Brake shut off - how important?

[D-Man]

I've used the safety levers/brake shut off for 5150 miles now. Of those miles I can think of at least 3 times where I got confused and had both the throttle on and the brake at the same time. The reason usually is I'm tired and my mind was somewhere else. It can happen easily on those long trips. The brake shut-off worked every time.

 

[lcyclist]

My controller has brake shutoff input but I don't use them. Seem to be another complication. What I have is a huge, accessible power cut off switch located just under my seat for emergency. My 1000W rear motor is no match for my 8" rotor disc brakes; if the motor ever runs away, my first instinct is to apply brakes then cutoff power to avoid burning something.

 

[Roy]

One more brake shut off endorsement here. When you do a lot of riding, eventually you're likely to make mistakes. Three or four times when wearing gloves, I meant to have the throttle off and but awkwardly left it on. To me the feature is worth the extra bit of wiring. No malfunctions or hassles experienced in 4K miles. I also note that ebikes.ca now sells full metals levers with switches so the bendable plastic models can be ditched.

 

[D-Man]

I also note that ebikes.ca now sells full metals levers with switches so the bendable plastic models can be ditched.

They do? Where at? Crystalyte? I couldn't find them. :?

 

[rscamp]

Can anyone shed any more light on these?

http://www.bike-eu.com/products/3654/sng-launched-universal-e-bike-stop-for-brake-levers.html

 

[Zoot Katz]

Can anyone shed any more light on these?

http://www.bike-eu.com/products/3654/sng-launched-universal-e-bike-stop-for-brake-levers.html

It doesn't look like it would work with aero-levers. . . oh drat!

 

[s_t]

I use a kill switch mounted on the throttle housing. I have too many wires already. The main reason I don't use brake switches is all the levers I had with switches sucked compared to the ones I'm using.

Can you please describe what wire(s) the kill switch opens/closes? Given your comment on too many wires, I'm guessing it must be one of the throttle wires rather than the brake circuit? Thanks.

 

[PeteCress]

Some kind of "emergency off " is a dang good thing...

Has anybody considered a PedelElec setup as an alternative?

Seems a step above a kill switch bco it's deadman-like operation: the operator does not have to do anything, instead he just has to stop doing something (pedaling).

 

[amberwolf]

Pedelec doesn't help if something is wrong with the sensors or controller that thinks you're still pedalling. Having some other way to kill power would be really really good.

On my CrazyBike2, at this point, there are three ways to do it. I can turn the keyswitch (that disables the controller but doesn't disconnect it from power), I can flip the main breaker (that disconnects everything from the negative side of the batteries), and I can physically yank the Anderson connectors on the batteries/etc, right there between my knees.

I did have an ebrake line hooked up, too, but it only does the same thing that the keyswitch does, since the last two controllers I have had on it don't have an actual separate brake line. That line is not attached now because I broke the last reed switches I had for it, and until very recently did not have but one other switch on one of the levers, which is what activated my brake lights (separate system from the motor). Now I have waterproof brake switches in the old Honda scooter control cluster levers, but they're hooked up only to the brake light right now; need to setup a relay that switches both lights and motor cutoff.

 

[all74]

Some kind of "emergency off " is a dang good thing...

Has anybody considered a PedelElec setup as an alternative?

Seems a step above a kill switch bco it's deadman-like operation: the operator does not have to do anything, instead he just has to stop doing something (pedaling).

I think having a pedelec is the reason to have brake cutouts. Mine might be flaky but it take a few seconds, well at least 2, to cut power to the motor after I stop pedaling. In that time I could hit something and without brake cutouts I would be jamming on the brakes while power is still applied to the motor. Not good for my plastic Bafang gears!

Mark

 

[PeteCress]

Seems a little stupid... I mean does your car or motorcycle motor disengage drive when you hit the brake? I wonder what the rationale behind such a requirement is? perhaps it's those strange electric motors and their unpredictable behaviour..

Monday night's 'Charlie Rose' had a segment on the Toyota situation in which it was said that most auto manufacturers employ a "brake override" that cuts power no matter what the state of the throttle when the brake is applied.

Preseumably to save money, that feature was not implemented on most recent Toyotas (the Lexus was cited as an exception).

Not a legal requirement as far as I could tell... but most of the industry seems to have concluded it is a prudent enough measure to warrant the cost.

Until seeing that show, I had not realized that throttle/brakes had become drive-by-wire already.