Any potential for an eZip trailz?

Was wondering if anyone has ever taken an eZip trailz and attatched a brushed DC motor and better batteries.

There are looking cheap to buy with dead batteries. I saw one on CL for $100 the other day and i was thinking.. hm, maybe this could be a cool start project; the motor and battery may suck but it's clean/OEM looking and has the mounting for a chain driven motor from the factory.

Any opinions?

neptronix said:

Was wondering if anyone has ever taken an eZip trailz and attatched a brushed DC motor and better batteries.

There are looking cheap to buy with dead batteries. I saw one on CL for $100 the other day and i was thinking.. hm, maybe this could be a cool start project; the motor and battery may suck but it's clean/OEM looking and has the mounting for a chain driven motor from the factory.

Any opinions?

Click to expand...

I'd get it and put my friction drive on it. lol. Seriously though, $100 wouldn't be bad if it's in good shape. I would put some better batteries in it and beat the hell out of the motor until it dies. Then upgrade.

Btw, the motor is already brushed isn't it?

It's brushed. Yeah. About as bad as it gets.

I like chain drive though. Seems like finding a good chain drive system is difficult.

neptronix said:

It's brushed. Yeah. About as bad as it gets.

I like chain drive though. Seems like finding a good chain drive system is difficult.

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Do some searching on here for unite motor. I know some people have done extensive mods to that motor including over-volting it. Nothing wrong with starting with a brushed motor. Heck, the good thing is controllers are really cheap if you blow yours or decide to go with a higher voltage.

http://www.electricscooterparts.com/motors.html

You mean like that 36v 1000w motor meant for the scooter? O______O holy crap..

I heard that the controller is super primitive and can be replaced with a on/off switch, lol..

the MY1018 motor as used on the Currie drive has a built in 7.18:1 gear reduction to slow the motor down from 3000 RPM. and that is before the reduction performed by the chain drive. the 36V 1000W motor lacks that gear reduction. it also spins at a higher 3600 rpm. it depends on the small diameter of the scooter wheel to provide the equivalent in gear reduction. it would be a poor fit for the Trailz style of Currie drive.

it does work well on the older Currie/USPD Pro drive though.

rick

neptronix said:

Was wondering if anyone has ever taken an eZip trailz and attatched a brushed DC motor and better batteries.

There are looking cheap to buy with dead batteries. I saw one on CL for $100 the other day and i was thinking.. hm, maybe this could be a cool start project; the motor and battery may suck but it's clean/OEM looking and has the mounting for a chain driven motor from the factory.

Any opinions?

Click to expand...

I got an izip for $100 today. So I'm wondering now if you live in Toronto too. It's not in the best shape as some things need to be replaced. Which is alright with me. I'm teaching myself bicycle mechanics. So I thought hey why not refurbish an ebike . Figured the best way to learn was the same way I learned about computers, buy one, tear it apart and then put it back together,and hope it still works, lol. Figured for $100 even if I do screw it up it's ok. I'll have parts for something else, controller, motor and throttle work great. I got to try it for a bit. Little motor is more preppy than I was expecting. I could only try it in short bursts because the drive chain kept derailing (misaligned chain and improper tension).

Now for what's wrong with it:
1. Rear wheel needs to be completely replaced. The freewheel on the left side is damaged because the bearings wore out (seller was very honest about this). He tried to improvise by use a hub from the front wheel of another bike. However it doesn't line up and the drive chain falls off. The right side freewheel wheel, the gear cluster is worn out. Some of the teeth are bent. I'm planning on calling Currie to get a new rear wheel. But if anyone has suggestions for some other place let me know.

2.) Cantilever brakes need some serious adjusting and new pads. I'm gotten so use to disc brakes that I can't remember how to adjust Cantilever brakes.

3.) Rear derailleur needs to be replaced or adjusted. Need to take a look again to be sure. (EDIT: It's a little rusty, nothing a dremel won't fix. It's bolted on completely wrong too.)

4) Gear shifter needs adjusting but that will have to wait until I get the new wheel/rim

That's about all I can think of right now. The previous owner told me the bike had an completely aluminum frame. But considering the weight (it feels heavy) and the fact that the magnets I have lying around stick to it. I'm going to say it's not 100% aluminum.

I'll try to add pictures tomorrow.

-Vic

No.. i'm in Portland, Oregon

Sounds like a score.. even broken as it is!
Do check this out, for general bicycle maintenance... good site:

http://www.sheldonbrown.com/

When you tap the bike, it feels like steel but it sure as hell ain't. I sat on one of those two. Good lord those are heavy!!!

Fun project. I rode one the other day and it was okay. No power brakes, brushed motor, and the weight are deal breakers, but it's a good bike as is. I dunno, i think the chain drive could be modified to accept a different motor! always been a fan of chain drive..

That is a good site. But I prefer this one http://bicycletutor.com/ the videos just make it easier to understand for me. I like the way Alex explains things slowly step by step.

-Vic

I will check that out thanks!

Aha.. so i picked up an eZip trails in mongoose form. I guess mongoose made an electric bike with the eZip Trailz chain drive setup!

I was thinking maybe i could pump up the voltage to 36v and get taller gears for a higher top speed. I am hoping to hit 25mph or higher with some pedaling... and around 20mph with the motor power alone.

As it stands, it's got a 19 or 20 tooth sprocket on the wheel, and a 9 tooth sprocket on the motor.
Do any 'bolt on' gears exist for this bike that will give it a longer gear ratio?

I was thinking maybe i could pump up the voltage to 36v and get taller gears for a higher top speed. I am hoping to hit 25mph or higher with some pedaling... and around 20mph with the motor power alone.

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I get 27 easily on the fats with my over voted (36v lifepo4) ezip with the original left side sprocket :lol:
Motor gets hot on long rides so I only use it as my backup ride or for short trips.

wineboyrider said:

I was thinking maybe i could pump up the voltage to 36v and get taller gears for a higher top speed. I am hoping to hit 25mph or higher with some pedaling... and around 20mph with the motor power alone.

Click to expand...

I get 27 easily on the fats with my over voted (36v lifepo4) ezip with the original left side sprocket :lol:
Motor gets hot on long rides so I only use it as my backup ride or for short trips.

Click to expand...

27MPH! O_O... damn!

HMMM..... doesn't your 36v lifepo4 end up being 42v hot off the charger? I have a bunch of spare LiPo lyin' around, but i was worried about blowing the motor in short time with that amount of voltage.

For those of you considering modification to EZip/IZip ebikes you may want to take a look at this forum. ES is a great site but the ebikeforum tends to have most members riding EZip/IZip bikes.. There are posts for overvolting, changing the cluster for better low and hi speeds as well as changing the lefthand motor freewheel from a 20t to a 16t. The potential of the bike with these mods are 30+ and cost are only around extreamly low (plus a good lifepo4 or lopi battery pack).

http://www.ebikeforum.com/

Bob

Thanks, dumbass!

Been readin' that for a while. Tons of info on currie stuff, yow! thanks a lot.

neptronix said:

Thanks, dumbass!

Been readin' that for a while. Tons of info on currie stuff, yow! thanks a lot.

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Yeah, if you can't find the answer to an EZip/IZip question there then there likely is no answer for your question. If you have nothing else to do with your money do what I did and move the motor to the "V" posithion and add a second motor. Then in stall a Nuvinci CVS hub and drive the motors through the gearing of the hub the same as with the crank. Of course I used a second chain and freewheels for the motors.

dumbass said:

neptronix said:

Thanks, dumbass!
Been readin' that for a while. Tons of info on currie stuff, yow! thanks a lot.

Click to expand...

Yeah, if you can't find the answer to an EZip/IZip question there then there likely is no answer for your question. If you have nothing else to do with your money do what I did and move the motor to the "V" posithion and add a second motor. Then in stall a Nuvinci CVS hub and drive the motors through the gearing of the hub the same as with the crank. Of course I used a second chain and freewheels for the motors.

Click to expand...

Gee.. can the NuVinci handle that amount of torque? O_O
Thought about doing the two motor thing, but the bike is already like 80lbs!! it's a struggle to get it into my upstairs apartment.

If i blow the motor, i'm switching this thing over to a big ol' hub motor.

The NuVinci can handle a lot of torque. what seems to limit more is RPM. the faster you go, the more it heats up. the more it heats the more it slips. so as long as you keep the input rpm down to something reasonable it should be able to handle a few KW handily.

the spects set the input rpm limit at 1000RPM for this reason.

rick

rkosiorek said:

The NuVinci can handle a lot of torque. what seems to limit more is RPM. the faster you go, the more it heats up. the more it heats the more it slips. so as long as you keep the input rpm down to something reasonable it should be able to handle a few KW handily.

the spects set the input rpm limit at 1000RPM for this reason.

rick

Click to expand...

rick, Not intending to pull your chain but if you do the math on a 26" wheel (Currie actually mesures 80.88"C) at 1,000 rpm that would be 76.59 mph. I think I can live with that on an EZip. I can't talk for the new Nuvinci hubs but I am confident on mine I'll never slip it.

Bob