200 miles in my first week on the eBike -- Thanks ES!

[ryan]

It's been one week since I got my charger situation handled and finally got out of the garage. I just want to take a moment to thank the Endless Sphere folks that have helped me at every turn.

In the past week I:
* passed a dump truck going up hill at 35mph (he was struggling at 30mph as I "pedaled" by)
* raced a corvette in the neighborhood (and won -- partly due to them not knowing I was powered and partly because 2 blocks in they were cut off by another car)
* climbed at least 10,000 ft
* totally stripped my dropouts (though they've wedged themselves in pretty good now, as I await torque arms from ebikes.ca)
* taken longer and longer commutes to work (I only live 1.5 miles away, but have lengthened my commute to as long as 23 miles so far)
* been passed by an unmarked cop without pedaling at 32mph, uphill. I started pedaling as soon as I saw, but he just took a long look and kept on driving.
* trailed my son up to 600ft and to fun parks nearby
* helped out a few lycras by pulling them on a quick run
* got strange looks from the sweaty bunch of lycras at the top of a 2000ft climb
* got my face stuck with the eBike grin for a week straight
* top speed: 45.3mph
* countless confused glares from cars as I'm able to stick with them or pass them in neighborhoods (even in the mountains)

Some of my favorite rides so far:
http://bit.ly/40mileloop3
http://bit.ly/40mileloop
http://bit.ly/10milecommute
http://bit.ly/16milecommute
http://bit.ly/18milecommute

I've been hoping to post some videos, but the results are either super shaky (handlebar mounted), or too far down (chest mounted cam only seems to get the road in front of me). I'll get it right eventually.

Thanks again everyone. I couldn't have done it without your help.

 

[tostino]

I see in your sig you say:

Dual 36v20a LiFePO4 (Headway) in series for 72v20a, or ~2hp

I just wanted to point out that would be 20ah of battery (very nice!). And you have a 72v40a controller, so assuming 88% efficiency, that is roughly 3.4hp .

Glad your enjoying your bike!

 

[adrian_sm]

Fantastic. That has got to be the most fun filled first week ebiking I have heard off.

Looks like you have some awesome local scenery to take advantage off too.

Well done.

 

[ryan]

Thanks tostino. Is it correct now?

Adrian - It's been a great week. I've done loops where I've been able to keep the throttle open nearly the whole way.

Next on the list is a higher pannier rack. That way I can get some of the turning back. I'm looking into the Old Man Mountain Cold Springs or Sherpa models... but they're 3-4x the price of my Axiom racks I just bought. But after scraping a pack at 35mph on a 10% downgrade I'm sure it's worth it.

 

[GrayKard]

In the past week I:
* passed a dump truck going up hill at 35mph (he was struggling at 30mph as I "pedaled" by)
* raced a corvette in the neighborhood (and won -- partly due to them not knowing I was powered and partly because 2 blocks in they were cut off by another car)
* climbed at least 10,000 ft
* totally stripped my dropouts (though they've wedged themselves in pretty good now, as I await torque arms from ebikes.ca)
* taken longer and longer commutes to work (I only live 1.5 miles away, but have lengthened my commute to as long as 23 miles so far)
* been passed by an unmarked cop without pedaling at 32mph, uphill. I started pedaling as soon as I saw, but he just took a long look and kept on driving.
* trailed my son up to 600ft and to fun parks nearby
* helped out a few lycras by pulling them on a quick run
* got strange looks from the sweaty bunch of lycras at the top of a 2000ft climb
* got my face stuck with the eBike grin for a week straight
* top speed: 45.3mph
* countless confused glares from cars as I'm able to stick with them or pass them in neighborhoods (even in the mountains)

I've lost count of how many miles I've logged biking to work. Easily over 5000 before motors, 700 after, and I haven't done any of that stuff. Ok, now I'm depressed.

Glad you're having fun with your new Ebike. Keep posting your adventures so I can live vicariously through you.

Gary

 

[mr.electric]

nice looking rides. I guess you have been enjoying your "commute" more than most people. I commute through san francisco and it is nice to get time on my ebike but it is also tiring constantly weaving between pedestrians , stopped cars and regular bicycles.
I have been playing with different panier set ups to hold my batteries and controller too. The rear paniers I have are fine but I find that I have to cinch down the strap that secures the panier very tightly to avoid the battery jiggling when I get onto a trail in Golden Gate park. Have you devised a way to secure your batteries within the paniers?

 

[ryan]

My problem wasn't so much securing the batteries inside the panniers as much as fitting the batteries inside at all! They barely fit. So they really don't move.

My next ride is around the perimeter of SF. It's a 50 mile loop that I'll have to conserve the amps in order to make, but thankfully there are no real mountains to suck out the juice.

 

[mr.electric]

I see. My battery is very compact but heavy so it likes to bounce. 10 ah 48v it is shaped like two bricks next to each other and weighs 10 lbs.
I just did this ride.
http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&t=h&msa=0&msid=107363697398468697740.000483433bc0ebd8bc2db&ll=37.807512,-122.470908&spn=0.019123,0.038581&z=15

Note: I started from my place in the city not the base of the bridge. Also there is an extra line drawn through the center of the loop on the map that I cant erase.

 

[ryan]

I'd love to ride around Marin, but it's a little out of range for me. If I could get my rig onto Caltrain I'd love to do this 35 mile loop: http://bit.ly/35MileSFMarinLoop

I don't know the Marin Headlands very well. Do you know the trails between the Marin Headlands and Muir Beach well? I'm curious if they're single or double track. My panniers get in the way on single track, but packed double track is perfect and fire roads are even better. If I can just get a little bit further north it opens up the entire north bay to me.

 

[ryan]

I finally got a video to work! (even in HD!)

http://www.youtube.com/user/electricbikevideos

Here's a first person perspective of a short trip through the foothills of the Santa Cruz Mountains near Crystal Springs Reservoir, Hillsborough, and Burlingame (Map: http://bit.ly/bfkyFx ) on a Marin downhill frame equipped with about 3.4 unassisted horse power from a Crystalyte 5305 hub motor powered by 72v20ah LiFePO4 battery packs and a 72v40a Crystalyte 4110 controller. The clip was filmed with a Kodak Zi8 in a shirt pocket so it's a little shaky and there is a bit of wind noise.

Part 1:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7UlmmJ78jps[/youtube]
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7UlmmJ78jps

Part 2:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1bRqHYd9VF4[/youtube]
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1bRqHYd9VF4

I'll post some photos and more videos in the Photo & Video thread as well.

 

[Demosthenes]

Gorgeous area. Looks like a great ride. Bout how fast were you going?

 

[USAEBIKECO]

wow 72 volts. You must fly on that bike. Fun times

 

[Salix]

well done in making a nice reliable e-bike.
E-bikes with lipo batteries really have come off age as a practical mode of transport.

 

[ryan]

20-25mph on the uphills, 30-35mph on the flats, and 35-45mph on the downhills (nothing too steep or aggressive though).

Average speed for the entire trip, including a short commute to work earlier that day was 25.5mph.

Gorgeous area. Looks like a great ride. Bout how fast were you going?

 

[mr.electric]

Those speeds sound about on par with my bmc v3 at 48v. I love passing cars going uphill. It is so nice to have a powerful usable ebike. I have been building these things for years but I just started getting into riding them.
This map shows a few campsites I found in Marin. The two sites directly next to a parking lots are pretty much reserved all year round because they are such georgeous scenic campsites that are located so close to San Francisco. They other two are 2 and 3 miles from the nearest parking area so they are never reserved , in fact it is free to reserve them. i have not ridden the trails that lead to the campsites to see if they are single track or double.
I also called the headlands visitor center shown on the map and they said they have an outlet outside of they restroom that could be used for charging e bikes.
http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&msa=0&msid=107363697398468697740.000482103654122574751&t=h&z=14

I was thinking that a group of e cyclists could meet at Park Chalet restaurant in Golden Gate park (or my house about .5 miles from the restaurant) charge all batteries and head off on the 10.5 mile trip to the campsite. The round trip would be 20-some miles , within most lithium bikes range:
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&source=s_d&saddr=1000+Great+Highway,+San+Francisco,+CA+94121+(Beach+Chalet+Brewery+%26+Restaurant&daddr=Hawk+Campsite+%4037.855406,-122.522686&hl=en&geocode=FcpMQAIdU6Oy-CHEGejoVfM4CikXMn82uYeFgDERIpnl_IpQZg%3BFa6gQQIdwnOy-A&mra=ls&dirflg=b&sll=37.824715,-122.5018&sspn=0.192272,0.267792&ie=UTF8&t=h&z=13&lci=bike

Ignore the part of the Google map at the top that says 10.4 miles - about 1 hour 33 mins"
An ebike could do this ride in more like 30-45 minutes