Hanebrink - All terrain vehicle - Review

[Hugues]

So, Santa Claus got a bit delayed in customs, my x'mas gift finally arrived this week.
I was looking for a bike to continue riding the trails here during winter.

The bike is manufactured and assembled in California, their web site:
http://www.fortunehanebrink.com/

I got in touch with Kane over there a few weeks ago, very easy to reach by phone or e-mail. Answered all my questions in a snap.
Their standard motor is a 600 w Aoetema. As i'm more familiar with the Crystalyte hub and infineon controller, i asked Kane if i could have it built that way. They happened to have one built for testing purpose so i purchased that one. It's the HS hub with infineon 20 A controller. Batteries are 36 V 10ah from http://www.allcelltech.com/.

As you can see the hub is mounted between pedals and wheel, so it "sees" the 7 speeds at the back, and also a second set of higher gears mounted on the axle. So you've got plenty of torque but also can reach quite reasonable speed. I have not pushed it yet as i'm still waiting for the batteries to arrive, i asked to ship them separately. I'm testing it with a small 29 V pack. The weather has been quite lousy since i got it, i should be able to take the beast to the snow covered trails tomorrow and report on it.

It has a big double deck rack at the back, you can load tons of Lipos in there, and if it's not enough you can put more in a frame bag.
The picture below is with a single pack , 7S 10ah.

Overall it gives a very good first impression, the bike looks very solid.
More later !

A couple of pictures, to show how it was pack and the small work needed to have it ready for a ride.

 

[Alan B]

That looks like it will do well on the trails. Perhaps not the speed daemon, but a solid get there reliability.

There was one in the Grange race, it wasn't super fast but did pretty well considering the competition.

 

[Philistine]

That is a seriously kickass looking machine. Look forward to hearing some ride reports.

 

[nicobie]

There was one in the Grange race, it wasn't super fast but did pretty well considering the competition.

That was Hanebrink himself. He seemed like a real nice guy.

 

[Ykick]

You're a fortunate fella and I'm jealous! 'looking forward to how you use and what you think of this interesting eBike? Thanks for sharing your delivery...

What's the battery setup? DYI or ???

 

[Hugues]

...
What's the battery setup? DYI or ???

i bought their standard pack, specs below, it's the 36V pack, i bought 2 having in mind to upgrade to 72V, i should receive them this week. And i bought a 40A Infineon controller.

more details on pack here:
http://www.allcelltech.com/images/stories/AllCell_eBike_Battery.pdf

 

[Ykick]

I think my nearly 2 year old eBikeKit 36V 10Ah pack is from Allcell and it's been a good unit for low C rate application. BMS seems pretty good but suggest allow it balance charge every few weeks when not being cycled frequently.

Enjoy the bike, 'always liked those...

 

[hjns]

Hi Hugues,

that looks like a really nasty beast. Before you go onroad, make sure you get a MoFa licence (yellow plate). Because, Swiss cops (even in the French part) will definitely pull you aside if you are without one.

Otherwise, looking forwards to some nice footage of bike and ride

 

[Drunkskunk]

Awesome. This is Bike Porn.

 

[joe tomten]

Hugues,

Next time you have your camera out - could you take a couple of close-up shots of the chain side of the mid-drive setup?

I want to study this for my own application.

thanks,
Joe

 

[Hugues]

Hugues,

Next time you have your camera out - could you take a couple of close-up shots of the chain side of the mid-drive setup?

I want to study this for my own application.

thanks,
Joe

Hi Joe

I'm out of town for a few days, but browse the gallery on this website :
http://www.fortunehanebrink.com/gallery/gallery/
You'll find a very good picture of their setup.
Mine is with the Clyte hub and has a second sprocket and derailleur on the hub axle for higher gears

Let me know if you near more details

 

[Hugues]

Received the batteries today, specs here:
http://www.allcelltech.com/images/stories/AllCell_eBike_Battery.pdf

Nicely pack, class HazMat, the only official/legal way of shipping LiPo by air freight if i'm not mistaken. They were contained in a plastic bag filled up with a peculiar material, not sure what it is, sure non flammable.

I bought a tire with a more aggressive profile, will be testing that this week-end.



View attachment 2

 

[Ypedal]

The packing stuff looks like vermiculite .. non flammable ..

 

[Hugues]

from Wikipedia, vermiculite:
Vermiculite is a natural mineral that expands with the application of heat. The expansion process is called exfoliation and it is routinely accomplished in purpose-designed commercial furnaces.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vermiculite

the images google returns look pretty much what i had in the package.

But why would they fill it up with a material that expands when expose to heat ?

 

[Ypedal]

no, it's made from volcanic rock, and is already expanded from the heat process, in it's current state it's absorbant ( used in potting soil mixes ) , and bonus is that it's non-flammable ( made from rock )

 

[Alan B]

I believe it is also used for absorbing spills, so including it in a package that could leak is good design, and in this case non flammable is also prudent. Should try smothering a lipo fire with it and see how it does.

 

[Hugues]

A little ride on the trails this week-end.

Saturday the snow was about 10 to 15 cm, quite fresh, it was easy to ride.

Then I upgraded the controller so I could connect the two 36 V packs in series, to get a bit more power.

The packs are rated 20 amps continuous so I could not push them further.

The short video below was made Sunday on very soft and wet snow, probably the most difficult to ride, very slippery.

Nevertheless I managed to climb pretty good and have fun, these rides going uphill 8% grade consume about 20 amps at 68 volts (this battery chemistry can go lower than lipo).

I bought a more aggressive tire, might install it or add some straps and metal blades on the tire, that would help on deeper snow I guess.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IAPeb_RBY5M

 

[Philistine]

You need to get Lipo going on it Hugues, so you can up the amps more. That thing would really scream on 72v 40 or 50 amps.

 

[Hugues]

I know , you're right, I can use the lipo pack 72v 40a from my mountain bike actually ....

Let me see...

 

[Hugues]

Ok, here we go, new test ride below with 72v and (almost) 40 amps pure LiPo juice.

I must admit I did not open the throttle completely and I stayed in 2nd gear (out of 14).
I just need a bit more grip at the back but especially more grip too on front wheel for steering.
Then I'll be able to go WOT

Stay tuned !

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FLUAgxxzP10

 

[ohzee]

Looks like fun and I do like the style of bike. How hard is it to pedal if you ever need to do that ?

 

[Hugues]

Looks like fun and I do like the style of bike. How hard is it to pedal if you ever need to do that ?

not too bad actually, but you can't get that far just by pedaling, the bike is rather heavy and the wheels do cause some drag of course. But they sell a non-electric version and some guys have used it in Antarctica if i'm not mistaken, so there must be a way to ride it with the legs.

When going downhill, the hub does not spin, so the wheel can spin freely so you go down pretty fast. But can't use regen this way of course, but i'm not sure i need it on this bike anyway, i'll be riding in the snow most of the time.

 

[zombiess]

I got to ride one at the Grange race owned by the guy who designed it. The bike felt as though it could go through just about anything. Steering felt a bit strange to me but other than that I thought it was a pretty sweet setup for anyone wanting to ride in soft conditions. I'm glad the owner allowed me to take it for a spin and he was a pleasant guy to chat to.

 

[nechaus]

aww man, that looks mean hey!!
pretty awesome, are you gonna do mods?

iv been thinking about a chain drive setup with the hpm5000b from golden motor..

 

[Hugues]

aww man, that looks mean hey!!
pretty awesome, are you gonna do mods?

iv been thinking about a chain drive setup with the hpm5000b from golden motor..

thanks !

mods ? somehow yes, if we compare to their basic model which is: 600 w motor with 20 A ctrlr.

I'm running mine with a Crystalyte HS and Infineon 40A controller at about 80 V, that rocks !

I'm trying to find ways to improve traction at the back and steering on snow, conditions are rather hard packed and sometimes icy snow at the moment. I installed a tire at the back with a more agressive profile, that's better, and need to screw in some studs. That should fix the back. Still need to improve steering, surely will had studs as well but that maybe not enough.

i'll keep you posted