geared kona dirt jump frame

[flyinmonkie]

I finally got a chance to look at the bike. I pulled the rear wheel to tighten the hub and found the rear brake pads glazed and a chunk coming out of one. After tightening the hub and adjusting the brakes I pulled the motor to realign the motor bracket.

Got that all sorted and reinstalled the motor. I also put on some new tires I picked up.

new tires.jpg (114.93 KiB) Viewed 633 times

Went for a quick test ride. The new tires are great on the road and the trails. I still had the chain skip feel though. It wasn't as bad, but it was there.

I checked the rear wheel again and replaced the brake pads. While I had the bike apart I decided the check the no load amps to make sure I had the phase wires correct for reversing the motor. There were about 7amps, so I decided to try a couple of other combos. On one of the combos, I heard pop and smelled the magic smoke from the motor. Not very happy with myself. No response from the motor even on the combo that originally worked.

So out comes the motor again and this time it comes apart. Good news is that the gears in the motor all still look new. Bad news is that after opening the motor, it is obvious I blew a trace on the circuit board.

fried motor.jpg (166.43 KiB) Viewed 633 times

I figure I can solder in a bit of wire to repair the blown trace. Then I should be up and running again. I have narrowed down the chain skip feeling to the chain on the first stage skipping. I'm not sure how it is happening as there is a tensioner on it. I have to figure out how to keep that from skipping.

Clay

[kfong]

If it's a bike chain, check if it's worn. They streach over time and can skip due to this. I've replaced my chain twice already on my cyclone. There is a bike tool used to measure the streach.

Just realized you are running #25 on the first stage. They tend to streach even more.

The idler should be closer to the drive motor.

[TopCat]

I finally got a chance to look at the bike. I pulled the rear wheel to tighten the hub and found the rear brake pads glazed and a chunk coming out of one. After tightening the hub and adjusting the brakes I pulled the motor to realign the motor bracket.

Got that all sorted and reinstalled the motor. I also put on some new tires I picked up.

new tires.jpg

Went for a quick test ride. The new tires are great on the road and the trails. I still had the chain skip feel though. It wasn't as bad, but it was there.

I checked the rear wheel again and replaced the brake pads. While I had the bike apart I decided the check the no load amps to make sure I had the phase wires correct for reversing the motor. There were about 7amps, so I decided to try a couple of other combos. On one of the combos, I heard pop and smelled the magic smoke from the motor. Not very happy with myself. No response from the motor even on the combo that originally worked.

So out comes the motor again and this time it comes apart. Good news is that the gears in the motor all still look new. Bad news is that after opening the motor, it is obvious I blew a trace on the circuit board.

fried motor.jpg

I figure I can solder in a bit of wire to repair the blown trace. Then I should be up and running again. I have narrowed down the chain skip feeling to the chain on the first stage skipping. I'm not sure how it is happening as there is a tensioner on it. I have to figure out how to keep that from skipping.

Clay

Hi Clay,

You aint having any luck with your motors of late mate Hope you manage to repair the damaged wire. Fingers crossed thats all that wrong with it.

As to the PHASE wire combos. I had a hell of a time last night going through all the phase wire swapping combos. I finally got one that worked. I posted up my results on damcard's thread...

Lyen 18fet to Cyclone 1000watt Instructions.
http://endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=28&t=23203

Whoopeee I managed to get my motor/controller fitted to my bike today, i'll post an update and some pics on my thread.

Regards
Tom

[flyinmonkie]

Thanks guys,

That is as close to the drive sprocket as the idler can be. There is plenty of wrap on both sprockets, but the chain might be stretched a bit. I'll order some more chain and try that.

Tom, I think that is the same combo I have that works. It was just drawing 7 amps and I was seeing if there was a better combo. What is your no load draw?

It is my fault for fixing something that wasn't broken. ha ha At least it isn't totally fried inside.

Clay

[coldfusion594]

I just read all 22 pages... xml

lol, good job dude!
It was nice to see how the bike changed from beginning to end.

How do you like the hard tail? I want to make a non-hub electric bike also and being that I live in NJ the roads may be as bad as the dirt trails you were riding one

Thanks man! great bike... Hope mine turns out as successful as yours is

[flyinmonkie]

I just read all 22 pages... xml

lol, good job dude!
It was nice to see how the bike changed from beginning to end.

How do you like the hard tail? I want to make a non-hub electric bike also and being that I live in NJ the roads may be as bad as the dirt trails you were riding one

Thanks man! great bike... Hope mine turns out as successful as yours is

Thanks coldfusion. It won't be hard for your bike to turn out as good as mine, as at last report it wasn't running. The hard tail isn't too bad. I stand a lot, especially if it is rough. A thudbuster suspension seat post would help a lot. They are hard to come by over here though. I do want to do a full sus at some point. I need to get this one sorted and reliable first though.

In other news... I soldered in a wire across the trace I blew in the motor. And... It works. The motor is back on the bike and everything seems to be working. I didn't get time for a test ride, but will tomorrow. Then I will see the 1st stage drive chain is still skipping. If it is, I'll order some new heavy duty #25. Until then I will take it easy and try to limit the hard starts. We will see how that goes though.

Now it will back to finishing the top of the box. It has only been like a year. Well, maybe not quite that long. But it is time to finish it up.

Clay

[flyinmonkie]

The chain still skips and the tensioner seems to loosen off. I'll order some more chain anyway. But, I'll look through my parts and see if I can come up with a way to prevent the tensioner from slipping as well. Other than that, it is all good.

I did go on a slow speed ride last night and I can see how the noise would bother someone at 15 kph or less. Over 20 kph, you just don't really notice it as it seems to be quieter. Add wind noise into that and it is no big deal.

Like everyone else, I'll watching the race thread closely for updates. viewtopic.php?f=3&t=37908 Go team E. Luke, lets see a finish for once. You can come across the line with smoke and flames from your controller, motor, and batteries if you want, just finish.

Clay

[flyinmonkie]

I'm still sorting out the skipping chain. It only happens in second under high load and in third under medium to high load. It still seems to becoming from the first stage chain. It might be an alignment issue and something might be twisting slightly. I'll check the rear sprockets and the bike chain as well. It could be coming from the rear wheel and shaking the entire drive train.

I set up the first stage tensioner so it could not move, but the skip was still there. In doing so, I destroyed the wheel I had in the tensioner. I'll have to find something else to replace it with. It was just something I had lying around.

I'm so close. It is getting frustrating now. I just want to ride.

Clay

[TopCat]

I'm still sorting out the skipping chain. It only happens in second under high load and in third under medium to high load. It still seems to becoming from the first stage chain. It might be an alignment issue and something might be twisting slightly. I'll check the rear sprockets and the bike chain as well. It could be coming from the rear wheel and shaking the entire drive train.

I set up the first stage tensioner so it could not move, but the skip was still there. In doing so, I destroyed the wheel I had in the tensioner. I'll have to find something else to replace it with. It was just something I had lying around.

I'm so close. It is getting frustrating now. I just want to ride.

Clay

Snap!!!
I done the very same Clay mate. I was buggering around with things over the weekend and knelt on my castor wheel and broke it it also felt like I broke my knee.....ouch!!!

I managed to find a nice little cog for my tensioner out of an old minimoto gearbox.
I also ordered a couple of new batts 6s, to give me 48v. I'll get more once funds allow.

Regards
Tom

[flyinmonkie]

After rebuilding a tensioner wheel, I have looked at the rear sprockets. That, with another ride and I am sure the skipping is coming from the severely worn rear sprockets. After all that I could have changed them easily. I was sure from the sound that the skip was coming from the first stage, but I think it was just the shock of the skip at the rear creating an audio illusion.

I am off the get some new sprockets and see if that sorts it. Fingers crossed. Maybe I'll go with some new ones this time.

Clay

[fizzit]

After rebuilding a tensioner wheel, I have looked at the rear sprockets. That, with another ride and I am sure the skipping is coming from the severely worn rear sprockets. After all that I could have changed them easily. I was sure from the sound that the skip was coming from the first stage, but I think it was just the shock of the skip at the rear creating an audio illusion.

I am off the get some new sprockets and see if that sorts it. Fingers crossed. Maybe I'll go with some new ones this time.

Clay

Chain bugs are annoying as hell, aren't they?

[flyinmonkie]

Chain bugs are annoying as hell, aren't they?

This is the worst chain problem I have had so far. I should have known it was the rear sprockets as they were used when I put them on the bike. I should have checked them first as well.

After putting some new sprockets on, it is all good now. Chain lines aren't that hard to set up and if you keep the drive train clean and lubed it can last a long time.

Anyway, I'm back on the road.

Clay

[TopCat]

Pheeeew!! Glad to hear it was just a simple sprocket problem and nothing serious with the motor gears slipping. Good that you back burning rubber and have your EV grin back

Regards
Tom

[flyinmonkie]

Gotta love new sprockets. Rode to work today and all was good. I had to change my gear ratio a little with the new cassette. I found I could use a 13 tooth for my smallest sprocket. That gives me a bit more speed. I had to go with a slightly smaller low gear though. My lowest gear is a 27 tooth sprocket, instead of a 28 tooth. It still pulls hard and will climb anything.

I have set up a new fuse holder. Actually a parallel holder to be able to handle the amps I am drawing now. I'm hitting peaks in the mid 60's. I haven't installed it yet and I have blown 2 40 amp fuses now. I have to get a ring connector and I'll be able to install the new fuse set up. This will allow me to use 2 40 amp auto fusses for a total of 80 amps. That will handle the amps I am drawing and still protect everything.

I really like having the 3 speed switch from lyen. It has helped keep from blowing more fuses and allowed me to keep running. I like this cyclone set up better and better. I have found the non linear throttle issue though and may have to do something to sort it out.

Clay

[flyinmonkie]

Parallel fuse holder installed and I can once again run at 120%. I have also tweaked the gearing again. I changed my second gear to a 19 tooth sprocket. The 21 tooth was to slow for second and the gap to third was too big.

I'll get some pictures when I make my one plug charging plug.

Clay

[flyinmonkie]

Here are the pics of my charging plug. I know, my soldering is crap. I hate doing it especially with such small stuff in such tight places.

I still have to sort out the bike end and charger end and make sure it all works. Then I can mount it on the bike.

Clay

[Whiplash]

Nice! I really want to do something like this!

[flyinmonkie]

As usual I have been really slack. I haven't gotten the charging plug installed on the bike yet.

Work hosted a National Climbing Comp a couple of weeks ago. It is always a huge job, and of course I ended up competing. Me competing was a joke, I only do it for the spot prizes but I didn't get anything good.

Anyway, the weather has been real cold (for NZ) and pretty wet. It finally dried out the other day, so I have been riding again. I need to get the plug sorted and finish the top of my box. Then I will basically be finished with this bike.

I am really happy with the cyclone. It is a really solid motor. I am still playing with the lyen controller settings a bit to get exactly what I want. It is fun to be able to change them and they make a huge difference. I am being careful to keep it all in the limits of the motor this time though. My only gripe is the non-linear throttle. I'll just live with it for now. When I do another build, I may go with a CA or a speedict to try and sort that out.

When I finally get around to finishing this one, I'll get some final pics.

Clay

[flyinmonkie]

Picked up a GT I drive 5 frame (2006 I think) yesterday from the recycling centre. It looks pretty good with no cracks. It needs the rear shock and the drop outs, but I will see what it takes to sort that out. Then I might see if I can swap all the electrical stuff to that frame. I'm kinda itching for a full sus.

Clay

[Byte]

Just wondering, with how many current can you charge through that connector?

[flyinmonkie]

@byte

Not sure yet, I haven't used it. The speaker wire is the main charge wire and I have split it into 3 pins. That way one pin doesn't take the entire load. I only charge at a few amps and I have enough capacity to get me to work and back plus a little. So I charge at night when I have plenty of time. It usually takes about 2 hours to charge from a commute to work and back.

There are lots of people on the forum that have done the same or very similar and they all have said it works very well.

Clay

[Hyena]

The pins are rated at 5 amps but I wouldn't like to sustain that over long periods of time.
In my setups I run 10 amps into 3P packs - so each pin is seeing around 3.3 amps. That's about as far as I'd recommend pushing them.
With a 12S battery (or bigger battery with a DB37 ) you could wire up the extra pins though to take the charge current into the main pack leads so use the -ve and +ve from the balance leads + 2 or 3 extra pins for each battery terminal. With 12S you could potentially charge at 20 amps with this set up

[flyinmonkie]

Thanks Jay,

That is good to know. I'm pretty sure I only charge at about 5 amps or so. Like I said, I'm not too fussed about fast charging. I have the main leads split between 3 pins, but could have done at least 4 pins if I wanted to.

Clay

[Alan B]

DB type connector pin ratings vary a lot. Some are rated at 2 amps per pin, some up to 5 amps per pin. For these long term currents it is prudent to derate them by half. So 1-2 amps per pin is a good guide. Beyond that watch them for discoloration or loss of plating material. Paralleling lots of pins helps a lot though if near each other they heat each other.

[Byte]

Aren't there any connectors for about 15 pins which can handle more amps? I don't mind if it's a little bigger...

Another question flyinmonkie: what is that black stuff you used? I've been searching for something like that but these things I found were quite expensive imo.