Animalector's Ebike Builds

Animalector said:

really?? even with big fat 44mm headtube??.

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It's not just the headtube diameter. Usually they snap at the downtube junction. Think about it.

Trying to understand why.

More stress due to being stiffer?

I think it would have more to do with the leverage of having 200mm travel as opposed to 120mm..

*edit* though if the overall length is the same leverage would be the same hmm

I can see the point, but considering they decided to use a 1.5" headset I can "hope" that it's up to the task. I haven't been able to find specs about the frame itself. I think it's a 2006 model, and the Diamond back racing website only has historical records to 2007.. but the rear travel feels like 5 or maybe 6" so I could guess that the front was designed with 150mm + travel intended?? When I get a shock pump I will bleed the air and measure the travel.

Suffice to say it's not a Huffy, so I still feel quite safe. but Thanks for pointing out the concern.

Andy

Well I took it for a ride (like 60 seconds, it's dark and wet and cold...)

It jutter / stutters / jerks / it's jerky at very slow speed. I've never ridden a PAS before so I don't know what to expect, but yeah. any clues on this. setting maybe? could it be due to the pedal speed. once i get moving a bit it smooths out and provides nice even drive power I can see that in the bush this will get me into trouble pretty quickly with excess speed.

once I get my shifter and cable I'll be able to test it properly. at the moment the derailleur is just fixed on the middle gear.

Anyways. good so far, I was impressed, setting 1 gives me a nice cruisy assist, 2 is faster, 3 feels like my old 1500W hubby.. but I will need to wait until it's light and dry for a real test.

I like how quiet it is.. it's got a nice little purr / whine about it that is unlike any electric bike i have ridden before. (which isn't really very many)

more to come.

Andy

looking a bit more like a bike..

Well. I rode to work for the first time, and my impressions of the PAS are similar to neptronix in his hyriba?? thread. Difficult to get used to and underwealming. not matter what gear I had it in it didn't want to seem to push me faster than 30km/h, through a blip of the throttle resulted in higher speeds.. so it's like the PAS has a speed limit??

using the throttle was pretty impressive, it felt as quick / powerfull as my 1500W hubby and the gears made it very responsive at low speeds. The shifting is a pain with the PAS, having to blip the throttle to change without power, but since this was my first real ride, I'm sure I'll get used to it.

The current PAS settings are hard to handle when stopping at lights etc, a small turn of the crank and it wants to shoot you through the intersection. the 2 second delay after stopping pedaling shows the same problem. As Kepler mentioned in the other thread these can be sorted somewhat with programming settings.

I'm still using the absolute default settings of 0, 1, 2, 3 assist modes. I will play with configuration when I have more time on the weekend.

If I still can't get something I like, I'll program the controller as per the programming thread.

All in all the bike certainly feels more like a bike.. it's light, nimble and powerful enough to make me think it's going to be super fun in the bush. I am looking forward to testing that theory out. it's certainly not as "simple" to ride as a hubbie, and certainly not as powerful or fast as my greyborg. (of course)

Andy

I find the factory programming to be all over the place on these drives. It sounds like your "keep current" setting is quite low on the drive you have. The PAS can be improved quite a bit with better programming too. Shoot me a PM if you want me to re program the drive for you some time.

got into the settings yesterday upped the speed limit from 25 to 50km/h. can't really test yet since I packed my brakes with the D8 frame to send to US and haven't got new brakes yet.

In other news... WTF is this??? im thinking front and rear lights? havent measured them yet thought i would ask here first? They come from the motor... and look like an afterthought / mod...

Looks like they go to rear and front e-brake for power cutout. Good when stopping and turning. Push the brakes a bit and than you can pedal forward without motor shooting you through intersection.

Hmm I don't think so the ebrake plugs are round moulded ones that fit the cable brake levers supplied with the kit. Unless these are different?

Looks like a bet each way.

The round ones on the BBSare in fact hall sensors - not 2 wire brake ones seen on most ebikes.
Maybe it's set up to have an option of using the BBS hall brakes, or regular ebike 2wire brake levers.
"Intermeresting".

ahh I didn't think about the option of having two.. ok. first things first. measure the suckers to see if it's lights.. then test out some brakes see if it cuts out the motor.. OR.. I could email the supplier and ask..

Cheers

Andy

no progress on brakes yet or what those little connectors are. I have received my tektro dorados, but the front caliper mount is too big (how???) anyways, I played with the configuration menu on the BBS02 and adjusted the assist speed from 25 to 50km/h and now the assist is more like what I was expecting. With 3 pas settings, and light pedalling I get the following:
PAS 1 will get me around 25km/h steady,
PAS 2 will get me around 30km/h a bit above maybe and
PAS 3 will get me mid 40'skm/h into a headwind

I didn't really test the limits as I was in my work clothes. I find that the performance is quite suitable for commuting, and am yet to hit the trails..still..

I probably won't get a chance to take it out down here, I'm leaving Melbourne on the 13th October, and heading up North (far far far up North) to Cairns. There's some good trails there, I'll take it offroading when I get settled.

Thats it for now.
Andy

Just got word about the two small plugs. one is for 5V lights, one is a switch...

Andy

well I have arrived in Sunny far north queensland. I'm currently based in Mareeba, but will be working and eventually living in Cairns. here's some shots of my ride on the weekend. 45km round trip on dirt road out to "Emerald Creek Falls". There was one massive dirt hill probably 500m long.very steep, and the BS02 climbed it in Assist 1 easy peasy. on assist three it would have smashed it. but I was conserving my battery.

here's some shots.



It was quite good. the bike held up well smashing over corrugated dirt road at 35km/h. it's interesting but the suspension doesn't really do anything with corrugations at that speed.

Andy

I took the bike out on the weekend.. Total of just over 20km, most of it was ridden with the power OFF Since i Was riding with my Dad who I am unable to convince to let me convert his bike to electric, I decided to go nice and slow.

I did do a couple of loops under power. one Blue run, 1.9km, which was awesome. and a green easy loop of about 2.7km.

The BBS02 750W is stock programming (three assist modes) Most of the riding under power was in Assist 1 (out of 3). The 2.7km loop I rode in assist 2. I tried Assist 3, however it ended up being too fast, with too much 'overshoot' due to the PAS timing settings. I haven't hooked up the Tektro Ebrakes yet, so on Assist 3 it kept wanting to propel me into trees at 40km/h. As it was on assist 2 with fast pedalling, I was averaging 30+ km/h in tight single trail.

The biggest issue I have with the bike now is the chain coming off when flogging down hills.. I definitely need some sort of chain guide... Suggestions welcome.

Also, if anyone can identify the year model of my Boxxer forks???

here's the ride map.



Bye for now. I'll take a go-pro next time. and do some quick single trail.

you could use a front derailleur housing for your chain guide

Pete

Animalector said:

well I have arrived in Sunny far north queensland. I'm currently based in Mareeba, but will be working and eventually living in Cairns. here's some shots of my ride on the weekend. 45km round trip on dirt road out to "Emerald Creek Falls". There was one massive dirt hill probably 500m long.very steep, and the BS02 climbed it in Assist 1 easy peasy. on assist three it would have smashed it. but I was conserving my battery.

Andy

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Hey Andy, I lived in Port Douglas for a year and a half. Your going to love it up there. Mountain bike heaven. SO many good spots! just prepare for a lot of mud and sweat!

what I need is another Cairns local who owns a ute so we can do shuttles... any electric downhill enthusiasts up here?

Anyways, here's the solution for a chain guide.



I'll test it out tomorrow on the trails at Davies Creek.

Andy

SUCCESS

The Chain did not come off once.!!! that is fantastic, and I was going fast over some pretty rough stuff. It's mostly single trail and I Was riding it all on Assist 1 and Assist 2 (stock programming) assist 3 is too much for the conditions. The tyres I have have Schwable Table Top's which are not really intended for this sort of riding though they aren't bad, I am considering getting some good downhill tyres for more grip, that'll help go that bit quicker.

It's surprising how much of a work-out I actually got.. With the PAS and on assist 1 or 2, I feel like I pick the right gear for a good cadence and the motors just there for a bit of oomph up the hills.. on the flats it doesn't seem to be doing much (you can hear it's not loaded). So I am really pleased.

I'm loving the fact that this bike feels like a downhill bike, it's not heavy, it's well balanced, I can jump it, rip down rough rutted tracks without worrying and climb up anything in granny gear. I am very happy with it. the 750W is probably spot on to keep that mountain bike feel, anything more and I think it'll just be motorbike territory which is what the Greyborg felt like.. (also fun but different)

Here's just a little clip. this is the only video I took, basically because I was too busy riding to set up my phone camera against a rock. Next time I go out I'll have a go-pro / iSAW A3 strapped to my chest.

[youtube]dqkXX7VtCJE[/youtube]

Time to test out the Cairns Mountain bike park at Smithfield and try out the World Cup downhill track. maybe wednesday afternoon after work and before squash.

That's it for now.

Andy

Well I just hooked up the tektro e-brakes to the BBS02. They're two wire and the stock e-brakes are hall sensors (+5, Signal and Gnd) so I needed a 100k pull-up resistor on the signal wire so the tektro brakes can pull the signal low when the lever is pulled.

Quick test and they work fine. will certainly make a difference to the ride, and much safer I think. I'll take the bike out when I get some time.

That's it for now.
Andy

The e-brakes make such a huge riding difference in the bush it feels like super power legs whereas before I was very conscious of the motor driving me off the track under brakes.

I hit up the Cairns MTB park this afternoon. I took the gravel road all the way to the top mostly on assist 1. even at assist 1, I was losing traction rather than running out of power. This bike is perfect for this type of riding, assistance to get to the top and turn it off to rip down the hill..

[youtube]JAJNK4Nv97U[/youtube]

It was hot, and super steep. rutted and raw with big root drop offs > 0.5m. it was really awesome. I want to go back with a full face helmet and some better protection next time.

highly recommend the BBS02 for any keen downhillers, wanting an easy way to the top.

Andy

Good read Andy. Glad you're enjoying that frame!

Yeah it's doing the job petty well actually thanks. This bike is pretty much spot on what I wanted to build. An uphill downhill bike. There is no way I could have taken my old 1500w hubby up or down that track today. And the grey Borg would have gone up. But not as nimble down.

Having said that. With the wide open dirt fire trails all around here. I now want to build a 12kw recumpence style motoped... All I need is a spare few thousand dollars.
Andy

I went back out to the trails a couple of days ago and almost ran over a 1.5m snake. I actually got it on video. I'll post it up later.

this time I decided to try out PAS 3. (Max). It's a totally different ball game at Max assist on MTB park single trail. I noticed two things.
1. It's so easy to go too fast for the conditions. 750w mid drive is spot on for dedicated MTB tracks.
2. My tyres are crap... They're great for combo road and trail but I need nobbies for any serious off road.

I've got a programming cable now. So I might look into a few settings to see if I can improve the response but to be honest. I've gotten used to the three settings and default. The only improvements would be the delay after braking and Max throttle using the thumb throttle on PAS 2..

Pic / video of the snake later.

Andy