If there had been ebikes within the film Tron, it is completely attainable that they might have appeared one thing like Blue Metal. The futuristic creation boasts options corresponding to hubless wheels, full suspension and a single-sided entrance swingarm, though it has the soul of an previous Schwinn.
If the design of Blue Metal appears form of acquainted to some readers, that is as a result of the bike was created by Christopher Terpstra, whose hubless electrical penn-E-farthing we lined final December. Terpstra is an Illinois-based YouTuber with a level in Industrial Design, who beforehand introduced us a four-wheel-steering electrical off-road skateboard.
He began this newest mission by shopping for a Nineteen Sixties (or probably 70s) ladies’s Schwinn touring bicycle for simply $10.
The handlebars, bar clamp, head tube, rear brake/lever, wheel rims, and a part of the fork all made their manner over to Blue Metal, together with some bits of its tubular metal body. Chris constructed the remainder of the ebike’s body from scratch, out of 1-inch DOM (drawn over mandrel) metal tubing.
Christopher Terpstra
The hubless wheels make the most of just about the identical mechanism used within the penn-E-farthing, wherein the wheel is held in place by three units of nylon rollers which its rim passes by way of.
Two extra rollers are used within the spring-loaded friction drive mechanism, which is spun up by a mid-mount 2,000-watt motor powered by a 48-volt/20-Ah lithium battery. That mechanism presses up in opposition to the rear tire, inflicting the wheel to rotate together with the mech’s powered rollers – it isn’t in contrast to the commercially obtainable Rubbee ebike conversion equipment,
![A close look at the friction drive mechanism](https://assets.newatlas.com/dims4/default/e6b4053/2147483647/strip/true/crop/4608x2592+0+0/resize/1440x810!/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnewatlas-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F04%2F7a%2F3e3285af4a42a1f3dc6802e7c735%2F20240217-175251.jpg)
Christopher Terpstra
Each the battery and the digital management unit are housed in a custom-made metal field with polycarbonate panels. These panels are sanded on one facet to make them translucent, and illuminated from inside by strips of blue LEDs. Extra of these LEDs are positioned on the underside of the seat to mild up the rear finish of the bike – in any case, it is referred to as Blue Metal.
Coil-over shocks salvaged from Terpstra’s off-road skateboard hyperlink the entrance and rear swingarms to the body, every offering roughly 3 inches (76 mm) of journey. That a part of the design, nonetheless, proved to be significantly difficult.
“The toughest half on this construct was developing the entrance swingarm and steering linkage to reduce the quantity of bump-steer because the suspension would journey,” Chris tells us. “I imagine I went by way of 5 iterations earlier than getting a suitable format.”
![Blue Steel's one-sided front swingarm](https://assets.newatlas.com/dims4/default/d8112a5/2147483647/strip/true/crop/4608x2592+0+0/resize/1440x810!/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnewatlas-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fb0%2F2b%2F5f68c2d646d8bb4a007f140ae139%2F20240220-162226.jpg)
Christopher Terpstra
Blue Metal took Terpstra roughly 400 hours to construct, and value him about $975. The bike weighs 129 lb (59 kg) and has a prime pace of roughly 30 mph (48 km/h), after which the friction drive begins to slide in opposition to the rear tire – a stiffer tensioning spring ought to deal with that drawback.
And sure, as a result of there aren’t any pedals, the car is not technically an ebike. No matter it’s, driving it positively appears like an … fascinating expertise.
“The bike has a seating place that’s lower than snug, being stretched out in a superman flying place,” says Chris. “The suspension does a very good job of absorbing the massive bumps. The steering itself is kind of pure, just like a traditional-style bike. The play within the rear information wheels on the rim does translate to vibration at pace, although. Stopping the bike utilizing solely one of many authentic Schwinn brakes on the rear wheel is extra of a hopeful suggestion than a assured halt.”
You may see Blue Metal in superman-flying motion, within the following video.
Blue Metal pt. 2 – {custom} ebike construct from previous schwinn