Commuter UK styleeee...yes its a cyclone

[Dingo2024]

this is the one thing I really like about ES; lots of different ideas and solutions to problems, levels of knowledge/expertise coming from all around the world....oh and of course different budgets and perceptions of value

as for me I have quite a few for this project.....some from the members here and some of my own...time will tell

as for now this is where we are.........waiting for motor and battery

Ian

[Dingo2024]

It's Christmas at my place

my battery is here; thanks go to cell_man (here on ES) for this......I was looking for a fully constructed pack..and that is what I got........ awesome

I cant recommend this guy enough...answered my noob questions quickly and delivered what I was looking for

dimensions with 80amp bms fitted and 75amp power poles are: 275mm x 110mm x 160mm and weight is 7.7kgs

btw this is a 48v 15a/h 16s pack

voltage on arrival was 52v

I am getting excited

only the motor kit to arrive now......should be next week

Ian

[Dingo2024]

another thing that I should mention is that I have a 13t freewheel to replace the stock 14t on the cyclone motor (when the motor actually turns up that is) this again is to further reduce the gear ratio of the motor/gearbox to allow for a better pedal cadence..at least for me
the problem is that the 13t is for 1/8" chain where as the cyclone is 3/32" chain...this has meant that one of my Gusset Slink chains in a previous picture had to be returned and swapped for a 1/8" one...lucky for me the retailer had one in stock and was happy to oblige
btw luckily I found this out BEFORE ordering the custom 64t front sprocket and therefore got this made to fit 1/8" chain

so I now have 3/32" chain from cranks to rear hub and 1/8" chain from motor to 64t front sprocket

nothing is ever straight forward..but at least gets the old grey matter working

Ian

[cell_man]

Good stuff Ian,

yeah I think it was discharged to about 50% SOC but the pack is balanced, so you should just have to plug it in for an hour or so and get the full capacity from the start.

The BMS on your pack is quite substantial and the material I used underneath the heat shrink add a little to the total, but it's worth it IMO. You should see the pre charge resistors I threw in with it. The resistance is a bit on the low side but they work fine and your connectors will be much happier.

You were quite lucky to get a built pack from me. I'm now not accepting any more built packs for the time being. The work involved along with the tiny profit I get for it just doesn't make sense for me until I can get someone else to do them.

[Dingo2024]

its been a while BUT.......we now have a working ebike guys ...yes it still needs a lot of tidying of wiring etc. especially to keep up the ES standards

here are a few pics of the build as it is.........................video will follow

changes are Fox 32 Talas forks and Richey adjustable handlebar stem

Ian

[Spacey]

Great bike dude

I bought the 900W Cyclone kit and am running it at 36v on a 15ah Ping battery. Top speed without pedalling on the flat 36mph....which is fast enough.

I have the same problem as you though, to get the gearing on the back cogs right so that the engine is not pulling too many amps (35amp controller, don't think the battery can put out that many amps for very long due to the cut outs I've had when I first road it in 8th gear everywhere)....I have to have it in 5th gear, this gives me around 24mph on average with full throttle no pedalling. It will keep this up for 12 miles without it ever hitting yellow on the battery gauge.

Pedalling though is impossible at this ratio, if I put it in 8th gear on the back cog it's pretty good, I can put in some effort but the motor is labouring somewhat and cuts the BMS.

I was thinking of running two chains from the front drive cogs, but that's not going to work. Do they do a smaller drive cog on the Cyclone, think I'm on 14t but could do with a 10t to 11t to get the ratios better.

Have done over 100 miles so far and is only 6 mins slower than the car on a 12 mile run to work.

[Dingo2024]

Great bike dude

I bought the 900W Cyclone kit and am running it at 36v on a 15ah Ping battery. Top speed without pedaling on the flat 36mph....which is fast enough.

I have the same problem as you though, to get the gearing on the back cogs right so that the engine is not pulling too many amps (35amp controller, don't think the battery can put out that many amps for very long due to the cut outs I've had when I first road it in 8th gear everywhere)....I have to have it in 5th gear, this gives me around 24mph on average with full throttle no pedalling. It will keep this up for 12 miles without it ever hitting yellow on the battery gauge.

Pedalling though is impossible at this ratio, if I put it in 8th gear on the back cog it's pretty good, I can put in some effort but the motor is labouring somewhat and cuts the BMS.

I was thinking of running two chains from the front drive cogs, but that's not going to work. Do they do a smaller drive cog on the Cyclone, think I'm on 14t but could do with a 10t to 11t to get the ratios better.

Have done over 100 miles so far and is only 6 mins slower than the car on a 12 mile run to work.

Hi man thanks for the appreciation

still lots to do but getting there.............slowly. Glad your happy with the kit

I guess you are on the chrome Dicta freewheel which is 14t....you can go down to 13t (bmx freewheel) and also switch the front 44t motor chainwheel for a 48t (its a 104mm BCD 4 bolt mtb fitment) which is the biggest stock size I could find...........this should be much better for the motor and controller draw than your current pedal speed set up. At 36v the motor does not spin as fast as on 48v so should be about right and you wont need a 64t front ring as I am using. Mine is now geared to match an 88rpm pedal cadence with max motor efficiency..........if my calculations are correct
Not had a chance to try fully yet...........a run up to 3rd gear is all its done.......but sh*t did it pull

hope this helps,

thanks,

Ian

[Dingo2024]

well...I have managed to get more stuff done and had my first 'real' ride today to the local bike shop (about a 3 mile round trip and not flat at all)....I guess I can say at this point that I am genuinely impressed with the way the bike rides...the gearing is spot on

so...the wiring is a little tidier - still more to do though
the Fox 32 front forks have been rebuilt with new bushes and wiper seals.....the TALAS (travel adjust) now works as it should so can change the ride height and steering head angle...also played around with the air pressures...super fork
set the angle and height of the stem for a more upright riding position
new brake levers after I was told that the controller was not set up for e brake..so did away with the extra wires
the motor now has cooling fins mounted.....red in colour!
also fitted the grips to the bars....but are typical cheap sh*t and too hard
and lastly put the tyres up to 40psi to see what they ride like....if you are looking for a really fast rolling light weight 26 x 2 tyre you wont find much better in my opinion than theses Schwalbe Kojacks

a few pics from today

Ian

[deVries]

a few pics from today

Can you post these as JPGs? Most won't have rar installed to decompress.

Thanks!

[cell_man]

Hi Ian,

can you please ensure you use a pre charge resistor when powering up the controller. The current inrush might cause a problem with the BMS over time. Low IR cells like these cause a really nasty current spike. Your connectors will appreciate it too.

[Dingo2024]

a few pics from today

Can you post these as JPGs? Most won't have rar installed to decompress.

Thanks!

hi I will reshoot the pics over the next couple of days and repost as jpeg.....as the resolution was set too high on the camera the forum would not accept the attachments so had to compress them sorry

Ian

[Dingo2024]

Hi Ian,

can you please ensure you use a pre charge resistor when powering up the controller. The current inrush might cause a problem with the BMS over time. Low IR cells like these cause a really nasty current spike. Your connectors will appreciate it too.

Hi Paul,

thanks for the headsup; I have gotten into the habit of using the precharge resistor you supplied. There has been no spark on connection of the pack to date so appears to be working as should

Ian

[blkbikes]

nice bike. Always good to see a fello brit ecommuter.

Time to stealth her up a bit otherwise the big P is going to be asking questions; if they can catch you lol

How much does it weigh?

[cell_man]

Hi Ian,

can you please ensure you use a pre charge resistor when powering up the controller. The current inrush might cause a problem with the BMS over time. Low IR cells like these cause a really nasty current spike. Your connectors will appreciate it too.

Hi Paul,

thanks for the headsup; I have gotten into the habit of using the precharge resistor you supplied. There has been no spark on connection of the pack to date so appears to be working as should

Ian

That's great. Better to be safe than sorry. The massive spark you get without the pre charge resistor doesn't do my nerves any good either, so I always a pre charge resistor

[Dingo2024]

hi, just got back from a 10 mile ride into town...its about a 1 mile long steep hill coming back.....the motor did overheat once...although I am convinced it was my incorrect gear selection (as I am still learning the throttle / thumb shifter / pedal sequence)

here are some pics I took outside my house....video camera should be here next week...so will start to upload those as soon as I can

Ian