Won the PayPal dispute which would have been a hollow victory since returning the kit to Australia costs about $350 (US). However, Sam has agreed to pay for the return shipping and should he do so I'll report it. By the way, PayPal was delightful to deal with, courteous, empathetic and decisive.
DILLENGER 350w, 36V, 10ah FRONT HUB KIT
- Thread starter 2old
- Start date
Sam @ Dillenger, who was courteous and empathetic to deal with, sent a replacement controller which completely eliminated the problem. Accordingly, I decided to keep the kit since, to me, it had been priced very competitively and functioned perfectly with the new controller. Subsequent rides on my bike have been trouble free. I'll report the long term performance at a later date. My suggestion to anyone who has a problem with a Dillenger product is to contact Sam through ES.
It's functioned perfectly within the limits of a front hub system. Tats got 4000 km (as I recall) from his 250w kit. Don't think that you can beat the price especially since Sam has exhibited very good response to problems if they surface.
About six months later and all is well with the kit. Really happy with the front hub system since it pedals well and seems nicely balanced. Top speed about 20 on a flat road, no wind, 170 pound rider. Longest trip about 16 miles and the battery still going. Can't fault this kit for a beginner needing a simple, inexpensive system.
I have had the 350 watt upgraded kit on my bike for a couple months now and am very happy with it. it handles the hills in my area well and gets 20-22mph on the flat. I can go up a pretty good hill in 3-1 level 5 assist without a lot of effort. 20-25 miles and 60% battery remaining.
Dillenger_Australia
10 W
- Joined
- Feb 13, 2014
- Messages
- 89
Great to hear!!
Sam
Sam
Two year report --- kit still functions perfectly; finally added the PAS about six months ago and like it so much that I removed the throttle. Mostly use it off road now and it's a good challenge (for me) to maintain traction on both wheels when ascending steep hills since the front wheel will freewheel if it leaves the ground or if the traction is spotty.
Tats
1 kW
I sold my Talon 29er with the Dillinger kit to a friend - still going strong. He hasn't ridden a road bike since.
Sadly, my battery expired precipitously after fewer than 50 charge cycles. Now, I'm trying to save the kit by grafting another battery to their controller. Had a lot of fun with the front hub system, but the cost per mile is excessive.
Tats
1 kW
I did the same - I used a battery on my rear rack and did away with the bottle mounted kit to get a water bottle back. I had to put the controller in a little bag under the saddle with two anderson connectors popping out for the battery. This also allowed me to put a cycle analyst V2 shunt in to get a gauge/monitor etc. Controller never has an issue with heat in the bag, just works. Cycle analyst worked great too. Its a good little controller.
Tats
1 kW
Don't know about the highest voltage allowed, sorry - I went Ping Lifepo4 and was hitting it with 40-42v peak. My 10aH battery lasted a good while - maybe 300 charges I guess. The biggest issue was the voltage sag at 15A assist was just too much for it and it'd do a low voltage cut - would work fine on level 4 assist so long as no throttle was applied. I do a 19km one-way lumpy commute and when its wind against I can use more than 8aH so the battery was undersized for my purposes. Couple that with a 1.5C discharge is stressing those old cells. Its great kit for entry level but I needed something with more range / performance.
