acuteaero
100 W
Hi Everyone!
My name's Henry. I've been lurking for a while, enjoying the current and past threads- thought it was finally time to "take the plunge" and start a thread for my old bike project. I first got it running back in April 2010.
(photos from 4/2010)
Errrrr- Screw introductions! We'll get to know each other in time I just received my first ever batch of HK LiPos and hooked 'em up for a test ride. WoooooOoOoooo! 5 lbs of Li instead of 50 lbs of SLA makes for a dynamically different ride! Subtract 90 percent battery weight, add 25 percent power!
Here are the basics: It's an old worn out Diamond Back steel frame bike- I replaced the rear wheel with a disk-brake hubbed one, then added the poly-V belt drive, running a 1:10 single stage non-freewheel reduction from a surplus Kollmorgen motor. At first I was running 2x20AH SLA batteries with the integrated motor controller- when that blew out I ran wires out of the motor and hooked it up to another kollmorgen controller- Just before the REFUEL event earlier this summer I stuck an ebikes.ca controller and third 20AH SLA battery on it to run 36V- I was chatting with Luke at the event, I mentioned that I had had reasonable success with the lead batteries on the bike, as long as the C rate was kept low the lead batteries performed passibly- his response was essentially "No! Lead is no good for anything!"
The wheels have been turning ever since. I can certainly say that there is no reason good enough to put that 50 pounds of lead back on the bike- it feels like a bike again, instead of a creaky lead sled!
In the coming week I'm planning to secure the battery packs better and set up some kind of charging harness, then take the bike on BART for my work commute- about 15 miles roundtrip with long BART ride, fortunately on the Richmond-Fremont line, which has no bike restrictions (that I have been made aware of). There was no way to take it on the train weighing 90 LBS- but with the LiPo I should be able to carry it in and out of the station with no problem.
I've posted about it in the past on my website if you care to look- http://acuteaero.com/category/projects/electric-bike/ . Otherwise I look forward to hearing your feedback on the bike!
I'm looking forward to becoming a part of the community, I'm really impressed by what goes on around here.
My name's Henry. I've been lurking for a while, enjoying the current and past threads- thought it was finally time to "take the plunge" and start a thread for my old bike project. I first got it running back in April 2010.
(photos from 4/2010)
Errrrr- Screw introductions! We'll get to know each other in time I just received my first ever batch of HK LiPos and hooked 'em up for a test ride. WoooooOoOoooo! 5 lbs of Li instead of 50 lbs of SLA makes for a dynamically different ride! Subtract 90 percent battery weight, add 25 percent power!
Here are the basics: It's an old worn out Diamond Back steel frame bike- I replaced the rear wheel with a disk-brake hubbed one, then added the poly-V belt drive, running a 1:10 single stage non-freewheel reduction from a surplus Kollmorgen motor. At first I was running 2x20AH SLA batteries with the integrated motor controller- when that blew out I ran wires out of the motor and hooked it up to another kollmorgen controller- Just before the REFUEL event earlier this summer I stuck an ebikes.ca controller and third 20AH SLA battery on it to run 36V- I was chatting with Luke at the event, I mentioned that I had had reasonable success with the lead batteries on the bike, as long as the C rate was kept low the lead batteries performed passibly- his response was essentially "No! Lead is no good for anything!"
The wheels have been turning ever since. I can certainly say that there is no reason good enough to put that 50 pounds of lead back on the bike- it feels like a bike again, instead of a creaky lead sled!
In the coming week I'm planning to secure the battery packs better and set up some kind of charging harness, then take the bike on BART for my work commute- about 15 miles roundtrip with long BART ride, fortunately on the Richmond-Fremont line, which has no bike restrictions (that I have been made aware of). There was no way to take it on the train weighing 90 LBS- but with the LiPo I should be able to carry it in and out of the station with no problem.
I've posted about it in the past on my website if you care to look- http://acuteaero.com/category/projects/electric-bike/ . Otherwise I look forward to hearing your feedback on the bike!
I'm looking forward to becoming a part of the community, I'm really impressed by what goes on around here.