Waterproofing?

[MrRobot]

How necessary is it to waterproof this wheel? The trolley handle holes that go right over the motherboard really make me nervous but I have no idea what I could even do for those. I live in an area with some pretty nasty weather so I don't want to have to worry about being caught in a flash storm... Don't want to go the rain cover route though. Any silicone guides on what to do? 

[Rawnei]

The trolley handle is the only weak-point AFAIK, I made this little contraption from cardboard, tape, a bit of baby-foam underneath and finally a strip of velcro below and above to attach it where I attach my seat also making it compatible with the seat on top of it. Easy to attach, remove and carry with in the backpack for rainy days, I am hoping will keep the water away from the handle well enough to be useful.

[supercurio]

Water gets in via the trolley handle, including its button.
It lands above the pedal hangers in the battery compartments, that will retain it for a while until it evaporates.

It's  clearly not ideal, and a risk if you flip the wheel to put in a car trunk or to rest.

I'm actually surprised most reviews were describing the wheel as pretty much waterproof out of the box, it is not because of that.
The rest is rather good, although I sealed the wheel well with silicon+tape and two opening due to fit tolerances of the inner shells, in the mainboard compartment going into the air duct (that one is not a big deal tho).

The mainboard compartment top cover and where it sits are designed to lead water sliding in go back out on the sides, but you could seal the whole thing with silicon if you don't plan to open the top cover further.

Here's the result of trolley handle water ingress after 15min riding caught in heavy rain (same on both sides)

 

And here is the temporary fix I apply when it rains - until I design a 3D printed seal solution.
Tested twice with 100km+ rides with rain.

Edited August 12, 2021 by supercurio

[Planemo]

I think the duct tape method is the only one I would be happy with 100% tbh.

It's a shame we have to stick bits of tape to our wheels to make them safe in a bit of rain

I do my utmost to never ride in rain, but maybe I should keep a bit of tape with me just in case. I don't fancy any rain getting into the battery compartments at all. With the time it takes to evaporate, plus the bit of heat coming from the batts, it's a recipe for condensation contained within a very large power source and despite the heatshrink on the packs and a little bit of silicon sealing the edges, the packs are far from airtight, let alone watertight.

[supercurio]

22 hours ago, Planemo said:

I think the duct tape method is the only one I would be happy with 100% tbh.

It's a shame we have to stick bits of tape to our wheels to make them safe in a bit of rain

I do my utmost to never ride in rain, but maybe I should keep a bit of tape with me just in case. I don't fancy any rain getting into the battery compartments at all. With the time it takes to evaporate, plus the bit of heat coming from the batts, it's a recipe for condensation contained within a very large power source and despite the heatshrink on the packs and a little bit of silicon sealing the edges, the packs are far from airtight, let alone watertight.

Yes that's what I do now, keeping a roll of tape in the backpack just in case, as the weather can change quickly during this season.
And scissors, to cut it to length, which is kind of cumbersome. Is there a waterproof tape which can be cut without tool?

I hope to be able to design a seal which leverages the fact that the trolley handle locks down in fully inserted position, but haven't started yet.

[Planemo]

31 minutes ago, supercurio said:

Is there a waterproof tape which can be cut without tool?

For sure, regular duct (gaffer) tape can be easily ripped along both edges with fingers. Don't fancy carrying scissors on an EUC 

[supercurio]

29 minutes ago, Planemo said:

For sure, regular duct (gaffer) tape can be easily ripped along both edges with fingers. Don't fancy carrying scissors on an EUC 

Thanks, I didn't know if gaffer tape was waterproof enough, I'll give it a try!

And I've started to design this 3D seal for the trolley handle. It'll be ready for winter.

[MrRobot]

On 8/13/2021 at 8:32 AM, supercurio said:

Thanks, I didn't know if gaffer tape was waterproof enough, I'll give it a try!

And I've started to design this 3D seal for the trolley handle. It'll be ready for winter.

Will it block the trolley handle or allow it to still be used? Please share when you have a working design... 

[supercurio]

1 hour ago, MrRobot said:

Will it block the trolley handle or allow it to still be used? Please share when you have a working design... 

Although it will not be as ergonomic as the handle of the trolley, I hope to make it still usable enough when needed  − otherwise that would not really be an improvement compared to a piece of tape.

Regarding the use of the button, it would rely on the same principle as the silicon / TPU phone case.

[Freeforester]

How about affixing a small part of the hook side of Velcro on the trolley button, holding a shroud as shown by Rawnei above, that covers sufficient area, but with the loop part of the Velcro all across the inside and angled edges - simple to carry along with and to drop into place once the clouds gather, the capillary action of the large area of loop Velcro should prevent water from getting into  the handle rods? If a proper downpour ensues, a plastic bag type shower cap over the entire upper wheel, à  la mono shell? The latter may not be elegant, but in a downpour,  does that really matter, or take precedence?

 

Another possibility could be electrical duct silicone sealing compound, as per this video, but a bit harder to apply quickly:

 

https://youtu.be/4aKF1H8jmSI