budget beach bike build with yescom EBike kit

[to the beach]

Including new bike, kit, batteries, accessories, and odd stuff, I'm into this whole project for $600.

Test rode my bike after installing a yescom 48V1000W front hub kit that I bought used. It came with 22 Ah SLAs so that's what I hooked up. Batteries were fully charged as my DMM, charger, and thumb throttle display indicated. I had to give max throttle even on flat ground and it was barely moving along at maybe 10 MPH for 150 feet before I let off. Is that to be expected?

 

[cal3thousand]

It was measuring full voltage? In that case, those batteries are done.

 

[e-beach]

If you are using the stock yescomusa controller, and everything is hooked up correctly, you should have a white connector with one red wire and one black wire attached to it. That is your battery pack voltage out meter hookup connector. It should not be plugged into anything unless your kit came with a volt meter attached to it.

1) with your multi-meter turned off, plug the probes into the voltage out connector. 2 ) Turn on the power to your bike. 3) Switch your meter to the 200v setting as your pack should be 48v or more fully charged. 4) go for a quick ride with your meter someplace you can read it and go WOT (wide open throttle.) That reading will tell you what your pack has in it under load.

Also, go to your original post and edit your kit type into the title so yescomusa people will know you have a question about it.

Report back and post the results.

 

[to the beach]

System on = 52 Volts

WOT = 50 Volts

 

[Ypedal]

...max throttle even on flat ground and it was barely moving along at maybe 10 MPH...

No, not normal..

First thing.. lift wheel off the ground.. throttle on.. do you have means of measuring current ( amps ) ?

The motor should start smoothly and accelerate to full speed ( 20+ mph ) easily without stuttering etc..

some controllers have a " low power " or " Uk " setting, small white wire, disconnect it for full power.

Double check your connections..

 

[to the beach]

Ok, is the small white wire on the throttle side of the harness or on the controller side? or is it a jumper on the circuit board?

 

[Ypedal]

usually on the controller, single wire with a 1 pin connector.

 

[to the beach]

I found the bug, the throttle had another inch of travel but was obstructed because of the curve of the beach bars and the gripshift housing. I just climbed the hill next to my house no problem and rode a total of 3 miles. LEDs read still read "full." I don't have any gauges but it would go faster than I'm willing to go on my overloaded stock back wheel. Feels a tiny bit wobbly even after ensuring proper spoke tensions.

 

[e-beach]

I found the bug, the throttle had another inch of travel but was obstructed because of the curve of the beach bars and the gripshift housing. I just climbed the hill next to my house no problem and rode a total of 3 miles. LEDs read still read "full." I don't have any gauges but it would go faster than I'm willing to go on my overloaded stock back wheel. Feels a tiny bit wobbly even after ensuring proper spoke tensions.

Glad you found the bug.

Two questions:

1: where is your battery pack mounted?
2:how many torque arms are on your front motor hub?

 

[to the beach]

Battery pack is mounted atop a sturdy Wald steel basket rack over the rear wheel. Battery pack weighs close to 30 lbs.

1 torque arm kit mounted and all-steel fork has a dished flange to lock the outer washer in to help prevent the wheel from sliding off it. Pretty heavy duty fork and flanges.

 

[The fingers]

I've destroyed a couple of rear wheels with all the battery weight on the rear. They usually go fast, a flat tire or loose spoke breaking can end up being a bird's nest before you even come to full stop stop.

 

[wineboyrider]

I've destroyed a couple of rear wheels with all the battery weight on the rear. They usually go fast, a flat tire or loose spoke breaking can end up being a bird's nest before you even come to full stop stop.

?
Especially, with SLA ....LOL

 

[to the beach]

The best I can do to help prevent cotastrophe is avoid all road imperfections by weaving around them.

 

[e-beach]

@to the beach:

That much weight on the rear rack is just asking for trouble. Not only is it heavy on the rim, but it makes the bike unstable. My first e-bike was a rigid mountain bike with a front hub motor and 25lbs of SLA's on the rear rack That setup contributed to my first e-bike crash resulting in a fractured rib.

I always recommend that people put the batteries inside the triangle for optimum balance and handling. If you can't get them in the triangle then consider paniers so you can hang them low for a lowered center of gravity.

SLA's don't last as long other battery and they are heavy so start saving your money and learning about other battery chemistry. LiFePO4 and RC Lipo are used by an lot of ES members. LiFePo4 seems to be safer, but RC Lipo will give you better performance.

You said that you got 22ah SLA's with your bike. Were they new batteries or used. It they were used do you know how many charging "cycles" were on those batteries?

 

[to the beach]

The SLAs were bought April 2013 and they have a significant number of cycles on them, though I don't know how many, I have pannier baskets but the SLA batteries are physically too big for this config. I'd like to build a Lithium setup that takes advantage of the panniers and I found a military-surplus ammo box fits quite well in a pannier. Ammo boxes can be sealed, holes can be drilled and grommets added for cables, and they can be painted to look more civilian and purposeful. I would line the inside with rubber truck bed liner to insulate.

 

[e-beach]

The SLAs were bought April 2013 and they have a significant number of cycles on them, though I don't know how many,

You will know when the SLA's are going bad when they don't go up the hills as well as when you got the kit. Most SLA's are only good for 300 charging cycles anyway. They should also be recharged immediately after a ride. My experience with yescomusa motors and SLA's is that you get about 1 mile per AH. That means you should get about 22 miles of so on your batteries. My 15ah Headway LiFePO4's will get me 20-22 miles on a 90 minute charge. They weigh 14 lbs and fit in the triangle of my bike.

Do you know your range yet?

I have pannier baskets but the SLA batteries are physically too big for this config. I'd like to build a Lithium setup that takes advantage of the panniers and I found a military-surplus ammo box fits quite well in a pannier. Ammo boxes can be sealed, holes can be drilled and grommets added for cables, and they can be painted to look more civilian and purposeful. I would line the inside with rubber truck bed liner to insulate.

Ammo boxes work. I still recommend putting the batteries in your triangle if you can. Got a picture of your bike you can post?

 

[wesnewell]

Properly cared for, you can get 500 or more cycles from SLA batteries. Never let them sit long without charging to avoid sulfation. Personally, I'd try and sell them and get a light weight lithium pack. 22ah of 48v lead has to weigh close to 60 lbs. You'd get about the same performance from a 10ah 7 lb 12s lipo pack.

 

[to the beach]

Still a work in progress and lots of cosmetic things still to do...here's how it looks right now:

 

[e-beach]

Still a wowrk in progress and lots of cosmetic things still to do...here's how it looks right now:

It's a good looking bike. And look at that HUGE triangle just begging "Please put some batteries here!".... :lol:

Seriously though, once you ride your bike with batteries in the triangle they will never go back to the rack.

wesnewell is right about the RC Lipo batteries. Wes is very expert on lipo and yescomusa motors/kits so you can be confident in what he tells you....BUT....if you go with the lighter-weight, high C rated lipo, you must be very fastidious with your battery care because their is the small, but very real chance that you can have a catastrophic battery fire with RC Lipo. The reason I went with the heaver and lower C rated LiFePO4 is because of it's safer reputation.

 

[cal3thousand]

Still a wowrk in progress and lots of cosmetic things still to do...here's how it looks right now:

It's a good looking bike. And look at that HUGE triangle just begging "Please put some batteries here!".... :lol:

Seriously though, once you ride your bike with batteries in the triangle they will never go back to the rack.

wesnewell is right about the RC Lipo batteries. Wes is very expert on lipo and yescomusa motors/kits so you can be confident in what he tells you....BUT....if you go with the lighter-weight, high C rated lipo, you must be very fastidious with your battery care because their is the small, but very real chance that you can have a catastrophic battery fire with RC Lipo. The reason I went with the heaver and lower C rated LiFePO4 is because of it's safer reputation.

Triangle for the win. Hands down best place for batteries. Anywhere else is a compromise or poor choice

 

[to the beach]

Many thanks e-beach, dnmun, and wesnewell!

I have read some of wesnewell's older posts on yescom controllers and the like, wes has valuable experience to speak from, no doubt.

I'm going to paint my hub, rims' center section, and controller all black(with dupli-color hi-heat engine-paint) sometime soon. I've already ordered chrome cable ties for the fork and bars, and UV red cable ties for along the frame. I'm also going to try reversing my grips and the gripshifter(have to mount upside down then) so that the thumb throttle isn't such an uncomfortably far reach. The mid frame mount for batteries is a great way to get a balance and better cg, but I'm really inclined to panniers right now, for the stealth look.

 

[to the beach]

Thanks, cal3thousand. You too are have been helpful and I appreciate the compliment. I actually bought the bike new a few weeks ago from Walmart of all places(they did a horrible assembly job and it wasn't dialed-in well). It's a Kent(in business 100 years) DelRio with V-brakes, 7 speeds, an aluminum frame, and steel fork, handlebars, fenders, and chain guard. I've owned 5 BMX/freestyle bikes, a ten speed, a mountain bike, a 40 y/o city bike, and now my first beach cruiser.

 

[to the beach]

Today I painted my controller with hi-heat paint and neatened up cables...

Rode last night, I managed 12 miles on my first cycle of the battery and the gauge still read half. I was easy on the throttle most of the time and pedalled along with it as much as possible.

 

[cal3thousand]

Today I painted my controller with hi-heat paint and neatened up cables...

Rode last night, I managed 12 miles on my first cycle of the battery and the gauge still read half. I was easy on the throttle most of the time and pedalled along with it as much as possible.

Looks clean!

 

[to the beach]

Thanks, upcoming plans are a cycle computer and new rims, then a lipo a little further down the road.