Pikes Peak, Electric Mountain Climbers...

[Whiplash]

Agreed, they make a nice product but come on, 12ish thousand dollars for something my bike would SLAUGHTER in every way..... No thanks... I have some ideas coming soon that will make a mid drive with 2000+ watts, 40+mph top speed, and RAVENOUS climbing ability while remaining whisper quiet for about 1/6th the price and its gonna LOOK a lot better than a goofy copy of an 80's frame style... Sorry, I just don't people who gouge customers just because they can..

 

[LI-ghtcycle]

I can understand why everyone hates them now

De-tuned to 250W :lol: Yeah, that's going to sell well
Batteries overheating? WTF?? Get some REAL cells
34.5mph "extremely fast" for the track The hour record is more than that - that's a guy on an un-powered bike for the full hour! Most racers sprint to 45mph
And who's the clown on a fixie in the background @ 2:00

Yeah, I didn't get the guy playing with the fixie like an ADD kid in the back round either lol!

But hey, you can afford to do that when you're on top. :wink:

I think part of the reason that they don't want to sell the full powered versions over-seas is because they make a full bike, not just a kit, so WAY more liability than just say a kit, I know that the Stealth is a complete bike too, but hey, they are the exception to that rule.

I wonder how many complete E-Bikes besides Opti & Stealth are even out there with this kind of power?

Ecospeed is pretty smart to only build kits in that regard since they will have a lot less liability that way (or so I would imagine) and also the other companies that sell "DIY" kits, but even they don't generally sell something that will really put out serious power stock either.

 

[kfong]

The battery attachment to the back of the bike seems like a weak design. It seems like stress failure in that area would happen over time. The carbon cell separation is a great idea. Looks like they are staying with a safer battery chemistry. The detuning of motors is due to regulations, this would apply to all bike manufacturers selling to Europe. Still a nice bike if you had the money. For the rest us, building a bike is the better option.

 

[Alan B]

A thought for next year,

Cargo bike with two hubmotors. One in rear wheel, one mid-drive chained to the rear wheel hubmotor at 1:1 via disk brake mounts. Two controllers driven from one throttle.

Simple, easy, twice the heat dissipation, twice the torque, no problem keeping them at the same speed, easy changing the front tire. Less trouble than having a motor in both wheels.

 

[Lenk42602]

alright. i'm into this. bike or not, I am coming in 2012. I have a bike frame I can modify to make work with a 16" magic pie, just need to figure out how much lipo I would need, exactly. A mongoose steel - framed beast pulled from the dumpster at the shop. Saved it from certain death for something just like this!


looks like I am going to have to table the MAC 29er i was working on.....


Either way, I am coming, bitchez.

 

[itchynackers]

Awesome! The more the better. Figure out how much lipo you need, then bring more. That's my plan. I believe toughest obstacle here is heat (for me anyway). I've got reliability. I've got excess lipo. I've got a gameplan. Just need to manage heat in the hub motor. I don't know enough about r/c motors/controllers to even attempt a build like that, so I'm stuck with a hub. For me, I just want to finish the race first. Secondly, if the heat is manageable, then up the speed to critical motor temp and hold it.

 

[Lenk42602]

just read this entre thread, so my eyes are a bit blurry...

Luke,

What are you doing with extra pies you purchased? are you going to burn one up on the dyno,and keep the others for modification/race? Where did you get them, and do they have an affiliation with our forum?

can some one confirm for me that the 16" pie is in fact referring to a 16" bicycle rim and not a 16" moto - diameter?

Anyone have a ballpark "average" grade for the duration of the climb? Gonna digest all of this to see what I need....

Len

 

[gensem]

Its 16 bycicle rim.

I wish I was in the US, I would try pike peaks with 20s lipo 80 amps using Hals motor. 20 inch wheel.

 

[itchynackers]

just read this entre thread, so my eyes are a bit blurry...

Anyone have a ballpark "average" grade for the duration of the climb? Gonna digest all of this to see what I need....

Len

I posted a profile on page 17. It works out to about 6.4% average. There is about a 6 mile stretch which averages about 9+% toward the end of the ride. This is the critical sector for me. If I survive that, its all downhill from there.

 

[Lenk42602]

itchy thanks. got it...

just got the thumbs up from Aimee. We are making it our summer vacation next year. This is the one!

len

 

[itchynackers]

Nice! I got a "go" from the misses also. I just need to turn it into a vacation for us also. I don't want to drive 1200 miles just for an hour bike ride.

 

[Lenk42602]

itchy where do you live?

 

[The Mighty Volt]

itchy where do you live?

Itchycoo Park.

 

[itchynackers]

Close. Southern Wisconsin. Quite a ways from Colorado.

 

[Lenk42602]

Okay - we should keep tabs on the more eastern-located contingency heading to Pikes Peak and consider caravan-ing as things develop....

 

[itchynackers]

Yep. I'm sure a lot will happen between now and then. It would be nice to either caravan, or at least meet up for dinner after the race.

 

[John in CR]

just read this entre thread, so my eyes are a bit blurry...

Anyone have a ballpark "average" grade for the duration of the climb? Gonna digest all of this to see what I need....

Len

I posted a profile on page 17. It works out to about 6.4% average. There is about a 6 mile stretch which averages about 9+% toward the end of the ride. This is the critical sector for me. If I survive that, its all downhill from there.

You better focus more on those 12%+ grade short stretches. With continuous uphill grade afterward even just 10-30 seconds of bogging down can easily push a motor to a place from which there will be no recovery. Proper gearing is everything.

 

[jmygann]

"The gearbox is the same gearbox that successfully climbed Pikes Peak powering a bike and rider that weighted well over 300 pounds. Keep in mind that the drive load on a thru the gears system is much lighter than a hub motor or hard coupled drive. If you place the front wheel against a wall ( or start from stop in the highest gear ), have a battery that wll not significantly sag at 100 amps, have 160 amp Castle controller operating at 11 kHz, and do it enough times, you might get a stress fatigue failure of the gear teeth. That is if the controller doesn't burn up first, or there isn't a drive line failure. In these conditions the phase current will be over 1000 amps at part throttle."

http://endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=28&t=34595

Anyone know what Josh's time was with 24 volts ??




.

 

[Toorbough ULL-Zeveigh]

Anyone know what Josh's time was with 24 volts ??

2 days plus a handful of hours.

g'hed, reed tha thred & proove mee rong.

 

[docnjoj]

Hey Jmygann!
Didn't he get "crashed into" by one of the rich chicks on an Optibike at the start of the race?
otherDoc

 

[Josh K.]

Hey Folks,

Once I got into the mode, and kept my system running, it took me two and a half hours to go 26 miles. Sigh.

I ran it at exactly 500 watts, continuos duty. Used 1,000 watts, 24 volts, and 40 amp hours, almost exactly.

But I made it to the top, and was happy that the system kept on trucking, climbing some really steep spots,
and enabling me to pass a lot of pedal only guys, that had started hours earlier...

Josh K.

 

[neptronix]

Hey Folks,
Once I got into the mode, and kept my system running, it took me two and a half hours to go 26 miles. Sigh.

I ran it at exactly 500 watts, continuos duty. Used 1,000 watts, 24 volts, and 40 amp hours, almost exactly.

But I made it to the top, and was happy that the system kept on trucking, climbing some really steep spots,
and enabling me to pass a lot of pedal only guys, that had started hours earlier...

Josh K.

You coming in 2012?
I'll be running 30ah / 83v nominal.

Oughta pick up a 20" pie and run with me, team optibike eater..

 

[Josh K.]

Hi Folks,

Here is our latest Electric Mountain Climber, tested out on Ride the Rockies, Colorado.

Check out the Ride the Rockies thread for more photos, Stats, and info.

Peace, Josh K.

 

[veloman]

Josh, what were your electric assisted times up Mt Washington?

 

[Josh K.]

Wow, Good Question.

Well, we were running large E Teks at the time, 36 volt, 300 amp trikes, and would be able to do it in about an hour!

We were running two trikes one year, and another time we used a Perm 032 on a Rans mid drive, 24 volt, 40 amp hour.

The thing about Mount Washington, is that it is crazy steep, for I think about 7 miles.

I would have to go back and look through some notes to get more valuable info, it's been a while.

We were riding with the Harley guys one year, as a motor cycle. And another year, we get access to the hill on Alternative vehicle day.

Good times.

Peace, Josh K.