Schwinn ST1000 F***ed Brakes

[Thor]

Hey guys!
I just signed up and I am already writing my first thread. So first things first: Please don't judge me by my language. I'm from Germany, and my writings might not be at the same quality level than you are used to.

Now that we have cleared that up, back to the original topic. As the title tells, I got one of these Currie Technologies 1000W E-scooters. I'm driving it for more than three years now and besides that every few 100 miles the next thing breaks apart - I'm pretty happy beeing electric! There is only one major issue with the scooter. and that is the brakes. I already had an accident induced by insufficient stopping power and it happened again last week. I was lucky in both cases but nevertheless my wrist will hurt for a few more weeks.

I already tried some standard ISO mount hydraulic bike brakes. They didn't fit. The problem is the hydraulic cylinder which pushes the inner pad outwards. It's too big and would mount were the arm section of the rim is. It's not impossible by principle. I just need the right brake which fits as perfectly as the old one. With the advantage of some braking power - of course.

Has anyone changed the brakes of this scooter before and can give me an advice?
Thor

 

[Dauntless]

https://www.curriestore.com/bikes-scooters/WH-12R-1000A201317039/

https://www.curriestore.com/bikes-scooters/WH-1005200625347/

That's right, there's a disc brake rear wheel available. I assume you don't have that one, as I haven't known those to have trouble on the currie. Some already have disc brakes, some have whatever you call that other thingee. But then I don't know if you have the direct drive 1000w or the rare chain drive. It's hard to say much without knowing more.

 

[Thor]

Your're right. The rear axis is misdesigned. My scooter was shipped with direct drive and rear disc brakes. I took some photos to show the assembly. I had to remove the brake pads a while ago. Otherwise the wheel whould have blocked completly.

Thor

 

[allroads]

Congrats of getting a super scooter. I have the same model as yours.
I have upgraded to new discs front and rear, added new cables, grips, a large soft puffy saddle, added Kevlar liners inside the tires, have extra tires as they don't last, added a trip meter, and best of all added a lifepo4 36v 20ah battery from ebay seller "sun-thing28". It is a simple plug and play and I had to make the battery box bigger by welding to fit the new battery.

Get a higher amp charger
I also found a better connector from controller to battery. I have had no issues, holds the charge for 25 kms or more and as long as there's no big hills. Range is what I want plus it has good amount of torque.
I also had to weld the folding front handlebar stem as it was prone to cracking.
As for your brake issue, try repositioning the axle support or look for another fork.
I love my Schwinn Stealth and everyone gawks at it wherever I go.
Where did you get those fenders, are they available for rear too. I can use them for sure.

 

[Thor]

Hey, great to hear from you!

I did some mods to my scooter, too. Mine are minor mechanical work which had to be done over the years as the scooter seems to be exceeding his life time for something in the magnitude of factor 10. But I spent most of my time in rebuilding the electrics of the scooter. I got to a somewhat reasonable DIY motor controller. 63V 50A with regenerativ breaking and other fun stuff My last version fits in the palm of your hand and I am working on a even smaller version.

The front fenders came with it as I got the scooter. There is a german support shop which resells these fenders. (http://shop.franzundfreunde.de/tante-paula-ersatzteile/maximilian-2/schutzblech-vorne.html)
The fenders itself are 32€(~41USD) a piece. And they offer overseas shipping on request. But I guess this will be rather expensive.

The back ones need to fit to the Motor mounting and require realy tiny tires. (http://shop.franzundfreunde.de/tante-paula-ersatzteile/maximilian-2/schutzblech-hinten.html) As the schwinns are delivered with a variety of Motors and mountings its pretty unlikely that the rear fender will fit onto your schwinn. Sorry.

I finaly found a brake that fits. Almost. The Avid (SRAM) Elexir 5 with 180mm disc seems to be a good brake and fits almost to the µm. In fact the provided mounting adapter will give it the wrong radial angle. But if you line it with a bunch of flat washers it fits rather perfectly. My front wheel is a bit woobly and I will have to fix that. Otherwise it looks great.^^ (Pics in comming!)

But now the bad news. One Picture that says it all:

 

[allroads]

Glad to hear there's progress. Can you update me on the controller, more pics and details. I PM you earlier, like to share more.

 

[Thor]

The controller itself is an advancment of the original. Early implementations of my DIY controller even based on the PCB of the original controller with self written firmware for the µC. Currently I am using a diecasted aluminium box as a housing and heat sink with some MOSFETs in half bridge configuration screwed to it and a signaling board attached to the lid of the box.

The pictures show my first approach of an DC controller. It is a huge mess but it worked fine. Later I replaced the "borrowed" signaling board from the original controller by a DIY one. But the overall topology remaind the same: You can see a bunch of MOSFETs and a clamping diode screwed to the back of the housing. The wiring between the signaling board and the power stage is somewhat floating.

I am working on the next revision of my controller which will introduce modular desing and atomic modules. The idea is that you can power your bike, your scooter, your car or if you which a tank with this controller just by scalling the power stage.

More of that when it is in an presentable state.

Thor