Fat noob wants advice.

[neiltoe]

I am 350lbs 5'8" I have used a Currie 250w side mounted motor for over 4 months for a short commute. I have been using my days off to exercise by using pedal assist to go farther. I have 24v 10ah and can only go just shy of 8 miles. My range has increased month by month. I average 15mph except on any incline which will demand peddling. Being forced to peddle does ruin the whole experience.

I highly suggest you get what will cover 100% of your commuting needs. Once you have that safely covered you can attempt to exercise on your recreational time. Also getting your seating height and handlebar height is very important in reducing joint pain and fatigue. I ignored that for a few months and was always extremely achy. My bike is not durable and I fear every hole the tires veer into. I also found that my brakes are extremely poor if I have to use them in a hurry.

I am still not sold on hub motors. I am still considering buying a mid-drive setup just for the use of lower gears to compensate.

 

[wesnewell]

I don't know how much a cargo bike cost, but you can power it 28 miles at 28 mph for as little as $600, but more typically about $700. You don't need 2 motors to ride mostly flat terrain. Here's what I'd get. Select 48V and 1000W. $284.90 shipped to your door in a week.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Rear-Wheel-Electric-Bicycle-Conversion-Kit-24V-36V-48V-250W-500W-700W-800W-1000W-/290754592384
Eight of these batteries for 20ah at 44.4V nominal (12s lipo, 888Wh). ~$350
http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/uh_viewItem.asp?idProduct=16207
Misc hardware, voltmeter, charger, power supply. $100-$300 depending on charger equipment you want.
That leaves you >$2K for a bike. I can't recommend a cargo bike because I'm not familiar with them, so I've just say get a bike with steel dropouts at minimum, and preferably an all steel bike.

 

[Chalo]

I average 15mph except on any incline which will demand peddling. Being forced to peddle does ruin the whole experience.

Try not to see it that way. Try to see pedaling as an opportunity to live a relatively normal lifespan, if you do it often. Try to see it as a way to live out your life still able to walk around.

Chalo

 

[dogman dan]

I agree. Even if you are unable to pedal hard, there are huge health benefits to just faux pedaling. On the ebike, you simply find a speed where the gear you choose fits, then just pedal hard enough to keep the feet stuck to the pedals. If you start breathing hard, stop awhile and resume in a few min. The idea is to simulate an easy slow walk, just raising your heart rate a very small bit. Just flapping your legs is going to dialate your lungs, get the heart going. Soon the brain gets more oxygen and you come back to life.

Keep doing this three days a week, preferably more, and soon you will find yourself pedaling more of the ride, then all the ride. In a few months, your wife will really appreciate your new stamina, nudge nudge wink wink!

 

[zydeco]

I ordered thishttp://www.rmartinltd.com/MiPower-White-Electric-Bicycle-p21.html
I also bought a spare battery. If they are telling me the truth I will have a total of 1008Wh if I carry my spare. The motor is similar to the A2B metro and couple other high end bikes. The wiring looks like it is ready for real world life on a bike. I suspect there will be a wheel rebuild in my future as I have read the rims and spokes could be alot better. The reason I did not go with the mundo/ezee kit was the lack of pedal assist. I feel PAS will ensure the bike serves its purpose while I am on it. I will document my experience with this bike here for better or worse. Thanks guys for all the advise. I think the Wh requirement and the pedal spacer advice made this have a chance of working out.

 

[Chalo]

Rmartin bikes are ultra-skanky in overall quality, but usable. I de-electrified one that had a bad battery pack, a bad controller, and a boogered-up hub motor axle. It was similar to department store bikes in build and finish quality, but sturdier. It had the worst suspension fork in the Western world, 100 times worse than any rigid fork.

If you have the heart to give that bike whatever repairs and upgrades it demands, you'll probably enjoy it.

Chalo

 

[zydeco]

Well I got the Mipower and it has stopped working. I have less than 20 miles on it in perfect riding conditions. When I received the bike the shifter was cracked in transit. Rmartin was fast to apologize and send me another. Things seemed to be going ok after my last ride with the exception of the rear brake needing a little adjustment. After I adjusted the brake the bike refuses to work. I have tested everything except the motor and controller as I don't know how to test these. I am an electrician so the throttle and brake switch were not hard to test. The controller seems pretty cheap but has great waterproof connectors on it. I am waiting on a response this morning from rmartin. I am thinking about getting a better controller as this does seem like a the weak link. I would like to stay with the water proof connectors that this controller has though. I would swap the connectors from the old controller but I don't have a clue how to get the pin out right for the halls or phase wires. Does anyone do custom controller work?

 

[dogman dan]

Look for the plug with one contact backing out of the housing. That seems to be the number one reason an ebike won't go.

After that, battery not charged. Though you are qualified, you might not be aware that green light on chargers means charged, or it means the plug is not making contact. So a similar plug or wiring issue can be the culprit.

Check your battery voltage, and confirm that it's 40v or more.

 

[The Mighty Volt]

With a forum name like that, S. Louisiana I take it. I'm from Lafayette. You have plenty of budget, so it will be pretty easy. Forget a thru the chain drive, because what happens when you break down halfway to your destination? First, get a cargo bike. Then get good pair of front forks made for tandem bikes, and for ride comfort a big ass saddle and a Thudbuster seat suspension to both smooth the road for comfort and relieve the rear motor's axle from the impact stresses of guys like us put on the axle when the tire hits a bump. Then get 2 hubmotors, a front and a rear, along with torque arms for both. I'd suggest going with direct drive simply because with your wide open spaces you'll probably want more speed later, and they better handle increased voltage needed for more speed.

Motor selection is only important from the standpoint of speed, because with 2 you've reduced the load for each motor to see the same as if you were a 150lb cyclist type with a bike that weighs half as much. Use the Ebikes.ca simulator to find the right wind of motor that will get you 25mph on flat road using 36V.

You want programmable controllers, a pair of 12 fet controllers should do the trick, but talk Lyen into a discount for the second and get a pair of 18's and don't accept less than irfb 4110's mosfet, so you don't need to buy new ones later to go into the fun range of power. With a cargo bike space isn't such a premium, but choose one with nice low in the frame space for the batteries. Get them with regen, because bike brakes suck stopping a load like ours, and regen braking will reduce brake maintenance to a great extent. Get cruise control too, because holding the throttle in a fixed position sucks on long stretches. Also you'll want them Cycle analyst ready along with a pair of cycle analysts. You can get away with one CA, but 2 will aid in tuning the controllers to their best use.

Battery, and this is why I suggest 36V...get a pair of 20ah 36V batteries. I'd say Cellman or Ping. Then later your and put them in series for higher speed, giving you flexibility. That will give you the range you need with a good 20%+ comfort margin, which is needed, because lithium batteries last far longer when run conservatively, and what if you want to do something else on the way home? Plus a few years from now after battery capacity diminishes somewhat, you still hit your range. Regardless it's still good to charge at your destination to run your batteries that much more conservatively.

Torque arms, a 6 pack of beer at a local welding shop will get you something better than can be bought. They're mandatory and you need them for both motors. With regen especially, you want the clamping type that uses a bolt to firmly clasp the axle.

I'm sure theres something I'm forgetting, but it's a good start.

John

Not pushing the Greentime? Have you gone back over to the Dark Side, John? LOL

 

[The Mighty Volt]

With a forum name like that, S. Louisiana I take it. I'm from Lafayette. You have plenty of budget, so it will be pretty easy. Forget a thru the chain drive, because what happens when you break down halfway to your destination? First, get a cargo bike. Then get good pair of front forks made for tandem bikes, and for ride comfort a big ass saddle and a Thudbuster seat suspension to both smooth the road for comfort and relieve the rear motor's axle from the impact stresses of guys like us put on the axle when the tire hits a bump. Then get 2 hubmotors, a front and a rear, along with torque arms for both. I'd suggest going with direct drive simply because with your wide open spaces you'll probably want more speed later, and they better handle increased voltage needed for more speed.

Motor selection is only important from the standpoint of speed, because with 2 you've reduced the load for each motor to see the same as if you were a 150lb cyclist type with a bike that weighs half as much. Use the Ebikes.ca simulator to find the right wind of motor that will get you 25mph on flat road using 36V.

You want programmable controllers, a pair of 12 fet controllers should do the trick, but talk Lyen into a discount for the second and get a pair of 18's and don't accept less than irfb 4110's mosfet, so you don't need to buy new ones later to go into the fun range of power. With a cargo bike space isn't such a premium, but choose one with nice low in the frame space for the batteries. Get them with regen, because bike brakes suck stopping a load like ours, and regen braking will reduce brake maintenance to a great extent. Get cruise control too, because holding the throttle in a fixed position sucks on long stretches. Also you'll want them Cycle analyst ready along with a pair of cycle analysts. You can get away with one CA, but 2 will aid in tuning the controllers to their best use.

Battery, and this is why I suggest 36V...get a pair of 20ah 36V batteries. I'd say Cellman or Ping. Then later your and put them in series for higher speed, giving you flexibility. That will give you the range you need with a good 20%+ comfort margin, which is needed, because lithium batteries last far longer when run conservatively, and what if you want to do something else on the way home? Plus a few years from now after battery capacity diminishes somewhat, you still hit your range. Regardless it's still good to charge at your destination to run your batteries that much more conservatively.

Torque arms, a 6 pack of beer at a local welding shop will get you something better than can be bought. They're mandatory and you need them for both motors. With regen especially, you want the clamping type that uses a bolt to firmly clasp the axle.

I'm sure theres something I'm forgetting, but it's a good start.

John

Not pushing the Greentime? Have you gone back over to the Dark Side, John? LOL

 

[zydeco]

Thanks for the reply dogman. The connectors that this bike uses really leaves little room for connector failure. When I removed the controller from the bike the controller was opened. The case screws are the same as the mounting screws so it comes open when you remove it. I can see an issue inside the controller that makes me suspect that it is a controller problem. Both batteries are reading strong on the voltage. I shot Lyen an email asking about the possibility of cannibalzing the wire harness from my old controller and installing it in one of his controllers as everything seems to have the same number of pins with the connectors being the only difference. He probably thinks I am nutts we'll see if I get a reply. I guess Rmartins service dept is not open on the weekends.

 

[zydeco]

I have confirmed that it was controller failure. Apparently you can not pedal the bike without the battery or it will fry the controller. When I had the bike upside down I removed the battery and hand cranked the pedals at some point. I am not sure if Rmartin is aware of this issue or not. I have not heard back from them yet. I assume they are closed on the weekend. The other guy I have spoken to online has had to replace one of these controllers as well.

 

[dogman dan]

That's nuts, if true. Lots of people pedal with the throttle off, or battery off. Sounds like the regen current found a defect in the controller.

What a downer, just the sort of crap you were hoping to avoid by buying a ready to ride ebike. Some times with this china stuff, it's just bad luck on the cheaply made components that go into controllers and chargers. I bought a very cheap Ford Think ebike awhile back that had a fried controller. That controller died before the nubs could wear off the tires when that bike was new years ago. Replacing the controller, and removing all the fancy wiring with simple e bike kit components, It ran ok. Then fried the controller, still before I could wear the nubs off the tires. :lol:

That bike just had bad luck and got two flaky controllers in a row.

 

[zydeco]

Lyen said he would work with me on wiring up a real controller if I sent him the parts he would need to do it. This bike has a crappy controller but it is actually ok for the price. I will be getting another controller via warranty shipped tomorrow. If it were to fail again I will ship all the electrical components to somebody competent like Lyen to ensure reliable operation. Your right Dogman it does suck to find out about flaws like this after you have bought a pre engineered product. I avoided the kit because I didn't want to lose focus of the purpose of the bike witch is to get some exercise. After looking at kits it was too tempting to start playing with options and lose focus.
The bike deserves a full review with pics and I will make sure I do that. I did enjoy riding it and love the way the bike handles. It handles like a bike..... The tires and tubes aren't bad. The derailer isn't trash but it's not winning any bragging rights. The brakes are my first disk brakes and they stop the bike very very well. The saddle was a torture device and was replaced with a brooks flyer. The shock works ok. I think this will be my bike for a long time even if it winds up with a Lyen controller and a geared hub.

 

[zydeco]

I wanted to give an update. I have just under 800miles on the mipower without further issues. It turns out that several bikes had bad controllers. The new controller provided under warranty is a better build quality. Overall I am pleased with the bike. With the second rear battery I have 1KWH capacity and can go about 42 miles without pedaling. I have lost 15 lbs so far but that number is a little deceptive. I actually gained alot of weight when I first started. My legs were still needed to get me up the steepest hills unless I was happy doing 8mph. The bike has served is purpose and now I am buying another ebike. My old pickup broke down a month ago and I don't care! Soon I will have an ODK from juiced riders to haul groceries with!

 

[dogman dan]

Yay! Love to hear about an eventual good outcome.

Sucks that it's got to be eventual sometimes. Part of getting a reliable ebike together is sorting out what part they sent you is defective. Too many vendors don't test before they ship. Manufacturers don't seem to, or worse, ship known defects to the furthest away customers.

The weight thing, you may end up the same weight as before, but muscle weighs more than fat. All good in the end.

 

[mythprod]

Awesome to read your story, glad it worked out! Not that you need it anymore but I was going to add that I'm around 220 and ride 25 miles roundtrip to work every day I can. I use a 48v 20ah battery, it's not technically a ping (I don't think) but it's pretty much the same. The range is good. I had a bad charger that left me riding back home without charging it back up at work and was pedaling without the motor for about 8 miles (not fun). My batt is around 22 pounds and along with another 15 or so from the motor it's pretty challenging without power.

I totally agree about the faux pedaling, it's very deceptive how much exercise you can get just by pedaling to keep up with the motor. I do pedal as fast as I can most days so I can squeeze a bit more mph out of the ride so that helps. One thing I like to tell co-workers is that ebikes are really great ways of getting excercise, especially for people with knee and joint problems. Hope your loss continues!