Crystalyte Gear Help

[Brucey]

Heres a shocker. The Crystalyte Phoenix is HUGE. :lol:

My motor came in and I just had time to test fit it, with the 7 speed casette (couldnt find one with less) the motor is a bit too wide. Good news is the bolts seem to fit, its just a matter of narrowing the casette or widening the frame. Is it much work to take the casette off and find a 3 or 4 speed or just narrowing it?

 

[Toorbough ULL-Zeveigh]

And hungry for a lotta juice.
So you'll also need a huge battery.
A few run 7 by spreading the dropouts but most people run 5 cogs or fewer to get a stronger wheel that requires less dishing.

 

[xyster]

The X5 with a seven speed looked too wide to fit in my standard-width 135mm dropouts, so I ordered it with a 3 speed instead and am quite happy with that. It just barely fit. A five speed might fit but it'd be very tight. I have aluminum dropouts, so I temporarily spread them just enough -- a few extra mm -- to slip the motor in. The aluminum immediately sprung back, helping to clench the motor in place.

And hungry for a lotta juice.
So you'll also need a huge battery.

That's not really true. The X5 is more efficient than its smaller siblings, and so takes less energy to keep it rolling. Accelerating that extra mass up to speed takes a little more energy. In a 24" wheel, it takes about 2500 watts to feel "quick" off the line. So depending on how many starts/stops there are, the X5 might use a bit less energy, or a bit more. More salient is the typical ebiker's psychological desire to wring their money's worth of performance from the motor. Also, most people choose the X5 for its hill-climbing prowess. Climbing hills eats the energy no matter the propulsion modality.

 

[Toorbough ULL-Zeveigh]

As you say, getting the most out of what you paid for is what I was alluding to by para-quoting a comment Lowell made about the battery being the bottleneck.

 

[Brucey]

Meh, what can I say, I want to be able ot make it up hills but still want a silent system. I'll try spreading the back end some.

 

[TylerDurden]

Meh, what can I say, I want to be able ot make it up hills but still want a silent system. I'll try spreading the back end some.

You might try Bean-O.


Reminds me of the story about the lady driving to the doctor's office with a rear-end problem... it fell out on the way.



:lol:

 

[jondoh]

Hi Bruce,

So the pheonix is too long by what amount? I just finished building my new bike and I had the same problem. Fortunately the frame was chromo and my local bike guy was able to stretch it out about 5 mm. He had some special pulling tools that also kept the dropout aligned and square. Now 5mm may not sound like much but the frame was small. If you're bike frame is steel and especially if you are going with 26" wheels, stretching your frame shouldn't be a problem either.

 

[Lowell]

If you have the newer offset X5, a 7 speed fits just fine inside 135mm dropouts.

 

[Brucey]

The width is 5.25 inches on the motor, and I've got about 5.15 inches to work with. I'm trying to widen it now, its just seems to need a little nudge, but it doesent look like the motor is going to hit either (my WE motor hit originally).

Also, I thought these motors were silver, not black? Oh well, it matches my bike now.

 

[Brucey]

Bit more work. It's on now, but the chain rubs against the frame in top gear. Oh well, I won't use it I guess.

 

[xyster]

Bit more work. It's on now, but the chain rubs against the frame in top gear. Oh well, I won't use it I guess.

As long as the throttle doesn't hit the frame, you're good to go.

Let's see some X5-rated pics!

 

[Toorbough ULL-Zeveigh]

Looken sharpen, mine hair!
But then I'm biased because my ride is completely black.
Supposedly the black X5's are exclusive to electricrider.

 

[Brucey]

Nope, I got mine from BernsonEV (unless he gets them from there too, but charges the same price and has a better selection?)

 

[Toorbough ULL-Zeveigh]

Yeah, Electricrider is the sole distributor, but that's based on internet gossip.

 

[fechter]

Bit more work. It's on now, but the chain rubs against the frame in top gear. Oh well, I won't use it I guess.

Looks good!

You could adjust the stop on the derailleur so it doesn't go into that gear.
You won't be pedaling that much anyway :wink:

 

[Brucey]

controller in and mounted and.....DOH

The motor doesent have a quick connect plug, its just the 3 phase wires. Hopefully radio shack will have the connector because I dont want to ship it out from somewhere.

 

[Ypedal]

Could always just solder them in permanently !

 

[xyster]

Do you mean that the 5-pin mini-XLR plug on the motor for the hall-effect wires is missing? Or the 3 plugs for the 3-phase power?

The mini-XLRs are hard to find, and even harder to install. Since they don't carry much power, I just replaced those with 5 pairs of crimp-on connectors from a hardware store.

If you have to install or replace the main power connectors on the motor and controller, you might want to use 75 amp Anderson powerpoles.

 

[Brucey]

the 3 plugs for the 3 pole connector. I like YPedals Idea though. :lol:

 

[xyster]

the 3 plugs for the 3 pole connector. I like YPedals Idea though. :lol:

Soldering the wires is great, until you have to remove the wheel.

 

[Brucey]

Then I de-solder them

Actually I'm going to need 5 of those connectors at this point, 3 for the motor connection and 2 for the battery connection. Now to hunt them down.

 

[xyster]

Then I de-solder them

A battery powered soldering gun would be a good thing to bring along.

 

[fechter]

I'm using a "European Style" terminal block from RS. The bigger one. I sawed off 3 wires worth from the block.
Seems to work fine with my 90+ amp peaks. Easy enough to get off, just use a screwdriver.

 

[Brucey]

My current solution has been jam the nubs into the connectors and wrap with tape. I have to say though, even with the added weight, this motor is pretty awesome. Slower top speed than my WE though, but I can get around town easier none the less. (MOUNTAINS)

The only problem I had was the fenders were slightly loose and would rub after every bump, but I've fixed them. The ride is a lot smoother too with the suspension bike, suspension seatpost, and cruiser tires. Go figure. :lol:

 

[The7]

I'm using a "European Style" terminal block from RS. The bigger one. I sawed off 3 wires worth from the block.
Seems to work fine with my 90+ amp peaks. Easy enough to get off, just use a screwdriver.

I am using the same for my 48V20A X-controller on motor wires of my AL1020.