laridae
10 µW
First post here - hi everyone!
I recently bought an older hybrid bike (pre 2009?) with a Bionx conversion that I'm trying to get going. It's the 36v version with the I2C bus. The seller thought the battery was dead but I've managed to coax it back to life and it's currently taking a full charge but, given it's age, I doubt it'll last long.
In testing it I briefly had the screen lit up and the motor spinning the back wheel so I believe the motor is OK. Unfortunately, while testing I managed to blow a chip on the PCB so it no longer turns on but will still accept the charger. (I have photos I can add when I figure out how to downsize them)
So, here are my questions:
Short term.
1. Can I get the motor and computer to work inexpensively to enable using the existing battery, while it lasts?
Longer term.
2. Can I retire the current battery and replace it with a couple of 18v cordless tool batteries, like Ryobi or DeWalt? I understand the Bionx is proprietary and not readily accepting of 3rd party parts. But I'm not able to do a lot of fancy electronics stuff myself so is this going to be a show stopper for me?
3. Failing that, should I just give up on the Bionx motor and buy a generic Chinese one that's easier to hack?
I appreciate any help that you can give. I took this on as an interesting little indoor winter project and to begin to learn about ebikes but, to be honest, I really don't know what I'm doing.
I recently bought an older hybrid bike (pre 2009?) with a Bionx conversion that I'm trying to get going. It's the 36v version with the I2C bus. The seller thought the battery was dead but I've managed to coax it back to life and it's currently taking a full charge but, given it's age, I doubt it'll last long.
In testing it I briefly had the screen lit up and the motor spinning the back wheel so I believe the motor is OK. Unfortunately, while testing I managed to blow a chip on the PCB so it no longer turns on but will still accept the charger. (I have photos I can add when I figure out how to downsize them)
So, here are my questions:
Short term.
1. Can I get the motor and computer to work inexpensively to enable using the existing battery, while it lasts?
Longer term.
2. Can I retire the current battery and replace it with a couple of 18v cordless tool batteries, like Ryobi or DeWalt? I understand the Bionx is proprietary and not readily accepting of 3rd party parts. But I'm not able to do a lot of fancy electronics stuff myself so is this going to be a show stopper for me?
3. Failing that, should I just give up on the Bionx motor and buy a generic Chinese one that's easier to hack?
I appreciate any help that you can give. I took this on as an interesting little indoor winter project and to begin to learn about ebikes but, to be honest, I really don't know what I'm doing.