Dee Jays Giant Revive projects

[Toorbough ULL-Zeveigh]

I was thinking a lead acid maybe, which most people have kicking around just to get a feel to gauge the difference.
Then evaluate if it's worth wringing some more value out of your existing pack.
But if you already have the deW's then so much the better.

 

[Dee Jay]

JBL "On Tour" Portable Speaker System. 3 watts per speaker with four AAA = 6v 1155mAh

http://www.jbl.com/home/products/product_detail.aspx?prod=JBL%20ON%20TOUR





The Altec Lancing iM4 is 2 watts per speaker. 4 AA = 6v 2500mAh

http://www.alteclansing.com/index.php?file=north_product_detail&iproduct_id=42




Some On Tour reviews says they're a bit tinny but I think I can live with that since iM4 was said to be bassy, but too muddy for me, I think.

both with 25mm speakers

I'd rather be able to hear clear sounds than try to pump out bass on 25mm speakers on the iM4.

And since I'll have two M1 cells 6.6v leftover from my project . . .

would .6v fry a 6v system?



Pros:
-Clear sounds (yet to be heard)
-Comes in black.
-Aerodynamic case.
-1watt louder (per speaker) than iM4

Cons:
-speakers don't tilt for direct impact to ears, meaning speakers will be pointing up, not toward the ears.
-No dual input like iM4
-too bling with chrome ends

I think I can build something to tilt it up and down. Don't like the bling, but the chicks will dig it. :wink:

DecisionsDecisions...

J

 

[Dee Jay]

SLT re-inspired by this thread http://endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=3449&p=51129#p51129

Remember my SLT Super Low Tech Transmission? I've been wanting to make an electrical distributor that would transfer power between my 4011 and 408 using relays. Rather than using a digital speed sensor, why not two or more fly-weight-magnets opposite of each other that ride up and down the spokes to trigger a magnet sensor?

At speeds between 0 to 15 kmh fly-weight magnets frequently triggering a sensor and activating relays to switch to the 4011.

At 15 - 20 kmh, centrifugal force pulls the magnets outward, the first magnet the pulls away from the sensors which means the 4011 is on less frequently, while the 408 cuts-on when relays momentarily deactivates. This is the sweet spot when both motors are switching and sharing the work: just after the 4011's peak efficiency and just before the 408's peak efficiency.

(Relays, when deactivated, connects the 408 by default. This means no electricity is wasted on the relay so as to concentrate the electricity to the 408)

At 21 kmh and above, the second and/or third magnets pulls away from the sensor, the relays deactivates completely leaving only the 408 "on" at high speeds.

When the bike slows to a stop, countersprings pushes the magnets back inward activating the relay/4011 again. Even on an abrupt stop, the 4011 should cut back on, instantly. 8)

Only problem is to keep the 4011 on at 0 km/h. (since the relay leaves the 408 on by default)

I imagine I would need to something in between the sensor and the relay to keep the relay on for a desired duration for each pass of the magnet? I imagine it would be a very simple, transistor or something....

Can anyone recommend the parts, please.


J

 

[Dee Jay]

Ok, I'm back with my 14-cell M1 pack build and DC9000 charger hack. I was nervous about the procedure for fear of shorting out the cells so I bought a great pair of rubber gloves for less than 4 bucks. These bad boys are snug so it won't get caught on anything, but not too tight as to constrict movement. And the rubber quality is so good it felt like I can climb walls like spiderman, great for butterfingers like mine.



Following the cell tab route and installing the prongs in the correct connector position was tricky but I was fortunate enough to have had a day alone without distractions. After straightening out the cells and inspecting BMS coil springs, things started to make sense.

I gained confidence after soldering the 4 cell string to the 10 cell string, and soldering the 15 balancing wires to the cell tabs . . however, I got careless by not insulating the wire ends after cutting the connector-end. . . . one wire had a copper strand peaking out and managed to find its way to cell #4 "A04". When I heard the loud SNAP! I just froze to avoid moving the wires and carefully inspected each wire end before organizing them and insulating the ends



I labeled each cell A01, A02, ... A14 to avoid errors when I take volt readings directly from each cell. I will build at least 3 more 14 cell packs to parallel up to 9.2Ah so they'll be packs B, C, & D



All 15 balancing harness wires are 14 gauge. Only the pack's negative and positive leads that connects to the controller are 10 gauge. I didn't see a need to have thick gauge wires that go to the BMS pos and neg leads as the charger does not draw amp load - as I understand it - the charger puts out only a few amps during recharge.

This 14 cell pack is about 95.+ cm long and each wire gets longer towards the rear cell, cell A01 +pos being the shortest and cell A14 -neg being the longest. I checked for any significant resistance by comparing voltage read from the wires and voltage read directly from each cell and only cells A04 & A14 were .01v lower, possibly due to my shoddy soldering work. I need to invest on a soldering gun for 10+ gauge wire work.

Fitting this pack inside the frame tube will be a chore because the child seat will need to be repositioned to allow A Pack's tip to slightly stick out at the end of the frame. I planned on A & B packs inside the frame tube but the 14 gauge balancing wires added to the thickness of this first pack alone. I'm hoping to layout the wires side-by-side so that they don't overlap and add more to the diameter. I wish I would've thought of using ribbon harness to begin with! As for cell insulation, the only shrink wrap tube I was able to find was 25mm and M1 cells are 26.6mm.

The 10 gauge power wires will not run inside the frame. The + positive comes out with the first cell A01 at the frame's rear, and the - negative is A14's end which comes out of a hole near BB. So these power wires will be coming from opposite ends of the frame, run under tube frame and meet at the controller. Sweetness.

I plugged my new pack for a No Load test. With 47+ volts, I got 33 kph.
Controller temp was higher than normal. My 42v NimH (36v) 9Ah is about 22c when switched on, and 24+c under load. With the M1 pack, temp rose steadily to 30c and kept rising slowly. I would've been worried if the temp quickly shot up. The case didn't feel warm, didn't see or smell smoke. . .I may try ventilating the case by removing the rubber grommet during summer use.


As for the DC 9000 charger . . . during the procedure, I came up with a possible solution to charging the last 4 cells with the DC9000 charger: I soldered two sets of cell balancing harnesses to the BMS: one connector plugs to the first 10 cells, and another connector plugs to the last 10 cells, charging first or last 10 cells, one at a time. Note: DC9000 works at 100v, however, if it blinked "Problem Powerline" a few times but can be rebooted when unplugged. I now use 110v step-up and it works fine.



Prior to 10 ten cell recharge, I checked individual cell voltage:

A01 3.39
A02 3.42
A03 3.42
A04 3.42
A05 3.42
A06 3.38
A07 3.38
A08 3.42
A09 3.41
A10 3.42
A11 3.42
A12 3.41
A13 3.42
A14 3.41

I charged the First 10 cells:
First light blinked a few times, then solid
2nd blinked a few times, then solid
3rd blinked for about 1 minute then went solid
20 min balance charge

First ten cell recharge results:

A01 3.73
A02 3.77
A03 3.77
A04 3.77

A05 3.76
A06 3.58
A07 3.61
A08 3.76
A09 3.76
A10 3.75

Not too bad, I thought . . . But Last 10 cells??

A05 3.77
A06 3.51?
A07 3.65
A08 3.77
A09 3.77
A10 3.77

A11 3.43
A12 3.42
A13 3.43
A14 3.43

Not too good, I thought . . . So guess what? Chicken Butt?

NO!

During the charging process, I decided to drain the 3.77v cells *using the extra BMS harness connector* to allow further charging of the low cells. ( ypedal ) Did it work? Yep!



Although with the last 10 cells, after draining one or more cells, the rest would only charge up to .02 volts unless I reboot the BMS by pulling the BMS shell out of the charger

Then I tried charging the first 10 cells again and I'm able to drain while the other cells kept charging. Do you know why? I can only say Chicken Thigh because I haven't a clue. Next step is to ride this pack down no lower than 37.8 volts and repeat the drain load recharge thingamajigger.


Happy FRIDAY!
J

 

[Dee Jay]

My thingamajigger ain't working out. I'm just not draining the middle 6 cells enough to fool the DC9000 charger, it seems to be compensating for the drain. I guess some chargers are to stupid to fool.

But GOOD NEWS. Had a test ride with Pack A last night with great results! The pedals felt useless at 30 kph but I won't be shedding them, I'll have to upgrade my gears to keep helping with range..

The power was definitely there at the twist of the throttle. Good to know it's there when I need it! I think I'll be satisfied with 14 cell packs for a good long while. Go ahead and lauge :wink: I just won't feel comfortable riding the bicycle paths any faster. If I did, I'd probably end up running over some old ladies' poor little chihuahua, aye caramba! A123 M1 ROCKS! I had an EV grin so wide, it went 360 round my head that the top of my head fell off! 8) Speaking of which, I lost the pretest cell volt readings during my test ride! G-forces . . Anyway I started with 50.1volts . Cells were 3.60v average, at least two cells were low 50's.

Outdoor temp at around 15c

Controller temp 27c to 29c never got higher during test!

No cargo, only NiMH pack, must test ride without NiMH pack weight

Winds, slightly breezy

PSI?

Ride Time 0:25'32

Distance 6.47 km

Discharge 4 volts = 46.1v

Recharge Time: First 10 cells, exactly 1 hour
Last 10 cells, 1

Amp draw: no more than 20

4011 top speed 20 - 21kph
408 speed 27 - 30 kph

Hills: 4011 15 kph short steep hill
Didn't want to test 408 on hill, need torque arm first

After ride, all cells equalized down to 3.29v EXACTLY! Smart batteries.

A01 3.29
A02 3.29
A03 3.29
A04 3.29
A05 3.29
A06 3.29
A07 3.29
A08 3.29
A09 3.29
A10 3.29
A11 3.29
A12 3.30/29
A13 3.29
A14 3.29

Down to 46.1volts

Recharged Last 10 Cells (first this time)

A05 3.66
A06 3.66
A07 3.66
A08 3.56?
A09 3.67
A10 3.67
A11 3.67
A12 3.67
A13 3.67
A14 3.66

Recharge took exactly one hour!

Recharged First 10 cells:
Uneven charge just like the first recharge test. Now draining A05 to A10 with 24 volt car bulb. drain is not fast enough charger is making up for drain loss. Need to drain to lowest cells without charging, then plug shell back in. Need to fool charger . . .


Happy FRIDAY

J

 

[Dee Jay]

Update: Got my balancing harness unfncked. I didn't think it was even possible.




Ping's Ductape M1s? ? No! I test fitted a pair of M1s in the frame tube, ductaped the cell tabs to avoid shorting. I might just grind them down or cut them short and then solder to make sure the tabs don't poke through the heat shrink and zap the frame. Fitting Packs A & B is going to a challenge.



Went window shopping at the local DIY shop and found:

a portable arc welder




a bench grinder



and a drill press



All at very affordable prices 6,980 yen each!11


*hello custom torque arms*

 

[Link]

!!

That drilling jig! I must have one !


Also, Fechter: This guy found out about your "I am the emperor" comment. He wants a word with you.

 

[Dee Jay]

He oughta get him some sleep :lol:

 

[Dee Jay]

The reason for using the round part of the axle instead of the axle flats is to hide the torque arm behind the fork/swing arm.

I wanted two way tensioners but realized they would cancel each other out so I just might go with one way.

Wondering if I should also fab one on the wired side of the axle. I would have to do this for the rear axle . . . Might be tricky we'll see.

Happy Friday!
J

 

[disadvantage]

Dee Jay,

I like how you drilled your holes clear through, and put a nut on for the machine screws to thread into. This avoids tapping the torque arm, saving some labor and the risk of breaking taps.

I don't think the side of the screw will be able to withstand the motor torque. I think what will happen is: the side of the screw will get mangled, and then you'll have a hard time pulling it out to fix the mess. The screw will squeeze the axle on the round part, but that part is threaded, so there won't be much friction to hold the axle.

I can't understand the purpose of the threaded L tab; is it to provide two-way holding for regeneration torque?

I think it's safe to make the contact pad out of nylon rod. I will do that on my next torque arm design.

I think both you and lazarus should make your internal corner cuts into round radiuses, like I did on my torque arm. That makes them easier to cut; you can simply drill then hacksaw your way into the corner, then file/grind until it looks right. That's what I did.

I didn't know that this torque arm was for the front, is that correct? And you want to hide it behind the bike frame? That makes it more difficult to design.

 

[Dee Jay]

I don't think the side of the screw will be able to withstand the motor torque. I think what will happen is: the side of the screw will get mangled, and then you'll have a hard time pulling it out to fix the mess. The screw will squeeze the axle on the round part, but that part is threaded, so there won't be much friction to hold the axle.

You're right D, that's also what I imagined. I was hoping to find a very strong screw that can take a lot of torque to grip the axle enough so that the axle doesn't slip and put side pressure on the screw. The arm and axle will be nearly press fit so I hope that helps the grip.

The blocking element is sort of a "plan B". The last resort. If plan B fails and the axle bends the screw, I don't have a plan to remove the arm from the axle without having to cut the arm grip! Good point, D. Thanks!

I can't understand the purpose of the threaded L tab; is it to provide two-way holding for regeneration torque?

As for the L tab, since the arm will be located between the hub and the fork (leg?) that tab is used to reach around from the arm to the front surface of the fork so it's only for motive torque. EDIT:The tab will be threaded for the tensioner screw adjustment to lock that adjustment with the nut. Did I make sense? If not, I'll try to draw a top view.

EDIT: whoa! In the picture, my L tab is facing the wrong direction! Sorry for the confusion! This is what happens when PC drawing, BBQing, and drinking at the same time.

I didn't know that this torque arm was for the front, is that correct? And you want to hide it behind the bike frame?

Yes, this Torque Arm is for the fork, and should be more or less the same for the rear, but on the wired side.

That makes it more difficult to design.

True that but, to me, the effort of trying to keep my bike looking clean will be worth it.

Cheers for the input! Keep em coming!

J

 

[TylerDurden]

How bout grinding some flats on the big part of the axle?

 

[Dee Jay]

Thanks for the input TD!

Unfortunately, I won't be able to achieve a tight tolerance that I'll be happy with using a hack saw and a file. And I didn't want to grind away too much of that part on the axle.

I came up with another possible sollution: drilling holes and adding to the axle, such as dowel pins, like so:



I would rather fit a square dowel but that would take machining. Drilling with a drill press would be the simplest and precise. Round dowels can be cut to length from readily available material and available sizes from unthreaded portion of a screw.

This way I'm not taking out too much metal from the axle. With the dowel pins I'm essentially adding metal to the axle and the torque arm.

I'm also relieving the clamping screw of blocking duty.

What do you think?

J

 

[Dee Jay]

disadvantage, I didn't understand what you meant by this:

I think both you and lazarus should make your internal corner cuts into round radiuses, like I did on my torque arm. That makes them easier to cut; you can simply drill then hacksaw your way into the corner, then file/grind until it looks right. That's what I did.

J

 

[TylerDurden]

Konichiwa!

It might be simpler to make the arm in two segments... no drilling of huge holes precisely, but rather grinding progressively.

I like the pins, on the basis of holding the arm by being placed into shear.
I don't like the thought of trying to chuck a wheel into a drill press and getting that precise... split 50-50 on the seam is ambitious.

How about using a rotary tool to make one flat, that is dressed with a mill-bastard for eveness... then the same treatment for the arm.

OR, grind a square keyway in the axle and cap... easier than precise drilling, IMO.

It might be better to bolt-thru, instead of the L-tab... the bolt will be in shear, instead of the tab being torqued.

 

[Dee Jay]

My son had gained a lot of weight lately, thus effecting range and handling. The NiMH pack really strains now, and I have found that having most of the weight on the rear wheel helps lighten the impact on the front wheel. With his added weight at the rear, past the rear axle, the front wheel now pops up a bit when hitting bumps. This is good as it really softens the impact on the front wheel by deflecting most of the energy upward instead of into the fork, into the frame and finally into the body.

On the other hand, I imagine that if my son and I rode without the weight of the NiMH pack in the middle, we would easily pop a wheelie if we hit a bump riding up a steep hill! This is why I'm now determined to extend the swing arm not only to convert the 20" wheels to 26", but also to carry my son's weight above the rear axle, not behind it. But not extended too long like the Xtracycle. No disrespect intended on the Xtracycle as it's great product. Hell, if they made an Xtracycle that would fit my Revive, with torque load bearing fully enclosed dropouts for hubmotors, that's only half the length of the original, I would save myself the headache of making my own and just buy it.

Anyway, I realized that Good Weight Distribution does not necessarily mean Even Weight Distribution the way Xtracycle would have an adult rider's weight in between the wheels. 50/50 makes for a rough ride I think. I once had a vision of having my son ride upfront for a exhilarating view, like this bike, The Filibus

http://www.londonrecumbents.co.uk/index.php?id=62

I *heart* this bike! Which would be all well and good if I always had perfect riding pavement (in Tokyo streets which really suck), or have suspension fork, or at least Big Apples at the front. If not, I think we'd have a pretty rough riding experience. And the more weight my son gains, the rougher the ride gets.

Just my personal observations so please correct me if I'm wrong.

J

 

[Dee Jay]

In other news:

I found 30mm Heat Shrink Tubing! YAY for me! My 14 cell M1 Pack A is coming a long nicely. The cell tabs still stick out a bit even after cutting the sharp corners with a tin shears so I cut rings off of the extra tubing I bought, ($9 per meter BTW! I bought three meters) and doubled up over the tabs hoping that they won't poke through and short out on the aluminum frame.



View attachment 2

I'll also need to find a way to reduce the pack's vibrations with maybe some styrofoam sticks or something.

I still have small obstacles (screw threads) inside the frame tube which needs to be cut off in order to slide Pack A through, it is what secures the controller and harnesses up under the frame. I'm still trying to hatch an alternative way to secure them before I cut away. Think, Dee Jay! THINK!

To celebrate my battery pack's progress, please enjoy latin american grilled steak soft taco with latin american DJ mix!



http://endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=2997&p=57009&sid=c620b4cbf5056fd4747564942c6b10df#p57009

Happy Friday!
J

 

[Dee Jay]

Tyler, konichiwa! Genki?

Thanks for the input. But I'll go with my minimalism approach and not cut away too much axle, just drill holes and use dowel pins. And yes drilling holes at the seam is ambitious and will be very disappointing if it doesn't work, but wouldn't it be cool if it did work? I won't be drilling the axle with hub and wheel installed. The pulley (puller?) used to open the hub can also be used to push the axle out as well as push it back in. I've done this with the rear hub axle. Piece of cake! And I can't go with Bolt-Thru because I wouln't have a way to make a tensioner.

Cheers!
J

 

[Dee Jay]

Continued from a Cyclone motor post.

http://endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=4171&p=62453#p62453

After seeing the RC Motor Recumbent and Deafscooter's Dual motor LimoScooter, I was re-inspired. Basically, this is what I want to do: (not even sure if it's feasable so I'm still shopping around) I want to keep things simple and avoid the gearbox and the whole freewheeling crank thing and just go directly with a 48v 1000w with freewheel to a sprocket where the disc brake is mounted. As most of you know, I'm very into dual motor bikes. But this time around, I'm shooting for light weight motors. I really liked Deafscooter's Dual Motor LimoScooter. I want to do the the same with another high speed Cyclone at the front. but they don't have a small 48v motor . .

Anyway, I'm just kicking these ideas around for now.

 

[Dee Jay]

Tokyo Bicycle Convention November 2007

 

[lawsonuw]

Nice spy photo! I can see provisions for an integrated torque arm and nice big wire ducts. (+1 for both) Hope that built in controller has some balls, or can be given some. (do like the integrated controller, less parts to hide)

Marty

 

[vanilla ice]

I was thinking it wouldn't be too bad mounting a small motor rigidly to the fork lower on a suspension bike. You could use one of those dual disc hubs and have one side for the sprocket. If you've seen the contraptions in use to get front wheel drive on ICE offroad motorcycles you will appreciate how easy things are for us.. two flexible wires going from the chassis to the fork is nothing compared with shafts and gears. Google "christini awd" to see.

 

[Dee Jay]

OK, I AM BACK!

Please remain seated.

I've been hard at work fitting my 15 cells pack (series) inside my Giant Revive frame tube. Hello stealth! But I'm disappointed that I won't be able to fit another 15 cell stick unless I cut and grind part of the opening of the tube. Uh, no . . Pack A was too long so I folded two cells forward and raised the child seat homemade mounting hardware with very little effort. I've been test riding my A123 pack along with my NiMH pack as back up so a lot has happened in the past week.

Here are just some of my limited experience with Dewalt packs.

A123 FAQ for Dummies

In order to remove the BMS from the pack with no irreparable damage to the BMS, rather than cutting the red and black wires first, I think it makes more sense to disconnect the two balancing connectors first, then cut the wires. Just make sure you're not using anything metallic when prying out the connectors evenly. Correct me if I'm wrong.

Here's a warning for those of you using my method of charging cells with DC9000 charger. I made the mistake of pulling the connector off the pack while the BMS shell was powered in the charger. Baad Ju Ju. . . Dead BMS!

I have accidentally dropped several cells down to 0.5 volts and resurrected them using AA primary cells.

So far, I have killed one cell *moment of silence*.

I found A123 cells sold at RC shops in Japan from 18 to 20 bucks 8)

Pack imbalance seems to happen when starting with average of 3.25 volts. I now charge up 3.6 volts and all cells equalize nicely all the way down. ALL CELLS! YAY!

I have accidentally dropped the entire *well balanced* pack from 50+volts down passed my controller's LVC of 29 volts 1.9 volts/cell YIKES! but they all immediately bounced back up to 2.9/cell. Need to adjust the LVC, like soon!

I am using 15 cells in series/50+ volts on the "Crystalyte Journey Kit" slim controller with only a few degrees C rise in controller temperature. About 24c when using 36v/42v NiMH. And 31c when using 48v/50v A123.

My "3.3 volt 8 Amp Power Supply" arrived and works well but slower than I expected! Matters not, it will only be used after bulk charging with the DC9000 to bump up low cells. Last week, while connecting the negative lead of the charger to one cell . . . the positive lead was dangling and found its way to the wrong cell connector. POW I blew up my new charger! Opened it up, inspected the damage, one blown capacitor. Bought a few capacitors for less than 5 bucks. Soldered it up, now it works like new. I bought extras cuz, until I get my rotating charger switch working right, it's so easy to make the same mistake.


Happy Friday!
J

 

[Dee Jay]

Nice spy photo! I can see provisions for an integrated torque arm and nice big wire ducts. (+1 for both) Hope that built in controller has some balls, or can be given some. (do like the integrated controller, less parts to hide)

Marty

Yeah man, nice motor. Check those windings, no mistakes allowed! But prefabbed on this bike??? View attachment 1 I found it at a park a few weeks back.

I test rode one last year for just a short distance, my pedal effort and power assist was seamless (to me). It ran so smooth uphill, it felt a bit eerie (compared to Crystalyte).

 

[Dee Jay]

Got my JBL On Tour portable stereo speakers!

BIG UP TO ME!

High 5 anyone? . . .ok, maybe not . . .


+ button doubles as On and + volume. - button doubles as - volume and Off when + and - are pressed at the same time.

Looks bigger in pictures *duh*

Takes 4 AAA cells and AC adapter.

It has grippy rubber strips at the base. Nice.

Knocked up a quick and dirty bike mount using . . . RIGHT! another VHS case! I'm still trying to think of a better mount, possibly a clamping type bracket that grips he chrome sides with sticky gel pads...It has smooth curved surface at the back so a PVC quarter-pipe and gel pads might be good.



My Beefs :

- Can't shut the sliding cover unless both the power and audio cords are unplugged. Although the minimalist design on the exterior is a nice touch.

- I already scratched the glossy finish with a combo of velcro and cycling vibrations (strapped down with velcro). Even the fuzzy side of velcro can scratch it. The scratches aren't noticeable unless you look closer, the problem is *I know* it's there!

- Some reviewers/owners complained of the over-packaging. Cutting around the seams wasn't a problem for me but trying to extract the product from the inner packing base is ridiculous. If you're not careful you can damage the speaker's sliding cover when trying to pry it off. And the sharp edges of the hard plastic can be dangerous for some. Proper opening instructions would be good.

- And is it's Made In China. What's up with that? JBL is American/Japanese brand! If I wanted speakers from China I'd have gotten something from my local 99 yen shop. I hope this thing holds up for a while. If not, I'll replace the speakers with higher quality speakers and hack more amps into it somehow.


Pros:

- 40 bucks and it's all mine ~ tra ~ la ~ la ~ . $50 was all I was will to pay for biking speakers. Original price was $99 so I'm glad I checked the price again!

- The sound quality is just how I predicted coming from a small set of speakers. *Clear Sounds* is what I expected from JBL. The sound is so clear that there's no need to pump up the volume. It could be psychological, but to me, it surprisingly has a bit of a thump to the bass. . then again, kind of difficult to hear what is missing in a piece of music while trying to negotiate traffic. After a bit of inspecting I found a small reflex bass port next to the AC port. A few reviewers / owners were disappointed with the lack of bass. I mean come on, what can you really expect from AAA operated portable speakers? ?

- And since it's mounted on my handle bar, which is adjusted at the highest level and angled just right, the sound is shot straight into my ears. Nice! No more need for bulky,sweaty headphones! YAY FOR ME!

- Easy operation for a cyclists

- The design is very classy. When closed, it reminds me of those old fashion whiskey flasks, just as well, being a music addict that I am, I can relate to alcoholics! A bit too bling for some but they're WRONG :lol:

The shape has aerodynamic appearance

It blends in really well with my bike!



Wish list:

- A handle bar mounting system would be sweet. I can see this product taking off with casual cyclists, if it hasn't already. *One pound would be too much weight for wanna be racers/lycra set* On the same token, Ebikers would probably rather listen to their X5 motors :snore: You know who you are :lol: I imagine Cyclone motors being too loud for it though.

- Would be nice to have a choice between glossy finish version and rugged scratch resistant version,

- A Bigger Version powered with a few A123 cells would be the sh!t. Just like the old school ghetto blasters! I miss ghetto blasters *sigh*


Over all, On Tour is much better than the portable speakers that are sold in most electronic shops here in the Tokyo. I'm very happy with these speakers. 8)

I got mine.

Now where's yours? :wink:


J