My Merlin Mac10T CAV3 build.

[rsilvers]

The wiring is rough as I just put the gear on yesterday and I want some experience with it before I do more work on it.

It is 55 lbs and will do about 26 MPH on level ground. I am 151 lbs dressed with helmet. So 206 lbs or 93.5kg.

Battery is supposedly some kind of Samsung 18650 and 48v, 20 Ah from AliExpress - I assume 13S. It is on a $23 Schwinn rack that is sold at Target or Amazon. There is some rattle between the battery and rack when I go over bumps, which is why there are bungee straps on it. They help but don't eliminate the problem.

My plan for the wires and controller was to put them in a triangle bag, but I decided that I want more airflow for the controller, so I may end up just using Velcro fabric wraps. I may print a mount for the controller.

I designed and printed the 8-pole PAS wheel because the 12-pole King CA one was too large a diameter for my frame.

I would really like a torque-sensor, but my bottom bracket is 107mm, so none will fit. I know there is the chain-sensing kind, but I hear they are not so good.

So far my impressions are that it is too heavy, and a smaller triangle or dolphin battery would have been better. But maybe I will enjoy the range, I am not sure yet.

I charged it up last night and will ride it today until the battery is depleted and then report the CA data.

And with Ibera bag:

 

[beast775]

Nice commuter .

 

[Jon NCal]

Nice bike! Any problem with getting the axle/nut fully into the dropouts?

Jon

 

[rsilvers]

The axle did seem to not just want to go in on its own. I had to tap it.

The nut interfered with my derailleur, but adding washers fixed that.

The axle to torque-arm fit was not as tight as I would like.

 

[rsilvers]

My Kill-A-Watt reported 0.99 to charge my pack. That is 990 Wh for a pack that my CA reports as providing 820Wh.

17.2% is lost due to the charger and the battery storage process.

It cost me about 16 cents to charge. I got 42 miles range at an average of 19.6 mph (but mostly at over 25 mph). So energy costs me 0.38 cents per mile. Or I can go 2.625 miles per penny.

 

[Paladin]

Looks good.
Getting that battery in the frame will make it more balanced.
If you go slower you will be even more efficient.

Ride on!

 

[rsilvers]

This won't fit in the frame unless it is the wideish way.

If I had to do it all over again, I would look for a triangle or Dolphin battery.

 

[rsilvers]

When I pedal - significantly but not super hard, and give 150 watts of PAS - specifically calculated to make this bike feel like a 15 lb racing bike, I get 7.5-8.0 watt-hours per mile and average about 16 mph. That means I have a range of up to 108 miles with this boost.

 

[rsilvers]

The inner bottom of the Schwinn rack was starting to bend upward from the mass of the battery bouncing up and down. I solved that with very heavy duty cable ties on the bottom. I then put more around everything to keep it from rattling on the mount when I go over bumps. It is finally quiet. True I can no longer remove it, but that is no big deal.

Also note the rear light mount I 3D printed:

http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:1008838

Next thing to do is to get a light powered from this battery.

 

[rsilvers]

I added an LED wheel display for night riding.

 

[rsilvers]

I am selling these parts now - listed in the classifieds area. I got into pedal-only bikes.