It’s now four years later, and Currents checked in with Gabriel about his DIY personal EV. It has been his primary transportation for the last four years, and he’s quite satisfied. We asked him whether he’s ever found the trike inadequate and needed to borrow a car:
The only time I’ve borrowed a car, was when I had to go to the clinic for early blood work and they had to measure the cortisol — and I didn’t want to arrive there all stressed out from riding. And it was cold — so I borrowed a car to do that. Aside from that, No…
I mean, I did borrow a car sometimes to move firewood around — which I could do with the bike, but it takes so many trips, you know. I can put 80, 90 pounds of firewood in the bike. But it’s so much easier to borrow a van and put a thousand pounds of firewood in it and just transport it.
Otherwise, yes, it’s met all of my needs. In the winter, too, I’ve ridden in two, three below zero. Just long johns, wool pants — just lots of gear.
159 charging cycles and almost 5000 km later, Gabriel Dinim is happy with his DIY electric sidecar cargo trike.
We asked Gabriel how reliable his trike has been — has it ever let him down? He said he had to reconsider one or two design decisions early on, but after ironing those out the trike has never failed him.
Initially, I put a derailleur on it to tension the chain. Because the chain is very long [tandem length]. One day I hit a bump. And the chain jumped off the derailleur, got caught, and started to shred the spokes in the back wheel . So I had to call Howie and say, you know, can you come? and we’ll take my bike home. So then I put a plain chain tensioner, no more derailleur. That was the biggest issue.
Sturdy front fork and hub motor
The cargo trike is a sturdy vehicle with generous capacity. We asked Gabriel, “What’s the biggest cargo you’ve ever carried?” His answer was unexpected:
A passenger. You know, I’ve always thought, I’m going to pick up a hitchhiker someday. And I picked up a hitchhiker by Linnaea. It was a cold day and you know, she was walking. And I went from Linnaea all the way to Manson’s. And I remember when I picked her up, I asked her, “how much do you weigh?” And she looked at me kind of oddly. [laughs]
I said, “I need to know so I can figure out what my bike can carry.” And she said, “150 pounds.” I wasn’t sure — but I made it all the way to Manson’s, downtown Manson’s, without pedalling — without pedalling, just on the throttle. I was really impressed.
The spacious sidecar structure can even carry a passenger
Gabriel said that he had no difficulty with more ordinary errands — like picking up 80 or 90 pounds of soil amendments from Noah’s garden centre and bringing them home, or transporting his 30 lb propane tank to the Gorge for a refill.
Cargo capacity is one important feature, but most people contemplating electric transportation (whether that be a full sized EV or a bike) worry about battery capacity and range. Gabriel feels that his trike is a good match for his needs, and doesn’t feel any “range anxiety.”
Once I went to Campbell River and coming back, I had to go to Manson’s. So I went from Campbell River [and back] to Manson’s and back here to Whaletown; and it took overnight to charge the bike, but it’s a big battery. It’s 57 amp hour at 48 volts. .
So there’s a lot of charge. you know, 2200 watts, I’d never discharge it, but if I was to fully discharge it and recharge it, that’s 25 cents worth of electricity.
Lithium-ion traction battery under construction on the workbench (Photo by G Dinim)
Gabriel spent quite a bit on his project — he estimates about $6000 — but feels it was an excellent investment.
If I was to buy a product like this now, with its capacity, I would pay over $9,000, — you know, buy it commercially — because I’ve looked online and $9,000 gets you a cargo bike that doesn’t even have the capacity of mine.
And when you consider the savings on insurance and fuel, it pays you back very quickly.
Battery packaged for installation (Photo by G Dinim)
He sourced most of his parts from GRIN Technologies in Vancouver, suppliers to the e-bike industry in Canada as well as to individual inventors and home-builders. He also spent hundreds of hours doing online research before getting started.
I spent about six months on the internet looking at everything that was available commercially or that was shown on YouTube. Without people sharing their skills and knowledge, I would not have been able to do it.
The trike has rearview mirrors, a horn, turn signals and a headlight.
We asked Gabriel what advice he would offer to anyone who’s thinking of building their own custom e-bike.
Decide what you need exactly. And decide what limitations you’re going to operate in. and build to your needs and to the limitations of the system, so that you don’t build for more than you need, and so that you meet all of the limitations and the necessities. And if you’re going to build it yourself… buy a tube bender [laughs]. And buy good parts. That’s a must. You get what you pay for. That’s the bottom line. You do get what you pay for. Overbuild a little — it’s fine. Really do your research.
Successful inventor and his project
In the three-part interview, we get into a lot more detail about Gabriel’s trike: the design and fabrication process, road safety, how it performs in cold weather, his charging philosophy, how he deals with the infamous Cortes potholes, where he got all the necessary parts, and more.
Being able to do a “tail stand” makes it easier to change a tyre or fix a flat.
If you have an interest in carbon reduction, alternative transportation, electric vehicles, or custom E-bike design, the program will be broadcast Weds-Fri October 23-25, or you can listen to the podcasts linked here.
For those who would like to dig a little deeper into this interesting project, here are some links for further reading:
