Looking for advice as a newcomer

pmarzo · Sep 20, 2017

Hi! I'll try to keep the word count to a minimum while including all necessary info, but go ahead and ask whatever you want. Also, feel free to explain something you think I'm not understanding; I'm by no means an expert or even experienced, so I'll take whatever I can get.
I bought in early 2013 this bike conversion kit from BMSbattery
https://bmsbattery.com/ebike-kit/34...sion+Kit+-+RPM+:+201&results=288#/214-rpm-328
and from the same website I got this battery pack
https://bmsbattery.com/ebike-batter...Pack+-+Discharge+Current+:+15-30A&results=349
To be honest, both have served me quite well, although they haven't been used in 12 months since I spent a year in Canada. The bike they're used on is a Specialized HRXC that my parents got me, of which I'll post pictures. The reasons why I'm writing this are mainly three
1. I keep the controller and the battery together in a PELI storm case, which has made me change at least three racks (is that how you say that in English? I mean the thing you mount on the back wheel to hold a case or bags) due to the metal bending with time and movement;
2. The bike, honestly, goes too slow (about 20km/h) to use it regulary, although it's nice at 4 in the morning in the city; it takes me some time to get to an area in which acceleration matters more than top speed, and this way I just end up pedaling myself for the most part, making the motor only sometimes useful. What's the best way to solve it? I think the battery is honestly huge for this kind of use, when I normally don't make more than 30-40 km before recharging. I do have some gentle hills to get over, but I have feet and legs if necessary. I guess a good way to solve it could be to get the same motor with higher RPM: I have the 201, BMSBattery sells them up to 328; I would love to keep some power though. Otherwise, get a 1000W motor? Not sure
3. General suggestions. Probably the controller shouldn't be so close to the battery, maybe I should keep two bags to make it less shaky, maybe I should use 3-speed switch instead of a half twist throttle, I'm an idiot and I'm lucky I haven't lost everything yet, I should upgrade my bike itself instead of the motor...

Some notes: I live in Italy, close to a city and legality isn't really an issue. I would love to know about how isolated higher voltages should be kept. My dad is worried about going higher than 60V for reasons beyond my comprehension, this doesn't affect me but if someone has the same opinion please explain. My budget is basically as low as possible. I'm fine with waiting for shippings, I'm fine with not getting much more than what I have right now, I'm fine with being told what I got was a terrible decision. Pictures are the bike, the controller (There's two because one doesn't really work great), how I've modified the battery pack into a horrible thing due to bag design.
Thanks!
Paolo

flat tire · Sep 20, 2017

1: rear rack mount batteries suck, try mounting on the bike frame or even the bars, it will give you more grip and make the bike less prone to wheelies (once you have more power).

2: get a more powerful motor, my Leaf 1500 is totally silent, inconspicuous, and does 6KW and nearly 100KPH. It is a lot of fun. You can get a badass controller from Kelly with variable regen, or a less expensive version from PowerVelocity or another vender on the forums.

3: Make sure you have a good battery. RC Lipo is really great if you're safe about storing, protecting, and properly charging it. Also get a high quality full twist throttle. I recommend Domino, a really great product from your country. Get a Cycle Analyst v3 as well, very useful for managing your power use and also to remap the throttle range.

4: No reason to be scared of voltage. ~20S or ~80V seems to be about the sweet spot for performance with many hub motors.

wturber · Sep 20, 2017

Sounds like you have a slower wind motor. So it will have good torque, but lower speed. Apparently a faster wind motor is what you need. You seem to be already on the trail of figuring that out.

This older thread goes into it a bit. Apparently the motor may be stamped with the winding.

https://endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=38579

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Oh - the reason to be concerned about voltage is that somewhere around 60 volts or so, a shock through the heart is potentially lethal. It's not an exact thing since human bodies differ, but once you are in the neighborhood of 60 volts, it is a consideration. OTOH, most household electricity is well over 60 volts. So it is largely a matter of making sure everything is wired safely.

motomech · Sep 20, 2017

pmarzo said:
Hi! I'll try to keep the word count to a minimum while including all necessary info, but go ahead and ask whatever you want. Also, feel free to explain something you think I'm not understanding; I'm by no means an expert or even experienced, so I'll take whatever I can get.
I bought in early 2013 this bike conversion kit from BMSbattery
https://bmsbattery.com/ebike-kit/34...sion+Kit+-+RPM+:+201&results=288#/214-rpm-328
and from the same website I got this battery pack
https://bmsbattery.com/ebike-batter...Pack+-+Discharge+Current+:+15-30A&results=349
To be honest, both have served me quite well, although they haven't been used in 12 months since I spent a year in Canada. The bike they're used on is a Specialized HRXC that my parents got me, of which I'll post pictures. The reasons why I'm writing this are mainly three
1. I keep the controller and the battery together in a PELI storm case, which has made me change at least three racks (is that how you say that in English? I mean the thing you mount on the back wheel to hold a case or bags) due to the metal bending with time and movement;
2. The bike, honestly, goes too slow (about 20km/h) to use it regulary, although it's nice at 4 in the morning in the city; it takes me some time to get to an area in which acceleration matters more than top speed, and this way I just end up pedaling myself for the most part, making the motor only sometimes useful. What's the best way to solve it? I think the battery is honestly huge for this kind of use, when I normally don't make more than 30-40 km before recharging. I do have some gentle hills to get over, but I have feet and legs if necessary. I guess a good way to solve it could be to get the same motor with higher RPM: I have the 201, BMSBattery sells them up to 328; I would love to keep some power though. Otherwise, get a 1000W motor? Not sure
3. General suggestions. Probably the controller shouldn't be so close to the battery, maybe I should keep two bags to make it less shaky, maybe I should use 3-speed switch instead of a half twist throttle, I'm an idiot and I'm lucky I haven't lost everything yet, I should upgrade my bike itself instead of the motor...

Some notes: I live in Italy, close to a city and legality isn't really an issue. I would love to know about how isolated higher voltages should be kept. My dad is worried about going higher than 60V for reasons beyond my comprehension, this doesn't affect me but if someone has the same opinion please explain. My budget is basically as low as possible. I'm fine with waiting for shippings, I'm fine with not getting much more than what I have right now, I'm fine with being told what I got was a terrible decision. Pictures are the bike, the controller (There's two because one doesn't really work great), how I've modified the battery pack into a horrible thing due to bag design.
Thanks!
Paolo

Somethings is not right here. A 201 BPM in a 29 inch wheel on 48 Volts should do at least 20 MPH, not 20 Kph! What is the resting Voltage of your pack when fully charged? Have you dis-connected the speed limiter on the controller?
You don't need to replace the BPM 201, just repair or replace whatever it is preventing the motor to reaching it's no-load speed.
Let's talk about speed. Anything under 20 mph is just plain boring. Into the low 20"s mph starts to get to be fun and 25 mph is starting to get you to places in a reasonable time. But, IMO, riding an un-suspended bike w/ rim brakes over 25 mph is not a very good idea, so let's shoot for that as top speed.
The battery-Things have progressed since 2011 and LifePo4 as a chemistry has fallen out of favor, it's large and heavy. Given that your pack is suspect, it is 6 years old and modified, replacing it would be the first step.
If I were you, I would replace it w/. something like this;

https://em3ev.com/shop/50v-14s6p-small-triangle-pack/

A 50V battery would raise the top speed a couple of mph from the 21 mph your bike should be doing to 23 mph(37 Kph) and it could be mounted in the open frame space, improving the handling greatly.
Then, mount the largest tires that will fit on the rims and that might add another MPH, to 24 mph(40Kph).

If you have any money left over, you might consider upgrading your controller, for they too have progressed since 2011. The KT type controller w/ the LCD-3 display offers a greatly improved PAS experience over the old the old KU you have now. If you have not been using PAS, you should be. Something like this one;

http://www.pswpower.com/peng/iview.asp?KeyID=dtpic-2016-3F-28YM.50CNJ

Another option would be to replace your batt. w/ a Li-Ion 48V pack and buy a BPM motor only and change the core. Use the mid-speed 260 version, not the high-speed 328. It is too high a speed for a big wheel bike. This would put you around 40 Kph as well. What ever batt. you get, mount it the frame center and get rid of that awful briefcase.

Good luck.

d8veh · Sep 24, 2017

The cheapest way to get what you want is to buy a faster wind BPM motor on its own, then swap the cores, but that only works if you have the BPM with the side-plate held on with 6 screws. If you have a BPM2, you need a specual tool to dismantle it. Next option would be to replace the complete motor wheel with a 260 rpm or 328 rpm one.

Things have improved a lot since you built that bike. If you can afford it, it might be better to replace everything. A 48v 328 rpm Q128 with one of their 09 batteries with the included 20A sine wave controllers makes a very nice kit. It's fast (40km/h), powerful, light-weight and has a very nice PAS function.

Looking for advice as a newcomer

pmarzo

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wturber

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motomech

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d8veh

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