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RUSSIAN EBIKE GOES EVERYWHERE, POSSIBLY LEGAL

 27 Comments

by:


 Bryan Cockfield

July 28, 2019

 

Electric bikes may be taking the world by storm, but the world itself doesn’t have a single way of regulating ebikes’ use on public roads. Whether or not your ebike is legal to ride on the street or sidewalk where you live depends mostly on… where you live. If you’re lucky enough to live in a place where a bicycle is legally defined as having fewer than four wheels and capable of being powered by a human, though, this interesting bike from Russia might be the best homemade ebike we’ve ever seen. (Video embedded below the break.)

While some of the details of this build might be lost on those of us who do not know any Slavic languages, the video itself shows off the features of this electric vehicle build quite well. It has a custom built frame with two wheels up front, each with its own independent suspension, allowing it to traverse extremely rough terrain with ease even a mountain bike might not be able to achieve. It seems to be powered by a relatively simple rear hub in the single rear wheel, and can probably achieve speeds in the 20 km/h range while holding one passenger and possibly some cargo.

The impressive part of this build isn’t so much the electrification, but rather the suspension components. Anyone looking for an offroad vehicle may be able to take a bit of inspiration from this build. If you’re more interested in the drivetrain, there are plenty of other vehicles that use unique electric drivetrains to check out like this electric boat. And, if you happen to know Russian and see some other interesting details in this build that the native English speakers around here may have missed, leave them in the comments for us.



 



 



 



Posted in Transportation HacksTagged bicyclebikeebikeelectrichomemadehub motormotorizedrussiasuspensiontricyclewelding

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27 THOUGHTS ON “RUSSIAN EBIKE GOES EVERYWHERE, POSSIBLY LEGAL”

Ostracus says:

July 28, 2019 at 4:34 am

“Electric bikes may be taking the world by storm, but the world itself doesn’t have a single way of regulating ebikes’ use on public roads.”

Laws, that’s your “single way”. Uniform laws is what we don’t have.

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Maave says:

July 28, 2019 at 7:53 am

Maybe “singular way” was the intent

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jonmayo says:

July 28, 2019 at 5:02 pm

There are 56 states and permanently inhabited territories in the United States, and probably more sets of laws governing e-bikes than that. Uniform laws are rare and take a dedicated effort to create. The US has things like UCC (uniform commercial code) so that commerce can be more easily conducted between all territories and regions with limited sovereignty. It gets even more complicated in the EU where each nation’s sovereignty is more at play in establishing uniform laws, an even so those laws don’t leak outside of the EU.
Is the even world prepared to create any uniform laws? I guess I can’t murder someone at high seas, unless I’m the captain and have a good reason. So many exceptions.

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JoaTMoN says:

July 28, 2019 at 4:55 am

Well, he said nothing really important except :
– As mentioned in the article, this vehicle can handle rough terrain better than a normal (or a mountain) bike.
– The motor temperature looks fine even after riding on the dirty path.
– This is more of a test platform, he will replace the wheels (or only the back wheel ?) with a bigger one, the motor with a stronger one, and will add shields to avoid cleaning after every ride.
– He, may be, will replace the back-lamp with a stronger one to be better visible.

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Mike says:

July 28, 2019 at 8:42 pm

“– As mentioned in the article, this vehicle can handle rough terrain better than a normal (or a mountain) bike.”

This is utter BS, sure it could handle rough terrain better than a road bike or a cruiser bike, but not a mountain bike. Try to take that thing down some single track and see how far you get. A mountain bike can handle more terrain than this could and an e-mountain bike could handle even more than that.

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Goose says:

July 28, 2019 at 6:00 am

“Street Legal” has a lot of meanings outside US.

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Robert Mateja says:

July 28, 2019 at 6:19 am

I see a potential problem with side forces on that bicycle spokes on rear wheel. Cons of cheap in wheel motor I guess.

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DainBramage says:

July 28, 2019 at 7:04 am

Care to elaborate? I’ve personally ridden a fairly large number of bicycles and motorcycles with spoked wheels, and never had any of them fail due to side loads or for any other reason.

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DougM says:

July 28, 2019 at 8:19 am

All of your bikes and motorcycles lean into turns, which significantly decreases the side load. If you take this thing which, aside from a bit of suspension travel, doesn’t lean you will introduce side load on the rear wheel. (Picture in your mind if he were to try to drift it)

On a totally different subject I’m electing this vid for best music on HaD yet (you can never really have enough squeezebox music)

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Eric Cherry says:

July 28, 2019 at 9:48 am

Here in Huntsville, AL we host a moon buggy race for students to design, build and test a sturdy, collapsible, lightweight vehicle. Similar to solving the original Apollo-era lunar rover development challenges that were had at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center.

Re-occurring point of failure is just that, using bicycle wheels with too much side-loading causes the wheel to taco. Bicycle wheels are an attractive option cause their so abundant and cheap, but they do suffer when used improperly.

Now that I’ve shown my cards and that I hail from Alabama. My inner redneck loves this guy’s build immensely!

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Robert Mateja says:

July 28, 2019 at 10:41 am

one picture worth a thousand words:

https://i.imgur.com/NbcwwQU.jpg

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Piecutter says:

July 28, 2019 at 9:38 am

It’s 3 wheels, a compromise between the advantages of 2 vs 4 wheels. Lateral traversal of inclines or excessive speed in a turn will have your focus on not flipping it long before any concern with the rear spokes. And that relaxed seating position means you won’t have any ability to shift your center of gravity to counteract it.
A single, rear drive wheel also leaves you with a third or less contact patch with the rear wheel always having to overcome the resistance of the front wheels when accelerating. A very fine line between inefficient power delivery vs inefficient control/stability.
3 wheels has always been a questionable decision in my book. I spent 15 years in the powersports industry, and a big chunk of that was spent with yearly reviews of the “ATV consent decree” media mandated by the major manufacturers followed by a written test. This was all in reaction to the 1984 CPSCs decleration that the All Terrain Cycles that were sold beginning in 1969/70, were hazardous consumer products (injuries had tripled from 1982 to 1983). Although there is arguably a very close correlation between injuries and units sold, the media fed momentum pushed it into lawsuit in 1987 by the DOJ against the manufacturers and distributors. Manufacturing of three wheelers stopped that year and four wheelers replaced them.
However, it has been my observation that the 4 wheelers were in fact no less dangerous than the 3 wheelers when given to an inexperienced rider with no training. Motorcycles with 2 wheels always had the advantage that you could at least expect that the new rider had plenty of experience with bicycles, but 3 and 4 wheelers had no direct training analog. Unless, that is, you were a complete dare devil kid who was prone to mixing tricycles and pedal cars with large hills and rough terrain, and had no propensity for learning your lesson the first time. Darwin kind of takes over and removes such variables from the equation.
The major cause of the inordinate number of injuries was always the illusion by the parents that more wheels made it safer. “Little Jimmy never really stuck to his guns and got the hang of it when we took off the training wheels, so this four wheel thing should be good for him.”
The misunderstanding of the dynamics coupled with parents who figured they could get away with not wearing helmets or any other safety gear lead to countless injuries and death, some that still haunt me to this day. But these are all factors that contribute equally into 2 wheel motorcycle and even automobile injury and fatality. Proper training and safety gear has always been the solution.
But I digress, 3 wheels has it’s place among the older motorcyclists with bad knees, hips, and reduced balance and reaction time. They are well past their wheelie and smoky burnout days, and their canyon carving is now at a reduced speed. They know of the compromise they make with handling and performance and are fine with it.
Whether leaning low, and accelerating out of an apex, or whipping your dirt bike as an extension of your body through rough terrain, there is no match for the experience of 2 wheels. You can’t do any of that on 3 wheels, and you lose the stability and control of not having the fourth wheel. Your better off with a go cart, UTV, or how about a nice sporty convertible?
3 wheels is best left for a leisurely pace on even terrain.
That being said, a well done build, nonetheless! If you’ve got a wrecked ATV, dirt bike, a car seat, and some welding and electrical skills, your imagination’s the limit! I would probably add some fenders if your not sticking to dry pavement, though.

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crashsuit says:

July 28, 2019 at 12:55 pm

Out of curiosity, does this opinion extend to tilting three wheelers?

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BT says:

July 28, 2019 at 7:03 am

Surely this is an e-trike?

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Perry Lee says:

July 28, 2019 at 7:28 am

I want one

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NQ says:

July 28, 2019 at 8:22 am

This with a punsen diesel engine would really rock and I’d ride it to work every day. Awesome machine!

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NQ says:

July 28, 2019 at 8:23 am

Overalls in Russia? Hook me up! I need to get a pair for my bib overall collection – no joke!

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joeinoh says:

July 28, 2019 at 8:51 am

Looks like a small ATV front suspension set up to me.

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Yah Shoor says:

July 28, 2019 at 9:36 am

Creepy. I have been collecting parts for pretty much that exact build. My plans feature US street legal hub motors in front instead of in back, skinnier wheels & tires all around, and some kid seating – but otherwise, scarily similar. He bought the front suspension in a kit from AliExpress.

I obviously need some overalls to make this work.

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KenN says:

July 28, 2019 at 10:13 am

Nice build.

The first world needs to get out of their SUVs and start to engage with the utility bikes, cargo bikes, pedicabs and rickshaws that have proven so practical in the rest of the world. And regulations, particularly in big cities, need to catch up.

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Thinkerer says:

July 28, 2019 at 12:37 pm

How would you ̶s̶t̶a̶r̶e̶ ̶a̶t̶ ̶y̶o̶u̶r̶ ̶p̶h̶o̶n̶e̶ ̶s̶c̶r̶e̶e̶n̶,̶ ̶e̶n̶d̶a̶n̶g̶e̶r̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶e̶v̶e̶r̶y̶o̶n̶e̶’̶s̶ ̶m̶o̶r̶t̶a̶l̶ ̶e̶x̶i̶s̶t̶e̶n̶c̶e̶ ̶f̶o̶r̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶s̶a̶k̶e̶ ̶o̶f̶ ̶y̶o̶u̶r̶ ̶s̶o̶c̶i̶a̶l̶ ̶m̶e̶d̶i̶a̶ ̶p̶r̶e̶s̶e̶n̶c̶e̶ drive in air conditioned comfort that way?

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Yah Shoor says:

July 28, 2019 at 2:33 pm

By building an aerodynamic, insulated, fully enclosed fairing, of course! Then install whatever climate controls you prefer.

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KenN says:

July 28, 2019 at 7:26 pm

…we could pick bits out of wrecked self-driving cars? ;-)

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Julian Silden Langlo says:

July 28, 2019 at 10:13 am

Looks close to street legal in Norway too, a bit too long and I’m not sure about how heavy it is. But if he shortened it to 120cm and made sure the weight of the trike was below 70kg (without drive naturally) it would be perfectly legal to drive using the same rules as a pedal bike.

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Robert Spanjaard says:

July 28, 2019 at 12:20 pm

“allowing it to traverse extremely rough terrain with ease even a mountain bike might not be able to achieve”

Sure. Let’s see that trike do this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1p0ck5We5sU
If you think it’s just a snowy descent, at least watch the part between 7:00 and 8:00 and think again.

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chassis says:

July 28, 2019 at 8:26 pm

Perhaps in Russia mountain bikes don’t work in puddles.

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Hirudinea says:

July 28, 2019 at 5:49 pm

How did such a clever people lose the cold war? Oh, right, the communism.

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