Currie-EZip ebike Kit $289.88 - Amazon.com

[DrkAngel]

...So in reality maybe it's 1 volt less nominal? And a little higher powered than the stock battery when you have the 6S pack at higher SOC, IE 25.2v fully charged.

A fully charged 24v SLA is about 26.4v (just measured mine), but the sag is significant at high amps. I want to get some real-world data on that using my Fluke (maybe today). The full charge on an SLA does not last more than a few minutes before it is running nominally 24 to 25v at load until it drops below 24v after 50% discharge. And of course, for battery life you gotta recharge an SLA at that point (another SLA disadvantage).

FA

#1. 6S*P should work fine, with the Currie-EZip-IZips etc.
But the 7S*P works much better, (my opinion).
25.9v, 29.4 full charge, gives a, noticeable, higher speed.
Recommended empty is when the green light stays out, with throttle released.
You lose LVC, low voltage protection.
Which makes this a great idea:
1-8S Lipo Battery Tester Low Voltage Buzzer Alarm. $3.29 w/shipping
Also usable as a on bar voltmeter-fuel gauge, just plug pin 1 and 2 into throttle leds.
Much more accurate, bright enough, except for in direct sun.

#2. Disadvantage of SLA.
The Currie oem 24v 10ah pack uses 2 - 12v 10ah, this 10ah rating is determined at a 20 hour discharge rate.
When discharged in 1 hour, the actual output is a pitiful 6.13ah!
1/2 hour, would be noticeably worse!

I've stuffed 31.2ah of 25.9v Li-ion into the oem EZip battery pack case.
Which gives me 6x the range and about 10% more speed!
Using recycled notebook cells! ... Total cost? ... About $50 ... including new charger!!!
Of course it involved a fair bit of work and a great deal of testing.
But well worth it, in my opinion!
Home Made Battery Pack

[DrkAngel]

I got bored, waiting for a customer - I planned on closing my shop early today.
The result, a combination graph of the EZip motor-freewheels that I've run.

I added an "Actual Speed" line, factoring in "road load", "wind resistance" etc.
Calculated from actual tests, on EZip Trailz.

A "tail wind" would push this line down - increasing motor only speed, as well as pedal assist speed capability!

Added a "Road Load Resistance" line. (Guesstimate, but presumed reasonable)

MY1080Zrlsmall.JPG (47.6 KiB) Viewed 2245 times

"Terminal speeds", are based on, motor only.

Wind resistance becomes the major factor at above 20mph.
As is demonstrated in the graph, 30mph resistance gets nasty!
Projected curve would require approx. 48v w/20T, 44.4v w/16T, to attain, motor only, 30mph.

30 mph possible, with 36v, 16T, ... and moderate-heavy pedal assist.
I don't like humping along at 30mph, unless I have a tailwind, or am able to draft behind a truck, or van.
But I have traveled a fair stretch at almost 35mph, when I caught a heavy tailwind.
(Note: Speed corrected for very tall 2.125 ebike tires, supplied assist, past 35mph.)

Larger version added as Attachment below.

[DrkAngel]

Great additional use, for this graph, is that you can approximate the effect of wind, on speed.
With a tail wind, slide the Combined Resistance line, to the right, the same mph as the tailwind.
The intersection points, on the motor-gear combination lines should give fairly accurate idea of possible speeds.
Similarly, the effect of a headwind can be demonstrated by sliding the line, the appropriate mph left.

Wind resistance is a minimal factor, until, 20mph is reached.

Experiment - Wait until you have a steady 20mph wind, parallel to a flat level road.
Then, pedal only, test your mph with, then against, the wind. (Similar effort applied)

It's a good bet, you will start considering adding an aerodynamic fairing.

[DrkAngel]

Complete eBike at Walmart.com, w/free shipping to your home, for $399!

Click On the Bike, for details!

2011 Trailz.jpg (20.07 KiB) Viewed 881 times

[Whiplash]

Anybody know the weight of the battery alone? My little brother is thinking about something like this but he lives upstairs in his apartment so he would like to know how much weight he could loose going to LiPo from the SLA..

[wineboyrider]

16 lbs I think, but they have lifepo4 version now too that weighs 5lbs.

[Nehmo]

Where can I buy just the 2 12v sla batteries that go inside the case.

Usually, before we can help someone in your condition, there needs to be evidence you intend to harm to yourself or others. However, your question on its own gives us sufficient authority to proceed. Expect a knock on your door soon. Please allow these men in and do as they say. It may be necessary for them to restrain you temporarily, but this is for your own protection.

[DrkAngel]

I finally had a chance, to take a good look at the motor on my latest EZip.
I felt it to be different for 2 reasons.
1. It seemed to have slightly less power, than earlier motors.
2. It was, comparatively, extremely quiet.

Closer inspection revealed it to be a totally different motor.
Previous models used the MY1080Z motor.
This model used the XYD-16 motor.

XYD-16.JPG (73.57 KiB) Viewed 2391 times

Perhaps the reason for being quieter is the angling of the gears!?

XYD-16 gear.JPG (38.23 KiB) Viewed 2391 times

Top speed, with the XYD-16, is approximately 10% slower, than the previous MY1080Z model.
21mph, motor only, cruising speed vs 23mph. (25.9v Li-ion w/16T modded)

Important to note - When I did the 16T mod, on this bike, it was necessary to bend the, motor mounting, bracket, to achieve proper gear alignment.

[Nehmo]

... When I did the 16T mod, on this bike, it was necessary to bend the, motor mounting, bracket, to achieve proper gear alignment.

Do you mean the sprocket alignment with the chain? It seems, with the gears encased, bending the mounting bracket wouldn't do anything.

[DrkAngel]

Sorry ... gear-sprocket confusion. So much talk of top gear, bottom gear tainted my perception as to the appropriate convention.

16T upgrade, on the 2009 EZip w/XYD-16 motor, required the motor mounting bracket to be bent, to get proper motor sprocket to freewheel sprocket alignment.

XYD-16 Bracket.JPG (74.92 KiB) Viewed 1225 times

Back to EZip - IZip 20mph Upgrade $20!

[Nehmo]

16T upgrade, on the 2009 EZip w/XYD-16 motor, required the motor mounting bracket to be bent, to get proper motor gear to freewheel alignment.

So you do mean the sprocket alignment. A "gear" is something that meshes with another gear. And although "freewheel" is a term frequently abused, it, strictly speaking, means the overriding clutch. You are talking about the alignment between the two sprockets.
The bracket is poorly designed. It works, sure, but it seems it was just the simplest way. They bend frequently.
And the whole drive system would be improved by using a belt drive. A short distance with one gear ratio is where belt drives excel.

[dumbass]

16T upgrade, on the 2009 EZip w/XYD-16 motor, required the motor mounting bracket to be bent, to get proper motor gear to freewheel alignment.

So you do mean the sprocket alignment. A "gear" is something that meshes with another gear. And although "freewheel" is a term frequently abused, it, strictly speaking, means the overriding clutch. You are talking about the alignment between the two sprockets.
The bracket is poorly designed. It works, sure, but it seems it was just the simplest way. They bend frequently.
And the whole drive system would be improved by using a belt drive. A short distance with one gear ratio is where belt drives excel.

Except unlike a chain you can't change a belt without removing the motor from the bike. Beside, in this case the load requirement is fairly high and would require a fairly wide belt to withstand the torque requirement. Other then that I agree with you and belt is much better then a chain.

[Haste]

Anyway this can be juiced up for 35mph?

[neptronix]

The helical gears are what's reducing the noise, half of the noise that the older eZips produces is gear noise alone.
Helical gears are less efficient. That could be where you are losing your power. Or it could be that currie toned down the amps even more.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gear#Helical

I had the chain alignment issue at one time. It was my fault. It had to do with the adjustment and positioning of one of the thin nuts inbetween the bike frame and motor. I am surprised you went so far as to bend the plate. Hey, well as long as you don't destroy the chain from running it at a weird angle, that works too.

[DrkAngel]

I had the chain alignment issue at one time. It was my fault. It had to do with the adjustment and positioning of one of the thin nuts inbetween the bike frame and motor. I am surprised you went so far as to bend the plate. Hey, well as long as you don't destroy the chain from running it at a weird angle, that works too.

Currie seemed to use a "special" freewheel, with this motor combination.
All nuts and washers are correctly placed.
I put an S bend in the bracket, so there is no "weird angle", teeth are parallel, and aligned!
(I did grind the motor mounting surface, to insure a "flush" mount.)

Due to the rarity of, 16T upgrade, complaints, I suspect that this motor combination enjoyed a limited production run.
(2009 EZip Trailz)

[TylerDurden]

The helical gears are what's reducing the noise, half of the noise that the older eZips produces is gear noise alone.
Helical gears are less efficient. That could be where you are losing your power. Or it could be that currie toned down the amps even more.

I rekon about 95% of the noise was gears on the spur versions. Increased losses are probably not measurable in this case.

Any 450W XYDs available retail?

[dumbass]

I finally had a chance, to take a good look at the motor on my latest EZip.
I felt it to be different for 2 reasons.
1. It seemed to have slightly less power, than earlier motors.
2. It was, comparatively, extremely quiet.

Closer inspection revealed it to be a totally different motor.
Previous models used the MY1080Z motor.
This model used the XYD-16 motor.

XYD-16.JPG

Perhaps the reason for being quieter is the angling of the gears!?

XYD-16 gear.JPG

Top speed, with the XYD-16, is approximately 10% slower, than the previous MY1080Z model.
21mph, motor only, cruising speed vs 23mph. (25.9v Li-ion w/16T modded)

Important to note - When I did the 16T mod, on this bike, it was necessary to bend the, motor mounting, bracket, to achieve proper gear alignment.

Dak, I have 5 of the MY1080Z models and everyone of them have the same gear as in your pics. One of them was very quite until I opened it up. Then it howled just like the other 4. So are you saying that your MY1080Z motors actually have different gears in them? Can you post a pic of them? Bob

[TylerDurden]

Hi Bob,
Many Curries shipped with a 450W version of the MY1018Z

IMG_2984sm.JPG

MY1018Z armature

(48.72 KiB) Downloaded 472 times

[DrkAngel]

The XYD-16 motor (2009) is identifiable by the wire "flex" connector.

XYD-16 wire.JPG

Partially obscured by the heatshrink I added, when I did the T-plug mod.

(8.34 KiB) Downloaded 345 times

The MY1018Z motor (2008) has a rather flush 2 hole wire input.
Sorry, no picture handy. Will add when back to work Monday.

[DrkAngel]

Sadly, the price of the EZip Kit is nearly $400, now.
Currie-EZip eBike Kit - Nearly $400

Fortunately, The entire eBike, is now, about the same price.
7/18/2011 Click here > $399 EZip Trailz w/free shipping! < Click here.

[DrkAngel]

I rekon about 95% of the noise was gears on the spur versions. Increased losses are probably not measurable in this case.

Any 450W XYDs available retail?

The "silent" motor (well ... not real loud)
XYD-16 motor w/mounting bracket - $108.89


MY1080Z $65 (loud version)

Sorry - I fixed the link - click on picture!

[DrkAngel]

Oops! Silly me.
It is easy to tell the Silent" XYD-16 motor, from the older "noisy" MY1018Z (MY1080z also)

XYD-16 2009 EZip Trailz

XYD-16 Newer, Helical gearing, nearly silent,
smooth silent power.

XYD-16.JPG (51.53 KiB) Viewed 843 times

MY1018z 2008 Ezip Trailz

MY1018z straight cut gearing, noisy - whine,
seems more powerful ... ?

MY1018z.JPG (70.33 KiB) Viewed 843 times

[DrkAngel]

March 12, 2012

$299 w/free shipping

Price on all Currie products, seems to have increased.
This item looks, comparatively better ... now!

[DrkAngel]

Continuously updated price tracking!

[jk1]

What is the difference between the 200w and 450 currie ezip bikes ? i have a 200w version and am wondering what is needed to make it 450w ? do i need the new xyd16 motor , is the controller the same or do i also need to upgrade that ?