Midnight e-rider rides again.
Flat fixed, 2s auxilary switch added, brakes slightly improved. This was my first run where I did not have to manually re-wire anything; just throw switches. Carefully and with thought to switch welding issue below.
Wrap around safety glasses worked well for night riding once I washed them. Goggles might be better, but bike shops don't carry them until winter; same with balaclavas; will have to locate my ski clothes.
Upgrade $13 CTire head lamp to BLT $50 helmet mount. Works better; OK for not too fast riding on very dark bike paths. Rear view mirror works wonderfully.
Actually saw one other bike rider on my 27 mile circuit. Rare after midnight; I see 3-4 cats per late night run though. They look right at you with those reflective eyes and run when you get close.
Always give them my signature whistle; perhaps they'll get to know me.
I encountered a nasty flaw in my light switch "BMS". All switches down on the 1s-4s main pack = short circuit to controller. When switching from aux back to main pack, the controller big-ash capacitor sparked BIG time inside the aux switch. This caused a 5 second or so sizzle and light show inside aux switch. This WELDED the aux switch in the main pack position ! Do they still use mercury switches in these things ? Mebbe I be madder as a hatter soon...
On this run, I still had some battery connector issues and one batt was disabled. Not a problem with the switches. Think I will re-wire with some flexible higher gauge wire. 10 Gauge is WAY overkill for the tiny wires on my 20a controller. I think now that 20a is plenty for me, especially since range is a higher priority to me than torque. Also, accidental sparks (I've had at least 5-6 by now) will be smaller.
This was a 1 battery at a time ride for first 23 miles. I'm surprised how well a single 6ah, 20v, dropping to 17v, then quickly to 15v battery performs. I had thought the controller would LVC at 19v but it appears to go much lower, perhaps to 15v at least.
First battery, with much downhill and almost no pedalling lasted 9.5 miles (6.7 WH per KM !). Second battery, with more uphills and some more pedalling, especially up hills, also lasted 9.5 miles. Third battery with more uphill and pedalling on uphills lasted only 6 miles, but this included some nasty hills that peak at 10% incline. From there, I rode the 2s aux battery the last 4 miles home with plenty left over.
I'm really surprised how much I enjoyed single 20v battery operation. I was less tense, and enjoyed the ride more. I got exercise and kept warmer from the exercise and slower speeds. (Need fairing for warmth and a bit better efficiency now I think. I don't suppose aero will help much at 20-25 KMH.) Max speed was about 14-15 MPH on flat, good enough for night riding and pothole/rut scanning. I think I might need 2s with the kids in a trailer though; will see this weekend.
So I'm thinking with 1 batt at a time, I could easily get a range of 75 KM (47 miles) on 6 batts if it's more or less flat or moderate hills where I help the motor. I get the feeling that when the motor is straining, pedalling can get the motor into a higher efficiency zone and often-times the speed would stay at the new higher speed, or drop only slowly. This is almost like putting the motor in a lower gear. Yes, I'm adding muscle power, but I think the total power increase of my hybrid "muscle and electric" bike is greater than my muscle input. Sort of like my wonderful Prius "Hybrid Synergy Drive" where the motors and gears act like a fully electronic transmission.
I'm going to try and apply some Prius "hyper-miling" tricks to this bike with anticipating slowdowns etc. And if I pedalled more I think I could get 100 KM / 60 miles without too much "hyper-miling" !
