My friend's aunt has is in her mid 70s and has mobility and strength issues from having a nerve wasting condition, CMT. She walks with 2 sticks and has poor gait and strength.
This wont stop her riding her bike, and she has a folding electric trike that she can then use a electric power hoist to put in the rear of her estate car.
The trike is a DiBlasi R34 and folding wise is a total marvel.
However its just not helping her enough. Its a 24v motor and its underslung at the rear, under the diff. It has 5 speed derailleur gears
She cant keep up with her 6ur old grand daughter on a cycle path, so she needs more assistance.
I appreciate that a 24v 200w motor isnt great. As she strughles to pedal quickly, it seems that the assistance offered is very low and almost non existent.
Does anyone have any idea of how we could improve this? I was thinking a 36 or 48v front hub motor, maybe even with a thumb throttle? I dont know what the motor at the rear is, but 24v 200w isnt cutting it.
She tried a folding Jorvik trike but that wouldnt fit in her car. Im not sure a midmount bafang etc would allow it to fold so elegantly, so i think its a better rear motor/battery or a front wheel device.
Any help greatfully received. She really just wants tonride her trike a bit and go places
Ian
I think your best bet will be to contact DiBlasi TBH. The front hub looks like it has a very small OLN dimension, so I'd be surprised if a standard front hub motor will fit. That's the first thing to measure. A Brompton-compatible hub might work, but those are ££££.
As you say, the fold rules out a BB retrofit, and the rear wheels won't take a hub motor or even a tyre-driving roller. The most likely option would seem to be if DiBlasi can supply either a more powerful motor or a software update to drive the existing one harder*. It seems likely that performance is deliberately limited to reduce the risk of riders tipping the trike over on corners - it's not really a 'sporty' rider's machine so can be expected to be used by less experienced riders.
Good luck! And please report back - it looks like an interesting project!
*If the motor connections are standard, it might be possible to substitute another controller, but the electronics aspects are well-outside my area of expertise.
I think speaking DeBlasi or their UK distributor is probably the way forwards.
Thanks, i will post back
Ian