GCinDC's Giant DH Comp

[kfong]

Welcome to the world of single track Greg. I expect to see a lot more single track vids now You can see why I put so much effort into making my ebike trail worthy and why I do most of my riding on single track. I've must of had over a dozen big crashes, the bike has held up remarkably well. Just stay within your skillset. I've had lots of bruises, but no major injuries in 4 seasons of trail riding. Each season my riding has improved. You can always slow down on an off day.

That's a serious launch at speed, the shape of the ramp would need to be just right for even me to consider it. The gradual ones are better, without any quick upturn angles. Last thing you want is the front to drop too soon. Endovers really suck.

The trail on that vid should be fun.

It was! i chickened out on the jump tho. wet trail, hookworms. plenty of excuses, but it were it not for the tree at the bottom it was one of my dream jumps..

bummer i left the dirt tire back home.

 

[GCinDC]

Any updated feelings/ observations on the adaptto display- controller.

affection. amazement. relief about reliability, built in protections, usability.. much understatement here. for a high power ebike kit, i can't imagine anything better than this or the maxE.

the features speak for themselves.

do you recall that i was going to cobble together a big hot led display to keep an eye on my cell voltages, but now i've got something built in, that balances! has anyone seen anything that compares to this for a complete kit at any price?

i'm sure it's extremely efficient. going so fast on less watts testifies to that doesn't it?

totally silent.

built in controller temp protection. i don't think i could fry it if i tried!

and if i fried a hall, it'd probably switch over the sensorless mode? an autodetect setup. awesome connectors? show me a wishlist of ebike kit features and i think you could check off most things... no aux power yet, but i think it's coming, as are additional features.... yeah, i think you'll want this..

certainly if you're using lipo! maybe lifepo4 folks won't need it...

 

[GCinDC]

3+hours to upload on 1MB dsl line. no one else could use the net!
[youtube]Ay1GFIbtLsk[/youtube]

 

[Hyena]

Looks like a nice place but ack, riding that track at speed on hook worms! Holy skidding understeer batman!
Now, I know what I just saw but what the hell did I just listen to ?! :lol:
I'm trying to imagine any sane person voluntarily listening to that with being loaded to the eyeballs with mind altering drugs

 

[GCinDC]

sorry about the tune. sounded interesting at first, and there weren't many search results in audioswap that came up under 'wisconsin'.

but you somehow remind me, i've decided to get an h4080. anyone got one laying around or know where to get one?

i've got an email in with electricrider.com and i see that ebikessf.com has the motor only for $460. any other suggestions?

 

[pendragon8000]

what the hell did I just listen to ?! :lol:
I'm trying to imagine any sane person voluntarily listening to that with being loaded to the eyeballs with mind altering drugs

Lol... it was trippy.
Greg did you find something in the forest?

Its good to see you getting out on a trail like that though. It takes s bit of effort to put the bike on the car and drive there , then home then pack up. I find its usually worth it though having a ute helps though

 

[rodgah]

Holy skidding understeer batman

it may prevent highsides though jay :lol:

the track was cool till about half way thru, then yep pass the shrooms Greg......

 

[kfong]

Hmmm, I don't think I would of trusted those hookworms in such wet conditions. They looked already caked in the video, great for street riding, your going to find out the hard way that you need trail tires.

 

[GCinDC]

WI vaca over, gained ~6lbs and since it rained yesterday and the comp ain't waterproof, i pedaled in.

FT, i liked your vid - and have been wondering how to take turns on the bikes.. so the lactic acid breather is a good excuse for using electric...

problem will be self control. it wasn't raining today and OMG. what a friggin joy it is commute on her. let's face it, it's not ideal for motox or DH but for shredding my commute, it is, OMG... ebike grin all over. and some.

anyway, i charged at work and for some reason decided to unplug the mains, leaving only the charger... perhaps it was a bad idea. i remember thinking it odd that it was only at 76V when i saddled up for the return commute, but it didn't compute, until i was almost home and power cut to the motor and i saw this:

power surged but dropped again with another message like that.

so obviously it does a nice job of saving my dumb ass from killing the battery!

now i gotta figure out why it didn't charge, since i thought it would if mains were unplugged. perhaps not? andrey?

fwiw, the cells at that point:

 

[grindz145]

That fuel gauge is freaking slick man.

 

[rodgah]

decided to unplug the mains, leaving only the charger

I know this is a really silly question but do you mean you unplugged the battery from the controller and plugged the charger in? LOL.

 

[Trackman417]

Uh-oh. :?
Ruining your new battery already I see? Looks like you got yourself a runt cell. Don't lipo's start differing in voltage past 3.7 volts, so that one cell being a lot lower then the others is expected.
No video of your commute?

 

[GCinDC]

That fuel gauge is freaking slick man.

yeah, you notice the arrow at the far right when empty? at full, the arrow's at far left.
here's another example of the arrow after 91% usage:

i'm still trying to figure out how it calculates the distance remaining (which appears to right of the arrow). it seems to calculate remaining mile range based on average usage. and most times for me, it shows about 11 miles. but i need to watch it more. on eco mode riding casually with the wife, it showed ~30m!

do you mean you unplugged the battery from the controller and plugged the charger in?

in addition to mains (+ and GND), there's a charge wire (GND/black) which i've been using along w/ extension to + to connect to charger, thereby keeping Mains attached while charging, so i can monitor balancing, etc. ) (p12 of manual)

fwiw, there's another way to charge using an inductor and a phase wire, but works better off 240V i believe (p. 13):

in any case, only after full charge and balancing do i unplug charger from 'charge port' (black GND charge wire and batt batt +) and unplug batt mains (+ and GND). this feauture also allows me to see the battery charge level, the amps/watts charging from my BMS charger:

oh yeah, i put a vid of charging in middle of earlier one. here it is. after plugging in charger, i wiggle the charger=batt connectors showing they're still connected...:
[youtube]3tBn0oHsVzo[/youtube]

Ruining your new battery already I see? Looks like you got yourself a runt cell.

not consistently. i've noticed certain cells are lower at diff times, but we'll keep an eye on cell 7. here it is after only 2hrs:

and just now, after 5hrs balancing (when i turned it off):

but pics are decieving as the levels fluctuate a lot.

Don't lipo's start differing in voltage past 3.7 volts, so that one cell being a lot lower then the others is expected.

actually, the first time i really notice an iffy cell is when put on a charger and the voltage shoots up faster than the others. 3.7V is the nominal voltage for the useful part of the discharge curve as far as i know, tho it tends to be higher for good lipos. iffy cells sag way more under load...

No video of your commute?

friggin hero3 battery is tiny! doesn't help if i leave it on after parking the bike!

so no return commute. but here's some of the inbound for ya!
[youtube]Z3KFhYZtq6g[/youtube]

 

[rodgah]

I was being a bit of a smart ass but it is not as simple as I thought. I gather that your setup is a Y connection on your main battery +. Where one side is connected to your controller and the other is for plugging the charger into. The main negative stays connected....unless you choose to disconnect it of course :wink: . And the negative from your charger goes into the negative charge plug #6. Now when you say you disconnected your mains connectors I gather your charger was still connected to that positive side of the pack through the Y but you disconnected the controller positive. Did you disconnect the controllers main negative connection as well? :lol: . If not I cant see why it wouldnt of charged as the controller only really 'looks' at the current passing through it, unless it has a way of interrupting it. I wouldnt be game to do that as I thought it might have some kind of logic for backfeeding current that wouldnt be active if it were turned off as such and might fry.

Rodger

 

[litespeed]

Man I wish they would get the Adaptto up and running so the rest of us could jump on the band wagon. This is some seriously cool shiz-nit!

Tom

 

[hjns]

so obviously it does a nice job of saving my dumb ass from killing the battery!

now i gotta figure out why it didn't charge, since i thought it would if mains were unplugged. perhaps not? andrey?

fwiw, the cells at that point:

So, what is wrong with cell(s) 7? It must be at least 0.2V lower than the others. If I read the gauge correctly, you run down to an average of 3.3V cell level, with that one cell down to 3.15V. That's the one that I would be worried about, whereas the others seem pretty well balanced given the low voltage.

What are you charging with? My charger will trickle charge first if it detects a very low cell voltage.

 

[GCinDC]

I ran out of power a mile from home, and 'tested' the system all the way while standing and pedaling for shame...

So my guess is that all the cells were w/in .02V at rest until they approached the cliff. There at the cliff, the weakest cell dropped in voltage far faster than the others... My guess. But I'll do some testing of cell voltages under load using my new anti-glare display-focused, hero-mount-for-future-pic-in-pic videos...

snipped it up crudely in 15min before work this am with a slice of my trusty steel track:

stay tuned for commute vids with dashboard of readable display!

dry your pants tho, i won't do this for EVERY vid - just enough so you (and I) understand how this thing works on the road. i need to use the display myself and can't see it when using this...

 

[hjns]

Hihi, a GoPro is quite an expensive alternative for a CA analogger....

 

[GCinDC]

Hihi, a GoPro is quite an expensive alternative for a CA analogger....

yes, if dedicated, perhaps... but are there vids of real life forward motion that include corresponding battery stats? not the contour ones, which are awesome... but i'd love to see some...

edit: nevermind - found some..
very cool!

 

[beast775]

Thanks for the vids gcindc,good to see you up and runnin again 8) .

Im using you for my eventual switch to lipo,gonna be a while my 40150ses are still goin strong.i really like the new v display!

 

[GCinDC]

Thanks for the vids gcindc,good to see you up and runnin again 8) .

likewise, my friend! last i heard from you, you were in parts. can't wait to get to BC someday... enjoy for me.

 

[beast775]

Ive built 3 ebikes in the last 2 yrs and didnt like any of them.last build was a norco drop with a bafang rear an 48v 15ah battery but didnt like it, so off it went....im building a stretched chopper with a 1200w cyclone right now. lots to do and learn.

BC is beautiful,if ya ever go to victoria i know the ins and outs here.

Im excited to see the gopro reading the new v meter thats very cool.i think it will answer a few questions i have about v theft from lowered cells.

 

[GCinDC]

recording of am commute failed (hero3).

so here are two parts of a lunchtime errand, where i bascially tried to hammer the pack as hard as possible, in hopes of heating up the motor and showing how motor and controller temp affect current - but didn't really succeed, and i haven't had time to watch all of this. and damn the glare!

i'd rather wait and show you better scenes - more illustrative cases, particularly of:
- cell voltage display nearing cliff (end of charge)
- amp/motor/controller temp display going steep uphill
- and ideally those two together, but can't do that toggle modes w/ this apparatus, so watching the display of cell voltages, there's no way to know when I'm WOT, or what current is being pulled.. :?

in any case, here are the raw vids to start with:
[youtube]JGrJOFEEzTQ[/youtube]
[youtube]FkX4yHej1xQ[/youtube]

and the return commute when of course it rained:
[youtube]umpxf2lvN-U[/youtube]

if anyone sees any sections of note, or has questions, feel free to comment...

edit: i recorded cell voltage display on this am's commute, but had few chances to go WOT...
also, the bb mount was half torn, and i can't believe the hero3 didn't drop and get crushed. it snapped off in the WI woods while making this silly bushwhacking vid, and i didn't get the mount secured until this morning:
[youtube]-73LKJjkEUc[/youtube]

 

[GCinDC]

large delta in voltage occurs only at cliff..
[youtube]ZP3-XoESh5A[/youtube]
edit: might want to wait till 1080 version is up

 

[hjns]

Nice vid and good information, which I would like to have in the CA as well.

Based on this I may ask Methods if he can create a signal-out from his low-voltage-protection system that communicates with the CA so that the CA can integrate this information. Will probably be a CAv4 thing.