Cross-Canada by Ebike

[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.

[paultrafalgar]

The very best of luck, Justin, and take care; you're too valuable to lose!
One thing bothers me: Do you have enough weight over the driving (front) wheel?

[Lessss]

So how you gonna be charging up each night?

[Bill Best]

How about a live GPS fix with Mologogo? I have an activated Mologogo phone sitting here on my dresser that I could lend you that doesn't cost anything extra for GPS data.

You should definitely get some media coverage.

Good luck! We're all rooting for you!

[The7]

All the best, Justin.
Keep us all informed!

[Knuckles]

Awesome!

Maybe I send you rear Bafang motor to assist in hill climbing. It has a 142mm drop out width and no disc thread (just threads one side only for freewheel).
Use the regen controller on the front DD motor (regen braking) and a second controller for the rear PMGR. Same throttle (maybe). Same Bat PSU.

Keywin and I happy to help you on EPIC CANADIAN VOYAGE!
Hey you need sponsors! Maybe Exxon Mobile or the "Committee to Re-Elect the President" (CREEP).
Ha Ha I just being goofy Knuckles but man you go! I am serious about motor if you want (I surprised ... no Ezee hub in rear wheel?).

Justin ... You Da Man!

Cheers and Good Riding,
-Knuckles

[EVnewbie]

Love the semi-recumbent way you did that...brilliant!

Can't wait to start to hear about your thrilling ride across Canada...include pix please and good luck!

[mvadventure]

Justin, Thanks for all your recent help re my drowned 5304. (It's back on the road and survived a brief storm this afternoon) This brings to mind, what will you do in the event of rain you simply cannot escape? Likely you've figured out a way so that you can continue without dismantaling and drying with a hair dryer.
Mike, Florida

[Doctorbass]

Hey Jsutin!

your ride seems very confortable!.. I like the aerospace sized controller too!!

I think the 5304 will give you more fun!

That is a real hard test for ebike equippment and we are impatient to know the results!

If you need xtra battery when crossing Quebec to fight the wind alog the fleuve St-Laurent i can arrange you something begining by kWh .. that would be a pleasure to me to bring you some Sony konion pack for the end of your trip!

That would be cool if you could get a GPS emetter to allow us to locate you on a map!

-Where did you got the dc-dc for the led that can accept 100V at input??? i'm searching for some!.. have you built the circuit?

-How do you plan your trip about the schedule over a day? mow much time do you plan to ride every day? have you a planning or you feel free?

-did you brang some spare pieces in case where you could have some ebike failure?

Have a nice trip Justin! You are the man!

I wrote you at the ebikes.ca adress


Doc

[fechter]

Hmm.. previous post didn't make it...

Anyway, nice job on the controller.

I think you found my list of desirable features and actually made one. Current mode throttle rocks, so does adjustable regen and cycle by cycle current limiting. I'll be real interested in how you implemented the sensorless mode too.

Next challenge will be to make a fully sensorless one that can start from a dead stop just like a sensored one. Think about that one as you are pedaling across the country...

I'm split on the epoxy. Great for water proofing. Sucks for future repair. If the smoke gets out of one part, the whole thing will be scrap (except for a few of us armed with pans of boiling water and dental picks).

[Stevil_Knevil]

Hey Justin,

For your Mojo Bag yet another offering of praise, well-wishes & good luck on your C-C adventure!

You -and your ebikes.ca team- are an awesome force of (r)EVolution.

[Dee Jay]

What a bike!

Upright *slash* semi-recumbent, that iz hot!

And I thought I would never :heart: another . . .

[Xase]

In place of the regular seat tube I've stuck another set of handlebars that links up to the front handlebars. In a pinch, I can slide the 2nd handlebars out, remove the linkage, put the regular seat back in and be back to an old fashioned upright bike, and then the recumbent seat at the back can be used for a passenger. Who's to say I can't pick up hitch-hikers along the way!

Wow! Awesome idea! This has got to be one of the top 5 best ebikes on this site!

I wish you all the luck on your massive endeavour. Have fun meeting the ebikers, weary road travellers, and hopefully some media rats out there on the road.
I'm almost finished reading Jack Kerouac's On The Road. Great book about North American coast to coast travel by a man of French-Canadian decent. You should pick it up; it'd be an excellent and relevant travel companion for sure.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/On_the_Road

[Lock]

Good luck Justin! Hope you drop down to southern Ontario (Toronto) on your way across... Curious whether you are legal all the way? Good to go in Ontario now as you are 500w max <wink wink>

I know you are Wet Coast so our record-breaking wet weather in Ontario this summer will be no problem

Dunno how much pedaling you will be doing (or do) but I pedaled Halifax to Kingston once in seven days (eighth day was last ten miles.) Best day was 160 miles up the (lower) St.John River valley and the Gods dumped three inches of rain that day.

Day Three my feet went numb. Turned out my leg muscles had grown so much my pants were tight and cutting off circulation!
This after two months of 100+ mile weekend day trip prep rides...

Hope you see nice katabatic winds at your back coming out of the Rockies. Drove a car once headed east through the foothills and couldn't figure out why we were getting such terrific gas mileage until we eventually stopped for gas and the tailwind almost blew the door off the car when I opened the car door!

Amusing to see so far on the prairies... watching clouds in the distance dropping rain as they goes...

Manitoba where you start to see patches of forrest that eventually merge into one big woods (Ontario.)

First sighting of Lake Superior at Thunder Bay. If you stay on Highway 11 EVentually it turns into Yonge Street and Lake Ontario...

La Belle Provence! Est-ce que tu parle francais un peu?

St.Laurence River will take you all the way to the Gaspe... next time bring a bike that floats if you want to try a different current...

And the St.John River valley is just gorgeous... The road meanders with the river like a giant slalom course...

There'll be one day when you will realize how much you have missed the fresh salt air.

Have a fresh lobster for me!

But again, hope to see you enroute

Lock

[ZapPat]

If you do come all the way to the eastern coast, stop by to see me here in la baie des chaleurs! (southern gaspé peninsula - close to Maria to be specific)

I would really love to talk about electronics with you over a beer or tea, like about that really really cool looking controller you made! (alone, or with others?)

I'm sure your trip will help people think about alternatives to the giant metal cans we call cars.

Patrick

[Harrington]

Good Luck. Not sure your route. I am in Kamloops just off the highway in Dallas (subdivision 10 km east of town on the Trans Canada Hwy) Welcome to crash if you need to.
Rod