First ride 9C 48V Ping

[RICK]

- ebike-kit 9c 2807 laced into a (front) 700c 21 mm rim (purchased assembly from Holmes Hobbies)
- Infineon 25A controller and thumb throttle from ebike.ca
-48V 15 AH v2.5 Ping
-2 ebike-kit universal torque arms
- assorted andersons from ebike-kit and a bunch of Radio Shack bullet connectors
- homebuilt plywood platform to stick the battery on, used the rack from an old Rhoads child seat so should be plenty strong
-half-assed PVC elbow hose clamped onto my 1" drop bars to mount the 7/8" thumb throttle
- bike is a 12 year old schwinn Passage, pretty decent low-end road bike, Cro-mo fork

me - complete newb, lurked for a few months and went for what seemed the most straightforward approach to get a 20-25 mph avg, 20+ mile range bike

assembly - went together pretty muck OK, put on new connectors, just matched up the wire colors and it worked. Highly recommend watching all relevant videos, looking for data sheets and install guides on the net BEFORE plugging anything in (just plugged in the Ping when it was delivered and nearly lost it..)

Still need some work, but what a pisser! Charged the battery a few times, then a 5 mile trip and a charge, then a 20 miler. Plenty of poop for the steepest hills, isn't really heating up, cruising at 26-27, tops out just over 30. Still pulling strong after 20 miles, don't have a cycle analyst so don't really know how much I used. Got it for a 19 mile commute, looks like it will work for that just fine. Pity a decent throttle for 1" drop bars doesn't seem to exist. Anyway, real happy and hoping to use it a bunch.

Two things:

- hideous graunching noise from hub under low speed acceleration every once in a while, I've read of this before. Hopefully I'm not hurting anything?

- What about shock mounting for the Ping? It seems like its getting the crap beat out of it. Planning on mounting my plywood platform on some foam or sorbothane or something.

 

[dogman dan]

On my local roads, 20-25 mph will pound the hell out of things. Eventually, as funds permit, you might want to look into a softer riding bike, such as fat tires, or even suspension. The extra weight of the motor and battery doesn't help much either. But for now, perhaps some foam under the ping, Fatigue mat flooring, or a few layers of one of those workout mats would work well. I have beat the crap out of mine though dirt riding ,and had no problems. Just make sure nothing can rub it the wrong way. I like to make a tight fitting box out of something, aluminum, plastic, whatever, to be sure all the rubbing and bumping is not on the actual cells or the shrink wrap.

 

[RICK]

Well, its not so much a matter of funds as it is a desire for speed. First commute yesterday, 19 miles each way. I was in a hurry to get home and ran at 28-29 mph for at least 1/2 the way home. I think a hybrid would not be as quick.

 

[dogman dan]

Yeah, top speed is faster on a 700c rim that is larger than a mtb with 26" rim. But weight doesn't matter too much with a motor, like it does with pedaling. But other factors like riding position and it's affect on drag get very very important at 30 mph. For me, the penalty of using a full suspension mountain bike are worth it, since I'm an old fart with a ruined back. When I first got into ebikes, I had some problems with hardtail bikes. Fine for 10 miles, but 30 miles a day on one was too much for me. One nice side effect of the suspension is that the battery and controller ride softer too. And I never bend rims on the FS bikes.