Fat Man Commuter - 270lbs on 700c

[oatnet]

Cool. The motor stayed. Old and the battery and controller got Luke warm.

"lukewarm" or "Luke Warm" ? I can put a my hand on a lukewarm motor, but this is how Luke (aka liveforphysics) gets his motors warm:

http://www.endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=24593


j/k, congrats on achieving the EV grin. I weighed more than you when I started, and am currently in the 220's thanks to eBikes.

-JD

[MadRhino]

"lukewarm" or "Luke Warm" ?

Don't go scaring the NewBie

[dsullivan]

I am happy with this build. I am really glad that I got to build such a great bike with the 1250W system so I can dial down the amps to emulate other kits and get a feel for what a 350w vs 500w etc feels like.
I have also enjoyed driving to work wide open 37Amps and getting a watthour/km of 24 and then driving home on maxAmps= 15 and pedaling one two bigger hills to get a total trip of 13 watthours/km

The numbers fascinate me. I'm just that kinda guy.

I have some questions regarding my battery behavior so I will now leave this posting and head over to technical/batteries and start a new topic

[Ypedal]

would actually be best to keep it going here, since it has all the background info needed for your question.. bike, weight, setup, etc.

[TonyReynolds]

We need pictures!

Great posts and choice on the commuter bike!

[dsullivan]

Great point. So phase one was installing the kit to the raw bike. I had an old plastic drill box lying around I repurposed for holding the battery and controller. I was concerned about the heat from the battery and controller so I moved the controller to a Tupperware container I mounted it in and after gluing on velcro straps I attached it to the cross bar. Eventually I want to replace both boxes with some panner bags with custome boxes inside to allow airflow and hide everything.

People around here still don't recognize it as an electric bike. They think I'm just a really fast fat guy I love this. I stop often and chat up people about the benefits of electrifying their old bikes.

For future reference I did get the answers to the Battery Questions. My current battery has a bms that cuts out at 31Volts this gives me a usable WattHour Count of 450WH.
So I now know what to be watching for.

If I run to work full amps 35a and full speed 36-47KM/h I use 220WattHours for my 8.7Km ride. Thats a few hills and hauling this 264lbs man. Yep I dropped 11Lbs since buying this bike. Last month. I also dropped two notches on my belt in the last week alone from biking.
Phase 1 - everything in the trunk


Here is the FatMan Commuter In Phase 2 moved the controller to its own well ventilated weather resistant box.





And this is me. If you ever get out to the east coast and see me say Hi!

[dsullivan]

In case anyone is wondering why it's loaded on the front of the bus. I am a bus driver for Saint John Transit. I often have to meet drivers out in the middle of routes to take over the shifts. It's great. I no longer need to figure out where to park. Just load the bike on and get to work

The bike is getting lots of attention out here. The only exposure we have had in Saint John to electric bikes are the Canadian Tire all steel 400w external extra sprocket and chain drive system and/or the little scooter looking bikes.

The local bike shop that I bought the original bike from has spoken to me about finding a couple of kits to install on some $400 bikes.
They do get plenty of calls from people looking for electric options but don't have any experience with them.
If I can come up with a reasonable introductory kit around $400-$600 that we can put on a demo or two. If they start selling, they want me to be the ebike guy

I have a background in computer software and hardware. My entire life has been spent ripping stuff apart to see how it works. I am simply loving this bike.

I have been playing with the advance settings on the Cycle Analyst and trying to maximize the efficiency of my ride without compromising the hill climbing abilities. So far I am doing really well. I have it tuned to have soft gradual launches, maximizing my amps around 20 for most rides and topping my speed out at 25kms seems to keep my WH/KM down from 24 to 13wh/km.

This makes me happy and extends my range. I really like it because I can do the round trip to work and still not be deep in the batteries DOD! Yay!

Any Questions and/or comments are always appreciated.

Thanks Dave

[kevo]

Dsullivan,
Love how you are maximizing your watt-hr consumption. Great job ebike evangelizing! Also sounds like very soon you will have to change your online titles to wazafatmancommuter... Nevertheless good to see the ebike gospel spread,

[dsullivan]

Looking forward to it.

Now if this 100mm rain storm would go away I could get back to losing weight and saving money

My logic - Most people pay the Gym so they can go and work out when it fits the gyms schedule.
I get paid by my bike to exercise anytime I want and It travels with me

PS - Build update. I removed the boxes and replaced them with a nice set of panner bags. since I saved so much on fuel I reinvested the money into making the bike look cleaner. Absolutely nobody recognizes it as an electric bike.
Even when I show them they spend time trying to figure out if I'm full of it.

The mountain bike sleeper. hehehe.
They believe me when I pass them

[kevo]

Stealth is a major factor in ebike enjoyment, adding to the entertainment. The bewildered look of drivers when you are able to take the lane and stay with the flow of traffic. The conversations at the top of the hill after you pass younger fitter riders. Just deciding when or how much to tell.

[kevo]

dsullivan wrote: Absolutely nobody recognizes it as an electric bike

Slightly OT, but you might enjoy seeing Kepler's stealth bike (nonhub):



Thread at http://www.endless-sphere.com/forums/vi ... =6&t=34165

[Lessss]

Glad to hear you are up and running.
Keep an eye on those velcro straps, I've seen Velcro kinda rot and rip away without warning.

Now that you have built one yourself would you say that building one would be beyond most of the general public?

Would you say that you are willing to risk multiple thousands 30+K buying stock for a business in a province that has not truly legalized ebikes, and that could turn on a dime to make them illegal?

Are you willing to open yourself to the legal costs of a possible lawsuit when somebody does something dumb with a lipo pack burns down their home and tries to sue?

Two points.
I don't see a horn on that bike, that makes it illegal (HAHAHA I know right?!).
I don't see a light for night. (Don't give the cops ANY excuse to pull you over, your set up is definitely beyond the legal limits.)

You also didn't mention your final build cost?

BTW 90% of people are like WHAT?!?!? when I tell them the cost of 48V SLA let alone the WHAT THE F#$%@#$^ that comes out of them when I mention lithium.

In many many many ways Saint John is still waaay to redneck for electric bikes yet. Pick up trucks and Motorcycles yes, e-bikes not so much yet. It's economic need that drives most of my sales.

P.S. If you ever do set up a full fledged business never sell to anyone with a DUI. The cops will NOT tolerate someone with a DUI driving an e-bike.