Cross-Canada by Ebike

[justin_le]

Another item we've been working on for a while here are high efficiency bike lights that run off the main battery pack. These 6-LED rear LED lights have a DC-DC converter input stage and will work with anywhere from a 12v to a 100V battery pack, drawing about 1/3rd watt yet still visible from miles away. They're also entirely epoxy encapsulated, you can run them under water, drive over them with a truck, even smack with a hammer and they'll keep on glowing.

Rear Lights.jpg (39.37 KiB) Viewed 14206 times

For the front lighting system, there is a 12-LED 1 watt white light that is similar to the rear lights above. This current consumption of this is low enough that it is easily run from the power going to the CycleAnalyst, so there is no need to bring additional wiring up to the handlebar, I simply drilled a hole into the CA enclosure and tapped into the power going to that.

Front Lights.jpg (57.23 KiB) Viewed 14128 times

However, for going fast the 1 watts of LED doesn't light up the road far enough in advance, so there is also a 10 watt HID light on the bar as well. This is powered from a DC-DC buck converter (not shown) that also runs off the main battery pack.

[Ypedal]

Awwwsome !! I'll have cold beer waiting for you in the fridge !!

That controller = Daaaaaaaaaaym !!!

[EMF]

4) Proportional Regen: When the regen switch is activated, then the throttle controls the intensity of the regen braking. The regenerative braking is motor current (hence torque) regulated, and you can set the maximum regen motor current in software.

Cool idea!

[Drunkskunk]

Nice. That controller is pure eBike p()rn!
Good luck with the ride!

[cycle9]

Justin, this is awesome.

Especially the controller. Those features are sorely needed. Let us know when you want beta testers

But out of curiosity, why a Golden motor, rather than, oh, say Crystalyte?

Also, the semi-recumbent setup is interesting. Have you considered just getting a Day 6 and attaching an Xtracycle? Or maybe that would detract from the aesthetic.

Good luck on the journey!

Morgan
http://cycle9.com

[RLT]

Good luck!

Have a great journey!

[safe]

1) Programmable limits (ACL and BCL)
2) Completely Waterproof
3) Small Size
4) Proportional Regen
5) Pulse by Pulse Current Limiting
6) Current Throttle
7) Sensored and Sensorless
8.) Overtemperature Protection

There are a few more things too, but I think that sums up the important ones.

That's an amazing list of features... you even got the "Current Throttle" idea in there and that's not all that commonly known. Very impressive.

I hope you contacted every media (tv, radio, newspaper) that you can identify in Canada and told them of your trip so that they can all cover the story.

[justin_le]

But out of curiosity, why a Golden motor, rather than, oh, say Crystalyte?

Hi Morgan, good question indeed. This Style of hub motor used by Golden and lots of other mfgs has a noticeably better efficiency and slightly higher power than a similar weight 400 series Crysatlyte motor. The cogging torque is also about 1/2 as much. Unfortunately though, one thing I learned on my trial ride is that the hub is simply not up to the task of really serious long climbs with a high current controller, and it actually overheated from a continued ascent with all my gear which caused an internal short (!) between a hall sensor and one of the power leads and the controller didn't like that so much. So I've actually swapped that out for a Crysatlyte 5304 motor now which will be a lot more suitable for the demands of moving ~300lb through the rocky mountains and such.

Also, the semi-recumbent setup is interesting. Have you considered just getting a Day 6 and attaching an Xtracycle? Or maybe that would detract from the aesthetic.

That would have been a lot easier! This unit was cobbled together with parts I already had on hand, but yes with more advance planning then a bike already suited for the task would make sense. I could have taken the actual recumbent bike that the seat lifted off of, but it didn't have near the cargo space as the Xtracycle.

Good luck on the journey!

Thanks, and also to everyone else here who has wished goodwill. Tzero is about 18 hours away.

Justin

[recumbent]

Nice to see one of us going across Canada to demonstrate the usefullness of our ebikes. Best wishes.

I left you an email with my phone # if you need anything when you ride through Penticton BC

[mikereidis]

ElectroDeitySpeed Justin...

What's the ETA on the trip ?

And how soon before we see that controller ? I'll take a beta version ASAP please.

Current throttle, Variable regen and programmability for this ctrlr just removed the current Crystalyte digital controller from my shopping list.

[Zoot Katz]

Good luck on the journey!

Thanks, and also to everyone else here who has wished goodwill. Tzero is about 18 hours away.

Justin

bon route, mon ami.

I'd like one of those controllers in burgandy coloured resin, please.

Dale

[Parker]

Justin, you are the man. This is so exciting! The rig, the journey, the controller...
Good luck and take care. I'll be reading your blog (edit: if you have/set up one(?)) and
talking to people about this story for sure.

[nutsandvolts]

Hopefully you will pass through the capital region and meet some folks from the ottawa electric vehicle council, perhaps get some press attention here.

It would be cool if you had a CDMA EVDO modem, camera and gps, and could load live images and location to a web server, wouldn't be too hard to setup and there are nation wide EVDO data plans. For example, I have internet nation wide EVDO with Bell Mobility.

[Tiberius]

Hi Justin,

Good luck with the trip. Sounds really impressive - the journey and the new equipment.

If you make a serious navigation error, then do feel free to drop in.

Nick

[Link]

Hi Justin,

Good luck with the trip. Sounds really impressive - the journey and the new equipment.

If you make a serious navigation error, then do feel free to drop in.

Nick

Same here if you manage to end up in the Southwestern US.