Hidden Electric Motor Allows Pro Cyclists to Cheat?

erco · 2010-06-01 22:08

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Nd13ARuvVE

Conspiracy theory·French/Italian video supposedly shows how a very small motor can be stealthily installed on a road bike. Goes on to show pro rider Fabian Cancellara doing incredibly effortless·accelerations in the·Roubaix-Vlaanderen bike race. Wild speculation at its finest.

No motor or battery details. Probably just a hoax, but I'll keep my Ebay eye·out for cheap·Chinese bike motor cheats. I still do lots of cycling and I gotta stay one step ahead of the faster younger guys!

I've seen many electric bikes, and they are TANKS. Many use LEAD ACID batteries.·A decent road bike is a pretty efficient machine on its own. But once you add a motor & batteries, you have to add suspension and strengthen this and that for reliability, so the weight increases and you reach the point of diminishing returns pretty quickly.

But if there is any truth to it,·that kind of energy density (small motors and batteries) would make for a small & powerful robot.

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·"If you build it, they will come."

Searider · 2010-06-01 22:30

It seems that if your goal was to cheet, then it would not take a very big motor or battery pack to provide an edge over the competition, providing that you are close to competative without the motor.

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Searider

HollyMinkowski · 2010-06-01 22:48

Erco, you go fast enough on your bike already.
You don't need a motor. I remember those scary
videos you posted on youtube!

davejames · 2010-06-01 22:51

The motor concept itself seems feasible, meaning where it sits and the gearing involved.

50kph ~= 31mph...I just don't see how that's possible with no sign of batteries. And then the added weight?

Hmmmmmm,

DJ

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HollyMinkowski · 2010-06-01 22:58

If I wanted to cheat I'd have some mechanical genius put the motor
in the rear wheel hub. Then I'd run the conductors up to the handlebars
and use some kind of conductive wrap on the bars. Then just carry the
batteries on your person somehow and run the leads to your cycling
gloves and when you grip the bars....zoom

Batteries in the bike would make it heavy and someone would notice.
I can't imagine that they would care how much the cyclist weighed though.

Scope · 2010-06-01 23:13

HollyMinkowski said...
Erco, you go fast enough on your bike already.
You don't need a motor. I remember those scary
videos you posted on youtube!

Ya, erco, you should fix the stop signs - automate them so they recognize your approach, then flip 180 degrees and display "GO!"

My son got a $180 ticket for running a red light two weeks ago.

mikediv · 2010-06-01 23:59

Hey guys I don't mean to but in I just wanted to show Holly this , it goes on the Duemilanove board and they call it wings it has screw connectors for all the pins its pretty cool

erco · 2010-06-02 00:14

Scope: I've def gotten tickets here in LA. A Redondo Beach cop gave me a very pricey motor vehicle fine. But when I went to court and told the judge I was on a bike, he reduced it to a pedestrian (literally) fine, more like jaywalking. Much cheaper and worth a visit to court!

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·"If you build it, they will come."

logan996 · 2010-06-03 13:13

I swear all cops think they are better than everyone else like they are "all that"

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"WOAH! that wasn't supposed to happen!"

RobotWorkshop · 2010-06-03 13:42

erco said...
No motor or battery details. Probably just a hoax, but I'll keep my Ebay eye out for cheap Chinese bike motor cheats. I still do lots of cycling and I gotta stay one step ahead of the faster younger guys!

If I had to do something like that I would think that the frame tubes would make an excellent place for a stack of NiMH batteries. You could hide quite a few in there!

Robert

Bean · 2010-06-03 14:05

I could see how it might help.
You would need very light batteries (lithium?). And use regenerative braking.
It hard to tell how the extra weight would effect the benefits though...

Bean

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Scope · 2010-06-03 14:13

What if the frame was built from a carbon fiber material that also employed battery properties - like the entire frame was a rigid, lightweight, well insulated battery?

I know some of you have investigated the woven materials used in some batteries - carbon fiber is a woven material, eh, so . . .

Folks, I think it's time we begin rethinking outside the (pink foam) box.

Franklin · 2010-06-03 14:46

Piezo electric frames?

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- Stephen

Scope · 2010-06-03 15:45

We're only scratching the surface of what will become.

Only our imaginations are holding us back.

That, and having to go buy more peanut butter because I'm hungry and want to make a sandwich.

stamptrol · 2010-06-03 16:33

A couple years back, after being in hospital 45 days, my wife bought me a Schwinn electric bike to replace my 18-speed mountain bike. If you've never driven one, I can assure you it is a real heart-saver!

The schwinn uses a purpose built frame with front suspension, 24 volt lead acid pack, variable speed twist-grip throttle and 7-speed chain wheels. Motor drives the rear wheel with separate free-wheel sprocket. All for less than $400.

After three years use, battery is still going strong and gets me back and forth to the office nearly every day. I use it for the long hill (150 meters rise over 2 km) on the way home. Lets me put the same effort in as pedalling on the level with the electric making up the difference.

Yes it weighs more than a road bike, but you don't need to walk it up a hill, you don't get drenched in sweat on the way, and on the level the extra weight doesn't matter. Best of all, its gets you past that urge to wear those padded-Smile bike pants!

Cheers,

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Tom Sisk

http://www.siskconsult.com
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erco · 2010-06-03 20:24

@Tom: Lycra spandex is forever! And like bikinis, bike shorts should never be made in any size above XL...

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·"If you build it, they will come."

Peter KG6LSE · 2010-06-03 23:56

As someone who wears it one in a while for my costumes ..

Lycra is a privilege not a right LOL [noparse]:)[/noparse]

Peter KG6LSE

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LOL

mctrivia · 2010-06-04 00:18

i had a Schwinn electric bike when I lived in calgary. was great could get around the city down town faster then in my car and parking was free.

I did get it up over 60km/hour in a 50km zone so I can beleive there cliam of doing 50km/h. I am sure you would have to be doing some pretty hard pedaling though with such a small motor.

as for cheating not a chance. the motor on the schwinn is very load and distinct and from the video this motor makes the same sound. People would notice the sound even if you could successfully hide the bateries.

I like the hidden motor aproach though. would stop people looking at your bike and would reduce risk of theft.

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Lots of propeller based products in stock at affordable prices.

Unknown · 2010-06-04 01:51

It is interesting, Erco.· I forget what products came out that let have a receiver that turns radio waves into DC current recharging the batteries and I think you would have to be closer than three feet.· The problem is that I don't think there is a motor powerful enough to help a rider on the Manyunk Wall.· By the way, they are racing this Sunday in Manyunk.

Dr_Acula · 2010-06-04 01:57

I've been playing around with LiPo batteries and they might be light enough. A 180mAH 3V lipo weighs about 7g, and has enough energy density to fit in a tiny helicopter and fly for 5 minutes. Rare earth magnet motors and Lipos are the secret to electric flight.

Consider 1kg of these tiny batteries. You could hide them in the frame and in all sorts of places - they are very tiny. Say you wanted an extra 100 watts - the same power as electric scooters or maybe the same as someone cruising on a bike. 180mAh lipo 3V =(I think) 0.54 watts for 1 hour. Take 150 of these which will weigh 1.05kg, and will deliver 81 watts for 1 hour. Or 972 watts for 5 minutes (which is well within the specs of the battery). The motor might add a little more weight, but motors from electric helicopters are amazingly light. Electric flight scales up too, so power for weight if something can hover for 5 minutes it will do a lot more along a road.

I wonder if anyone has built an electric bike with a real focus on weight?

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legoman132 · 2010-06-06 23:50

I think that the frame tubes would be an excellent hiding place. Dr_Acula, great idea with RC helicopter motors, those are some of the highest power to weight ratio motors i can think of. Perhaps regenerative braking could be employed?

erco · 2010-06-07 00:40

I'm doubting this more & more, especially after doing some serious climbing this morning. The crank (bottom bracket) is spinning at ~60-80 RPM at some serious torque. Those 90-degree gears shown in the video are only around 1" diameter. There would be extremely high forces and stresses transmitted there to equal anything close to what a pro cyclist could muster. Anything less, why bother? It would have extremely high gear reduction through MANY stages of planetary gears, and I think it would be heavy &·noisy. The game is over unless it's dead silent.

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·"If you build it, they will come."

Hidden Electric Motor Allows Pro Cyclists to Cheat?

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