Delivering goods by van and truck is causing increasing problems for cities: The growing number of home deliveries is causing more and more congested roads. In addition to the actual routes, there is also the search for a parking space. E-cargo bikes are the more environmentally friendly and faster choice for a delivery radius of two kilometers, as in this case. An initial cooperation between the company RM Customs from Kleve on the Lower Rhine and the local Edeka-Center Schroff confirms this.

The cargo bike, custom-made by RM Customs using an underfloor design, can often make full use of its top speed of 45 kilometers per hour even when the roads are full and, thanks to a small photovoltaic system, can even achieve a range of more than the standard 60 kilometers when the sun is shining. This means that, despite a storage capacity equivalent to eight shopping baskets with a maximum total weight of 100 kilograms, the cargo bike's battery does not have to be recharged after just a few deliveries.

After all, the innovative ecomobile cargo bike has a front hub motor and a power output of 2.3 kilowatts with a maximum torque of 120 Newton meters, which is available to the supplier virtually from a standing start every time. A consumption of around 2.5 kilowatt hours per 100 kilometers corresponds to 0.32 liters of petrol or 0.25 liters of diesel per 100 kilometers. If additional electricity is supplied by the aforementioned photovoltaic system, the range increases accordingly or it supports the charging process at the socket.

Optimized with hydraulic brake cylinders
Prior to the cooperation with Edeka, RM Customs had already put a prototype of its e-trike on the road, which reached a speed of 25 kilometers per hour. During its development, the problem arose that the entire system rocked in the event of potholes or sudden steering movements and the vehicle threatened to overturn. This was also a complaint of the TÜV. As the further development reached a top speed of 45 kilometers per hour, the company founders of RM Customs, Dr.-Ing. Marcel Rouenhoff and Dipl.-Ing. Markus Mühlberg, had to remedy the unsteadiness in the chassis.

Hydraulic brake cylinders are available with cylinder tube diameters of between twelve and 70 millimetres and with strokes of ten to 800 millimetres. © ACE

An initial attempt with industrial gas springs did not meet the requirements. At the second attempt, the company turned to the ACE gas spring team. They offer innovative and high-quality gas pressure and gas tension springs. Based on their positive experience with applications in the leisure industry, the engineers at ACE in Langenfeld also knew that their hydraulic brake cylinders would be even better suited to stabilizing vehicles than gas springs.

In addition to the automotive sector, industrial applications such as classic mechanical engineering, the electronics and furniture industries and medical technology are typical areas of use for these design elements. Hydraulic brake cylinders are predestined for damping oscillating masses.

After considering all the key data, both parties decided to install HB-28-100-EE-PT components. These hydraulic brake cylinders can be used as double-acting or single-acting brakes. They have coated bodies in a slim design and the piston rods have a wear-resistant surface coating. It is also a maintenance-free, ready-to-install and closed system. The HB-28 is adjustable and, with a diameter of 28 millimetres and a stroke of 100 millimetres, delivers a variably adjustable push or pull force of 30 to 3,000 newtons. An adjustment segment on the piston enables easy adjustment, while a large selection of attachments also makes installation easier.

After the solution found with the help of ACE worked well in the first two series of e-trikes from RM Customs, the development of the next generations is currently underway. Work is being done on even more driving comfort, a larger trunk volume and a longer range. as