My econo-e-bike

fechter said:
The box is nice. That's one part that seems to be missing from most kits. I did something similar with an off the shelf rectangular box. Not only does it look nicer, but it protects the connectors from rain, getting pulled out, etc.

Ya, I didn’t get why they included a bag with the kit originally (one that was too small, once I figured out why you need one). Tried a couple bags, but always steering towards not using one, but finally got around to doing something about it.

Mines not sealed, but I made it so any water would come out at the bottom. Cleaned up the looks overall though.

Last thing I’ll be doing is adding a bracket for the battery to get rid of the Velcro straps. It’ll have an aluminum perimeter, and clips to hold the battery laterally at three points on each side. Going to get a little goofy with the flame and skull & cross bone theme that’s already there, since I’m going to use metal skeleton hands for the clips. It will be subtle, so not extremely crazy looking.

Further down the line, I’ll move to 60volts in the same UPP battery case, so a direct swap. I’ll need a new controller at that point, but the one I’m looking at should be a direct swap with my existing one too.

PS. Got a great deal on the beaver tail mudflaps off of Craigslist. 2 1/2 sets for $10, but no hardware. I made brackets from 3/4" steel bar. They have so much more structure than the cheapo ebay fenders, and stay put once they're mounted.

EDIT: 06/06/19 - I'm rethinking how I fabricate my battery mounting hardware and decided I'm going to use ABS shroud along the top tube section that will have a dual purpose of securing the battery on that side, and providing routing for my cables/wires. After getting the hang of cutting and bending ABS on my connection box, I found that it's really easy to work with, and get just right just by reheating it. On the down tube and seat tubes, I'll use the aluminum perimeter idea.
For the battery upgrade, I'm still planning on a 60volt pack, but will eventually upgrade the motor to a Leafbike motor. The problem is, even though I want these upgrades ASAP, my current battery and motor have tons of life still left in them. :roll:

I'm also going to go for a flatter handlebar, since I chose this one for the original frame, which needed more rise.
 
Your build thread is exactly my favorite type: inexpensive parts, build it yourself, and total satisfaction as the result :) Subscribed
 
thundercamel said:
Your build thread is exactly my favorite type: inexpensive parts, build it yourself, and total satisfaction as the result :) Subscribed

Thanks. I'm pretty happy with it. I think once the basic kit was installed, I didn't need to be in a rush, since I could still have fun while making upgrades. There's always something more to tweak. I have accessories sitting on my desk that I haven't installed yet, like a 12v converter and USB charger. I'm going to change out the handlebars first though, since I'm pretty sure the one I have got bent in my crash. I'll take the opportunity to clean up the cable and wire mess in front.

The other thing about taking my time is that I can try different things to see what works best or what might be good in future upgrades. I've tested a few settings on regen, which is great for my terrain, but I can only choose between the fixed settings. Higher is nice for more braking, but it's abrupt, so coming down a curve with wet pavement can get the back tire loose, since you can lightly apply the brakes, where on dry pavement, it wouldn't be an issue. Variable would be nice... :roll:

EDIT: 06-07-19
My weekend routine lately is to ride to the donut shop in the morning during the weekend so we can have them with our morning coffee. I've been using a cardboard Amazon box, mounted on my rack to carry the bag of donuts, but it's not quite big enough to be usable for anything else. I'm planning on making a box for my rack, with the same dimensions as a grocery bag (length and width, but only ~6 inches deep). At first I was thinking of using 1/4" ABS, but I think using stained wood may provide a nice accent. Still deciding between a dark reddish brown, or ebony. The corners will be reinforced with aluminum angle (deciding whether to keep that natural, or paint it black, like below:

Rack Box.jpg

EDIT: 07/02/19 Switched out my forks today; replace my old Fox Talas that is badly in need of a rebuild with a Fox Vanilla. It's day and night, since the rebound on the Talas was so sluggish, and the spring suspension on the Vanilla is very plush. I was going to rebuild the Talas, but now I'm probably going to keep this fork on the bike, since the maintenance is so much easier. I'll ride on it for a couple of weeks before making a final decision.

New fork and flatter/lower rise bar. Now that the fork feels so plush, I'm convincing myself that I "need" a Thudbuster LT....
New Fork.jpg

EDIT: 07/12/19 After a week on the coil fork I've become spoiled with the plush feel (compared to air), and after cranking down the rebound dampening, it just glides over bumps. Before, between the old fork and lower tire pressure in the rear, everything felt nice and balanced, but now with the even plusher ride up front, I feel like i want to do something in back to compensate (I created an issue by improving the front end suspension too much :eek: ). Anyway, to deal with this perceived problem, I ordered a Thudbuster LT which I should get tomorrow. :bigthumb:

The length of the Thudbuster above the seat collar measured within 1mm of where my seat is position now (which is slightly lower than I'd ride with a non-ebike), so it should work out perfectly.
 
My Thudbuster LT arrived this morning and it was on my bike 15 minutes after the box showed up. I was worried about the height, but it turned out to be perfect (for ebike riding). I rode down the hill to the riding path I take every day, since I know all of the ruts and bumps along the way. I ended up gliding seated over all of the bumps that I'd normally unweight the seat on before. I couldn't believe it, since it felt smoother than my full suspension bike, at least for the rider. I was only going to ride a few miles, but ended up riding about 15 since it felt so good; and took it off of curbs and some dirt sections too.

Now the problem is the rear feels more plush than the front, but I think I'll add 5 or 10 psi back to the rear tire, which should balance it out more. I may also experiment with the bumpers as well.

Anyway, I decided that I needed a comparison, so I pulled out my full suspension offroad bike, adjusted the air in the fork and rear shock, and rode down the same path. Granted my offroad bike has a less cushy seat, but the rider feel is noticeably stiffer, even taking that into account. I think on the big hits, the offroad bike is definitely superior and offers more control, but for street use, the Thudbuster setup provided more comfort.

I didn't know if I'd like the appearance, but it sort of looks like it fits with the looks of my bike.

Thudbuster 2.jpg
 
thundercamel said:
It looks fine, you'll get used to it. Glad to hear that the performance is so good!

Thanks. I think I'm used to it now and like how it looks, in a sort of function over form way. After a couple of weeks on this post, I've managed to tune out most of the bounce by adjusting the pre-load, and learning curve to stay seated or unweight the seat based different the situation was pretty quick.

Because it's been making me want to ride further, or further than I've been riding since my crash a few months ago, I'm now noticing all the other ergonomic related issues I need to solve. I've realized that the extra weight of these ebikes, crashes take more toll on the bike. First, the switch to the flatter bar was a fail. The height/rise of the flatter bar is OK, but there isn't enough sweep to keep my wrists comfortable. The other bar was bent in my crash so that's getting tossed. New bar ordered and received for installation this weekend.

Also, I've been having problems with my injured knee and not understanding why it wasn't healing. I'd been riding a lot of throttle only because of it. But, now it's strong enough to ride, so when I took a longer ride, I figured out that my left pedal was bent big time. Put on new pedals which feel great, but after a week my knee is so much better that I could now detect that the crank arm was bent too. I wouldn't have been able to detect that when my leg was so messed up. New crank arm ordered and to be installed next week.

Lastly, I'd like to lower the seat another 1/4", but it's at minimum now. But, I'm using a 30mm to 27.2mm adapter, and after some thought, and testing, I believe I can modify the adapter to get the post down the extra 1/4".

I'm going to get these things taken care of this weekend (except for the crank arm), and hopefully clean up the snarl of wires as well. Feels so good to be pedaling again.

Next major evolution: I'm 90% decided on my next major upgrades in order to try out higher voltages; which are the sine wave Infineon 36v-72v controller from Grin and a CA3. Still researching, but I think the combo is flexible enough to experiment with adding different numbers of lipo packs in series with my 52 volt battery without encountering LVC/HVC issues, which I assume are programmable settings. $385 with the additional cables. Then dipping my toes into the lipo world will probably cost a couple hundred bucks to start with, so I'm looking at decent investment, so I don't want to get it wrong.

EDIT: 8-3-19 Crank replaced and no more wobble! Lowered the seat post and now it feels perfect. Traded out handlebars for better sweep, and have them slightly pointed lower like motorcycle cafe style bars. Super comfortable now without looking like big beach cruiser bars. The cockpit and cable routing are much cleaner now. Also changed out the throttle to one with no display, lights, or switches, which got rid of more clutter.

I needed a bell, so I got a set of knock offs of the "Knog Oi" bell, but I had to get 6 of them, but 6 cost 2/3 of what one of the original cost. Gave a couple away and have a few spare in case the knock off breaks. Really compact, but loud too.

The sweep feels so good on my wrists.
cockpit 1.jpg

Cable rerouted to the left side of the bike, which will eventually be covered by the battery shroud later. I still need to pull more cable forward, so I can bundle them better. I'm also looking for another mirror, since the sweep of the bars make my current mirror difficult to adjust.
cockpit 2.jpg

The bell blends right in, between the brake lever and throttle housing:
cockpit 3.jpg

EDIT: 8-5-19 Got around to fine tuning my Thudbuster this weekend. I ended up replacing one of the two medium elastomers with a shortened firm one in order to tune out the bounce, and also lower the seat a bit (lessen the travel). I used my drill press and a razor blade for the job, which ended up making a fairly clean cut:

TB Bumper Mod.jpg

Tested by taking my bike trail riding, which was the first trail ride on the Crazy Bob tires. The trail/climb had lots of ruts and about 17%, and I did most of the climb seated. The post worked great under those conditions, and the tires had decent traction too.


08/11/1 - My chainring guard arrived yesterday. No more greasy pant legs. Told my wife I was going out to get donuts this morning, like most Sundays. I started riding down the hill, but decided to ride up first instead. The weather was perfect for riding, clear, but not to warm. I started off with about 54V, not full, but enough to putt around a bit. I decided to keep riding up, climbing about 600 ft total, looping around on the streets.

081119 01.jpg

Rode back down the hill and followed the path at the bottom toward the donut shop, but once I got to the street, I decided to ride straight for a few more miles, and pick up the donuts on the way back. Ended up riding over to the UC Berkeley campus and rode around there a while. Even though the campus is hilly, the ADA access makes sure there are ramps to each level, so nice for bikes too. I ended up riding behind the campus, and up into the hills. I was huffing a little on the second climb up, since I was trying to save battery for the way home. I was at 52 volts at that point, since I got some good regen from the last descent. The top of that hill was about 800 ft. I turned around at the top and regen'd down, again through the campus. Just over 50 volts now, so still a decent amount of power left.

At that point, I could follow the lower path back, and just have a small climb back up to my house, or I could take the high road, which would be a lot more scenic. I decided to climb the hill again. This road had a few more bikers; actually several, and a lot descending down. I passed a bunch going up, but I was pedaling hard since I was seeing my voltage sag down as low as 47 volts. Stopped at a small resting place just below the top of the hill to feel the motor and controller. Motor was warm but not hot; controller was barely over the ambient temperature.

081119 02.jpg

I rode along the winding road along the ridge and stopped to take another break to enjoy the view and sit in the shade.

081119 03.jpg
Those stairs in the background are the railroad tie kind, maybe 35 of them with a couple of curves. Perfect first test for my fork, to see how the coil springs behave. I have rebound in the middle of the range and same with compression. I think if the fork didn't have as much control as it does, it would have been a little hairy where the stairs curve. It was like a bucking bronco, but controlled, and not like a hobby horse. The crazy bobs had a enough cushion in the rear, since they're landing on dirt in between steps. I didn't check to see how much travel I was getting, but my guess is it wasn't the full 160mm.


Rode down the hill to my house and pulled into my driveway 25 miles later, realizing I forgot the donuts! Ended up having to make it up, going for a giant hamburger run, with fries and pie of course. I felt like I earned the calories :thumb:

Here are the three routes I took climbing up the hillside during today's ride. The first two are only the steeper sections, since most of the rest of the climbing is less than 7%, which doesn't seem to heat up the motor or controller much. The third,less steep climb, is the only one that I saw other bikes riding up.

Potrero climb sm.jpg
Potrero climb 2.jpg

I stopped half way up at the botanical gardens to check the motor on this climb. It wasn't hot, but I took a rest looking around before second half. The hill hits 20% for short sections near the top, so I think it was probably a good idea to let the motor cool.
Lawrence Hall climb sm.jpg
Lawrence Hall climb 2.jpg

This seems like a very popular ride up the hill with lots of bikes, probably because it's only a 7.5%-8% grade.

Tilden climb sm.jpg
7 percent.png

08-12-19 The mirror that worked so perfectly with my old handlebars just can't adapt to the new sweep angle. I ended up ordering a cheap pair of bar end mirrors off of Amazon which arrived today. They are really heavy. I don't care so much about adding weight to my bike, but adding a pound to the end of one side of my handlebars is another thing. Still, the mirror itself is kind of nice, with decent viewing area. Realizing that neither mirror was going to work, I could either send the new one back, or....
Franken mirror.jpg

donor mirrors:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0009R96YK/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07338S7LL/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Update: using the franken-mirror for a week, I had to make a small tweak to the metal bracket, adding two bends. That allows the mirror to sit forward and lower, which provides a better angle. Another benefit is that it took out the vibration that blurred the image when going over bumps.

08-18-19 Did a morning ride before it got to warm out, and decided to go down the hill and to the bay. Ended up at a place called the Albany Bulb, which is a little peninsula that juts out into the bay and has some trails to putt around on. The trails are bumpy so there are mainly hikers and people walking their dogs, but fewer bikes.

I figured out that the 2.35" tires aren't fat enough for soft sand. I rode through some for about 30 yards before bogging down. I had to walk it back to more solid ground.
Bulb 01 sm.jpg

Much more at home on the rocky stuff.
Bulb 02 sm.jpg
Bay ebike.jpg
Some nice views from the hills on the peninsula.
Bulb 03 sm.jpg

The Bulb is known for the sculptures and artwork scattered all around.
Bulb 04 sm.jpg

Riding on the flats along the bay, and a few small hills didn't satisfy my hill climbing desires, so I rode up Albany Hill on my way back. I went up in the steeper direction up the hill and was pulling over 2kw all the way up while pedaling pretty hard. Motor was warm at the top, where I took a break before heading home, 24 miles total, and a ton of battery still left.


08-25-19 I finally ordered Statorade last night, so I plan to add it and do some other mods next weekend. Too lazy to do any real before and after testing, but I decided to ride up the hill from below my house up to the top of the ridge, so a 650 ft elevation climb all at one time. The route is just over 2 miles, 7-8% average, 12-17% in the steeper segments. I maintained over 15 mph most of the way, and pedaled pretty hard, hoping nothing would melt; so under 20 minutes total, pulling over 1000 watts the whole time, and 1200-1700+ watts on the steeper sections.

Statorade Test before.jpg

I was a little nervous, even though the Grin simulator doesn't have my motor, modeling several with similar characteristics seem to indicate I could be close to the meltdown limit by the time I got to the top. Motor and controller were warm to the touch at the top, but they survived, so I'm expecting with Statorade, I'll feel a lot more heat transferred to the motor case. My legs are killing me this morning.View attachment 7
 
I always like getting parts delivered, and my Statorade came today, along with some switches and pots for my boost/regan button experiment. Since I had to get 6 buttons, momentary contact with both NC and NO contacts, I decided to use two to convert my old Avid brake levers for ebike use. I drilled the holes and filed them to be a hair smaller than the switches, and carefully threaded them into the softer aluminum. I lost one switch in the process, twisting a little too hard, but with careful use of the needle file and both screwed in nicely. I reinforced the junction with some black hot glue, so they're ready to replace the cheesy kit levers. :thumb:

Brakes.jpg

Did a quick function test by attaching my front brake cable to the lever and testing with my ohm meter, and it works great (and the lever feels so much better).

Next weekend the rear wheel comes off. I still hate the hassle, but I'll take care of a few things on the bike and get them done at once. Besides adding the Statorade, I also need to change out one of the inside washers on the freewheel side, and possibly make a minor adjustment to the dish, since I have a slight lean to the left when riding at speed. Switching out the levers, rerouting some cables, and adding the new boost/regen button, and I'll probably have a full afternoon of fun by the time I'm done. :)

08-26-19 - Getting back to my cargo box project. I decided to look for some pre-built options, so checking online I stumbled on the hobby stores that carry wooden crates and boxes for projects. There's a Joan's Fabric at the mall a few miles away...All the boxes and crates were on sale. I was going to get a plain crate, but saw this box, that's probably more of a decorative thing, since the base is flimsy, but the sides looked like solid wood; maybe hardwood. The galvanized metal slats have a similar look that I was going for too. Anyway, looking at the three available, this one stood out, because of the wood grain. Woodworkers call it chatoyance. The effect makes the wood look like it changes as you move your head and see it at different angles. $7 after the sale discount.

chatt1.jpg

I mixed up some red wood dye in a very diluted solution, and applied a couple of coats to see if the grain would pop, and it definitely did. I think I can make this box look like one of those custom truck beds, after getting the right dye combo together, then hitting it with a coat of shellac, then lacquer.

Those light areas glow like gold in real life, so I'm pretty sure it's going to look awesome!
chatt2.jpg

08-28-19 The box is coming along, added a little brown maple dye to richen the color, but will add some dark red to get something closer to a mahogany or rosewood shade. I've decided to deconstruct the box and reconfigure the sides, so the end pieces butt up against the sides (currently the opposite). The goal is to reduce the overall width of the box by 3/4" since I think the current width is a little too wide to fit easily into the bike lockers I park in. I'll replace the bottom with something more sturdy at the same time.

box dyed.jpg

08-30-19 Soldered up my brake lever switches and boost/regen button; all heat shrunk and ready to install. I combined the brake lever switches which will eliminate one cable. The button has the trim pot in line, with a small opening in the heat shrink for adjustment. The ends will spice into the common wire of the throttle. I'm mounting it right below the LCD3 switch on the left side, within comfortable reach of my thumb.
wired.jpg
 
Spent the whole afternoon working on my ebike, adding my boost/regen button and adding Statorade to the motor. I first did a test, splicing in the button into the common wire of the throttle inside my connector box, before making the real connection splicing into the main cable. I tuned the pot until it just barely put watts to the motor then backed off very slightly.

The button worked as planned! I used it to regen, using my throttle, down the hill and it provides braking down to about 2 mph. It's surprisingly strong, but by using the throttle, it can be applied without being as abrupt like brake lever regen. When pedaling back up the hill, I could hit the same button and it would instantly give me boost up to what level 5 pedal assist provides. Really convenient for my purposes, so I don't mess with the assist level or throttle to have that power when I want the short burst.
https://endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=97486&p=1487769#p1491650

I put the button in easy reach of my left thumb, but out of the way of the three button LCD3 controls. The trim pot ended up further down the wire routing, based on my guesstimating the length, but I'll be replacing it with a equivalent resistor in the end.
Switch 1.jpg

The trim pot, sticking out of the side like a wart. It's all shrink wrapped up, in case I don't get around to replacing it soon. If the bad weather comes, I can add some black hot glue to the access hole.
Switch 2.jpg

Drilling and tapping for the Statorade went pretty quickly. I should have gone a little further out from the center, since I'm right up against the freewheel, but it works. I'll hit it with some black paint and it will disappear.
Statorade 1.jpg

I routed all the wires for the new brake lever switches and the boost/regen button along the underside of the handlebars. Really cleaned up the cockpit.
Cockpit.jpg

I didn't get around to taking off the wheel and changing the washers, test, then decide if I need to adjust the wheel dishing. That will have to happen on another weekend.

Once I replace the trim pot with a fixed resistor, it will be easy to get everything routed cleanly. I'm going to make an ABS panel, or sort of a box, the same width as my display, that will extend down to the stem, to add three toggle switches (lights, 12 v subsystem, and one reserved the future use) and a USB port. If I form the panel/box around the handlebars, I can bring all the front wires in, and the have the one bundle exit. If I do it that way, I can maintain a little extra length on the wires to make maintenance easier.

All the wires, and the two of the three bicycle cables run along the left side of the bike now. The ABS battery bracket that I'll be making will be fixed on the right side, so when removing the left side, all the cables, wires, and battery can be accessed. In the end, there won't be many obvious/exposed wires, so just a big flaming battery and big black rear hub to give it away as an e-bike :mrgreen:

EDIT: I just rode up the same 2 mile route as last Sunday, pedaling hard the whole way. I passed a road biker halfway up, passing him going 15 mph or so. He was going a little less than walking speed. Got to the top, huffing and puffing, and felt the motor. Noticeably warmer than the last time without Statorade. Controller was still cool or barely lukewarm. I think the Statorade is a success! :thumb:
  • Starting voltage: 57 v
  • Midway voltage: 54 v
  • Ending voltage after regen: 55.3 v

The old Avid levers feel great and way better leverage than the cheap wobbly kit levers. I have the switches set to apply regular regen with barely a pull, before the pads ever make contact.
 
Nice work! I'm envious of the regen capability. I didn't feel like drilling a hole for statorade on my bikes, so I just took the motors apart, so I could inspect them as well.
 
thundercamel said:
Nice work! I'm envious of the regen capability. I didn't feel like drilling a hole for statorade on my bikes, so I just took the motors apart, so I could inspect them as well.

Thanks. Regen is nice, and I was wondering during the decent whether my brakes would last all the way down if I didn't have regen. There were a few spots where I had to shed off some speed with regular braking, but otherwise used very little real braking. I may need to try it just for testing sake, with all regen off and only using discs to see if the fade or overheat.

09-07-19
Back on my cargo box project. Got out the hammer and busted the box apart to reconfigure it. By rearranging the construction, the new configuration is 3/4" narrower, and 3/4" longer, which doesn't sound like a lot, but will make a big difference when parking in the bike lockers. Plus, the shape works better for carrying bags.

All clamped up. I'll use a sharp chisel to remove any excess Gorilla Glue after it hardens, then stain the bare edges.

reboxit.jpg

Slight change to the proportions.

rebox.jpg

Reconfiguring meant losing the thin wood bottom, so I decided to replace it with ABS. Rode down to the plastics shop and noticed the scraps box. $3 per pound. I was originally going to use 3/16" ABS, but saw a sturdy 1/4" piece of plexiglass, so I grabbed it. I'm still going to use 1" aluminum angle for the corners, but now that I'm using the plastic bottom, I'm also running two angles along the left and right sides to attache the bottom to the box.

09-08-19
More progress. Shortened the front side to make sure there's clearance for my Thudbuster. Added the aluminum angle on the corners and the box feels pretty sturdy now. Need more shaping and then some touch up staining, then paint the corner brackets black (per the conceptual design), before hitting the whole box with spray shellac and then lacquer, before attaching the plexiglass bottom. I may mount it so it can adjust front to rear with some sort of rods and clamps.
reboxit 2.jpg

Added a rail for the bungie net to attach to.
rebox it 1.jpg

The rear corners will have similar reinforcement, and bungie rail. The bottom will be mounted from the front and rear, sandwiched between two angles, which should make it pretty rigid. I'm also going to run some wires for rear lighting under the angles.
rebox it 2.jpg

09-13-19
Almost done. Still need to finish the mounting, which will be adjustable forward and rearward, paint the corner pieces black, and then lacquer the stained wood. The forward mounting position will only be use if I need additional clearance when parking in the bike lockers.

rebox it 3.jpg

rebox it 4.jpg

09-17-19
Mounted the box, and tested parking in the lockers this morning. In the rearmost position, the clearance is still good and actually made it easier to guide in. I may need to add some plastic corner protectors of some sort to protect the paint that I’ll spray on the corner brackets, but otherwise, I’m scrapping the adjustability (forward or rear) since I don’t need it. Riding on the bumps on the trail produces no rattles or noise, since I added a couple of rubber cushions at the mounting points.

09-20-19
Masked off the wood and hit the outside metal with black paint.I left the inside braces raw.
black box small.jpg

The top rail on the front and back are drilled for a bungee net to attach. I'll finish the wood with shellac and lacquer this weekend.
black box 1 small.jpg
 
finished up my donut transport box and took it on it's first run this morning.

Donut box 1 web.jpg

Only two donuts, for my wife and I, but I think I can fit a dozen, or more if I used the cargo net. :thumb:
Donut box 2 web.jpg
I'm happy with the way it turned out; still sort of resembles my concept design. Still needs a final coat of lacquer, but it has several coats of shellac to protect it for now.

Still need to mount a tail light on the back of the box, wire up my 12 volt subsystem and add the switch panel near the display, and eventually will get around to the battery mounting mods and final clean up of the wiring....
 
Alan B said:
Great build and upgrade thread!

Hey thanks! I'm having a lot of fun with this hobby, and even after the various upgrades and additions after the initial $600 investment, it's still among the least expensive hobbies I've had. I really like tinkering and tweaking things for my own use, so I know my build isn't as exciting as the big motor/big battery bikes, so the thread is basically me documenting things as I go along, for future reference.

I'm getting the most bang/fun for the buck from my boost/regen button which I use all the time now, which only cost a couple of dollars to implement. Even if I upgrade the controller, I'll try to stick with KT with the hopes that they all have similar behavior between throttle and PAS.

Here's a pic of my bike parked in the locker this morning. 1/2" clearance on each side, but the nice thing is that I can see it above the seat, whereas without it, I couldn't really see the rack making it hard to back in. The box makes that easy.

locker.jpg
 
Where are those lockers?

Nice to have some physical security for the bike. I rarely get away from my ebike when I have it out, just too risky. Commuting to work was wonderful because they allowed me to bring it into my building and my office, and charge it (I built a 1kw charger :). Really nice, and a bit unusual, but we were in an old building that had space. The newer buildings are so crammed there's not much room for bikes.

Documenting the history of a build is really useful not only for you but also for folks trying to learn. Especially trying to do it at lower cost. I like to document some of the planning and decision logic too.

I have variable regen on the Borg, and it is wonderful. I actually put it on the rear brake handle using a linear hall sensor and moving magnet on the lever because there's not enough space for a rear disc on that frame with the wide Cromotor. But the regen is adjustable and I set it to be just shy of breaking traction on level dry pavement, so it is very much like a brake. It is actually not just regen, it also applies power to reach the braking current, it is electric braking. It can slip but generally it will not. It does drop out at about 1 mph. That's the Sabvoton controller and Cromotor working together. It is fantastic going down steep gradients, feels like an adjustable parachute. It easily handles the Centennial gradient below the Hall of Science and into the Lab which is quite steep.

The Phaserunner's have variable regen but I have not implemented that yet. I don't think it is full electric braking though, so it will fall off at low speed and the 9C motor doesn't have as much torque as the Cromotor. On the Bonanza I have nice rear brakes so it is not as easy to come up with a variable input to control the braking.

I haven't used a KT controller, but there seems to be a lot of independent software development for some of them, could be a lot of fun to play with.
 
That’s great info on the variable regen. Always like to hear how folks use it in practice. I keep flipping back and forth on my next controller/battery upgrade that I’m glad I have stuff to tinker around so I don’t make a impulse decision. Variable regen is on the list of requirements though.

Anyway, check bikelink.org on the lockers. They have a few scattered around the US, but a heavy concentration in the Bay Area (CA), north, south, east bay and peninsula. Several BART stations, plus locations around city buildings (city hall, libraries, etc). I’m hoping they expand to shopping centers and place like that in the future, but at 3 cents per hour, I’m guessing there’s some subsidies going on.


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I'd love to have any sort of regen, and always planned that if I were to upgrade controllers, I'd get one with variable regen like the phaserunner. I already use a left and right throttle to avoid thumb fatigue, so I might need to add a half twist or something for braking. I have one more trick I want to try to add regen to the ebikeling controller...
 
The one thing I don’t like about regen on my bike is the sound. The bike is otherwise silent, but using the brake lever activated regen, the motor howls. Sort of reminds me of an old car horn when the battery is almost dead. I’ve always thought it was normal, but when using my regen button and the throttle to brake, there’s no noise.
I also noticed today when going slower and using the brake lever, I hear a buzzing/clicking that sounds like my freewheel, but a little louder. Never noticed that before as well as some random clicks and pops I’ve heard recently. Axle bolts and torque arms are tight, and spokes seem good too. Probably just paranoia, but seems like a lot of issues start out with small signs, so I’m monitoring. I may crank the regen setting down a notch to see if that helps.
One victory I’m happy with that I didn’t mention, but may be helpful to someone, is that I didn’t get around to removing my wheel and replacing the right side washers during my last maintenance. I have two to clear the freewheel, but that’s a couple mm too much. I suspected that was causing my bike to lean to the left at speed (fine going slow or still tracks well riding no hands). I decided since I needed to tighten my spokes anyway, that I’d do a slight re-dish by about 1/2-3/4 turns between the left and right side to see if it would help. Success, it cut most of the lean! So now I know that once I’m not so lazy and get the wheel off and the two washers replaced with one thicker one (but less than two), I should be able to eliminate the lean that has plagued me since moving to the current frame. Small but satisfying victory :) !!!


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Alan B said:
Regen is silent on the several controllers I've had it on.

Well that's not good. :shock: I'll try cranking down the setting. I can't recall but it may not have made the howl on the lower settings, so I'm going to try that right after work. Thanks for the quick response. :thumb:
 
Alan B said:
It may be an unfortunate combination of regen frequency and motor resonances.

Ah harmonics, that makes a lot of sense. The frequency of the howl does seems to change as the bike slows, then disappears. If that's it, I'm guessing now harm unless it vibrates something loose. I was going to crank it down anyway since I use the throttle more now, so maybe that will take care of it. Thanks!
 
I had to work late last week, and with the days getting shorter, I ended up riding home in the dark. Crept up on me, and realized I need to get my headlight working again, since I switched out my throttle to one without a switch. I got the toggle switches and LEDs delivered last week, and today I had some time to start fabricating the ABS switch panel.

The headlight uses a wide range of voltage, up to 60v, so I had it wired to battery voltage. I'm not sure if I'll stick with that, since the tail lights will be 12v. I ordered a smaller buck converter, which can drive both the tail lights and headlight at 12v, so that may be the simple solution for lights. I also have the 15 amp 12v buck converter that I'll use for future higher power 12v requirements, via a 12v socket, and also use it to drive my 5v USB buck (this is part of supports my emergency/earthquake planning).

Going this route, I can use the 12v LED indicator lights for the switches, since I bought DPST mini toggles (actually they are an odd on-on configuration, but will work fine), so one set of contacts will switch the higher voltage for the lights (or 12v subsystem buck converter), and the other for the 12v indicator LED. I can use smaller gauge wires to the switches, since the currents should be smaller feeding the buck converters than coming out of them. Still deciding where to locate the larger converter, to minimize larger gauge wires running up to the cockpit area.

switch panel small.jpg

EDIT: Looked to bulky, so I already chopped off about 1/3, since I won't be mounting the USB and 12v outlet on the panel anyway.
sp final size.jpg
I bought a small LED voltmeter to put in the blank space. That way I can just leave my LCD3 in the start up setting that shows distance, and still have a voltage readout. I'll likely install it at an angle and make a small hood out of ABS to block direct sunlight.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00C58D47G/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER&psc=1

EDIT 10-02-19
Looks like the voltmeter will work out fine. It's pretty bright, but I'll still make a hood for it and angle it toward me so it isn't affected by direct sunlight.
led.jpg

Looks accurate enough...
vm.jpg

Ready for wiring. It won't be useful in strong sunlight, based on testing, even with the hood. Good and accurate otherwise.
switch box semi done 2.jpg

switch box semi done.jpg
 
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