Fush's EBike Project #001

[Fush]

very cool

I can't wait for my batteries either... :S will get a trunk bag too i think - yours looks really good

what's good about my trunk pack was it only cost me $25 on special from $49.95 down at my local bike shop

[Fush]

Update

I went to Bunnings today and picked up a Dremel tool, some flat steal and aluminium, I have completed a small torque arm that screws into the holes that hold the rear rack...i was planning on using both holes but i couldn't get it to line up correctly and the rear rack didn't want to fit in so i just chopped off that part of the torque arm.. I also went to the bike shop and picked up a new pump so I could finally inflate my tire.

That allowed me to take the bike for its first ride since the conversion but without any batteries.....it does weight quite a bit more then it used too CA needs to slight adjustments...it off by about 1kph when riding. at least according to the GPS.

[Fush]

Picture of my new torque arm

[BiGH]

they sell sheets of steel at bunnings?!? i didn't know that. nice torque arm. I'm going to have to go spend some *more* time there.

hope u'll be riding your bike soon enough. i've gone 122k so far! 34k today :)


hope your batteries can handle the power draw!.

also wanted to ask - what kind of connectors does the phase part of the motor u got have?

[Fush]

they don't sell large sheets, but they do sell flat strips, they are about 1.5 meters long and about 5-10cm wide.

Well hopefully if all is correct according to Andy at Falcon EV the LiFePO4 batteries should do 5C drain rate, so 5x11=55amp max

Um yes the phase wires are all Andersons,

[BiGH]

they don't sell large sheets, but they do sell flat strips, they are about 1.5 meters long and about 5-10cm wide.

Well hopefully if all is correct according to Andy at Falcon EV the LiFePO4 batteries should do 5C drain rate, so 5x11=55amp max

Um yes the phase wires are all Andersons,

did you do the andersons yourself? or did they come like that? (cause i've got trailer plugs - they are crap)

[Fush]

they came like that from ebike.ca

[Mark_A_W]

I just reread page one of this thread Andrew, and realised you swapped bikes.

...I reckon the dually would have been a better choice, if you could have squeezed the motor in there. More PLUSH

Rack is easy - just use 2 x $17 racks from http://www.torpedo7.com.au and bolt them together.

Oh well too late now

[Fush]

problem was the lack of space for the batteries, who knows once i get the batteries i might change it around...i will see how it goes

[Fush]

Ok went to the bike shop and got myself a cassette remover and some washes to fit before the cassette to hopefully fix my rubbing problem...will find out tomorrow arvo as I have a project due tomorrow so i should probably get working on that first.


Regards

Andrew

[Fush]

arrr..bugger....

I am typing this one handed this evening because I had an accident this afternoon....was riding on the road and was approaching a cut out(driveway) that i usually go up on to the foot path so i can safely stop and cross the road, there is only an island crossing and its 4 lanes of traffic so it isn't safe just to dive across..

anyway as i came to the cut out a car came up next to me and forced me closer to the gutter...anyway this lead me to be very shallow on approach to the cut out, the tire bounced on the lip of the cutout and dumped me sideways on the concrete sidewalk, got myself some nicely skinned hands and a nice bump on my cheek and chin...I am glad I was wearing my helmet. Anyway its mainly only scratches but it looks like I have bruised a bone in my left hand, kinda hurts to move it about...but its not broken bone pain, at least i hope not..

[BiGH]

arrr..bugger....

I am typing this one handed this evening because I had an accident this afternoon....was riding on the road and was approaching a cut out(driveway) that i usually go up on to the foot path so i can safely stop and cross the road, there is only an island crossing and its 4 lanes of traffic so it isn't safe just to dive across..

anyway as i came to the cut out a car came up next to me and forced me closer to the gutter...anyway this lead me to be very shallow on approach to the cut out, the tire bounced on the lip of the cutout and dumped me sideways on the concrete sidewalk, got myself some nicely skinned hands and a nice bump on my cheek and chin...I am glad I was wearing my helmet. Anyway its mainly only scratches but it looks like I have bruised a bone in my left hand, kinda hurts to move it about...but its not broken bone pain, at least i hope not..

Sorry to hear it - hope ur hand gets better soon!
do you wear gloves when you ride?
I would suggest wearing them - it will save some skinned palms if u fall off the bike!


i've come off at 40kph on gravel on the old mountain bike sideways and slid to a halt MAN that hurt. Give it a few weeks of tender pain and you'll b fine again!

[Fush]

well my hand is starting to heal nicely...still got a nice scratch on the side of my face...

But the good new is I got sick of waiting for my LiFePO4 and brought myself 4x 12v SLA batts...they are only 7.2amp but they will last me as a temp solution until the LiFePO4 finally arrive...I finally got it hooked up this arvo after running around to the bike shop to get the extra spacer removed and to another jaycar store to pickup the extra sla's that where not available at my store.

I set it up to run in series at 48v 7.2amp, max speed achieved so far is 40kph on the flat.

Only problem i have is not all 4 batteries fit in my rack bag....so i will have to figure out a solution for that in the future...

pics to come later

[fechter]

Where's that grenade launcher when you need it?

[Fush]

oh well..I did a distance test with my sla today...

I started the journey with 4 x12v but shortly after starting I lost one sla off the side (cable tie snapped) I picked the battery up off the road, its has a few more scratches after the ordeal but still seems to work fine..anyway i continued on 3x12v and only managed to reach a grand total distance of 12km before I had to start constantly pedalling to keep speed...then again these are only SLA 7.2ahr batteries...

I can't wait to get my LiFEP04's

I also saw another ebiker today (first time with me riding my own ebike) anyway we dragged at the lights and even at 36v i easily won .

I also picked up and installed a mirror on the bike...hopefully now i won't end up on the pavement like last time..

[BiGH]

oh well..I did a distance test with my sla today...

I started the journey with 4 x12v but shortly after starting I lost one sla off the side (cable tie snapped) I picked the battery up off the road, its has a few more scratches after the ordeal but still seems to work fine..anyway i continued on 3x12v and only managed to reach a grand total distance of 12km before I had to start constantly pedalling to keep speed...then again these are only SLA 7.2ahr batteries...

I can't wait to get my LiFEP04's

I also saw another ebiker today (first time with me riding my own ebike) anyway we dragged at the lights and even at 36v i easily won .

I also picked up and installed a mirror on the bike...hopefully now i won't end up on the pavement like last time..

Wow - is that with the 36-72v 35a or 40a controller?

You'd want to check what your battery voltages are after the ride too. Its totally possible to overdischarge the batteries. I'm surprised u didn't get controller cutoff with teh voltage sag that would have occured as your batteries started to die.

I get about 28-29k before mine die (48v 17ah) - its interesting to compare! I'd be very happy with ur distance from 7.2ah cells! also considering ur motor is a lot heavier than mine!

[Fush]

Ok its time for an update...

Now where to start its been a while since i have posted...I have been lurking around but uni work has kept me busy the last few months....and development on the bike has stalled for the last little while...

I had the bike up and running on 4x12v 7.2ahr Batteries that under the loads i was giving them lasted about 3-4 amps before running out of power. I had and still have 2x36v 12amp batteries on order from FalconEV more about them when they arrive..I assure you it will be a worth while post to read...

The bike worked well for the distance between home and uni assuming i took the battery charger with me...which was a bit annoying.

Somebody or something knocked the bike over a few weeks ago and nobody has admitted to it!!! I don't believe it was the dog, unless he learnt how to pick up a bike and put it back on it stand...but as a result the weight of the battery packs broke the cable ties holding it in place and ripped the wiring out...lucky there wasn't any short circuits. As a result i decided to strip the bike down and giving it a clean bill of health before giving its Christmas present of 72v assuming it finally arrives.

I have almost finished wiring up my accessory power supply which is two 12v 1amp smps running in parallel so i get 12v 2amp. I also included a generic nokia power supply for my mobile/gps. I am just waiting on some panel mounted anderson connectors from the usa to finish the box off before mounting it.

I raised the rear rack and mounted the controller in the space underneath and will be going to the shops soon to pick up some waterproof nylon to make some water/mud covers.

Modding of the cycle analyst is complete, I now have an easy to use on/off switch for the amp limiter to comply with Aussie road rules.

I have also finished my proper torque arm...only one atm as i will have to make a much smaller one for the other side as the chain tensioner gets in the way of the full sized monster.

The only major issue i am having is laying the wires/cables from the handle bars to back of the bike...i am having problems with cables and wires going everywhere when i turn the handle bars...does anyone have any suggestions on how to correctly lay wire around the handlebars?

[Rassy]

Fush Wrote:

...does anyone have any suggestions on how to correctly lay wire around the handlebars

I like to use the flexible conduit available at any auto parts store. It comes in various diameters, and is split on one side, so the wires can be slipped into it when you are finished making all your connections. Just use a large enough size to accomodate all the wires in the area, make sure there is enough slack to turn in both directions, and use a few nylon cable ties where needed.

In the picture below, several changes were made to the wiring after the conduit was added, but you can make it super neat with a little work.

[Fush]

Well I took your advice and got the tubing, thanks for that...it seems to have worked well, Just waiting for the anderson panel mount so i can finish my accessory box and then i can finalise the wiring to the handle bars. I also had to order a new phone mount as the last one broke

Still no sign of the batteries, but after cleaning up the wiring I now have a nice big area in the frame to bolt them onto when they finally arrive...

Photos will come soon..but not till the batteries arrive

[Dee Jay]

Hi Fush, and Russy!

I just wanted to warn you to protect your frame's paint job, as the rough plastic conduit will vibrate during rough rides and will scratch your frame. I still haven't figured out how to prevent this except maybe glue strips of felt cloth on the conduit of the same color as the conduit or something (where it rubs) ... If anyone have better suggestions, please share it. My Revive's glossy paint is getting worse!

J

[iberkt]

Hi Fush, and Russy!

I just wanted to warn you to protect your frame's paint job, as the rough plastic conduit will vibrate during rough rides and will scratch your frame. I still haven't figured out how to prevent this except maybe glue strips of felt cloth on the conduit of the same color as the conduit or something (where it rubs) ... If anyone have better suggestions, please share it. My Revive's glossy paint is getting worse!

J

Another way to go is the Spiral Cable Wrap. I like it because it is smooth and will now scratch you can get it at RadioShack cheep http://www.radioshack.com/product/index ... age=family

[Fush]

I have some of the spiral stuff...but i think i will stick with the tubing it fits the cables better and looks nicer...I will just add some padding in the areas needed.

[Fush]

WOOOOTTT!!!!!

Finally the batteries arrived today...4 fricking months later....

I am sorry Andy but I have to write this because it was a bitch to get the batteries and now they are finally here so i feel that other need to know what happened....

About 4 months ago I ordered 2x36v 11amp batteries from FalconEV, Original time was meant to be 4 weeks, during that time there was a change of supplier so instead of 4 weeks it was 7 weeks...Ok i could live with that if there was less chance of the batteries exploding... Things dragged on and then I was promised 1st December, then the 17th then another week and then finally today they arrived today on my Birthday......It sounds a lot shorter then it really was.. I have to say while communication was there with Andy, it didn't feel like he had much idea or control over the supplier. As a broker he sucked, he wasn't able to assure me anything and dates where meaningless and there has been no compensation for late delivery, (the batteries arrived before he was able to get a tracking number).

Tips for people who want to buy batteries in the future

a) always pay by credit card.....
b1) Confirm a delivery date
b2) As soon as money changes hands there is a contract between you and the supplier/broker, make sure you have penalties in place for late delivery or products that fail on arrival or soon after.
c) make sure all details about the batteries are available , such as capacity and at what draw rate, standard and peak drawrates, size, bms' etc and all changes must be confirmed with updated details and your approval.
d) Check you warranty, make sure you know exactly what the terms and conditions are of that warranty.


Other then that i got the batteries mounted today...only issue is when i plug the batteries into the controller the voltage drops to 2volts and then rebuilds itself asuming the controller is turned off...sometimes i have to unplug the batteries and replug them several times...for them to rebuild the voltage and get the bike started, I am not sure if this is the BMS or the controller. Batteries seem to work fine once the controller finally boots up..and work on other applications such as my lights fine...anyone else experience this?

I will try and take some photos and video tomorrow.

Andrew

P.S. I am also using my GPS on the bike and when I am riding you can view my progress at http://sportstracker.nokia.com look for the user "Archerfish"

[Ypedal]

The 2v reading is the BMS going into protection mode.. your controller has to charge the caps (that big spark you get when you connect the pack ) .. this is likely tripping the bms.. after a few reconects the cap is charged up and the BMS does not trip.

You think you feel bad.. i paid Andy in MAY... ie: 8 months !!!!

Got pictures of the pack ? i'd like to see it.

[Fush]

I forgot to add that the charging units came with the wrong power plugs for Australia, they where US style plugs but then they had put adaptors on, but they put European adaptors instead of the Australian ones....its amusing considering Chinese plugs are just upside down Australian plugs. They had also set the voltage of the chargers to 110v instead of 240v...that could have been dangerous. The annoying thing is I sent Photos and detailed information on Australian standard plugs and they still got it wrong...

Edit: I will get some pics as soon as my phone starts behaving with my PC