Please correct me if I'm wrong but are you saying that you have the equivalent of 8hp on each rear wheel? Doesn't that violate EU E-Bike laws? I was under the impression that all of the EU countries were limited to 250-watts on E-Bikes and anything over that required it to be registered as a motorcycle. Here in the US, we are limited to 750-watts but can in some places use higher which is a class 4 E-Bike, but you can only ride them in special areas and nowhere else. I also believe that anything past 2000-watts is considered an electric motorcycle in the states and requires tags and insurance at that point. But yeah, if I'm understanding you right and your using kW in place of HP then you basically have a pedal assisted go-kart at that point. Not saying I disapprove but law enforcement might. I know here they would be all over anything with an obvious gas or diesel engine. Electric bicycle motor units either a hub or BB mid drive they tend to stop you once and a while to make sure it's 750-watt or less. But most the time unless you're doing something stupid or going insanely fast for a bicycle they don't care. Here in Missouri, we are limited to Class 1, Class 2, or Class 3 E-Bikes. Class 4 are prohibited and anything powerful enough to be a Class 4 or E-motorcycle would just be tagged and insured at that point anyway. Here is the Class system used in the states.
- Class 1: pedal-assist only, no throttle, maximum assisted speed of 20 mph. Allowed on bike lanes, bike paths, and on the road.
- Class 2: throttle-assist, maximum speed of 20 mph. Allowed on bike lanes, bike paths, and on the road.
- Class 3: pedal-assist only, no throttle, maximum assisted speed of 28 mph. Allowed on the road, but not on bike lanes or bike paths.
- Class 4: may have a top speed of over 28 mph and motor wattage over 750W. Not allowed on public roads or bike paths.
The model of Bafang mid drive and control unit allows me to switch between the three class modes that are allowed where I live. Not that I picture something the size of an Amadillo with trailer moving that fast in the first place. Not loaded anyway and most certainly not on some of the hills around here.
As far as my suspension needs it would be both paved and offroad. Most the areas I travel to have paved streets or bike paths, but the back roads are a clay and gravel lane and a half wide sometimes two-lane wide trail through farmland in the mountains. Rough when dry, messy and muddy when wet, and downright nearly impossible in the winter. Hence why I want to do suspension and AWD on my quad. I'm also looking to have some form of locked storage box for tool, spare parts, and the electronics and batteries for the e-drive. This box would be mounted behind the rider ahead of the main cargo area possibly hanging over the main frame of the bike like pannier bags with the large top bag that spans the two side pannier bags and the rack on back of a normal bike. Except this would be hard shell and tall enough to form the back wall of the rider compartment. I want to have a semi enclosed cab over the rider for rainy days and have the ability to close it in fully in the winter. I would then use the 12v dc chicken coop heaters to have some heat in the space. By rider cab I mean something like seen here on this Armidillo being used as a Taxi.
I would have the back section that is white on the rider cab be basically twice that length and extending down to the sides of the frame between the wheels to store everything mentioned maybe even a few full wheel and tire sets for quick change when it's not safe to do a tube patch or replacement on the side of the road. The trailer would be the standard flatbed with removable dry boxes like the normal Armadillo has. On top of the rider cab and equipment storage box would be solar panels to aid in recharge of main batteries and any spares that are carried. I don't like the design of the Taxi trailer, or the other enclosed low floor max height cargo trailer another company makes for the Armadillo. To me they are too low to the ground and just asking to get high centered on a curb or other obstacle. Now if either was the same height as the main Armadillo Quad in terms of ground clearance, I wouldn't have any issue. Well except maybe weight or turning radius at that point. I can't find any pictures of the other trailer only the crowdfunding campaign video but it's longer than a standard Armadillo trailer with multiple digital displays on the sides and rear and a large roll up door on the side for loading. It appears to be lower to the ground than the taxi trailer maybe two to three inches of ground clearance. Basically, if you made that taxi trailer a square box shape and extended the rear to overhang the trailer wheels the amount the front over hangs the quad's rear wheels and made the middle space where the floor is about eight foot long with a six foot long roll up door you would have the monster of a trailer that was in the video. The video stated something like 600-kg of cargo, or 3.5 Euro pallets could be loaded into it. I wouldn't want to pull that on flat ground and most certainly not on hills. As far as I can tell the company behind that trailer didn't reach their crowdfunding goals and the website listed on the trailer displays goes to an empty domain. I know the area where I ride at you need 8 - 10 inches of ground clearance to avoid bottoming out the frame when hitting potholes or large rocks and tree limbs that are across the back roads at times. I borrowed a friends reverse trike to see if I loved the laid-back riding position of a recumbent and found it to be too low for back road use but fine on the paved roads and paths. The frame under the seat kept hitting the ground on rougher patches of the back roads.
Oh hey, after some searching, I found the site for the other cargo trailer for the Armadillo.
Shuttlebox eCargo - Partnering With Mental Health - a Transport crowdfunding project in London by Shuttlebox (crowdfunder.co.uk)
I think that trailer is so large and heavy that it has motorcycle wheels on it. But you can see it's lower to the ground than the modified Armadillo that is pulling it. By the way this is where I got the idea for the side equipment storage boxes between the quad's wheels. Now draw a straight line from the top rear of the cab straight down to the side boxes and picture a box there up to the back of the seat with a headrest on the wall.
On a side note, while talking with the Pony4 manufacture I learned that they worked on quite a few quad bike designs. This is from an email from them...
My advice regarding the frame is based on our experience. We have helped in development and produced many types of bikes ourselves (Waw Velomobile, Velove Armadillo, Pony4, VM-45 (now working prototype),
Quadvelo etc.).
I found it interesting that I have looked at all of those designs for ideas on the steering and suspension.
