Commuter UK styleeee...yes its a cyclone

[Dingo2024]

a few pics from today

Can you post these as JPGs? Most won't have rar installed to decompress. :wink:

Thanks!

hi I will reshoot the pics over the next couple of days and repost as jpeg.....as the resolution was set too high on the camera the forum would not accept the attachments so had to compress them sorry

Ian

 

[Dingo2024]

Hi Ian,

can you please ensure you use a pre charge resistor when powering up the controller. The current inrush might cause a problem with the BMS over time. Low IR cells like these cause a really nasty current spike. Your connectors will appreciate it too.

Hi Paul,

thanks for the headsup; I have gotten into the habit of using the precharge resistor you supplied. There has been no spark on connection of the pack to date so appears to be working as should

Ian

 

[blkbikes]

nice bike. Always good to see a fello brit ecommuter.

Time to stealth her up a bit otherwise the big P is going to be asking questions; if they can catch you lol

How much does it weigh?

 

[cell_man]

Hi Ian,

can you please ensure you use a pre charge resistor when powering up the controller. The current inrush might cause a problem with the BMS over time. Low IR cells like these cause a really nasty current spike. Your connectors will appreciate it too.

Hi Paul,

thanks for the headsup; I have gotten into the habit of using the precharge resistor you supplied. There has been no spark on connection of the pack to date so appears to be working as should

Ian

That's great. Better to be safe than sorry. The massive spark you get without the pre charge resistor doesn't do my nerves any good either, so I always a pre charge resistor

 

[Dingo2024]

hi, just got back from a 10 mile ride into town...its about a 1 mile long steep hill coming back.....the motor did overheat once...although I am convinced it was my incorrect gear selection (as I am still learning the throttle / thumb shifter / pedal sequence)

here are some pics I took outside my house....video camera should be here next week...so will start to upload those as soon as I can

Ian

 

[Dingo2024]

nice bike. Always good to see a fello brit ecommuter.

Time to stealth her up a bit otherwise the big P is going to be asking questions; if they can catch you lol

How much does it weigh?

thanks for the compliment and welcome to ES..this forum rocks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I have already encountered 'the big P' in a traffic car at the weekend...the driver pointed and smiled and drove on....maybe that was because I was at the road side checking wires etc. and not racing cars :wink:

the speed is pretty 'good' and all I will say is that it 'keeps' with the flow of traffic very well

Ian

p.s. not sure on the weight but will check it and post over the next couple of days

 

[mhz128]

Dingo,

Nice bike! What's your top speed and mileage?

How is your battery holding up?

ciao!

 

[Dingo2024]

Dingo,

Nice bike! What's your top speed and mileage?

How is your battery holding up?

ciao!

hi "mhz128",

thanks for the nice words.....the battery has only 5 charge cycles on it now and took just over an hour to fully charge (with 5amp charger) today after 10 miles and lots of WOT so I would guess around the 25mile mark. Once I get a Cycle Analyst (next week hopefully) I will report and log everything in more detail atm I dont even have a speedo fitted so not sure of top speed....my only gauge is the cars and it keeps with them no problem.....so its definitely over 30mph...and that includes uphill....and there are lots of those where I live :wink:

Ian

 

[Dingo2024]

got the bike on the scales today and this is what came out

bike 45.5lbs...........weight distribution....front 22lbs rear 23.5lbs
battery...which includes battery box, controller and wiring etc. 22lbs

total working weight is 67.5lbs (or 30.7kg) which I am pretty happy with

the cycle analyst should be here tomorrow, so once fitted I will give other data such as range and speed etc. :wink:

Ian

 

[blkbikes]

cool pretty much the same weight as mine.

Chased down one of those pointy head time trial riders the other night. Poor guy couldnt believe his eyes as a grinning guy sitting upright on a mountain bike with panniers pulled along side :lol:

Can i recommend getting a new rim on the rear and a new front wheel for a hydro disk brake on the front(180 rotor max). If you use a wider downhill rim it'll not only cope with the increased weight but allow you to run 50-60 psi(faster grippier and far more efficient) in you 2" tyres without stressing the rims.

Looking forward to your CA stats as im building my 2nd gen ebike at the mo with a cyclone

 

[Dingo2024]

I have had the CA fitted for about 2 weeks now but not ridden very much ...so today I decided to take the bike to work and this is the data that came from the trip...it was pretty windy and the route is far from flat..also a couple of stops for junctions and lights

journey to work; battery had been fully charged and stood for about 2 days prior to this trip

distance 11.4 miles
used 6.826 ah
326.78 watt/hr
28.8 wh/mile
A max 51.85
V min 45.7

maxS 29.7 mph
avgS 23.9 mph
time 28m 34s

here are some pics taken from the CA readout after the return journey.....much more wind, traffic and hills coming back
the battery had been charged fully (from the trip above) and stood for about 4 hours prior to this journey

Ian

 

[Dingo2024]

I have done a a few rides since the last post and everything has been good
here is an update regarding today;
set off for work this morning on the bike (nice weather) got about 5 minutes into the ride; came to a roundabout looked across accelerated and then nothing.....................all lights on the throttle and the CA display went dead pedaled the bike home jumped in the car and drove to work. Just got back and started to check everything over....I got the CA to work by disconnecting the controller and the battery voltage shown is 50.4v; it looks like my pre charge resistor has also died (I dont think that this is related to the problem today but will swap it out anyway to save the Power Poles) the controller has no (obvious) burnt components so my thinking is the throttle but will test further once I get a new battery for the multimeter

Ian

 

[Dingo2024]

Ok after checking a few things it looks more like it could be the controller. So I have been in touch with the UK cyclone distributor today (he lives about an hour from me) and am taking the bike to him on Saturday morning where we will swap out everything until the problem is solved :wink: hopefully

just means a few more days without the ebike grin

Ian

 

[Dingo2024]

quick update...my bike is working again

got to the UK cyclone distributor this morning and swapped and tested everything .....it was the controller

got to give a big heads up to Rob @ eclipsebikes.com

thanks man....without your help it would not be running.

So guys if you are in the market for cyclone stuff please give this guy a try........and its all in stock, I saw it today

Ian

the ebike grin is BACK :wink:

 

[Dingo2024]

ok so went for a ride today to test everything out; it is the same route as I have done before
BUT the results were a little different......it may be down to me getting a little fitter (more pedal assist) and better use of the gears

just realised that this was the first ride with toe clips fitted guess it all helps :wink:

16.96 miles
8.368 Ah
400.79 Watt hrs
23.7 Wh/mi
Amax 55.42
Vmin 45.8
MaxS 30.9
AvgS 22.2
45min50sec

Ian

 

[Dingo2024]

so been running the bike for over a week now with the new controller and everything is good

here are a couple of pics as to where we are atm, with CA, mirror, toe clips and rack + back light fitted

Ian

 

[Dingo2024]

the performance seems a little better than with the original controller (everything is still stock and untouched) but this has seemed to have caused more heat in the motor

so to cure this yesterday was spent fitting new cooling fins around the motor case..these are around 15mm wider than the previous ones, also they were fitted with artic silver thermal grease and the mating surfaces polished and bent around the motor to facilitated better heat flow..a bolt was than installed to keep tension on the fins

there is also artic silver between the motor and motor mount now so the whole thing acts as a giant heat sink...or thats the plan anyway :wink:

here are a couple of pics

just going to take the bike out to test everything.............will report back later :wink:

Ian

 

[Dingo2024]

update

the motor runs definitely cooler (to the touch) with the new fins fitted and I can pull one gear higher in most situations compared to before

this seems to have put more stress on the standard bike parts and consequently the lower headset bearing cage blew up on Friday whilst riding (road surface around here is sh*t since the winter) .....not a great feeling when the steering locks at 30mph and you are trying to turn

I have since replaced the headset with a Sunline Vone which does not come loose (apparently), rode the bike today and everything is good...just waiting on my connector order arriving (hopefully tomorrow) so I can tidy the wiring and than start on side covers to smooth out the look

Ian

 

[Whiplash]

Did I miss the videos? Nice build though!

 

[Dingo2024]

Did I miss the videos? Nice build though!

not missed...........just haven't got around to getting a camera yet

but will do very shortly

Ian

 

[Burtie]

Hi Ian,

Great looking build! Good to hear you having loads of fun with it too

Where did you get that neat new heat sink, it looks like part of an oil filter cooler?

You may find it a good idea to rotate that motor housing by 180deg before the rainy season hits, so that water can run out of the cable gland instead of into it.

Keep up the good work 8)

Burtie

 

[Dingo2024]

Hi Ian,

Great looking build! Good to hear you having loads of fun with it too

Where did you get that neat new heat sink, it looks like part of an oil filter cooler?

You may find it a good idea to rotate that motor housing by 180deg before the rainy season hits, so that water can run out of the cable gland instead of into it.

Keep up the good work 8)

Burtie

thanks Bertie, your cyclone builds here on ES certainly influenced me. the bike is a lot of fun and certainly a competent commuter..good speed and range

you have sussed me out on the heat sink ....it is indeed an oil filter cooler which came from ebay for the princely sum of £2.50 brand new...I don't think they ever really caught on and loads of car shops seem to have them kicking around and sell them off cheap :wink: they are 75mm dia where my motor is around 84mm so didn't have to open it out too much...and it does appear to work well

as for the water/weather I am in the process of fitting full mudguards and water proofing the wiring....but thanks for the 180deg motor rotation suggestion I will definitely do it if there is a problem

thanks again


Ian

p.s. I like your rc build...very clean and functional..hows it going?

 

[Dingo2024]

my powerpole order has arrived from Torberry connectors (UK guys for Anderson connectors) and have now changed out the motor plugs and tidied up some other stuff.
I still have the 7 pin throttle wires to shorten..to get rid of the 20 loops of wire wrapped around the headtube atm but thanks to Rick (rkosiorek) her on ES I now have the plugs and pins to do it....just need the crimper

I have rode the bike a couple of times since fitting the new Andersons and all I can say it feels like a different bike ....although the numbers on the CA are the same
all I can assume is that either the original cyclone motor connectors were crap or my soldering job on the shortened motor wires was equally sh*t.....or maybe a combination of the 2

here are a couple of pics.............

Ian

 

[Dingo2024]

So.....I now have the throttle lead shortened and have been using the bike daily to commute to work (18 to 21 miles return) its been awesome...and saved me quite a bit in fuel :wink:

a problem that did show up was the battery box not being too secure with the clasps in the previous post...sometimes coming open when hitting bumps on the road

solution
I replaced the clasps with regular household door hinges (pop riveted on) and used allen wrenches as hinge pins..to allow the box to be quickly removed if need be....and it works great

still a few things to do / swap out....but getting there :lol:

here are a few pics

Ian

 

[Dingo2024]

I got to spend a bit now time on tidying things up on Tuesday

removed the tape from the top tube (about half a roll ) and replaced the old hose clips with new stainless ones

also a problem has come up with the front chainwheels being out of centre....causing the chain tension to be all over the place with high and low spots and as a result the chain had begun to skip over the rear sprocket under high loads (torque)

so I spent around 3 hours making spacers to bring everything back in alignment............the chain now runs pretty even and is also much quieter

I have also used a hose clip around the rear wheel nut and pannier mounting bolt to hopefully stop the wheel pulling forward.......at least for the short term until I get the time to make a functional chain tensioner

used it for work this morning and it appears to do the job....just not sure for how long though :wink:

here are the pics

Ian