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  1. Alan B

    RadPowerBike RadCity Commuter

    I've converted / built a number of ebikes since 2010, this is the first time I've purchased a ready made electric bike. My adult son has been using a conversion I built for him based on the Peugeot Canyon Express using a 9C motor and controller. There are some things that are difficult to...
  2. Alan B

    Xootr Swift Blue and Silver Twin Folders

    Yesterday (3/31/2018) I was looking at the Xootr site for some Swift information and I didn't see the pages that were there before, the Swift is mentioned only on the "discontinued" page. Very sad to see them go, if they are in fact discontinued. This thread is about my Swifts. For more...
  3. Alan B

    Understanding and Using EGO Power+ Batteries

    EGO Power+ Outdoor Power Tool Batteries have been around awhile, I found threads mentioning them as early as 2014 here on ES. Since I have a few, and they are suitable, I have decided to try them for a couple of ebike projects. To do this I am making mounts and connectors for them using 3D...
  4. Alan B

    Motors ARE Efficient at Low Throttle

    There seems to be confusion regarding the efficiency of motors at low throttle. Yes, efficiency drops a little, but not as much as you would think from looking at the efficiency graph from the Simulator (at ebikes.ca). Why is this? The Simulator is an excellent tool, however we must understand...
  5. Alan B

    Used 2013 Leaf EV

    In October of 2016 I started looking at used Nissan Leaf EVs. Lots of the 2013's are coming off lease now, and the market, even in the SF Bay Area isn't buying them up all that fast. Compared to the Mazda 3 my Daughter is looking for, the Leaf's sit there while the Mazda 3's are gone in a few...
  6. Alan B

    Bicycle Batman recovering stolen bikes

    Didn't see this posted, interesting article on folks who recover stolen bikes http://www.outsideonline.com/2108066/emerald-citys-velo-thieves-have-problem-bike-batman
  7. Alan B

    BMC Ticking, Suggestions?

    Here's a new BMC V4TT that's been sitting a year, now firing it up on a PhaseRunner FOC Controller. But it doesn't sound right. There's some ticking that appears to correspond to the motor RPM...
  8. Alan B

    WalMart EverStart Battery Test

    I picked up a couple of these car starting batteries from a Walmart online sale recently, and today I made an adapter from EC5 to Anderson PowerPole. I charged the EverStart battery a few days ago and it has been sitting since. The test was conducted with a West Mountain Radio Computer Battery...
  9. Alan B

    Signatures Restored to Five Links, Thanks!

    It was five links max in a signature, now it is only four. Why is this? I'd like to have more links, there is still a total limit to signature length, and most of the URL text is not visible anyway. My signature is very compact on one line, but I can't link to each of my builds. Why only four...
  10. Alan B

    Diamondback OverDrive 27.5 "RidgeRunner"

    Here's the photo album for this bike: https://goo.gl/photos/Swc4DiKoYkypqLhw9 Hi folks. I've been keeping busy since retiring, and recently built another ebike, my first mid drive. For this project I selected the BBSHD to install in a 2016 Diamondback hardtail mountain bike. I call it the...
  11. Alan B

    Radio Active Trike Planning

    A friend of mine built a very special Trike setup with the capability to operate High Frequency Ham Radio from it when stationary. It doesn't have electric assist, though I've suggested it and Budd is considering it when he has trouble pedaling. It is fairly flat where he is, and he's not going...
  12. Alan B

    Three Bears Ride 8/2/2015

    I'm planning a leisurely ebike ride around the Three Bears loop near Orinda, CA for Sunday August 2nd. It is about 20 miles around the loop plus a few more going to lunch, which is near Orinda BART. The loop is so named for the three hills we will climb. Here's the Draft Plan, subject to...
  13. Alan B

    Ebike towing a bike

    I've joked about towing a bicycle up a steep hill with my ebike, but is there actually a safe way to do it? It seems like a tow line with some shock absorbing material and a quick release would mitigate some issues, but overall it is just dangerous. One safe way to do it is with a tow...
  14. Alan B

    Tempted by a Zero eMotorcycle

    I've followed the Zero motorcycle developments for years, test ridden one a few years ago (report further below), and am still intrigued by the idea of getting one. The technology is getting quite good. Is it time? I just don't know if it would get enough use for me. I put about 100k miles on a...
  15. Alan B

    Controller Topology

    I was looking at some different configurations for BLDC motor controllers and wondering if a different configuration would be an improvement in a useful way on ebike applications. Here's one short paper that shows several topologies: http://www.ijitee.org/attachments/File/v2i1/A0355112112.pdf...
  16. Alan B

    Experiments with Overdischarged Headway and A123 Cells

    I purchased some Headway 16AH cells several years ago for my ebike and ended up going with Lipo instead. I still have some of these cells sitting around and when I checked recently a few were at very low voltages while most others were fine. (Later in this thread I also experiment with some...
  17. Alan B

    Practical Cycle bike store in Sacramento

    I made my first visit to the Practical Cycle store today in Sacramento. I discovered them a few days ago when I was looking for reviews on the JuicedRiders ODK Cargo Bike and found some of their video reviews, blog and website. As their name implies they don't cater to the usual bicycle shop...
  18. Alan B

    Wide Range DC-DC Converters

    One component we often need for eBike electronics is a DC-DC converter with wide voltage input range. Once you get over 75 volts input there are few products. A popular solution is to use an AC power supply as many of them will accept high voltage DC input, though 75V is a low value for them and...
  19. Alan B

    Heaters and Filaments 12V RMS Regulator

    For some time I've considered making a regulator to provide DC to my electric heated vest from the bike battery. It wants to see 12 volts (at about 50 watts), but a heating element doesn't care if the value is AC, DC, or pulsating DC. So a complex switching regulator with big heavy inductors and...
  20. Alan B

    DOT and StVZO "Legal" Lights for eBikes

    My experience with bicycle lights on the Greyborg, at night, where there are no streetlights, has been less than perfect. I used to have a motorcycle, and I recall the great improvement when I upgraded the headlight there. So I'm wondering if I should consider that for my ebike... I looked...
  21. Alan B

    Magura Throttle Adapter Board

    Note - this board is just over an inch wide (about 3cm), on most displays it will appear larger than actual size. Adapting a Resistive throttle such as the Magura to the controller can be done a number of ways. I like to use two sealed multiturn trimpots on a small PC board making it adjustable...
  22. Alan B

    eBike Master Switch Design

    News - The V1.0 board is openly available, see the V1.0 page linked at the end of this posting Ebike designs have a variety of ways of handling the "master power switch" covering a range from just using plugs to contactors and electronic switches. On my current Greyborg I used a "Kill" switch...
  23. Alan B

    EZ PCBs: DipTrace PCB Design Software

    This thread is for people interested easy ways to design PC (printed circuit) boards, specifically using DipTrace software and submitting boards for low cost online PCB manufacture to places like www.oshpark.com. It is NOT a thread for bashing or arguing about which is the "best" Electronics...
  24. Alan B

    Ford Focus Electric 7 day Test Drive

    A friend bought a new Ford Focus Electric car a few months ago, and he recently loaned it to me for a week long test drive. So I left my Borg electric bike at work and used the Focus for daily commuting and as a 'family car' over the weekends and evenings. The only charging cord I had was the...
  25. Alan B

    Whiskey Throttle on Deathbike

    There is an upcoming airing of MTV's Ridiculousness that features our very own Deathbike's Whiskey Throttle video. Look for it on 21 December with guest "Streetbike Tommy". You can also find this online at their website.
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