P.A. Home| Agio Conversion| Scarab Conversion| Monocule Pusher| Using a Power Meter| Crystalye Motor Kits| Contact

The Monocule 'Pusher'

The Monocule is a one-wheeled EV pusher 'trailer' designed to provide power-assisted alternatives to using a car for personal daily transportation. It is designed to carry large-capacity battery packs and a moderate amount of cargo for longer distances and extended daily needs.

The Monocule works best with recumbent tadpole trikes and sturdy-framed recumbent bikes. It can be used with other bike styles but with less favorable results.

The Monocule is available as a kit. While basically simple, it does require that you are competent at assembling basic hardware and electrical devices. An inquisitive and inventive spirit also comes in handy. You can purchase just the frame with hardware or as much of the pusher as you need. Contact us for more information.

The Monocule uses a quick-release fork and swingarm/shock from a Bob Ibex and requires a Bob quick-release axle or Bob Nutz for mounting. Throttle, brake motor cutout switches, pedal assist monitor and power or volt meter can be mounted with cable connectors for easily disconnecting the Monocule from the bike/trike.

It is intended to support dual battery packs, one on each side, such as two 24V or 36V packs wired in series or parallel. You can use SLA, NiMH, LiPo or LiFePO batteries, or maybe even dual fuel cells in the future. Basically you can use anything you can strap to the frame safely. The Bob unit has a weight limit of 80 lbs total. We recommend you keep the battery pack weight under 22 lbs per pack. Best handling is obtained with packs weighing less than 15 lbs each. I personally use dual 36V 20Ah LiPo packs with custom BMSes that weigh 14 lbs each.

You can use battery chargers with isolated DC outputs, with low current fuses between each pack and its charger for safety purposes. You should always disconnect the packs from each other before charging. We recommend using a keyswitch that disconnects the packs from each other when turned off.

We can provide wiring supplies and examples, but you do the wiring. There are two battery pack mounting locations, each with three different pack height possibilities. You can use high-torque stainless worm-screw clamps (hose clamps) or high-strength nylon webbing to restrain the packs to the frame. You can use any type of battery case available to you. We use Platt blow-molded cases.

SRAM Dual Drive and other geared rear hubs require Bob Nutz to be mounted to the frame or an adaptor as with the Scarab trike pictured.



Monocule Pusherwith Rans and Scarab Recumbents
Rans VRex @ dual 36V 13Ah NiMH - Scarab Trike @ dual 36V 15Ah NiMH
Monocule pusherwith Rans and Scarab Recumbents
Rans w/ 407/409 16" Crystalyte - Scarab w/ 16" 405 Crystalyte with PAS
Monocule PusherAvailable as kit: any of frame, Ibex parts, motor kit
Side View (with battery cooling 'exhaust' pipes)
Monocule PusherPowderCoated Frame with Platt 406 Blow-Molded Case and Controller
(without Ibex parts mounted)
Monocule PusherPowderCoated Black Frame
(with Ibex parts mounted)

May 23, 2013