Rogerc,
Thanks! I posted also to your PM but will duplicate here. To add to my post below, I've used the Big Apple's on fire trails and hard pack. No issues... Not certain how they would handle mud but for most other dirt/gravel/road they're great. I prefer a thumb throttle- it's a little easier to integrate into a typical brake/shifter from Shimano and others. But it just depends. Also, the grips shipped with every kit I've purchased are just plain awful... you'll want something else or your existing grips.
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Paul (cellman) will program the CA v3 if it is purchased with the kit. The three speed switch controls top speed, based on position. In position 1, with my 18.5 AH 48v triangle battery from cellman, the speed is limited to about 22 mph at full charge (position 2 is around 28 mph and 3 is no limit) and goes down a little as the battery depletes. Maybe 1 - 1.5 mph less at the end so still 20+. You get used to 20 mph pretty quickly. All of my rides are at WOT on position 1. I always get more than 40 miles, even when I've done rides in the mountains. Check out this ride (note that I forgot to start Cyclemeter until I was 5 miles or so into the ride). I finished with 25% (well maybe 20%
) of my battery and the hills were big! But I do peddle, am in reasonably good shape and just can't help it.
http://cyclemeter.com/cf31e7e64ecfb850/ ... 6-1026?r=c
Paul makes the electronics really easy. You really can't plug the wrong thing into something as all connectors match.
Things that tripped me up:
1) Couldn't figure out what the white grease was used for. Put it on the gears.
2) I have hydraulic disc brakes. I couldn't use the ebrake levers. IMHO, if you're only using a throttle, ebrakes aren't required but are nice. If you're using PAS (pedal assist), ebrakes are a must. If you have cable brakes (disc or pads), I'd recommend the ebrakes. Easy to install.
3) The disc brakes were a complete pain. I had to shim the disc on the rear wheel (I used washers but there are better, commercial shims available from ebikes.ca and others) and then it took me forever to realize that there were adjustment screws I could loosen on the calipers, which helped align the caliper to the disc. I also had to use longer screws to mount the disc, because it was shimmed. But I love the disc brakes now but I must have wasted 3 - 4 hours figuring this out.
4) I like a stealth bike. I used an old inner tube and then later a small bag to hide the excess wires and large connectors. Tip I picked up on E-S. Mounted the controller under the rack. Painted everything flat black.
5) I bought some Techflex cable wrap (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0085C ... UTF8&psc=1) which helped to hide the cables.
6) I added Schwalbe Big Apple tires to the bikes which made a world of difference with the handling. Significantly less harsh ride and great handling/cornering.
I have the 8T but I would buy the 10T next time. Better low end torque... Lower top speed but I don't really ride it at much above 28 mph and even then Paul's estimate of 25 mph would be good enough. Finally, the lower the FET count on the controller the smaller the controller. If you want stealth, you want as small as you can get away with and still feed the engine the power required. Just my two cents...
To summarize, disc brakes add a level of complexity. Hydraulics a bit more... Everything else is just plain old assembly.
Good luck. Let me know if you have any specific questions... The forums are great too. Really like E-S.
