WE BL-36 Kit 1300 Mile Review

[Cold-E-Commuter]

It has been a while since I have posted anything but I wanted to post my review of the WE BL-36 kit that I have been using. Take as much weight from this as you will as this is my first e-bike experience. I purchased the original kit from an e-bay seller "Dales Best 4 Bikes" late 2009. (Octoberish) Initial questions about the kit were answered in a timely manner and the kit arrived with typical shipping marks. No damage seemed apparent and all of the parts were in working order. As per other reviews, the rim was out of true and took considerable work to bring it inline. Local shops seemed less than interested in helping. (Lee's Cyclery) After a bit of internet research I was able to figure out how to true the rim while making sure it was round. (Majik marker, time, and keen eye) Now that we have a true and running system, it is time to upgrade! I then added a Watts's Up meter to the system and started tracking data on a serious level. (21.4 Wh/Mile) I must admit at this time the reason for purchasing the kit is legal. I lost my drivers licence for a year. Reason undisclosed. But I have found that travel is more enjoyable this way and have decided that this will be used more than not even when I get my license back. I am hooked! So anyway, reliability is key. At this time I have put over 1300 miles on the Aetoma motor and it has performed flawlessly. I have made it to work in conditions as low as 5 degrees F. (8.8 miles one way) Now that is it is spring I have added a few items to the kit. Local law is 20mph or 750W. The Cycle Analyst (from ebikes.ca) has made sure that I am inline with local law. This came about because I put together a 48V SLA pack above and beyond the 36V pack the kit came with. Also, range dictated I needed more available WH to keep the pack less than 50% DOD. Up to 31 mph on a flat no wind became standard with the 48V pack. Law frowned upon this, thus the CA. And now, a halogen headlight (55W automotive driving light) so I can see it before I crash into it. Great info from EST for a DC/DC convertor from "Thunderstuck-Ev.com" . Basically, the Aetoma motor is capible of severe weather. I look forward to every ride.

 

[dogman dan]

Sensorless rocks for extreme climates. Great to hear you are liking it a lot. Fortunately for me, cops don't care if I exeed 20 mph here. Just obey posted speed limits on the street. So when I run 48v, it's no problem to ride 30 mph.

 

[Cold-E-Commuter]

Thanks for the vote of confidence dogman. I didn't know about this option until my license was gone but am now an advocate. Unless you commute in a carpool for long distances this makes total sense. Seriously it only takes an extra 3 minutes for my 9 mile commute this way compared to driving if I push it. And the cost and greenhouse gas savings is well worth it. As I have figured thus far I have saved over $250 in gas costs alone. Not enough yet to cover the cost of the kit and extended battery, but when you consider the savings of insurance and car payments, this paid for itself in the first 3 months, including the cost of the bike, rack, water bottle, helmet, etc... Why wouldn't you do this? I am now working on family members to do the same and from there as many people as possible. I will be recommending the additional initial expense of a LiFePo4 pack as I have done the math and it is roughly 1/4 the cost in the long run as SLA batteries. Not to mention the real range offered versus a guess depending on the time and Ah available from SLA's. Back to the kit though. My guess is that the Aetoma sensorless is not the most efficient kit. I have seen other members post as low as 9 to 10 Wh/Mi. My average is currently 21.4Wh/Mi. So we are moving 290 lbs (bike and rider) at 24.5 mph average with a 21.4Wh/Mi average in a variety of weather conditions. The motor has never failed but has had surges and oscillations when under extreme power draws. The maximum power draw recorded before the installation of the CA was 1204 Watts according to the Watts-Up. That is double the "600" watt advertised rate. The cruising speed with a 48V SLA pack (54.8V fresh charge) is around 31MPH with the above mentioned weight. I am very pleased with this kit other than the rim out of true when the kit arrived. I look forward to trying new kits in the future as I pass this along to family members interested. Enjoy and I hope this is helpful to those looking to get into the e-bike realm.

 

[Russell]

I would say your power consumption is EXCELLENT if you are cruising at 31 mph and AVERAGING 24.5 mph on your commutes!

-R