1000km on the Rocky Mountain X503

[Lowell]

Got home from work today and reset the DrainBrain. 1003km, 39 cycles and 410 amp hours 8)
For my 68km round trip commute, average speeds have ranged from 51 to 56km/h, max speed 90.7km/h, and Wh/km between 31-40.

 

[Reid Welch]

Impressed! Wow, I most marvel at that economy at such very high speeds.


You = 8)

 

[BiGH]

omg thats nuts. You're getting a 68km range!!!! am i reading that right!!

Are you running 84v?

What config is the battery pack!!!

and what mods did you do to the controller!?


VERY impressed over here!

 

[Lowell]

omg thats nuts. You're getting a 68km range!!!! am i reading that right!!

Are you running 84v?

What config is the battery pack!!!

and what mods did you do to the controller!?


VERY impressed over here!

I top off the packs at work. 68km would be possible, but at a much reduced speed. Normal Ah draw over 34km is 10-15 Ah depending on speed and how many SUVs I can find to draft. Get behind a cube van and it's like a free tow. :lol:

The battery packs are a total of 76 2D Nexcell 18Ah NiMH, split into three and custom shaped to fit the frame. Controller is an off the shelf 72v Crystalyte, but with IRFB4110 MOSFETs and extra copper.

 

[BiGH]

I top off the packs at work. 68km would be possible, but at a much reduced speed. Normal Ah draw over 34km is 10-15 Ah depending on speed and how many SUVs I can find to draft. Get behind a cube van and it's like a free tow. :lol:

The battery packs are a total of 76 2D Nexcell 18Ah NiMH, split into three and custom shaped to fit the frame. Controller is an off the shelf 72v Crystalyte, but with IRFB4110 MOSFETs and extra copper.

mmm very nice i'm still impressed.

really makes me more indecisive as to what route i should go for the bike i want to build - 5303 or puma... mmmm your battery capacity is a lot larger than i was planning on (2x 36v texas electric lipo packs)

thanks for the information on ur bike - i'm starting to lean towards the 5303 now for the extra speed! (i can ride at 38kph on the flat anways on my road bike with its new gearing and want an ebike that will blow my socks off so to say)

 

[Lowell]

What I'd like to do sometime is an '04 wind, 20" wheel and 132V. Upgrade to 150V MOSFETs of course, and juice it up with lithium power. This should give around 65mph on a normal bike, along with 155 lbs of thrust off the line. More importantly, 50lbs thrust at 50mph 8)

Mounted on a long wheelbase full suspension frame it would be the ultimate commuter bike.

 

[fechter]

If you go to 150 volt FETs and run 132v, the current in the FETs might be pretty darn high at partial throttle. Most of the 150v rated FETs don't have the best on resistance or current capacity.

Which ones were you thinking of using?

At 150v, it's getting into IGBT territory. I have seen some nice beefy IGBT modules on eBay. Most of them are 600v. I think you could drive the gates on them with the same drivers.

 

[Lowell]

I was looking at the ones from the 150V controller thread. I do agree that IGBTs would be the better choice though.

 

[D-Man]

How hot are the nimh batteries getting on this ride of yours? How much more amps can they take before meltdown?

 

[Lowell]

How hot are the nimh batteries getting on this ride of yours? How much more amps can they take before meltdown?

The packs are 3C rated, which is 56 amps. Packs get a bit warm under hard running but nothing I'm concerned about. I'm not sure what temp the Nexcell chargers cut out at, but the packs rarely go over the 'no charge' temp.
Before I added copper to all the cell tabs, all three packs would go over temp on a long ride.

 

[EbikeMaui]

How hot are the nimh batteries getting on this ride of yours? How much more amps can they take before meltdown?

The packs are 3C rated, which is 56 amps. Packs get a bit warm under hard running but nothing I'm concerned about. I'm not sure what temp the Nexcell chargers cut out at, but the packs rarely go over the 'no charge' temp.
Before I added copper to all the cell tabs, all three packs would go over temp on a long ride.

More speed at less efficiency... or less efficiency at a lower speed without pedaling seem to be the only options with a single speed hub motor. Going back to the basic proven formula.. 1 ah = at least 2 -3 miles at 20 mph using up to 100lbs of batteries ANYWHERE WITHOUT pedaling at 18 - 20 mph on round trips.With lithiums the range and speed gets better per ah. unless you go faster than a 20 mph average, round trip.Above 20 mph average speeds you can expect the figures to get worse fast!

 

[Lowell]

How hot are the nimh batteries getting on this ride of yours? How much more amps can they take before meltdown?

The packs are 3C rated, which is 56 amps. Packs get a bit warm under hard running but nothing I'm concerned about. I'm not sure what temp the Nexcell chargers cut out at, but the packs rarely go over the 'no charge' temp.
Before I added copper to all the cell tabs, all three packs would go over temp on a long ride.

More speed at less efficiency... or less efficiency at a lower speed without pedaling seem to be the only options with a single speed hub motor. Going back to the basic proven formula.. 1 ah = at least 2 -3 miles at 20 mph using up to 100lbs of batteries ANYWHERE WITHOUT pedaling at 18 - 20 mph on round trips.With lithiums the range and speed gets better per ah. unless you go faster than a 20 mph average, round trip.Above 20 mph average speeds you can expect the figures to get worse fast!

You must have quoted the wrong post.

 

[EbikeMaui]

How hot are the nimh batteries getting on this ride of yours? How much more amps can they take before meltdown?

The packs are 3C rated, which is 56 amps. Packs get a bit warm under hard running but nothing I'm concerned about. I'm not sure what temp the Nexcell chargers cut out at, but the packs rarely go over the 'no charge' temp.
Before I added copper to all the cell tabs, all three packs would go over temp on a long ride.

More speed at less efficiency... or less efficiency at a lower speed without pedaling seem to be the only options with a single speed hub motor. Going back to the basic proven formula.. 1 ah = at least 2 -3 miles at 20 mph using up to 100lbs of batteries ANYWHERE WITHOUT pedaling at 18 - 20 mph on round trips.With lithiums the range and speed gets better per ah. unless you go faster than a 20 mph average, round trip.Above 20 mph average speeds you can expect the figures to get worse fast!

You must have quoted the wrong post.

Oh well.

 

[Toorbough ULL-Zeveigh]

The packs are 3C rated, which is 56 amps. Packs get a bit warm under hard running but nothing I'm concerned about. I'm not sure what temp the Nexcell chargers cut out at, but the packs rarely go over the 'no charge' temp.
Before I added copper to all the cell tabs, all three packs would go over temp on a long ride.

More speed at less efficiency... or less efficiency at a lower speed without pedaling seem to be the only options with a single speed hub motor. Going back to the basic proven formula.. 1 ah = at least 2 -3 miles at 20 mph using up to 100lbs of batteries ANYWHERE WITHOUT pedaling at 18 - 20 mph on round trips.With lithiums the range and speed gets better per ah. unless you go faster than a 20 mph average, round trip.Above 20 mph average speeds you can expect the figures to get worse fast!

You must have quoted the wrong post.

Oh well.

Isn't there a tiny part of you that just wants the quotes to go on & on...




It's 30-Love. Lowell, I believe you have the serve.

 

[Lowell]

For the metrically challenged, 51-56km/h = 31.7-34.8mph. For an overall average speed through the city, that's very good, and about equal to driving a car. If your time is worth nothing, by all means go slow and save amp hours. Since I'm paid by the hour, if I were to travel at 20mph, I'd lose $40-50 in billing per day.