Cuda-E - 4000 watt Shumaker drive upgrade

[www.recumbents.com]

I installed the bearings and now the motor and drivetrain are back together. Motor seems maybe a bit quieter now but I still get the same sync issue at low RPM. I just have to remember to get the bike up to 8 or 10 MPH before I throttle up. The slipper clutch is...interesting. I tightened it a couple times. I think I am going to tighten it again.

-Warren.

[Kurt]

Good to see it all running again. Im not sure how Matt sets up the slipper clutch for the Astro motors. I haven't touched mine from how it was sent to me . At first I thought it wasn't moving/slipping at all . So I marked it with a pen marker and went for a ride. It had moved but perhaps 1/8th of a rotation . So I really just treat it as a dynamic shear pin that resets its self each time .Just to make the components last a little longer.

I guess with the sensorless controllers you are using more to limit torque load at take off to stop shuddering. I would love to see a Astro motor running from a powerful sensored controller were you can smash the throttle how you like.

Kurt

[SoSauty]

Yep, to set the slipper clutch watch your amps on the CA and check temp. If it slips too much the amps will fall off from not having much load, plus the clutch will run 150f or hotter. A little slipping and 100f is close. Once you're there the adjustments need to be pretty miniscule.

[www.recumbents.com]

I think I have the clutch adjusted right now. When I was testing it with around the block runs a couple days ago the clutch was as hot as the motor. Today's commute was uneventful but I took it easy on the motor. I had been having issues for the past month or so where at low throttle the motor speed would jump around a little. The new bearings seem to have cured that. I guess that's my early warning system for fairing bearings. The ride home will be a little more brisk and will give the clutch more of a workout.

I'm thinking that I will install the Astroflight 3215 to replace the 3210 when Matt gets them in, if I can sell my 3210. Matt says $300 is a good price, so if you need a 3210 and can wait until I get the 3215 installed, this one has new bearings and looks quite good internally.

-Warren.

[www.recumbents.com]

I upgraded the motor to a AstroFlight 3215. It's just a bit higher power and faster. I also changed from using the BEC & Servo tester to the new beta version ebikes.ca RC Cycle Analyst, which has the BEC and servo controller built in. Pictured here is my entire new RC e-bike system.
It took a little while and I thought it broke my ESC, but eventually I figured out how to make the beta version of the ebikes RC CA work with my Castle Creations Phoenix HV ESC. It didn't break it but apparently the RC CA sent signals to the ESC that caused it to flash error codes, so I had to do a full reset of the ESC using the CC management software to clear the errors.



Here are the RC CA settings that worked for me: http://recumbents.com/wisil/e-bent/rc_d ... nalyst.htm
Here are the CC HV160 ESC settings that worked for me: http://recumbents.com/wisil/e-bent/rc_d ... ttings.htm

Here's the new motor mounted, I had to cut a notch in the frame to make it fit.



I sent the ESC (controller) back to Castle Creations to be upgraded to a Phoenix ICE2 as part of a service advisory. It took a long time for them to upgrade it.

The real world is finally getting warmer and I was able to take it for a ride around the block (actually several laps around the block). The controller works well, though it seems like minimum throttle cuts in a little harder than with the old servo tester / BEC system. Performance at very low speeds seems to be comparable to the old servo tester / BEC system, so I still have to pedal up to 5 MPH or so before throttling up. The new motor has a bit more grunt and longer legs. I had the CA set to cut off at 99A and 35 MPH, and the power definitely shut off at 35MPH and did not all more throttle until I got below 35. With the 3210 it maxed out at 30 MPH. When I looked a the IMax (amps) later it showed a max of 99 amps. 80 amps was max with the old motor..

Next I need to remove the speed limitation to see how fast it goes, and see if the watts / mile is significantly worse than the 26 wh/mi average with 30 MPH cruising that I was seeing last year. I really don't need to go faster than 30 MPH on a bicycle so I will probably be changing the final gear to a bigger chainring to reduce the max speed.

-Warren.

[www.recumbents.com]

Wonderful weather happened today, and I had a bit of time for a test ride. I removed the speed limitations this time, and the bike topped out at 47.5 MPH. Yikes. It got there in about a block at WOT. I found that when cranking the throttle open from about 10 MPH it jerks a couple times before taking off. I have the CA set to 99A max, and the max recorded amps said 97 amps so it may be hitting that and shutting down the throttle. I'll have to try it again with the CA set to 0 A max (which I'm pretty sure disables that max amps feature). The motor was pretty hot when I got done buzzing around too.

47 is way too fast, so this means I need to change the gearing to bring it down to at least 35MPH.

-Warren.

[recumpence]

Yup, a 3215 is good for about 40mph max gearing before heat becomes an issue.

I look forward to doing some riding with you this summer!

Matt

[www.recumbents.com]

I did my first commute to work of 2012 today. The bike performed well. The throttle is very touchy with the new RC Cycle Analyst. Cruising at 30 requires very little throttle. The new 3215 motor does seem to use about the same power as the 3210 (600 - 700 watts at 30 MPH). Also tonight I found that it uses about 1600 watts at 40 MPH. I think I will keep the high speed ability. Like my car, I will just resist driving it at WOT, except when I need to go fast...

Hey Matt, I kept the speed down around 30 and the motor was a little warm when I got to work today but not hot. We do need to get together for a ride!

-Warren.

[www.recumbents.com]

Did another commute yesterday, then went to a friends house and did a 35 mile ride, using the e-power to drag the 60 lb bike up the hills right up until the 40V LVC cut me off toward the end of the ride. Fun! After the ride, the bike recharged while we ate. The ride home in the dark with the magicshine head and tail light was a blast. It's officially an e-motorcycle.

-Warren.

[Wheazel]

That sounds totally awesome. 600-700W at 30mph and 40mph capability, fantastic. Good efficiency! How is the noiselevel?
My bike wants roughly 1kw at 30mph. Not a recumbent tho.

I have a Challange Jester that could become an efficient deathtrap. Noone ever sees you coming.
If its not too much trouble, make a new 2012 video with the new motor.

[recumpence]

Warren,

I was riding my titanium Narval Hybrid (non-electric) bike through Algonquin with a friend yesterday around 5:15pm (I think we were on Heager's Bend Road at the time) and a NoCom passed us in the other direction. Was that you?

Matt

[www.recumbents.com]

Hi Matt,

No, that was Larry. If you had been there the day before, you would have seen me on my e-bike riding with Larry after work.

-Warren.

[recumpence]

Sweet. Tell him I saw him......

Matt

[www.recumbents.com]

I finally brazed on the rear disk brake caliper bracket. It's so nice to have real brakes on the rear end now. The inside adjustment knob has pretty close to zero clearance to the chain, but it seems to be fine so far. Weather has has great here in the Midwest so I have been commuting to work on this bike or my bobber almost every day.

I did have a fun time on the way home from work a couple days ago. Apparently I had the chain on the electric drive side a bit too loose, as it popped off while I was going over some railroad tracks, got wrapped up around the hub, locked up the wheel and sent me skidding to a halt. 5 minutes of prying and 9.67 greasy fingers later, I was back on the road and zipping home.

The RC CA is working well but at my 30 MPH self-imposed speed limit, the throttle is barely open. I suppose that's true of a car cruising at 30MPH too.

-Warren.

[www.recumbents.com]

I finished the brazing required to mount the disk brake. Here it is still red hot right after finishing the brazing



Tolerances are very tight but it appears to be working properly and is not rubbing. Now I have great stopping power!



Here's the rear of the bike all put back together and painted with the new rear disk brake. Maybe I should repaint the brake caliper bracket too. I had to do some grinding on it to make the brake fit properly.



I have been commuting on this bike and with the new motor the bike tops out at a speed of about 47 MPH. I still try to keep the speed down to 30MPH on the commute as that is the speed I feel comfortable riding at with just a bike helmet. Also the motor overheats quickly at 47 MPH. It's nice to have the ability to go that fast though, in case of an emergency, so I'm not going to change the gearing. The bike seems to behave the same on the low speed side. I still need to get it up to 5 -10 MPH by pedaling before applying any significant e-power.

[recumpence]

I would reduce the overall gearing to make it max out at about 35 to 37mph. This will reduce heat tremendously, increase accelleration, ease the load on the controller, and reduce your low speed hickups.

Matt

[www.recumbents.com]

But Matt, I like it like this!

[recumpence]

Speed is addictive!

[www.recumbents.com]

I have been commuting to work on this bike all year. It has been very reliable. I still charge it at home and work (unless I forget to charge at work), so the 12S LiPo pack never goes over 49V and never goes under 40V. This should maximize the number of cycles that the batteries will deliver. There are a couple places I need to crank up the speed to 40 MPH or so for merging in traffic, but otherwise I try to keep it to a pedestrian 30 MPH.

The RC CA has been working well, except for the surge bug. I was hoping somebody in the US of A would get the $50 dooda to update the ROM to the version without this bug but it looks like I will need to get one myself. The biggest difference I have noticed, is the low RPM response. With the old RC servo tester I would have to pedal up to 5 or 10 MPH before applying power to avoid motor stuttering. Now I can just pedal one stroke and start applying power without any stuttering.

I bring the bike up to the computer room in the freight elevator for charging (and to keep it safe) every day at work. Today one of the largeladies in the elevator commented that it was quite the contraption.

I like to improve things constantly but I am hard pressed to think of a way to improve this contraption.

Ok, here are some:
* Replace rear cheesy spring shock with air shock for better handling (have air shock - just do it)
* Make it lighter (60 lb currently, can probably shave 5 lb off of rear swing arm by building a new one. Probably not worthwhile?)
* Change 20" tires to wide rims with Pirelli scooter tires (I have had no flats - is there any other reason to do this other than because is cool?)

I still have the 3210 motor that I converted to sensored with the Lyen controller that I should build up a bike with but I have not yet been struck with inspiration. Maybe I need to buy a trike just to add a motor...


-Warren.

[www.recumbents.com]

Winter is almost here, and though I have not been commuting on the bike as much, when the weather cooperates and I'm not feeling lazy I ride the recumbent rocket to work. Today was the nice day.

Temps in the morning are the biggest factor for me. It's just plain painful when the temps are below freezing. Today temp were in the middle 30s F, and predicted to top out in the 50s. Even with temperatures in the mid 30s exposed skin hurts when cruising at 30 MPH, so I am pretty well covered from head to toe.

I use regular pants with velcro straps on the cuffs to prevent the wind from blowing up my pant leg. A fleece vest and heavy windbreaker shell are enough to keep my torso warm because I pedal. I use heavy gloves and my hands do start to get cold, but the commute is only 7.5 miles, so it's ok. On my head I use a helmet with flaps that cover my ears, ski goggles, and a fleece neck gaiter that tucks under the bottom edge of the goggles. It's quite comfortable.

The batteries seem to do fine in the cold weather for this short (about 20 minute) ride. LiPo batteries are in an aluminum case with only a layer of coroplast for insulation. My garage is insulated so it probably starts out at about 60F in the morning. I bring the bike inside at work, so it starts out warm there too.

-Warren.

[www.recumbents.com]

I checked the mileage today. The CA says 998 miles since I started using it (V3 Beta3 RC model) in March 2012. Everything is still working great, including the LiPo batteries I purchased in winter 2010/2011. This will be season 3 for the 2S, 2P Turnigy 30C 5Ah 6S packs (44V, 10Ah). They are usually kept between 49V and 43V.

Next upgrade will be an Alien 200A RC controller with a 60V 20Ah A123 pack.

-Warren.

[mwkeefer]

What is your current gearing and geared top speed?

Thanks!

-Mike

[www.recumbents.com]

Motor gearing is 3.5 to 1 reduction in stage one via the belt drive, and then 3.6 to 1 in stage two via the chain to the rear wheel. Max speed is 47 MPH. I can cruise at close to 40MPH without overheating the motor, but try to keep it to 30 MPH for safety and to avoid attention.

Here's a calculator you can use to figure out your speed with various gearing:
http://www.recumbents.com/wisil/e-bent/ ... ulator.asp

On the human power side I max out at around 30 MPH with a 60T chainring and the 20" tires.

-Warren.