Xyster's X5

[newbie electric rider]

Above the forks attached to the handlebars, If you turned the handlebars the batteries would turn too, I was wondering if that would create dampining, (you know an object in motion stays in motion unless....)and a better entry into the wind. ( it is apparent that after 30 mph, you get a lot of resistance from the wind, the beaufort scale comes into play there, every time you go up a force, like a force 3 to a force 4 it is double the pressure.)I have been thinking quite a bit about where to put the batteries, then was reading the post about fairings.

 

[xyster]

At 22lbs, my front pack is a bit heavy I think to simply and adequately fix to the handlebars. Also, it'd have to hang down in order not to block the lights; there's not enough room for a 9" tall box below the lights. Your idea might work great for a smaller, lighter pack in a curved enclosure.

Front panniers, like these from Nashbar, could be good for lighter, inherently sturdier packs, but wouldn't do much to help streamline the bike.

 

[Beagle123]

Hey xter:

I wandered over here to your thread to check out your batteries, and I got caught-up reading about your bike. Its really awesome. When I first encountered this site about 6 months ago, it was the first one I read, but I didn't know the meaning of all the info. Now that I understand it, I'm really impressed with your results. 10 amps to go 20mph is excellent.

I think it was a huge gain switching to a 20 inch tire. I always favor smaller tires for all ebikes because we use motors that spin at 3000 rpms, so we're always gearing down. It seems like you ccan never gear down enough. In your case you really benifited.

This chart shows that you hit your max efficiency at 40mph (top speed) I think that's an indication that the smaller tire really helped. WIth your bigger tire, your bike must have been running at lower efficiency--perhaps 85% because that would coencide with about the 33mph level. In my estimation, an eve smaller tire could offer a little more power and efficiency (not that I'm suggesting you switch again).

In one post you said that you were able to get about 30 amps from your packs, but I could swear that I saw a post of yours earlier saying you re-soldered your connections and you're now getting more amps. WHat is your battery power status now?

How many "C" discharge rate are those batteries? it seems like if you drew 2C (is that realistic?) you'd be getting 66amps! That's 4500 watts!

Does that thing go 50mph now?

 

[xyster]

Hey xter:

I wandered over here to your thread to check out your batteries, and I got caught-up reading about your bike. Its really awesome.

Thanks, Beagle. Hundreds of hours of work and experimentation went into it -- like I imagine is true of your present ebike project.

When I first encountered this site about 6 months ago, it was the first one I read, but I didn't know the meaning of all the info. Now that I understand it, I'm really impressed with your results. 10 amps to go 20mph is excellent.

Actually, 10 amps buys me 26mph now. 5 amps buys me 20mph. Of course extraneous wind and road conditions make a huge difference -- so that's just an average. Because the voltage is higher than yours' (84v fully charged), the amps needed to go X speed are proportionately fewer.

I think it was a huge gain switching to a 20 inch tire. I always favor smaller tires for all ebikes because we use motors that spin at 3000 rpms, so we're always gearing down. It seems like you ccan never gear down enough. In your case you really benifited.

Oh, definitely.

This chart shows that you hit your max efficiency at 40mph (top speed) I think that's an indication that the smaller tire really helped. WIth your bigger tire, your bike must have been running at lower efficiency--perhaps 85% because that would coencide with about the 33mph level. In my estimation, an eve smaller tire could offer a little more power and efficiency (not that I'm suggesting you switch again).

Efficiency gain was part of the reason I switched. At the present voltage, the motor is about wound-out at 35mph, which is about the fastest I ever ride anyway. So gearing it faster with the previous 24" tire was a waste of power.

In one post you said that you were able to get about 30 amps from your packs, but I could swear that I saw a post of yours earlier saying you re-soldered your connections and you're now getting more amps. WHat is your battery power status now?

The difference in max amps turned out to be caused by the controller's current limit wandering with temperature. Cold day, cold controller limit is 31 amps. Warm day or warmed-up controller limit is 35 amps.

Rewiring and resoldering the pack, and switching to better connectors, cut voltage sag from 10 volts at 35 amps to 6 volts at 35 amps. That extra 4 volts is like getting an extra 15p1s pack for free!

The individual cells are rated 1.5c (49.5 amps for the 33ah pack). For reasons discussed in detail in other threads, I prefer not to push these cells much beyond 1C -- particularly as they drain beyond 50% SoC.

it seems like if you drew 2C (is that realistic?) you'd be getting 66amps! That's 4500 watts!

My next mini-project is to re-FET the controller for 60-80 max amps, and have installed an adjustable limit so I can limit it to 35-40 amps until I can build a 23s4p emoli "sport" pack that can handle 80 amps. I'll build this lightweight, short range, high power emoli pack to be snap-on/snap-off modular, like my presents packs are. Then, I'll switch between the packs for short-distance sport rides, and long-distance cruise rides.
I don't do much off-road riding right now because of the bike's one-hundred pound weight, 40lbs of that is the batteries and boxes. The back box is on a rather fragile seatpost rack. I'm thinking if I can cut the bike's weight down 20lbs by using 92 emoli cells, all mounted midframe, I can go off-roading more.

Does that thing go 50mph now?

No, 40mph is the absolute top speed with a fully charged pack. It should top out at 45mph with the future 92v60a pack. But I'm interested in increasing the power not to go faster, but to climb the steepest paved and unpaved hills around here better.

 

[Beagle123]

My next mini-project is to re-FET the controller for 60-80 max amps, and have installed an adjustable limit so I can limit it to 35-40 amps until I can build a 23s4p emoli "sport" pack that can handle 80 amps.

I wanted to give you my "real world" numbers on the emolis. I've tested my cells with a pair of 1 ohm resistors, and I got a current of about 5.5 amps, and the voltage dropped from 4.12v to 3.80v. I think that's pretty good. I tested the first 1 ohm resistor on my multi-meter, and it read 1.3 ohms. Together, they measured 0.8 ohms, so they weren't exactly 1 ohm each.

Ohm's law: 3.8v w/ 0.8 ohms = 4.75 amps

So its in the ballpark of my 5.5 amp reading.

I'd like to test them at higher discharge rates, but I only bought two 1 ohm resistors at radio shack. Also, I only do the test for a second or two because the resistors heat up. To test for currents of 20 amps, I'd need to get 0.16 ohms of resistance. I could try it if you're interested. I'll just have to stop at radio shack again.

I'm not sure if you'll be able to achieve 20 amps with these things. However, my test wasn't perfect. I have alligator clips on the aluminum and on the resistors that could be effecting my results.

Also, I got pulled over today on my scooter. The cop actually was really nice. I tried to tell him that it as an electric bike, but he wasn't buying it. He let me go, but I'm a bit concerned because I may not be able to register it as a "motorized cycle." Or illegal to ride. Its a weird legal limbo. They insist that you register it, but the DMV refuses to register it because its not a motorcycle. I hope its not the case. But, as usual, I'll be researching it.

 

[Ypedal]

Is mr.X on a self apointed vacation again ? he's been mia for a few days it seems... :?

 

[xyster]

Is mr.X on a self apointed vacation again ? he's been mia for a few days it seems... :?

Sorry Y, didn't realize I needed to seek the collective's permission before going on "vacation". It was a working vacation; I was helping to prepare a friend's house for sale. No ebiking, unfortunately. Just getting caught up on the more important endless-sphere stuff now....

 

[fechter]

We were about to send out a search party. Reid Welch is still missing.

 

[D-Man]

Think your bike just got discontinued xyster. Don't see it for sale anymore. Seems like its hard to find a full suspension comfort bike. Maybe Cadilliac will make it better the next round.

 

[xyster]

Think your bike just got discontinued xyster. Don't see it for sale anymore. Seems like its hard to find a full suspension comfort bike. Maybe Cadilliac will make it better the next round.

Yah, looks like they cheapened the replacement model while keeping the price about the same. Gone is the rear soft tail and -- on the one advertised at Amazon, but not the one below -- also gone are the disk brakes.
http://www.cadillacbikestore.com/comfort-bikes.htm

The (I guess) replacement model at amazon:

Last year's better model that I have is still advertised here:
http://www.cadillacbicycles.com/adventure_avp21.html

The lady's 06 is still available at Amazon, but the men's version is not. It looks easier to pack batteries midframe on the lady's version. Hmmm....

 

[swbluto]

Where's Xyster?

 

[Link]

That's what we've been wondering...

 

[slayer]

he s a great guy xyster,
it is about at that time i started to read e. s. forum and i was amazed by his battery pack

 

[TPA]

Where's Xyster?

I hate to be the one to bring it up, and hopefully someone here may know him personally and can allay fears, but could it be possible that he bought the farm?

If a person has hobbies and interest and talks about them on the internet, then who would inform the forum community of such an event?

I really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really hope I'm wrong.

 

[Ypedal]

It's been a while, but i recall a thread in general discussion about keeping track of people , Reid went MIA for a while, and this sparkes a discussion.. i'll try to dig it up.

I miss Xysters humor at times.. lol..

 

[Lowell]

Maybe he got married :lol:

 

[Ypedal]

http://endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=2734&start=15

Along these lines..

 

[deecanio]

i mailed Sean a while ago but he never came back to me


cheers,

D

 

[lazarus2405]

I miss him. His build was the inspiration for mine (albeit with cleaner handlebars and less duct tape), and when i first found this plahe it was xyster who sat down with me and answered every one of my four dozen questions.

 

[pwbset]

The 112v project ended in despair. I suppose 47mph is fast enough... :-/

Wait... what? Sorry... just noticed your sig... what happened to your 4s 112v? The 4110s weren't up to it? Was this recent? You were a big reason I chose Milwaukee packs... though I was never nuts enough to run 4s. 3s (with warranty still in tact!) is just fine with me! :wink: :lol:

 

[lazarus2405]

Nah... I honestly think it was the Clyte v2 controller's low voltage regulator was not up to the 112v input voltage. I was about to test it with 56v to the low voltage regulator and 112v to the rest of the board, but it shot through and fried two FETs on a last test of 112v to the whole thing. Replaced the FETs, tried everything on 56v, and the same result. It is my suspicion that the microcontroller is dead, since the FETs shot through at 56v too.

I got so frustrated with controller problems that I sprang for the Kelly unit which, though it tops out at 90v, has a lifetime replacement warranty. If I had the spare change, I'd get another 4110-based controller and try it all again, powering the low voltage regulator from a 56v battery tap this time, but for now I'm happy that it works.

 

[swbluto]

http://endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=2734&start=15

Along these lines..

His last post here was on November 27th. Here's Xyster's posting volume, organized by day and stated in terms of "posts/day" around that time period.

Nov. 10 - 18 seems intermittent (1 post every 2-3 days)
Nov. 19 - 1
Nov. 20 - 1
Nov. 21 - 3
Nov. 22 - 8
Nov. 23 - 2
Nov. 24 - 4
Nov. 25 - 8
Nov. 26 - 2
Nov. 27 - 9
Nov. 28 - 5
Nov. 29 - 3
Nov. 30 - 1
Dec. 1 - 1
Dec. 2 - 2
Dec. 3 - 0
Dec. 4 - 0
Dec. 5 - 1

November 22nd was Thanksgiving day. Posting peaked on Nov. 27th and then dissipated until it fell into what would seem to be the beginning of an intermittent pattern. His posting shows similar intermittent posting in the past, so it could be his regular posting pattern or it could be an intentional falling off of Endless-sphere(Yeah, no help there). Oddly enough, I would think his area would have had snow sometime during the December, so it seems plausible with his addiction for high power setups and an adamant passion for e-biking, he might have got into an accident. Or he could have just left. Perhaps we should take his suggestion and just private message him so as to not violate his fundamental right to privacy. Eh? Worth a try?

 

[pwbset]

I used to moderate and post a LOT to a paragliding forum because I was addicted to flying paragliders for about 6 years. One day I got flushed out of a ragged, unpredictable thermal climbing above launch, fell 150' in just a few seconds and shattered my right ankle. Got really lucky. Haven't flown since and immediately stopped posted to and moderating the paragliding forum. I'm hoping Xyster didn't have an accident like that. :?

On the other hand sometimes people just "move on". I notice with most people here that once a build is done the posting excitement wears off and they just ride. Hopefully he's just riding.

 

[Lenk42602]

On the other hand sometimes people just "move on". I notice with most people here that once a build is done the posting excitement wears off and they just ride.

Here, here........... while the weather permits. He's been out a long time though....