride you must pedal, of course for downhill you don't need to pedal.

I've a wattmeter and a voltmeter, then I can decide how strong I pedal... The average pedal power is 110-120Watts!

[recumbenttrikesnl]

That hub motor really sounds funny when you pedal. Like a bug from a slapstick.

Pretty nice area for testing bikes.

[ChrisLuxembourg]

@recumbenttrikesnl It's the pedal alternator that you hear, the camera is about 20cm away from it.

As usual the hub motor in the silenced engine room, that you'll never hear!

[recumbenttrikesnl]

@ChrisLuxembourg Still it has a cute sound. Like a Walt Disney robot.

The hub motor of course means you don't have to built the velomobile very light. I will have to since I don't have power assist. Aint got money for that. And I rather postpone it till I can't get up a mountain without one.

The design of the fairing is roughly what I have in mind but with coroplast. The front wheels of you velo have an extreme inclination. You did a very good job to make the steering work this way.

[PoirierMike]

Chris, That's good work you doing here. Are you familiar with ThaneCHeins's work. If not check out his motor principle. He able to regenerates power not only on braking but accelerating. It has been replicated by others already. See Youtube video wGvOBDCh7sA . with your skill and this knowledge, you could make a eBike with amazing performance. Thank you for sharing, as it's inspiring.

[ChrisLuxembourg]

@PoirierMike Salut Mike! Thanks, I know about this guy. To get energy if you will need the maximum of energy, that borders on a perpetuum mobile. Because all energy need a basis, I change electric energy in kinetic energy and vice versa! But never both together, that's self-contradictory to all physics! Regards...

[javaguru4u]

Enjoyed these vids, thanks for upload. I can send my 03 Ford Falcon for next EV project and you can test on the autobahn :-) its running on LPG now lol.

[ChrisLuxembourg]

@javaguru4u Thanks! Yes, great project... but for a test on the "Autobahn", how do you wanna come over the ocean??? :o)

[javaguru4u]

@ChrisLuxembourg Maybe aboard a ship lol, but will have to wait till I get another car before I donate this one to you my friend in Germany : ) You have great soldering/welding skills are you an Electronics Engineer btw? I use to work as an Electronics assembler/technician and use to solder and populate boards, I am now a Social Worker lol.

[pathosbedlam]

Really Awesome use of your talents. I only wish I could download the knowledge it takes to make cool new stuff like this, like they do in the matrix, then I'd show my Dad that what I want to do is possible, if you take off the blinders and stop being so damn negative. He should know better too, as he was an electrician rewinding motors since he was 18. It's like Mythbusters damnit, if you don't try you won't know what works and what doesn't. Now for your next job, you need a real EV. EV Falcon?

[ChrisLuxembourg]

@pathosbedlam The creation of this trike used about 4years. Of course you can download my knowledge...

For my next job I am creating again something really special....

[pathosbedlam]

@ChrisLuxembourg Cool, I hope it's just as interesting. But I say EV Falcon because I noticed you had one, and I have a 2003 BA Falcon myself. Would be plenty of room for a battery pack in the boot. And once the heavy ass motor is out, it would probably weigh about the same.

[ChrisLuxembourg]

@pathosbedlam This converted Crystalyte hub motor drives 200Kg@37V (110Kg Bike+90Kg Me) without problems. I'm sure, if a little EV car has got 4 hubmotors that's works alltime and nearly maintenance free! BUT google for "Lohner Porsche", it's a working idea from 1900 running on SLA batts. Today we've got caps and hitech batts and nobody wanna refresh this invention. I think it's the oil industry....

[pathosbedlam]

@ChrisLuxembourg Your right there. The oil industry also killed the HEMP Industry, until they needed it in WW2, so they grew it in secret. I had a book of HEMP Products that was over an inch thick, and I am not surprised that we had the hub electric motor car in 1900, I'm just disappointed at what we have now, when what we could have had, would have been a shining example to the universe.

[ChrisLuxembourg]

@pathosbedlam Since 100 years we are riding with pistons, but the new technology is now!

I've tested the "Peugeot iOn". A great car, super silent, a no-frills car!

Ok, nice car, I wanna buy it. The dealer answered me, you cannot buy it, you can only lease it!!! WTF???

Ok, the car is Mitsubishi i-MIEV based, I'd taken a look, it's nearly the same car, here I can buy it but must rent the batt for 50€/month... WTF???

I'm sure,we ride the next 100years with pistons,some things never change!

[pathosbedlam]

@ChrisLuxembourg If I had your skills, I'd rather build my own electric car than buy some pre-built piece of crap they don't want you to be able to repair at home. Just convert a small car like the EV BMW or EV Capri. Both cool cars. If you wanted to, I am sure you could build a car from scratch, from the chassis up. It would be lighter and stronger then anyway. Make it a 4WD by using a motor in each wheel with an option to disable the front or rear motors to save power, or even regen power.

[121ego]

@ChrisLuxembourg - fricking greedy bastards, the Three Big Ones...They leased the EV1 (GM) and finally, they took it away from the public...Too good. No money for them. Instead, they gave us the 351 and all the other junk that runs on gas. The US Government should have left these guys out there, hanging dry to their financial deaths. Instead, the US people bailed them out, but their CEO collected millions of dollars in "good performance" bonuses!! Go figure. Accursed be all them!

[ChrisLuxembourg]

@121ego Everyone is his own master! The people can ply the oil industries with a selfmade custom electric car. A friend has got taken an old VW Golf, an electric kit for 4500€ from hungary and that thing rocks! The kit included the motor, LiFePo batteries and the high current controller.

If you don't have the skills then only I could recommend to buy stocks from BP, EXXON or TotalFinaElf. Maybe we see us in 10years again, you're driving a hummer H12 in this economic world!

Take it easy.....

[neg0dnick]

А мне не нравится. Зачем монтировать столько электроники, двигателя и всего прочего если получается тот же веломобиль...

[CPXB]

Inspirational! This has actually inspired me! I don't have your skills, but I'll do what I can with my trike to make it as cool as yours. Who knows what I'll discover? Just really great! Amazing!

[ChrisLuxembourg]

@CPXB Thanks! I'll send you something...

[mpintovsj]

Increíble !!! Yo quiero uno !!! fantástico!!!

[ChrisLuxembourg]

@mpintovsj Gracias amigo! ¿cuándo? cuatro años el tiempo de desarrollo...

[mozon1967]

Just WOW!

[stickmenwithrayguns]

Nice work. :-)

The weeu-weeu-weeu-weeu noise while pedaling can be reduced by adding an oval biopace in order to "straighten out" the momentum in deadzones.

Just a thought.

[ChrisLuxembourg]

@stickmenwithrayguns ...OR, if I change the position of the camera! That's fixed directly over the alternator...

A biopace doesn't work, I've a 83T chainring without a chain tensioner!

[MrCEO69]

What you have done is so awesome!! I do have one question though. What did you do to the powered wheel? Is it internally magnetically powered or something? I just saw those wires you put in there and the closed metal caps.

[ChrisLuxembourg]

@MrCEO69 The forced wheel is powered by an electric hubmotor! I'll send you something...

[crazyrocker321]

@ChrisLuxembourg Shortly the Perpetuum Mobilum Will be reality ! I promise !

[DanFrederiksen]

nice : )

looks like it has some turning radius issues : )

[gustavodel74]

Espectacular!!!



[ChrisLuxembourg]

@gustavodel74 ¡Mucho gusto! ¡Gracias!

[nattsurfaren]

Thanks for sharing this vid. I love the feeling I get when I watch the video how silent it is when you go downhill and how you recuperate the battery while doing so. Love the view of the environment. I can imagine it would be cool to be a group of people having a vacation and a sightseeing with this kind of vehicle. I have been dreaming of making e-bike videos while I go for a ride in Greece. Blue ocean with nice beeches. HD video camera is a must then and no shaking. Cheers

[yo6ial]

Like!

Like! like! like! Like!!!

:D

[SteveinChurui]

Hi, great looking bike. I enjoyed the making videos too. How fast were your top speeds? By the end of the trip were you mostly using pedal generated power, or did you still have some battery power left?

[ChrisLuxembourg]

@SteveinChurui Thanks! Top speeds of 70Km/h I've got only down hill. The powered speed is limited(by law) to 25Km/h@37V. The average speed is 25-30Km/h, but that in all weather conditions. Battery power must be always left. At 5:25 I'm riding slightly uphill again, I must compare the voltage, over 40V pedal slightly and under 40V pedal strong... So, with a dead battery I don't need to start a ride, then I must power the batt, the caps & the motor!

[jimmykinkade]

MOPED!

[ChrisLuxembourg]

@jimmykinkade NO! ...PEDELEC!

[ChrisLuxembourg]

@shout12345678 I've seen, liked & favored! He's an atomic scientist! :o)

[bigsugar999]

So Awesome.... been watch this all the way along. Well Done, Congratulations from Canada!

[ChrisLuxembourg]

@bigsugar999 Thanks!

[bourquechris]

@bzhwindtalker I wondered about the tilting mechanism too--is it necessary? Are you familiar with the KMX platform? That seems to work well yes? (without the tilting system). If you look at other high-powered tri-cycles, they don't need the tilting system (even the high-powered ones with the combustion engines)....

[ChrisLuxembourg]

@bourquechris @bzhwindtalker With a bicycle this problem doesn't exist, because all your cornering force are powered in leaning! If you've got a non-tilting-trike, the rear wheel can slide away in higher speeds. I'm preparing a video about that...

[bourquechris]

@ChrisLuxembourg I like a little "drift" at high speeds in my velomobile :-)

[ChrisLuxembourg]

@bourquechris Every non-contact to the street is a chassis failure... Either to accelerate or to decelerate!

[bourquechris]

@ChrisLuxembourg I'm not a physics guy, but I will take your word for it that when using a narrow profile in vehicle width and narrow profile tires that the tilting mechanism is the way to go. Thanks for the info.

[bzhwindtalker]

@bourquechris I think that when you want a narrow track and high speed cornering, some sort of tilting is necessary to replace the weight in the right place to keep the trike on its 3 wheels! I'm not too familiar with kmxs, nor with high power trike, but i face some high speed cornering problems with my latest trike, that have a 750mm wheelbase. If you don't mind a large wheelbase, you don't need tilting, but you will have more aero drag than with a narrow track!

[bourquechris]

@bzhwindtalker ahhh, ok. I understand.  Thanx.

[meyiyiyi55]

nice run,what was the weight again of the lowracer?

[ChrisLuxembourg]

@meyiyiyi55 Thanks, which lowracer recumbent do you mean???

[meyiyiyi55]

@ChrisLuxembourg this one.ha sorry.

[ChrisLuxembourg]

@meyiyiyi55 Vehicle 110Kg + Me 90Kg = 200Kg total

[mrnewagemotor]

Het buddy - you put some serious miles on your bike there - it looked like a great endurance test for sure.

Very very beautiful countryside too - it reminded me alot of the rolling bluegrass hills from Tennessee - the smell is so sweet there - you have to love it !

[ChrisLuxembourg]

@mrnewagemotor Thanks! But that's not an endurance test, just a normal usage! Tennessee is not reachable for my bike, not for the 1000s of miles, but the ocean.... :o)

[oakleystick]

Awesome!

[ChrisLuxembourg]

@oakleystick Thanks!