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

[Hyena]

Love the illuminated switch. I was talking to Drunken (bomber owner) about putting s switch like that in place of his key switch to prevent water ingress as he rides EVERY day. But with a rf remote "ignition".

Yeah I believe a short run of the early stealths used a switch like this. And there's a few out there that did have a wireless remote. Fairly easily done if you wanted to retrofit it. If you were going to use a remote though then you wouldn't need any external switch at all.

I reakon the mud guard is nice . But maby too long although it fits the lines of the bike really nicely.

Yeah it is a tad too long, though it could only look worse it I try and cut it down. Atleast I wont get spray up my back unlike others which are too short

Close up of fibre glass?

It's nothing flash, just a flat black sheet with a bit of flex to do the job.
It came from an old chinese battery that I someone asked me to fix (it ended up having 8/10 dead cells so went into the bin, but I kept the FG sheet for rainy day projects. Like this )

 

[full-throttle]

Love the illuminated switch. I was talking to Drunken (bomber owner) about putting s switch like that in place of his key switch to prevent water ingress as he rides EVERY day. But with a rf remote "ignition".

Yeah I believe a short run of the early stealths used a switch like this. And there's a few out there that did have a wireless remote. Fairly easily done if you wanted to retrofit it. If you were going to use a remote though then you wouldn't need any external switch at all.

It's the same model. The switch (push button) is there to turn it on. Otherwise the remote circuit would always be powered. The remote also switches between 2 predefined power modes and can activate an alarm. It it also possible for the bike to wake up in either modes incl the alarm. The low power mode was chosen iirc.

 

[ManoisEscobar]

How much were those mudguards? Last time (only time) I rode to uni in the rain I got completely soaked. Like the whole wheel was designed exclusively to funnel water into my ass-crack and the whole traction and motion thing was just an afterthought.

The button is pretty snazzy. Can you post a pic of the whole bike in frame with the new guard included?

Also I mentioned your website to some lady today. My mate broke a part of his v-brake trying to pop and endo so we had to detour by the electric bike shop in Pyrmont. She was test riding a $3k pedelec thingie up a hill and it didn't look very elegant. Throttles for the win.

 

[Hyena]

Thanks for he clarification on that FT.

How much were those mudguards? Last time (only time) I rode to uni in the rain I got completely soaked. Like the whole wheel was designed exclusively to funnel water into my ass-crack and the whole traction and motion thing was just an afterthought.

haha yeah a tyre is position perfectly for doing exactly that! We've all been there, I got caught out once years back and fashioned something from an old plastic folder at work for my return commute. My coworkers looked at me like I was loopy as I crafted this ghetto mud guard held on with rubber bands, tape and string but they're weren't going to be riding 40 minutes home in soggy, muddy duds!
It wasn't that expensive - around $20 from memory

The button is pretty snazzy. Can you post a pic of the whole bike in frame with the new guard included?

Here you go, 2 birds with one stone - a whole shot for you and a night shot for remf I'll take another shot once I have all the lighting rigged up properly

Also I mentioned your website to some lady today.

Thanks, I REALLY need to update that sorry excuse for a website. It's only 2 years of date :lol:
Speaking of which, which one of the Hyena alumni was spotted at Bunnings around Alexandria recently ? A bloke I built a kit for said he came out of bunnings and saw a guy looking over his bike. He asked where he got it and he said from a website called hyena bikes and the guy says "oh, Jay, yeah I've got a few things from him" Dammit, I need another alias :lol:

 

[ManoisEscobar]

It's a little long compared to the front guard but seems very functional and is still nice n pretty.

It's definitely not:

Let me know if you hear from her anyway. I doubt she took my advice but I just felt kinda bad not saying something while someone dropped 3k on a pretty turd. Also last time I was there one of the techs told me the owner is a dickhead to people who have more powerful bikes. Refused to help a customer who couldn't put his 1000w kit together alone.

 

[Hyena]

I could always modify the mount to bring it back around an inch closer to the seat tube but it's not really worth the effort. They're probably designed to accomodate 29ers as well. You wouldn't want it to be much shorter though otherwise you'd still cop a bit of spray. This will ensure you stay dry - atleast from water on the road.

Re: bike shop assholery towards ebikes, unfortunately it's common. I had a LBS near me refuse to bleed my front hydro brakes a few years back. He said "nah I don't work on those electric bikes, they're too different to what we normally do" I explained to him that the brakes were normal avid mountain bike brakes, as was the whole thing a "normal" mtb aside from the hub motor rear wheel. He was like "nup, not interested, don't wanna get involved with them". Last time I go near that jerks shop. It's less common to get negative attitude from a dedicated ebike shop though. I normally refer people to gloworm bikes in Marrickville. I get them to build all my custom wheels and they will also instal kits and what not if people aren't vaguely the DIY type.

Oh yeah, and my new helmet arrived. 661 comp shifted. I went with a small, swayed in my final decision because the medium was out of stock!
It's a tad tight around the cheeks but will hopefully compress a little over time. I'll probably appreciate the snug fit next time I bury my head into the ground!
The gloss white and black matches my fighter nicely.
Modelled here by my young bloke who snatched it off me the second I pulled it out of the box.



It's fairly light, 955g. My old bell exodus FF is actually a tad lighter again but both are pretty good for a full face helmet. My previous FF (the black one I use for my spewcam vids etc) is 1650g! It's fairly cool too, it was 30oC yesterday and riding in t shirt and shorts was warm but my head wasn't overly hot. So I'd recommend it to anyone looking for a light FF helmet without spending a a fortune.

 

[dan974]

what kind of darkness did you find in that abandoned tram shed ?...

slowly going from white fighter to darkness

soon to be realeased ...?
FATHER & LITTLE JEDI ?

 

[pendragon8000]

I think your overdue for an YT upload.
What you got for us Jay? Too busy being a dad and making kits?

 

[Rix]

Yah, the dark side is might powerful, don't be tempted by it. Yes, Pend was correctm, about time for a YT upload. How about that movie?

Rick

 

[Hyena]

Hey I've gone from black helmet to white, that's a move to the light side
Movie is coming, the footage isnt quite good enough for what I wanted to do though, and ideally I need to do a few more shots.

Yeah Ken I've just been crazy busy lately, lots happening at work but I've been spending what spare time I have working on my bikes rather than riding them. Not being doing many kits at all, I'm trying to sort out some suppliers for new motors and what not to my specs but as usual the chinese are giving me the run around and generally doing my head in.

I built up the blue specialized over the last 2 days and took that for a run yesterday. It's running a similar set up to my commuter in that its a 18S and an upgraded mac but running 24" wheel.
I did alot of soldering to minimise the wiring on this one so it was neat didn't have all the parallel connections everywhere.



I must have gotten the current programming wrong because it went like a shower of shit! I'm used to my commuter and figured it wouldnt be that much different with just the 24" wheels and 10 amps more current but it lifted the front wheel straight up and nearly flicked me off. Doing some test laps it pulled really hard, with some occasional shudder that I thought was the clutch. I programmed zero block time but it still seemed too savage so I turned the current back down to 30 amps. I should have realised it still had too much shove than just running the smaller 24" wheels when it should have been the same as my commuter. It was an old controller I had laying around and I think it has double shunts. So 30 amps was actually 60, so I was probably peaking over 4000w I didnt have a CA hooked up but decided to take it for a run up to the shops and then detour home through the bush. In the bush it was a blast and with a heap of power and plush suspension it felt just like my fighter to ride. I headed home and hook a big steep hill near my house at full throttle. It climbed it with ease and then when I got to the top I noticed the whine of the motor had gotten quieter. As I powered away I thought to my self "that's interesting, maybe the gears have worn in slightly and gotten quieter" then 30 seconds later rattle rattle rattle - no power. I'd say the clutch has eaten shit. I tried it again later that afternoon and it worked again but had a noise and frequent clunk to it. I think that's a new record time for killing a new motor :lol:
So that's next weekends project now!

Here's a shot of my current stable



And on the video front, here's a quicky
I went up to bunnings today and accidently left my gopro recording. It was a quick in and out in 5 minute mission but the clip shows the reactions of some of the passers by. hehe.
I'll have to do this again and park the bike somewhere more noticable and leave it longer.

[youtube]VLGgnVWjT3s[/youtube]

Also I met up with a local ES member today who just bought a stealth bomber. Naturally, racing ensued
I'll up vids for that in a day or 2.

 

[Rix]

Jay, that was some funny "home depot" footage, it really got some shoppers attention. I get those looks too from folks. thanks for posting.

Rick

 

[Hyena]

Yeah I'm surprised as many people noticed it as they did considering it was tucked away a bit. I imagine if I parked it at the front door where I normally do it'd get more looks. That's my anti-theft strategy - ride it in the door and just leave it sitting there. Tell the kid on the door greeting people to "keep an eye on my bike for me will ya mate" and at any given time someone will be looking at it so hopefully no one pinches it :lol:

 

[Jolly Jumper]

The first one was funny watched and thinks just a ugly bike. than his eyes catching the gopro than he got more curious.

Good that the average people don´t see the power this bikes can output. They would get tempted to steal it i guess. :lol:

 

[Hyena]

I dont think he necessarily saw the gopro, it's pretty tucked away on the underside of the bars and has no lights or anything. I get the same reaction with no camera. From the front it just look like a downhill bike and it's only when the see the side of it they realise something isn't right. If I'm out having lunch somewhere I often sit the bike opposite me and away a bit so it's not obvious it's mine and watch people walk past scratching their heads :lol:

In other lipo recycling news, part of the reason I went up to bunnings was because they had a half price on li-ion battery drills so I decided to get a new one because the nicd pack in my old one wasn't brilliant to start with but is now super slugish. Of course they were all sold out so I went home and decided to hot up my old one. They were boasting a 1.3ah battery with a free second one. I've fitted mine with a 5S 5ah lipo pack 8)

 

[Jolly Jumper]

hmmm maybe he had just think slower than his eyes see

Nice mod now u can really quick charge i guess 8)
Was original a 4s ? :lol:
Is this a resistor from 1st pin to V+ ?
I am tempting to do the same..

Bunnings*

 

[Hyena]

hmmm maybe he had just think slower

Yeah I reckon a few of those people were slow thinkers :lol:

Nice mod now u can really quick charge i guess 8)
Was original a 4s ? :lol:
Is this a resistor from 1st pin to V+ ?
I am tempting to do the same..

Originally an 18v NiCd pack, made from sub C cells.
Fresh voltage off the charge is actually quite comparable but obviously it has a heap more grunt with lipo and next to no sag.
But yeah, I'll be able to charge at 8A through the balance taps which is nearly 2C

I didn't check the other part too carefully but I assume it's a thermistor and ends the fun if the batteries get too hot during high current discharge. It won't be an issue with lipo anyway. And if it does get hot enough to trip the thermistor I'll soon know about it :lol:

 

[t3sla]

The more time you've spent riding BnG a commuter the more it has strayed from being a concept bike (noticed the same thing with Keplers build)

Reality of the situation deems commuting to be practical, atheistic sacrifices happen.
But in the end ask your self, would you rather have dog fecal mater on you or a mudguard on your bike

Saying here is a pic of something they may interest you.

 

[Kepler]

Confused. So mudguards on or off? And what is BnG? Probably something obvious

 

[t3sla]

Confused. So mudguards on or off? And what is BnG? Probably something obvious

I was referring to the changes in bag, initial setup was really clean and stealthy but it proved to be unreliable and you expanded capacity.

BnG = Black and Gold (Hyena's current build) would could look euro-bike worthy in a fashion over function state.

I'm trying to say we initially aim for one thing, but practicality gets in the way (dealing with electrification does that)
The bespoke DIY regular bicycles posted in other forums are crazy and I find they maintain original design goals for the sake of a challenge.

 

[Kepler]

Got ya. And too true.

We have big ideas but then reality kicks in. If you want to travel at 40 kph for 30km, you need more then 200Whrs

Same goes for the skinny tires and rigid forks. Seemed like a good idea at the time. 2" Big apples and a good set of suspension forks have made a massive difference to riding experience on my commuter.

 

[Hyena]

Yeah gotta be functional for the intended purpose. Same with my stealth fighter. Most I've seen are in good nick like they're only even ridden on dry footpaths - mine is looking a little worse for wear these days as I ride it like I stole it Nearly time for a tear down, repaint and rebuild.

And yeah, I saw those throttles but I prefer a half twist and I've heard the response of those ones isnt terrific and there's a big dead patch at the start.
No more gold on the bike now. I got the last of the bits I was waiting on but I've actually ditched the gold bell and gone back to a plain black one. It was starting to look a bit tacky IMO. So the bars are just the gold tipped lock on grips and gold rimmed headlights now.


Here's a new vid, no action, just cruising around Cronulla beach taking in the sights on a hot day

[youtube]Aqnt6gPy7fA[/youtube]

 

[Samd]

Love the Bunnings video fella. Classic.

 

[Rix]

When I see videos like this, I just realize I was born in the wrong country. AWESOME!! Here is a pic of my Pops and I riding up in Boise last week. He sure loves your Hyena Neutron kit. When ever I make a suggestion to something better like the 4065 running 18s, he just says this is more than fine with him. Since June, he has logged 126 charge cycles and almost 3000 miles. Thats averaging 23 miles per ride. Sometimes he rides twice a day. Of course he is retired and at 68, has the time to ride as much as he wants. Anyway, he is in the process of building up a frame with 9 inches of suspension front and rear and will be transplanting your Neutron kit for powering. Pops wanted me to pass along a thank you for setting him up with your kit.

Rick

 

[Hyena]

That's some good miles he's clocking up Rix!
I've got around the same amount on my stealth fighter only I've had it for 2 years and with more than double the charge cycles. It'll be interesting to see what sort of life he gets from the batteries.
I look forward to the day when I have that much time to go riding!

Lately my only free time to ride is of a nice, so gere's a night ride vid of me pushing it to the limit on my fighter. I've left the original audio to try and convey the feeling of speed but it still looks slower than I was going. This is no where near the fastest I've ridden but as far as 'speed for the conditions' go I think this tops it. I'll upload part 2 later, it's even more chaotic

[youtube]nOf9dgVQa2Q[/youtube]

 

[Rix]

Great night ride Jay, I think I am going to do that next summer at Tahoe. Now that I think of it, we should have hit Yosemite at night. Maybe would have seen big foot or something. I recognize that trail from one of your other vids. It was the tight trail that you shot hauling ass on during the day time when you responded to one of Full throttle's comments.

I look forward to the day when I have that much time to go riding!

You and me both. The truth.

Rick