jaymacazbd
1 µW
- Joined
- May 11, 2013
- Messages
- 2
It looks like Schwinn is pushing the Tailwind into steep clearance in quite a few places. My well-used Giant Electric Lite was in the shop for 3 months (on its last legs after 7 years), and when I went to pick it up they had the Tailwind on clearance for $700. I rode it a few times and decided to get it, with the thought that I would eventually swap out the motor, battery and controller with an eZee motor from ebikes.ca like what I have on my electric recumbent. The frame and components are pretty standard so that is possible.
I wrote a detailed review at http://www.janmcdonald.com/jansplace/?p=292 about my experience so far, but I would summarize it to say that if you like comfort bikes and don't mind the inferior implementation of pedal activation and the low range, it may be worth it at the closeout price, with the possibility of converting the bike to a less proprietary system down the line. I find to my surprise that I like the Euro-style features like the Basta lock and dynamo lights, and I am adapting to the power setup for now, but I find the low range a real problem, maxing out at 12 miles or so for me with medium power boost on easy terrain. The 24v, 4.2ah battery does charge wonderfully fast, but that is only a patch on the problem they created. A low range is really annoying, taking a lot of pleasure out of the experience if your rides are close to the limit.
I had a simple idea to extend the range and wonder if anyone sees any reason it wouldn't work.
I was looking at the way the battery plugs into the housing on the rear rack, and saw that it is a simple contact between positive and negative posts on the housing and metal tabs on the battery. I am thinking I could make a very simple clipon attachment to go where the battery contacts the posts -- basically a wood or plastic piece with two holes drilled and metal discs inserted to contact the posts on the housing. I could attach wire to the back of the discs and add Anderson connectors to the ends of the wire, then weatherproof a bit. I already have two 24V, 8Ah Nicad battery packs I got from ebikes.ca awhile back that I use for my recumbent. One of these would simply plug into the attachment via its Anderson connectors to deliver power, and I would quickly have two extra batteries to extend my range with $10 worth of parts. This whole thing could be clipped on and removed easily to switch back to the proprietary battery, so I could carry both for longer trips. That would mean I could use the existing motor and battery until I can afford to switch the whole setup to a different motor, without being crippled on range.
I don't know any reason the Schwinn controller wouldn't work with the Nicad batteries, but if anyone sees a problem, let me know. If Nicad technology is somehow not compatible I could get a LifePO4 24v battery without much expense. The controller came without any documentation, so I don't know much about it. I'm not very knowledgeable about electricity or battery technology in general, so maybe I'm missing something obvious here. BTW, the motor appears to be the 180 watt, 250 max version -- I have seen some reference to a 250/450 version on this bike, but I don't think I have that.
Why not just dive into the wires and replace the controller altogether and get a throttle for takeoff? Schwinn is hedging on the warranty question, saying they will honor the warranty on the motor, battery and controller only if parts are still available, but I'd rather not hack into the wires directly for awhile, in case I could get a warranty part. This seems like a simple solution that wouldn't necessarily void any warranty there may be.
I would appreciate any thoughts! Thanks.
I wrote a detailed review at http://www.janmcdonald.com/jansplace/?p=292 about my experience so far, but I would summarize it to say that if you like comfort bikes and don't mind the inferior implementation of pedal activation and the low range, it may be worth it at the closeout price, with the possibility of converting the bike to a less proprietary system down the line. I find to my surprise that I like the Euro-style features like the Basta lock and dynamo lights, and I am adapting to the power setup for now, but I find the low range a real problem, maxing out at 12 miles or so for me with medium power boost on easy terrain. The 24v, 4.2ah battery does charge wonderfully fast, but that is only a patch on the problem they created. A low range is really annoying, taking a lot of pleasure out of the experience if your rides are close to the limit.
I had a simple idea to extend the range and wonder if anyone sees any reason it wouldn't work.
I was looking at the way the battery plugs into the housing on the rear rack, and saw that it is a simple contact between positive and negative posts on the housing and metal tabs on the battery. I am thinking I could make a very simple clipon attachment to go where the battery contacts the posts -- basically a wood or plastic piece with two holes drilled and metal discs inserted to contact the posts on the housing. I could attach wire to the back of the discs and add Anderson connectors to the ends of the wire, then weatherproof a bit. I already have two 24V, 8Ah Nicad battery packs I got from ebikes.ca awhile back that I use for my recumbent. One of these would simply plug into the attachment via its Anderson connectors to deliver power, and I would quickly have two extra batteries to extend my range with $10 worth of parts. This whole thing could be clipped on and removed easily to switch back to the proprietary battery, so I could carry both for longer trips. That would mean I could use the existing motor and battery until I can afford to switch the whole setup to a different motor, without being crippled on range.
I don't know any reason the Schwinn controller wouldn't work with the Nicad batteries, but if anyone sees a problem, let me know. If Nicad technology is somehow not compatible I could get a LifePO4 24v battery without much expense. The controller came without any documentation, so I don't know much about it. I'm not very knowledgeable about electricity or battery technology in general, so maybe I'm missing something obvious here. BTW, the motor appears to be the 180 watt, 250 max version -- I have seen some reference to a 250/450 version on this bike, but I don't think I have that.
Why not just dive into the wires and replace the controller altogether and get a throttle for takeoff? Schwinn is hedging on the warranty question, saying they will honor the warranty on the motor, battery and controller only if parts are still available, but I'd rather not hack into the wires directly for awhile, in case I could get a warranty part. This seems like a simple solution that wouldn't necessarily void any warranty there may be.
I would appreciate any thoughts! Thanks.
Hi,
