Albie's ebike - my 'daily driver' project

[albie]

My sister is around 5'1... shes to short to use the bike (she tried using it even at the lowest seat height and dropped the bike!).

It looks like there is space on the frame for front gears but the cost isn't really worth it.

The current gear setup is good to up to 35km/h... anything higher you won't be able to pedal along (have done 40 km/h even up to 50km/h going downhill... struggled to keep up).

EDIT: just wanted to add that i've done 326km on the 36v setup... no cooling mods etc just an extra SLA battery!

 

[tonrob]

Hi
Got one the same yesterday at20% off........initial thoughts
heavy
steel....200m from beach........rust!!
will be fun
I have lots questions about solar charging, upgrades etc but will start a new post when can work out how

 

[albie]

it's a great frame since it steel = great candidate for a hub motor which i'm undecided which one but I think i know what i'm definitely going for now! More on that when it ships here.

Looking to finish this off with a hubsetup and also either on a 72v or 96v lipos...

At the moment these are the stats for the bike.

Top speed - 36km/h (has been checked by BiGH)
Must pedal in order to reach the range of 30km or no pedalling is 15km at most (damn crappy SLAs!)

Have now completed 534km with 913mins riding time without any weird faults from the stock setup 'overclocked'!

 

[BiGH]

well done dude - how'd u go with the rain - did you still ride? or did you take the train?

either way its had its "trial by rain"

 

[albie]

I posted a reply up but the new board didn't save it...

anyways... yeah did ride it home last night. Definitely yesterday was torrential rain (found out that the cafe downstairs got flooded). I must say that the ezips are pretty weather proof, although the brakes were a bit of a worry as they had problems stopping in the wet, but that can also be attributed to the extra weight I'm carrying around etc.

Have been speaking to the merchant where i'm getting the hub setup early next year so i can't wait for that. More news on that upgrade when it comes.

I also ordered a Doc Wattson power meter to see how much power i'm using etc also.

 

[vanilla ice]

Have not tried riding in rain yet, but I've done 100 miles on my overclocked currie. Getting bored of 36v so have a 48v controller in the mail to me. Going to see how much rpm the 1018 can take.

BTW what kind of lighting do you have in your shed? Your photos look nice, like a big diffused lighting source is there.. mines like a dungeon. Or is it a pro cam/flash setup?

 

[albie]

It's a canon 400d (Digital Rebel XTi for the guys in the US)...with a sigma 24-70 2.8f lens and a canon speedlight 430ex with ebay flash diffuser.

I know it sounds full on for something to take photos of a ebike but its the standard photography rig i use when i go out and take photos at parties and events, and also car shows / car photoshoots / motorsport photography.

As for getting bored on 36v... i feel your pain cause at the moment I can keep up with the lycra brigade but cannot really overtake them, hence the reason why i want to go a full hub setup at 48v.

i like the currietech motor but its a bit too noisy for my liking.

 

[vanilla ice]

I agree its too noisey. 24v is the noise is tolerable, but 36... :? I'm going to try ATF and a blower at 48v. Hopefully it wont get much louder than 36. If I get sick of it I may sw0p out motors.

Nice, it looks like the diffuser actually helps. Well makes the shadow edges softer anyway... I have a digi Rebel also but no flash. I think I'm going to try one of my old 35mm flashes on there in M mode. I have to DMM the voltage of my old flashes to make sure they're ok with the new body though. Not being able to bounce off the ceiling at xmas parties would suck.

 

[albie]

Just a quick update... got my Doc Wattson Power meter in the mail today... was wrapped cause now BiGH can't complain to me about having no power meter (ala CA!).

I'm now really looking forward to the major upgrade that i'm planning!!!

Where I mounted it finally!

Stuff I used when I tried to install it in

Trial mounting (no wires connected)

Complete install

How it looks like with wiring

At the moment its only connected via zip ties... I know its going to move around when it start with full bumps so I'm looking at mounting it more permanently. I've also wired it up via the 3 wire method. I'll also need a new speedo cause the speedo gets a crapload of EM interference which gives off random readings (see first photo ... 68km/h and I had the bike sitting normally on the spot?!)

 

[BiGH]

yay nice work!



now get the next part done

 

[Mark_A_W]

Does it use a shunt?

Or does all the power run through it? Therefore does it need to be wired between the battery and the controller directly?

I'm looking for a meter myself, but my battery and controller are at the back of the bike. I don't want to run heavy leads all the way to the handlebars and back again...

Mark

 

[albie]

I used the connection setup that they prescribe here (see 3 wire)
http://www.rc-electronics-usa.com/motorized-bicycles/bike-meter-connection.html

See top diagram...

Technically you only need to run 2 heavy guage wires (for the negative connection) and a lighter guage wire for the positive.

The 3 wire setup is similar to how the Cycle Analyst is wired up.

However for my setup (and to keep it slightly stealthy), i'm running 3 black heavy guage wires which I've routed along with the other wiring from the throttle and brake cutouts. I did it like this so that it keeps it all modular for future upgrades (power meter / battery setup / controller / Hub).

 

[Mark_A_W]

Thanks Albie - I guess two heavy wires + one thin one is bearable.


I thought the CA had a shunt that you put between the battery and controller and just ran a thin cable to the CA?

 

[BiGH]

Thanks Albie - I guess two heavy wires + one thin one is bearable.


I thought the CA had a shunt that you put between the battery and controller and just ran a thin cable to the CA?

You're right mark - it does.

 

[albie]

lol i thought it does.... don't mind me... nothing to see here!!!!

I have one problem with the bike at the moment... one of the large anderson connectors keeps getting disconnected.... will have to properly solder / crimp the stupid thing tommorow... came disconnected tonight when i was riding my bike home!

 

[fechter]

I think it would be possible to rip apart a Watt's up meter and separate the shunt from the rest of the circuit (or substitue a different shunt) so that you could use skinny wires from the shunt to the meter part. This way the shunt could be inserted in line with the heavy wires without needing to make them longer.

 

[Mark_A_W]

Now that's an interesting idea Fechter.

 

[albie]

I got a phone mount for my bike off BiGH the other day. I'm too worried that my phone will fly off but I've ordered a Deal Extreme GPS unit for $US168.00. Will go well with the other guages / meters i have on the bike.

The unit I have on my bike when I did this test run is the unit I got mum for xmas. perfect fit!

Got a few funny looks when I biked past some people and it was barking orders

 

[albie]

Got my x5304 kit from getadirt bike tonight!

Too bad I don't have my battery pack yet to install it in this weekend so i'll have to wait for that to come in. I don't want to run the x5 off the SLAs i have cause they will be crap and the range won't be any good.

i took a spin on one of the bikes he has and it was a x5304 setup as well and I was amazed at the torque it produces down low.... and soooo quietly too! Had an insanely big EV grin when i came back!

 

[albie]

Just a quick piccie...

It's like a pressie under the xmas tree waiting to be unwrapped!

You will probably notice an scooter electric scooter frame next to the box... need to wire up a controller to that but I'll get to that as soon as I finish the bike

 

[Mark_A_W]

Which controller did you get Albie?

And, what batteries?

 

[albie]

Not sure what controller is in the photo (its a loaner one from getadirtbike) till my 50a 4110 controller comes in.

The batteries i'm getting are the 48v 18ah ebay lifepo4... although i'm waiting for the seller to get in touch with me to see whats happened... hopefully they get here next week or else i'll lodge a dispute with paypal. Will definitely be getting a second 48v pack in a months time though.

Also will be putting on some hookworms on the rear and leaving the tyres i have as is on the front so 26"x2.0 fronts and 26"x2.5 rears. getadirtbike was showing me some 4' tyres which i would love to put on but the frame doesn't have the space for it unfortunately.

 

[Mark_A_W]

You mean the Yesa batteries? Or the duct tape jobies?

Can they deliver 50 amps???

 

[albie]

they are rated at 50a burst (the ebay ones i'm getting btw)... we'll see if it holds out i guess!

 

[albie]

I got bored today and it was raining so i decided to do the motor upgrade... without the battery upgrade.

I realised that it took forever to take the wiring / existing motor off compared to sticking the new stuff on so i guess next time i do this, it will be easier to get another frame and electrify that!

Anyways here are the piccies

x5304 with the normal 2.0 tyres....

x5304 and you can see the old motor next to it (lots of wiring to go at this point

new flat handlebars.... so that i can easily mount the monitoring gauges and ipod holder on!

With finished wiring / hookworms on... new rear rack. Also my messy floor.

rear view... lots of clearance there... but it was a tight squeeze to mount the new hub!

arrow shows which way the motor should turn (so you don't go backwards!!!!)

Even if it was raining and wet... i did take it out for a test run. I have to say that was the shortest ebike trip i've done to date. 10 meters or two houses! What happened was that I didn't realise that the controller I have on loan from getadirt bike has a voltage cut off of 39v. The SLA pack i have is 36v but when fresh off the charger its 40.70v. So when it got some load into it and hit the 39v level... it stopped working... I have to say pedalling a x5304 without power is a bitch (averaging 10km/h pedal power!).

As for the guys who got an ezip / izip it looks as though the controller is this...

Secret compartment of wires!!!

so in short... don't bother running 48v on the stock izip/ezip setup unless you decide to upgrade the brushed controller.
more photos here: http://www.in2events.com/galleries/20080119_x5304install/