TexasElectric - eBike build

[jjackstone]

This is a great price for this much power. I have been unable to find any reviews on these cells though. Do you have links to any?
JJ

[TexasElectric]

Sorry for my absence these past few days, I was out of town.

vskid3

1. I definitely need to do a bunch of testing. I have been thinking about it, and I am planning to do a few "test" rides to work on the weekends before putting the bike into full everyday use. Plus i will probably give myself 2 hours to get to work the first trip and slowly shave off time (ie. leave the house a little later) as i get into a routine (ie. when/where to apply throttle, when/where to pedal assist along my route) to get the most out of my setup. There's a lot of variation on the route (hills, a few pot holes, flats, traffic lights, etc...), It's mostly flat with 3-4 small hills.

2. The roads are mostly smooth. I'll be riding on the east side of DFW, (think farm land on the far east side). Most of the roads are well taken care of (ie, smooth). Skinny/fat tires... Just for kix, I'll put a set of 700x32 touring tires on the 29r and do a back-to-back speed/effort test comparing them to the stock 29x2.1 knobby tires.

3. 5p (my current setup) vs 6p... I'll wait until after I do some testing. But, I'd have to spend an additional $45 if i decided to go 6p. We'll see what testing yields. I have heard of Cycle Satiator chargers and they look really cool, tons of functionality and control. But too expensive for me. i did however purchase a "VeriBest 48V 4A Lithium Battery Charger". Why did I buy 4a charger you might ask, because the charging time (according to calculators online) should take around 8 hours or less depending on the initial charge state of the battery. 8 hours is a perfect amount of time (ie, 8 hour work shift). Plus (and this is a big one), I don't want to shove amperage down the throats of the cells as they are being charged, not do I want them to get hot while charging. I am assuming (based on what I read online) that charging the battery with a lower amperage will prolong its life.

VeriBest 48V 4A Lithium Battery Charger
https://www.amazon.com/VeriBest-48V-...st+48v+lithium


jjackstone

I don't think I've seen any "testing/performance"reviews myself, other than buyers reviews on eBay. I'll keep this thread updated as I test them.



Later this afternoon I am picking up the following items, they arrived in the mail last week while I was out.
$289.99 - 1x, 48V 1500W Direct Drive REAR 700C eBike Kit Electric Bicycle Ebikeling
$42.90 - 1x, Topeak TT9646B MTX EX Rigid Trunk Rack Bike Bag QuickTrack System 480ci
$39.84 - 1x, Topeak Bike Rack Rr Explorer Mtx 29, Black

I received the Joe Rocket motorcycle gloves and had a chance to test them on a ride this afternoon. They are extremely comfortable, with padding on the palm/fingers. And they allow air to flow through the top fabric very easily, keeping your hands cool.
$22.49 - 1x, Joe Rocket Velocity 2.0 Street Motorcycle Gloves

[sendler]

Conti put these special purpose e-bike tires on close out already?
.
https://www.biketiresdirect.com/prod...e-tire?sesgl=1
.
continental bicycle E.CONTACT
.

[TexasElectric]

sendler

That's awesome! I am a big fan of Continental bicycle tires. I'll check them out.



I completed a very quick test of my Touring/Cyclocross/Mountain Bike tires.

---Touring Tires (700x32)---
Time: 5:00.71 minutes
Distance: 1.36 miles
Average Speed: 16.26 mph
Maxium Speed: 22.15 mph

---Cyclocross Tires (700x35)---
Time: 4:46.62 minutes
Distance: 1.36 miles
Average Speed: 17.03 mph
Maxium Speed: 22.75 mph

---Mountain Bike Tires (29x2.1)---
Time: 5:00.70 minutes
Distance: 1.35 miles
Average Speed: 16.18 mph
Maxium Speed: 22.47 mph

I'm not impressed with this small test. Although, I can confidently say that the cyclocross tires felt the fastest. (Such a pain in the butt removing and mounting tires)

700x32 Tire


700x35 Tire


29x2.1 Tire



Last night I tried to mount the 29x2.1 tire on the eBike wheel. The rim is just a little too small (diameter/circumference is a little smaller). I also tried to mount the cyclocross and touring tire and I had the same problem. I think the eBike rim is actually a 28" rim. I will take the rim into my local bike shop this weekend and have them confirm the wheel size.

I thought about my options... I could buy a 29r rim and have the hub motor laced into that rim (would cost about $150), or I could just buy a 28" tire and use that (the bike would look a tiny bit off, 29" wheel in the front and 28" in the rear, but whatever).

I also need to buy a different rear de-railer. The rear de-railer on the bike rubs against the motor.


eBikeling Wheel

[sendler]

You will also have to ask your motor seller what freewheel will fit (7speed?) and possibly change the shifter to match the spacing.

[Grant-53]

Many motorcycles have a larger diameter front wheel. You might get a bit more understeer but tire pressure and weight distribution adjustments could deal with that.

The tail box I am building should enclose your battery pack. I set up an e-mail account as endlesstailwinds@gmail.com. I'll know more when the coast down tests are done.

[TexasElectric]

As I mentioned in my last post, the rear derailer rubs against the hub motor. I did some research online looking for alternative rear derailers that would not rub (ie. a different design). I started reading about how some manufactures use road bike rear derailers on mountain bikes. So just for kix i removed my cyclocross bike's rear derailer (Shimano 105 5800) and mounted it on the mountain bike (see picture below). I am able to 'walk' the derailer through all the gears by hand. I haven't secured the shifting cable yet. I am pretty sure it will work no problem, If that's the case I'll buy one in the next day or two.



I'm starting to assemble the cells, (See pictures below). I am going to assemble 5 cells in parallel, then heat shrink them together. I will do this for all 16 of the 5p cells. Each 5p 'pack' will have 3 wires coming out of it, (positive, negative, and a voltage regulator wire going to the BMS). Lastly I will connect all of the 5p 'packs' together is series to give me 48v, 27.5ah.









Tomorrow I will spot weld the nickel tabs to the cells.

I am still able to lift the bike off the ground, but I am still missing the hub motor, (it's not mounted on the bike yet).

I also want to point out that the wheel I received (700c) from eBikeling is in fact a 700c wheel. What I noticed today (that I didn't notice yesterday) is that the inside of the rim is a little deeper than my other rims, therefore when i put a tire on it the tire bead falls down about an inch into the inside section of the rim (where the inner tube sits). I have to be careful to make sure the tire is center on the rim all the way around before pumping it up to pressure.

[sendler]

And I haven't seen you mention anything about a torque arm. It would be a shame to spin the wires off of your brand new motor the first time out.

[TexasElectric]

sendler

Well, Mr smarty pants... I just placed an order for 2 torque arms.
https://www.ebikekit.com/products/universal-torque-arm

$30.00 after shipping

I'm hoping that I can use both of them. Hopefully the brakes don't get in the way of me mounting the second torque arm.

[TexasElectric]

I tried spot welding the cells this morning, (actually, I tried to setup my DIY spot welder using my car battery, a solenoid, and a momentary push button). I tested the spot welder on two small strips of nickel. At first I couldn't get the solenoid to work, then I couldn't get the DIY spot welder to "weld" the nickel.

I figured out what was wrong with my circuit an got the solenoid working, but still couldn't "weld" the two nickel pieces together. I found out that there is a protective coating on the nickel, so I did what any logical person would do... I went outside and scraped it off on the side of the house (brick exterior).

I finally got the DIY spot welder to work, but my car battery is supplying WAY too much current. I burned a hole in the nickel. I am going to look into buying/sourcing some smaller 12v sealed lead acid batteries, (ie. less amperage; less chance of burning a hole through the nickel).



I also picked up a 5mm thick yoga mat from Wal-Mart for $14. I am going to use that to line the inside of the wooden box for cushion against the cells. I also bought Exterior wood primer/sealer for the wood box, and industrial grade adhesive to adhere the yoga mat to the wood (after the sealer is applied).



I have to go to work soon, so I'll do this wood stuff tomorrow.