And today a more extensive road test with most of the modifications recommended by Bodo Sitko (specific to my Agilo).
- I can drive 40 km / h for extended periods on flat portions. I am not at all fit so for me that is a good result. The huge jumps in the Alfine 8 gear range do not help. I imagine a long flat stretch of road with no wind, I could hold this speed at cadence without any major effort.
- 30 km / h in the direct 5th gear is almost too easy, is a larger chainring in my future? : rolleyes:
- no noise! A minimal chain noise of course but very minimal, no more than with the trike which is open! I do have the right front suspension strut complaining, last week it was the left so I guess they need some time to settle in?
- the rare times that the motor comes to life it is the noisiest thing in the vélomobile. It is very nice to pedal at my natural cadence and have motor assistance. Today peak Amps were about 9A and 3.6 Wh / km, much lower than my battery usage when I am VERY fit on the trike.
- I have not yet adapted to the Bafang assistance which is quite weak compared to my previous motor. I manage to climb everything local at least 11-12 km / h and that will get faster as I get fitter and I adapt to the power band of the motor. The goal is to climb at 17-19 km / h as I do with my trike.
To do:
- add another shim inside the BB holder, the motor still moves a little when I push on the left pedal. I will do that when I install the 39T chainring
- lights
- get fit ... : rolleyes:
Changes for which I don't yet have a photograph are the side windows cut in half a bit like the people with GoOne 3 have done recently. More comfortable in this weather and maybe not a huge impact on aerodynamics if you look at the above numbers, I can also do hand signals for turning. I will watch with interest the numbers when I am fitter, have my cold weather windows reinstalled and wheel disks - 45 km / h sustained on flat sections? It no longer seems out of reach.
For me my Agilo is "finished" because now it drives very nicely and in my mind the project is a success. There are no handling problems even for a complete tiller beginner like me, with an 80 cm track small driver errors are without consequence. I now consider myself a vélomobilist and there are no more issues stopping me from going down to the bike garage and going for a drive (in the daylight, more soldering required for night time drives
).
Public thanks to Bodo Sitko for his plan. And patience ... I am not an easy client with quite a few wild crazy ideas of my own : giggle: It was an interesting year, if you look back this journey started on the 18th of August 2020. Of course I had to wait until the family holiday visit was over before beginning to cut wood in September. The result surprised me, I mean in the steering and handling area which, for someone who had never seen a vélomobile on the road, was slightly worrying. But it turned out just right - perfect tracking, healthy steering reaction, good road handling (today on less than ideal surface over 5 km perfect!).
My budget was € 200 per month. A sponsor helped with the velomobiel.nl parts but I have included them in the total cost. Unfortunately I had to replace my BB motor which was not a very comfortable financial situation and made me lose about a month finishing time. The total cost with shipping will be (2 front wheels to build to be complete) 2906 € and a few cents including shipping to France which is slightly more expensive than inside Germany. My Agilo is not 100% conform to the plan because I needed 2 x Alfine 8 gearing and so I use the Alfine chain tensioner also. I did not trust the Alfine 11 behind the Bafang BBS01B motor because of many years on a pedelec forum, that would be the ideal budget gearbox for people living in flatter lands and not requiring e-assist.
To be continued