Here's what the silver KHS looks like nowadays. I got a laid back bmx seatpost which let me use the funky saddle and have a normal position. Not as aero, but I don't ride too fast all that often, and the stops are what really affect efficiency for me. It cut a few pounds off the bike and looks a lot more normal. I also got an old CA from Methods which is a direct plug in to the controller, and added an on/off switch right near my hand. So now I am safe with a "kill switch" and no more plug key to keep track of. I love it. It just feels so much more professional to flick a toggle switch and then the CA lights up and bam! ready to ride! I cleaned up the wire area a bit. Right now I'm looking to better secure the battery. But other than that I am extremely happy with the bike now.
Oh, I do need to replace a cell in the battery, which is cutting about 25% range off my pack right now. It's due to a slightly crushed cell that I don't know how it happened. Luckily I rarely need full range so I can live with it for now. I was thinking of trying 1500w instead of 1300, but it's so hot that I want to wait for it to cool off, to avoid risk to the controller which can get pretty hot when it's 100 out. I also wired up the CA to work as a current throttle, but it lags so much that it made the bike slower in some ways so I'm back to the normal speed throttle. Still kind of neat, and probably good for a high power set up.
Some more update on my ebike world:
After doing about 25 miles this week on the electric tandem with my gf, I am starting to think about doing a longtail build. Just have her sit on the back, no pedaling to synchronize, shorter more manageable wheelbase. and big cushy platform for her to sit on. I would want this longtail to have big power. The worst thing about the tandem is that our 0-8mph is awful due to stabilizing and my fear of going WOT with front hub motor, which is still only at 1400watts (I should add a 2nd torque arm). On the longtail, she could easily rest her feet on the ground and I could seamlessly take off, pedaling however I like. I'm not sure about what motor setup I'd use, but I'd like to not have to purchase anymore battery. My cellman 50v 9ah pack is good for 30amps continuous, peak up to 80, but the connectors are only 30amp Anderson PP. Not sure what would happen if I pull 60amps for 10 seconds up a hill. That would be near 3kw, and enough power to get us up to speed well. I could series in my lipo for 72v nominal, 9ah. So theoretically the 3-4kw range should be realistic. Now, should I go dual motor? I could run my 6 turn mac on the rear, and the 9c on the front. Would need 2 controllers and throttles, but I'd only use the mac on starts and hills. Obviously the 6 turn is not a great choice for lower speed, but it's the only unused rear motor I have lying around.
Or I could separate both drives and run lower amps.
9c front - 50v 9ah a123 + 3s 10ah lipo controller set to 22amps (1500w)
6 turn mac rear - 10s 5ah controller set to 45amps (1600w)
So that's all my lipo and my main a123 pack. I'd get about 5 minutes of full power from the rear mac booster, should be enough to match the front drive. Acceleration from 5 to 25mph (estimated top speed) should be quite good. Range should be 20 miles if we cruise around 20mph as we do now, and get 21-23wh/mile.
The other bonus is that I'd have one serious cargo hauler. mmmmm...... And what's more fun / gets more attention than riding a tandem - putting your gf on your cargo bike. Of course, ultimately I'd have to do a ridiculous power build that would have her hanging on for dear life.
Update: the tandem may stay. I dropped her saddle a bit, put cruiser bars on for her, put bigger riser bars on for me, cleaned up the controller mount, and after seeing no stress marks on the fork dropouts or torque arm, decided to just got WOT from a dead stop instead of babying. Turns out the motor pulls us up to speed very nicely, so our starts are quick and non-awkward. I think I'd like a bit more top speed and hill climbing, so I'll prob put on the 3s lipo booster. I'm really pretty happy with the tandem though, it's been so cheap and works great. So much better than having to tell her where I'm turning all the time, and 20mph is a better for getting places than 12mph. She says I took some corners too fast, so I may have to ease up a bit. That CST Cyclops is just great for cornering though! Still might play with adding the old Mac on the rear....
Tandem update: I ran 59v 5ah lipo tonight, peaked at 1700watts. It's considerably more fun now with the extra speed and power, should be around 25mph on the flat, though I don't have a speedometer on the tandem. I checked the dropouts and everything looks okay, torque arm still not showing pressure. But the axle is definitely twisting hard against it. I think a 2nd torque on the right is in order. It'd be great to do a clamping one, but space is really limited. I don't know what 9c isn't using a 14mm axle, that would resist spinning so much better...
Update: the 8 turn mac got some WOT the other night. I was on my way to meet some friends for 2 for 1 burgers, thought I was late so I pegged it in an aero tuck on a fast road. 34-35mph on all the flat portions and every time I looked down I saw 800-850watts. No wind, and truly a flat road. This reminds me of last year when I could get 30mph on 600watt limited in my crazy aero tuck. 24wh/mile is pretty awesome at 35mph on a mtn bike! There's nothing I like more than a near linear progression of power:speed.
I bought a 'nuclear orange' Novara Verita rain jacket for when it gets cool. Spent $95 on it, but figured being visible, dry and warm is a good investment. I like the fairly close fit, not loose. Now I have something to look forward to for Fall. I'm still curious about doing a front wind fairing. Perhaps cut a bit of power off at high speeds. Thinking of taking off the front basket and doing a rear mount for groceries. When I do use the basket, I love it, but it doesn't help the looks of the bike and I don't use it all that often. Putting stuff in it on the front sure doesn't help aero drag too. Maybe a small storage behind the fairing is just the ticket.
I've got a rear 9c 2807 or 06 from JRH coming soon, need to fix the wires but should be fun to play with.