Hyena's e-bike builds (now with HD video)

[veloman]

There's never a good enough reason to ride in the door zone. Well if you really really have no choice, do it at 10mph or less. That's why we have ebikes though, so you can take the lane at a reasonable car-like speed. On the 40+mph roads, there really aren't any parked cars, at least around here.

What annoys me a lot is cars flying up behind me as I'm approaching a red light, usually with traffic stacked up. I try to coast for 5 or so seconds, so I'm not going full speed, and this improves efficiency a fair bit. I just have a good laugh as I watch them go 50 feet, then nowhere, and I either pass in the bike lane or jump on the sidewalk if I need to. It's funny how they must pass you, no matter how little distance they may gain for few seconds.

 

[pendragon8000]

There's never a good enough reason to ride in the door zone. Well if you really really have no choice, do it at 10mph or less. That's why we have ebikes though, so you can take the lane at a reasonable car-like speed. On the 40+mph roads, there really aren't any parked cars, at least around here.

What annoys me a lot is cars flying up behind me as I'm approaching a red light, usually with traffic stacked up. I try to coast for 5 or so seconds, so I'm not going full speed, and this improves efficiency a fair bit. I just have a good laugh as I watch them go 50 feet, then nowhere, and I either pass in the bike lane or jump on the sidewalk if I need to. It's funny how they must pass you, no matter how little distance they may gain for few seconds.

Yeah. Pretty much. Thing is its kind of unfair 'cos we make n noise and look like a bike. That's why I try and make myself look like a motorbike

 

[Rix]

Yes I imagine if a driver is taking advantage of legal prostitution it could put bicycle riders at significant risk
I know you are just funnin around but according to my Task Force buddy, even legalized brothels have lots of nose candy (cocaine) floating around them. The average girl can make anywhere from 1,000 a day to 5,000 a day and the high end girls can demand 10,000 per customer. I guess they need the boost so they can have the energy to provide excellent customer services. good stuff.

Rick

 

[Scruffoid]

Holy Crap haven't read this thread since before Xmas. 4 pages of post to read. Just got through em all!

All the vids were fun to watch. Past my night at work very well thanks Jay as always.

Hope you and the family had a Great Xmas etc etc.

Gotta have a group ride soon mate. Did you want to organise one again or should I do one out my way. M7 Western Sydney parklands trip? let me know.

Scruff

 

[Trackman417]

You know Hyena?
I can't figure out how you laced a 24" rim onto that motor all by yourself? I tried lacing my H4065 into a 26" rim and I couldn't do it, so I gave up and had my LBS do it for me. Even they said, they had a hell of a time getting all of the spokes laced to make the rim..... Correctly.
You have any hints and tips so I don't have to rely on people that don't live in my house?
I also found that the paint on the motor, while shiny and nice, chips far too easily for my liking. Is that the case for you as well?

 

[Rix]

You know Hyena?
I can't figure out how you laced a 24" rim onto that motor all by yourself? I tried lacing my H4065 into a 26" rim and I couldn't do it, so I gave up and had my LBS do it for me. Even they said, they had a hell of a time getting all of the spokes laced to make the rim..... Correctly.
You have any hints and tips so I don't have to rely on people that don't live in my house?
I also found that the paint on the motor, while shiny and nice, chips far too easily for my liking. Is that the case for you as well?

Trackman, I laced mine and found that the angles the spokes going into the nipples from the flange and how the nipples seated in the rim were all off. Nothing I could do about that. I over came some of the angle issues by tightening the spokes fairlty tight during the trueing process. In fact, quite a bit tighter than I would have on a motorcycle hub matched to a rim. When you look at my spokes at the nipple then bend slights towards the hub flange. This also delayed the spokes from seating and needed additional tightening and truing after the first couple of rides. Now the wheel is solid. Were you having the same problems with angle issues?

Rick

 

[Hyena]

That's why I try and make myself look like a motorbike

It's a catch 22 with the laws here. I wear the gear from a protection point of view and any extra awareness cars give you is a good thing, but then if you look too much like a moto and ride too fast with traffic the cops will be on our backs.

All the vids were fun to watch. Past my night at work very well thanks Jay as always.

Happy to help you bludge as always :lol:

Gotta have a group ride soon mate. Did you want to organise one again or should I do one out my way. M7 Western Sydney parklands trip? let me know

I'm not familiar with the area so by all means go ahead and organise it. I'm not sure I'll be able to attend but others will probably be interested. Apparently there's alot of good trails and what not around homebush too. If people are available at short notice I'll actually have a few hrs free next weekend. My missus has a few kids bday parties this month so while she's occupied with the kids there I have a leave pass to go riding! We've both been so busy lately it's the first time I've been able to get out in months. I went for 2 good rides both days this weekend and it was great. I finally got a tow ball socket to get on that rack you made me so ventured off to far away lands

I can't figure out how you laced a 24" rim onto that motor all by yourself? I tried lacing my H4065 into a 26" rim and I couldn't do it, so I gave up and had my LBS do it for me.

I just sat the hub in my lap and laced it up the same way I always do - every 2nd hole, ins / outs then flip it and do the other side. A few spokes needed bending towards the end to get in but I got there. I dont mean outright bending, but I pushed hard to bow them until they popped into the hole. I'm doubt that's the proper way to do it or whether that's an issue using a proper stand but yeah, that's how I did it. I'm far from what you'd call a wheel building expert though. I only do a couple a year and for the time it takes me to do it to end up with a roughly round wheel I'd much rather take it to an ebike shop (glowworm) and have them do it properly straight up. I just wanted to get testing and glowworm is a bit of a hike from my place.

I also found that the paint on the motor, while shiny and nice, chips far too easily for my liking. Is that the case for you as well?

Yeah a little, the fast wind motor I've just pulled off is a bit chipped up but most of that is from when I had bad chain alignment and it was hitting the case occasionally over bumps.

 

[Hyena]

New vid from the weekend, riding at the dirt bike hangout mentioned previously.

[youtube]ZB7641hvx98[/youtube]

 

[pchen92]

Your videos are so beautiful I have the feeling of riding my bike ! Or at least it remembers me riding my bike because my DH Team sits on the shed since 2 months But right now I'm soldering the plug for my new controller and my new motor. Hopefully it will be finished this weekend or the one after so I can shot HD video too and go back on the trails at high speed

 

[litespeed]

Cool video! So what kind of speeds are you running in the video? It will be this spring before I'm able to hit the single tracks but was wondering what I could expect from my DH Team/4065. On my DRZ 400 I could run the trails pretty fast but that had 10" travel and 150+ pounds over this bicycle.

Tom

 

[Trackman417]

I just sat the hub in my lap and laced it up the same way I always do - every 2nd hole, ins / outs then flip it and do the other side. A few spokes needed bending towards the end to get in but I got there. I dont mean outright bending, but I pushed hard to bow them until they popped into the hole. I'm doubt that's the proper way to do it or whether that's an issue using a proper stand but yeah, that's how I did it. I'm far from what you'd call a wheel building expert though. I only do a couple a year and for the time it takes me to do it to end up with a roughly round wheel I'd much rather take it to an ebike shop (glowworm) and have them do it properly straight up. I just wanted to get testing and glowworm is a bit of a hike from my place.

I also found that the paint on the motor, while shiny and nice, chips far too easily for my liking. Is that the case for you as well?

Yeah a little, the fast wind motor I've just pulled off is a bit chipped up but most of that is from when I had bad chain alignment and it was hitting the case occasionally over bumps.

Nice to know you have a dedicated ebike place for your stuff. I just had google maps, that told me about the lacing and how good they were. I brought the motor in the shop, laid it on there counter and they tried to pick the thing up but had to brace themselves for the extra 10 pounds they weren't expecting :lol: . Then the other biker went on about how I was cheating, and I came back with one of the sigs from this forum "I'm not cheating I'm commuting " Long story short, I wish I had a dedicated ebike shop around here.
As far as the paint chipping, The paint chipping is all around where the spokes rubbed against the motor to get them into the wheel. Maybe the paint wasn't cured enough?

 

[Hyena]

Your videos are so beautiful I have the feeling of riding my bike !

Thanks! But that vid doesn't convey just how undulating and bumpy much of that track was. You get a bit of an idea when you see my forks pogoing at one point but that was just the closely spaced mx track whoop style ruts in the track. They were actually pretty smooth and lots of them throughout so I suspect someone may have actually plowed them in like that, though it must have been along time ago.

Cool video! So what kind of speeds are you running in the video?

For the most part about 40-50km/hr. The fastest parts were about 55 (top speed on my CA was 58)
As above it was pretty rough / bumpy and even with my plush suspension set up that was about as fast as I could go. To give you an idea, I didn't pedal at all but the next day had quite sore muscles. I spent most of the time on the pedals and off the seat with my muscles and joints taking up alot of the bumps.

The paint chipping is all around where the spokes rubbed against the motor to get them into the wheel.

That's strange, maybe they weren't tensioned up enough and were moving around and rubbed the paint off.

 

[litespeed]

Cool video! So what kind of speeds are you running in the video?

For the most part about 40-50km/hr. The fastest parts were about 55 (top speed on my CA was 58)
As above it was pretty rough / bumpy and even with my plush suspension set up that was about as fast as I could go. To give you an idea, I didn't pedal at all but the next day had quite sore muscles. I spent most of the time on the pedals and off the seat with my muscles and joints taking up alot of the bumps.

That's what I was guessing. Funny thing about the sore part, I used to never get sore but now at 46 parts of me let me know when they had enough or are just plain finished. So on your bike what travel does it have? 200 mm front and 250 mm rear? I still dream of building or buying a Stealth.

Tom

Btw I had seen somewhere that you fly helicopters. What are you flying these days? I was lucky enough to be asked to be a team synergy pilot in 2011 so I fly a E7 and a E5.

 

[Hyena]

Travel is about 200mm front and rear, I have it set up pretty plush for comfort but I've never actaully bottomed out the front or rear. I don't take huge drops though.
I've been playing around with quadcopters lately, mainly with the intention of using one for aerial photography but I've been having trouble getting the one I built to hover level enough. Either way I need a second person to pilot / film while I ride, or vise versa.

OK check this shiz out :
A few people have asked for a walk around of my stealth fighter so here it is. The second half of the video is an epic montage of fast action clips 8)

[youtube]xqvFqAb05xs[/youtube]

 

[winkinatcha]

Masterful Video Jay!

Joe

 

[Rodney64]

Masterful Video Jay!

Joe

Yes very good Jay. I'm learning but have a long way to go to get to your level.

 

[Rix]

Best walk around vidoe ever. And a paraphrased best hits vidoe combined in under 2 minutes. Now thats economy of motion. First time I have seen your machine from all angles. Tough looking beast.

Rick

 

[Cyclebutt]

Great video! I was looking for camera mounts during the walk around. Any recommendations? Don't want my camera falling off, trail riding.

 

[litespeed]

That was a great collection. Very exciting footage indeed.

Tom

 

[Hyena]

Thanks fellas.

First time I have seen your machine from all angles. Tough looking beast.

I was going to pause and highligh each mod with a description but thought it would detract from the fast paced 2nd half.
But yeah, I'm pretty happy with it. I left it on my car rack going to work yesterday and got alot of looks in traffic.

Great video! I was looking for camera mounts during the walk around. Any recommendations? Don't want my camera falling off, trail riding.

If I"m just out having a ride without intentionally riding to shoot then I just use the handlebar mount (mounted upside down though, hanging from the bars which reduces vibration)
If I'm doing creative shots I use an assortment of mounts, some of which DO lend themself to falling off! I've broken many gopro mounts and lenses and 2 of the cameras themself but that's the price you pay for cool shoots The recent shots I've been doing that look like a chest mount that show down my arms are actually with my jaw open wide and the camera jammed between my teeth :lol: The dirt bike riders the other day must have thought I was loopy when they came around the corner and here I am blasting along with a gopro in my gob :lol:

 

[Trackman417]

The paint chipping is all around where the spokes rubbed against the motor to get them into the wheel.

That's strange, maybe they weren't tensioned up enough and were moving around and rubbed the paint off.

No, the paint chipped as the spokes were tensioned up going along the flange to get into the rim. I think the paint may not have been treated properly? I just hope I ride it enough so that rust doesn't build up and start chewing at the motor. There are spots I know I won't be able to get to with a dremmel and a brillo pad-like tip.

Nice video guy! I wish stealth would sell there frames separately, at least without a warranty, so the rest of us could use a nice platform to build off of. The phasor frame is good, but I am not a really big fan of the curves.

 

[Hyena]

I wish stealth would sell there frames separately, at least without a warranty, so the rest of us could use a nice platform to build off of. The phasor frame is good, but I am not a really big fan of the curves.

Yeah I know what you mean. I like elements of the phasor (primarily the initial shape change I suggested to them ) but there's something about the overall finished product I dont love.

On a different note, from fast riding and high power to the exact opposite.
Riding home yesterday I decided to do my whole 16km commute strictly in legal mode - to see what I could get away with in terms of batteries for a minimalist build and also to see how hard I'd have to bust my arse. Speed was limited to 25km/hr and the wattage kept pretty low. For the most part on the flat it was only drawing around 150w and 2A at 25km/hr! It pulled more on hills of course but still only peak around 1000w in short bursts. In all the continuous power was in keeping with the current rules. I dont have PAS connected but in speed mode 1 I just move to full throttle once I'm rolling and tap cruise control and it holds in there. I then ride like it fixie and only let off the cruise when approaching intersections on obstacles/hazards. To maintain speed I had to stand on the pedals briefly to get up hills, something I haven't done in a while, but even though it required alot of extra effort I was still able to get up them at good pace vs the alternative.
The economy for the trip ? An astonishing 10.5 whr/km - 170whr.
Based on this I'm going to rethink my previous plans to run 3x8S 5.8ah lipo packs for a 24S 5.8ah pack with the slowest wind motor. Instead I'll keep my current motor and drop down to 2 packs for 16S. This gives me a 340 whr pack of which I'll budget on 300whr being the usable capacity. That's enough for me to ride in fast and with minimal effort in the morning in my collar and tie, recharge at work and then put in the hard(er) yards coming home for exercise. Total weight added to the bike should be around 7kg. So a sub 20kg comfortable ride should be possible and with ~1800w max power it'll still get along OK too. This is as close as I come to being a lycra

 

[Scruffoid]

The terrain looks pretty rough from your vid. Would you go back to that location now Jay?

 

[Hyena]

Yeah you certainly wouldn't want to ride fast there on a hardtail - I was using all my long travel suspension.
I don't think I'd head back there for leisurely ride, only to shoot another video. That's on the cards though, because of the open spaces it'd be a good spot to use my 360 degree rotating helmet cam and also do some more mixing it up with the dirt bikes. Once I sort out a neat 24S solution I'll go back and challenge a few to a race Actually I'm keen to do some testing with the new crystalyte crown motor so might throw that on the fighter and take it out for a spin.

There's better bike trails back towards menai near the tip opposite the bomb factory but there's signs up everywhere now saying mtbs cant ride there any more and that the feds patrol it land. Meh, they wont hear me coming

BTW, I'm thinking of making some mods to your rack, I've taken it out twice now and found that there's alot of front to rear rock in it. I think welding a strut on each side at 45o from the eyeletts back to the tow ball would make it much more stable.
How's your V2 going ?

 

[Scruffoid]

Great to see you using it!

I havent really had any issues with mine. Having trouble visualising the issue your having. Oh thats right you aint using the grank holder are you. We can work it out mate no probs.

If ya need any help with the mods let us know and we can do it at the workshop here at work if needed.