Building HXT 80-100-B 130Kv bike

[Dirt-E-Dan]

Joel,

That's awesome that this is your primary source of transportation. I wish this type of transportation were everyone's primary source. My roomate, Tommy (VRdubluv), has put over 300 miles on his electric recumbent!

Would you mind sending me the link or giving me some specifics for those bearings? That is defintely a wise upgrade, and the fact that many people are changing them... well, it makes me feel like I should go ahead and prevent the problem as well.

Oh yea, thanks for the help on the one-way clutch bearings, guys! Unfortunately, since I'm a student and this project is for a class, I need to go ahead and finish fairly soon. I wish I had more time to put into the design, but I'm also taking 19 hours of class. I'll definitely be posting my build on here as well. My dad and I machined my rear sprocket yesterday, and that is only making me more annxious to finish.

Have you guys ordered from TheBigBearingStore.com? I ordered some bearings for my reduction drive on Feb. 12th, and they finally shipped them out on Friday, after three phone calls, and 2 promises of recieving them. That has been a little discouraging, but they are finally in the mail. Do you guys know of better bearing companies?


Thanks,

Daniel

 

[mechanix]

sure dan, heres the link: (I just got the bearings today so I can verify that they are the right size)

you need one of these: http://www.vxb.com/page/bearings/PROD/12mm/Kit7786

and two of these: http://www.vxb.com/page/bearings/PROD/12mm/Kit7790

Those are the right dimensions, but I guess going ceramic is up to you.

 

[Dirt-E-Dan]

Okay. I finally have some pictures of my progress so far. My dad helped me with some machine work during my spring break and we got quite a bit done. All I lack with the project now are a few odds and ends. My remaining three Zippy batteries have FINALLY been shipped (ordered on Jan. 24th). I'm trying to figure out a reliable way to charge and a reliable switch without using a line contactor. I then have to wire up my batteries in 2s2p to achieve 44.4 volts/10ah, mount my ESC, VHVBEC, ServoTester, potentiometer, and then I should be finished. I'm planning to eventually buy a Cycle Analyst so I can make sure that I don't discharge my batteries too much. This should get the ball rolling though.

We mounted the sprocket using a Centerlock brake adapter for the Shimano Saint hub.

Oh, cardboard. The beginning of the build.

I used some aluminum channel to make the vertical braces, and a piece of 7/8" square to make the cross bar.

My dad owns a textile machinery company and I got lucky and found a belt that was the same pitch as the pulleys I ordered, so we decided to design the reduction drive without a tensioner. Hopefully that will work out like we planned. If now, I can always add one.

We built a bearing housing to make the jackshaft assembly. We used a slightly shorter shaft than the over width of the assembly and locked the races together and spaced the big pulley from the plate by using some 1/2" I.D. tubing. We then ground some flats for the sprocket and the pulley to be mounted. This is all held together using to bolts. I'm pretty pleased with how that turned out.

This is the drive unit bolted up to the bike. The Plexiglas is where I plan on mounting my batteries, ESC, etc. on there.

Just a shot of the drive side of the drive unit.

I know, recumpence, I need to send it all to you so you can shave some weight for me. Since this is a school project, I plan on taking it apart after the semester is over and cutting weight where I can. The drive unit, not including the vertical supports, weighs in at 11.35 lbs. 5lbs. of that is the motor. I know that I can get it down at least a couple pounds. So far, my bike weighs 44lbs. Not too bad. I still have to put on my 6.5 lbs of batteries plus the other stuff. It's not really much of a build compared to Luke's, but it will hopefully do the job. I've been waiting on my batteries for so long, and fortunately they will be here soon. Anyway, that's about all I have for now.

Thanks,

Daniel

 

[Dirt-E-Dan]

My batteries came in this past Friday, so now I'm waiting on my connectors and my line contactor. Zippy changed the shrink wrap on them since I bought the first one, so I have three blue "FlightMax" batteries and one generic looking gray battery. Nice! I should hopefully be riding it by the end of the week, assuming I don't find any more issues.

Daniel

 

[12p3phPMDC]

Right on man, looks good.

 

[Dirt-E-Dan]

I killed my controller. We got everything wired up last night, and It turned out that we had the potentiometer wired backwards. It was like 2am, so we weren't thinking too clearly and kept messing with it. Anyway, one thing led to another and I ordered a new controller last night. I'm going to go ahead and post some pictures of the bike with all of the wiring finished, minus the controller.

Now I have to fix the pot. and then wire in the new controller, and HOPEFULLY, but not likely, I won't hit anymore problems.

Daniel

 

[oofnik]

Yeahhhh zip ties 8) haha.
Lookin' good! Can't wait to see a vid of it running!

 

[liveforphysics]

Great job! Looks great! It's a shame those motors are so hard on controllers. I would recomend taking it very easy with the new controller until you get your grade for your school project. They are just so wimpy for agressive E-bike use, but I gotta admit that the new version 4 100amp HV did perform very well until it exploded flames out of the side of it.

 

[etard]

Sorry to hear that. Will the controller take as long as the batteries to arrive? Very nice build, that jackshaft looks military grade!

Can you go into a little more detail about your hub and sprocket combo? Sources, mounting, etc...

 

[Dirt-E-Dan]

Thanks for the advice Luke. I'll be sure to baby it once I get the new controller in... I'll be presenting at ASU's (Appalachian State University) annual celebration of student research, so I have to be nice to the controller. Question. Would it be worth it to purchase one of the version 4 controllers or go ahead and get the 120 amp controller?

I received the email notification from HobbyCity today that the controller was shipped. The website said it is in their USA warehouse, so it shouldn't be too long before it arrives!

I used the Shimano Saint hub with the centerlock rotor mount. This is basically just a splined connection, as opposed to the more common 6 bolt disc mount for most disc wheels. It's a downhill hub that uses a 10mm axle, which makes this hub that much more appealing. I had to get a Shimano Saint rotor and remove the rotor so I could use the adapter. The adapter uses a special lock ring, so I had to take it to the local bike shop and get them to tighten it for me (they surprisingly did it for free because they thought it was cool). I started with a blank sprocket and then mounted the adapter, drilling and tapping the holes in the rotor.

I bought the wheel on eBay for a steal, $52. It is the Shimano Saint hub w/ the Sun Rhino Lite rim. You can find the parts individually if you desire. There are different sizes of centerlock rotors, so the Shimano Saint 203mm CenterLock rotor is the one that is needed. These can be found on various online bike stores. The rotor itself is riveted onto the adapter, so those had to be ground off to remove the rotor.

Hopefully that is thorough enough .

Now I just need to find some time to shave some weight on the reduction/motor unit.

Daniel

 

[dontsendbubbamail]

I am just down the road from you in Charlotte.

Bubba

 

[Dirt-E-Dan]

Nice! I'm actually from Cramerton, between Gastonia and Belmont.

Daniel

 

[swbluto]

Status update? It seems like you just got this to run from what I could tell of your response in bubba's thread(I think).

 

[Dirt-E-Dan]

I did have success! I decided to bite the bullet and order the CC HV110, because so many people have had success with that. I ordered that and capacitors to solder onto the leads, as well as a Magura twist throttle. Instead of studying for a final that I had today at 9, I spent about 6 hours wiring my bike back up and soldering in 3 capacitors and my potentiometer. My roommate Tommy (VRDubluv) and I went on a test/joy ride at about 3:00am and rode about 6 miles! I reached a top speed of 41mph with my 10.29:1 gearing. We calculated a theoretical of 48 mph, so we were pretty close!

Now I need to program the controller to get it running the way I want! Right when I sat on the bike I hit the throttle a little hard and my front wheel popped up. This thing has so much torque! I can't imagine two of these on a bike...

Thanks for the help everyone,

Daniel

 

[swbluto]

Wow, that's awesome. I was checking the calculations on a 20" wheel, and it seems a gear ratio of 6 would get you a high-speed but safely heated ride of 47 mph and it appeared a gear ratio of 10 would result in 32 mph but some majestic torque. The highest speed was something like 55 mph at a gear ratio of 3 but then 2.5 kW was being put into heat! That's not going to last long. :lol:

Anyways, I just find it surprising that there seems to be a lack of people trying to get the high speed that they can get out of these things(Except luke and methods). But, then again, 40+ mph is scary on a bike. I'd definitely look into a converting a gas bike frame once I start considering those speeds. I think for me, "standard bikes" become like a no-go zone somewhere around 35-40 since bicycle disc brakes just don't seem beefy enough.

 

[Dirt-E-Dan]

My secondary reduction is a 15 tooth sprocket to a 60tooth on the wheel. I've already decided that I'm buying a 20 tooth. 8)

I have a '93 5.8 liter mustang, so I kind of like speed!

Daniel

 

[swbluto]

Dude, that's kind of nice its as easy as switching out the gears. I think it'd also be nice if there was a way to switch between wye and delta with some kind of powerful outrunner motor. I really wish Dave would develop his motor, but I have a feeling he's being distracted by the RC crowd since it seems to be a bit larger than the bike-crowd at the moment(Although it has more competitors, so I would have to wonder about Dave's competitiveness).

And, I can totally imagine...
*points to small timing pulley* this is my road runner and this *points at the other timing pulley* is my billy goat.

 

[Dirt-E-Dan]

Hey guys, I meant to thank you all for your input on my e-bike as it has turned out to be a blast, however expensive it may be! I just wanted to give an update on my bike. I geared it to 10.29:1 with 44.4 volts. I charged up to about 120% the other day and hit a new top speed. It was around 42mph, but I guess the fully charged batteries allowed me to reach 46.1mph!

I did this when I was riding home from work, right before the 5 mile ascent to my house, and right after I raced a friend in his little white ricer (it was dead even!).

I have put over 100 miles on it now and it is still working well. I had problems with one of my magnets moving a little bit, so I reglued the magnets and replaced all of the bearings while I was at it. The glue I used, however, had the metal particles in it and think that it is making the motor act strangely when I'm rolling it. It works fine when riding, but it is like an intense slow speed stall when I roll it very slowly. For this, I ordered some Loctite 480 to hopefully fix the issue.

Also, I finally had enough money to buy the cycle analyst (HOORAY), so I was installing that today. Unfortunately, my negative lead accidentally swung over and made love with hot tab on my DC contactor. This, of course, resulted in a $60 purchase, a small burn on my leg from metal flying, and the inability to use my new stinkin' Cycle Analyst! Somehow my Zippys survived yet another assault, so I'm beginning to think they're indestructible (knock on wood).

Here is a fun pic of my contactor and one of my handlebars.

Thanks!

Daniel

Quite an impressive arc did this!

Does this make it a real e-bike?

 

[VRdublove]

Wow you really did blow that contactor apart!! Awesome. It's cool to finally see the cycle analyst on the bike, you're gonna love it.

Tom