vpower.hk First e-bike on the CHEAP

[GrindGarage]

For the couple months or so since getting my new truck I have been riding my bike more and more. I live in a small island town in NJ and my normal travels are less then 10 miles round trip. The truck doesn't even reach operating temperature most days and I have found it easier to park it and ride my bike.

I started out on http://www.electricrider.com/. Online shopping is fun and before I knew it I had a shopping cart with $1,707.47 in it!

Too bad my budget is $500!

I went to the cheap guy supermarket (ebay) and found:

Front 48V 1000W Electric Bicycle Engine Conversion Kit $348
UPG 4 Pack - 12V 18Ah Sealed Lead Acid $142
48 Volt 2.5 Amp Battery Charger Electric Scooter $29

ebay total $519

Also wanted to be safe and and got Anderson connects and torque arm from e-bikekit.com. Total to door is $48

So far I have $567 into my setup.

As far as my ride it is a Fuji hybrid and I pull a Burely solo trailer. I use the trailer to run errands and to bring my kid to daycare. The batteries are going to be 42 lbs and I plan on stashing them in or maybe under the trailer. I would like to build a box that puts the batteries under the trailer axle keeping the center of gravity low and maintaining full storage capacity of the trailer.

No build is fun without pics so I plan on posting as soon as I take some!

 

[MadRhino]

The batteries are going to be 42 lbs and I plan on stashing them in or maybe under the trailer.

That is a lot of useless lead. I understand that you need to save money, but lead is not a good way to save for it is a loss in all other aspect than price. The weight, the drag and the low power will make your bike lame and its range will decrease quickly. So think of a battery as the first purchase to complete your bike, or first upgrade if you are going with lead for now.

 

[dogman dan]

Good enough plan for the beginning.

The cheapo hubmotor kits can be surprisingly robust. Just prone to the usual plug problems, when contacts back out of the connector housings. You'll learn to spot and fix that issue fast.

The lead won't take you as far as you wish it would, but 18 ah will go 8-10 mile round trips. Carry on the trailer might be perfect for lead. Ride slow, well below 20 mph, and they will go much further than at full throttle. Figure out what your typical maximum range is, and then try like hell to never go more than half that distance again.

Soon, you will have saved a fortune by not driving, and will be able to afford a larger range lithium battery. 36v 20 ah, or 48v 15 ah would get you 20 miles range at 20-25 mph. If the lead is still alive, extending range by carrying both is an option. Should be able to carry lithium on the bike, so you can ditch the trailer some rides.

 

[GrindGarage]

The batteries are going to be 42 lbs and I plan on stashing them in or maybe under the trailer.

That is a lot of useless lead.....

Right now this is a project and honestly I'm not much of a biker. I already maxed out my budget and a ebike without batteries is useless.

This is not my first experience with electric powered transportation. I have owned a Zappy, loved riding it all around town up and down curbs and in and out of traffic. I went through 3 drive tires and broke the frame, all on the same battery for close to 3 years. Also have had a cheap Chinese moped. Small wheels removable lead pack under the seat. It did about 20mph and had a good range, I never ran the battery all the way down and kept it plugged in for 2 years. This was good till the police gave me a hassle since it looked like a motorcycle.

I always wanted an ebike and never had the need until I traded my BMW for a full size Chevy which now sits parked.

Thanks for the heads up regarding the connectors. I am well aware of this. I worked for years as a mechanic. I have had dozens of cars and boats and have even worked in a BMW race shop. Will see how the kit holds up. I kinda like to use it till it breaks then improve. I'm sure you guys are familiar with the auto industry weather pack connectors available from Delphi: http://delphi.com/manufacturers/cv/connection-systems/weather-pack-connectors/

 

[GrindGarage]

Well I bought the kit on 11/11 at night. Receive an almost instant email with tracking number for Fedex. Guess they didn't pick up the package yesterday as Fedex has no record. Anyone ever deal with fedex packages being shipped from HK?

Hopefully the package will hit the mail as I'm sleeping.

 

[cal3thousand]

Well I bought the kit on 11/11 at night. Receive an almost instant email with tracking number for Fedex. Guess they didn't pick up the package yesterday as Fedex has no record. Anyone ever deal with fedex packages being shipped from HK?

Hopefully the package will hit the mail as I'm sleeping.

Depends on the warehouse you purchased from.

 

[GrindGarage]

alota lead, now time to lay the bricks into the trailer to see what works best. So far have the batteries and charger. looks like the hub kit will be here Tuesday.

 

[TheBeastie]

Cool so you bought directly from vpower.hk? I notice the prices on their site are cheaper then what they sell on Ebay. I figure its because there is no paypal dispute service or something.
Will be interesting to see how you go.

 

[GrindGarage]

I bought off ebay.... gotta say he did communicate and sent out in decent time. Could not wait to find the best spot for all this weight. 2 in front and 2 in back works best. The trailer is a magical, balance the weight and you don't know its back there. Let's see if I can post pics:

A bad shot of bike and trailer:

4 of these:

2 in front:

A little lost leg room:

2 in back:

Should be easy enough to secure these. Think I will start off temporary secured using the giant zip ties used in hvac. I have the ties and tool and they are rated to 175lb. I have great access to the tube frame and will be able to get them nice and tight to the frame. So far so good. Need to go out and get some 10awg wire, connectrers, some soldering supllies shrink wrap wire loom and a couple of fuses and i'I'll be in biz.

 

[USAEBIKECO]

SLA batteries are cheap but they don't last. "Uncle Ron" has a cool video of him getting around on an etrike with a ton of SLA. He made it work but his trike took a beating.

 

[footloose]

I went to the cheap guy supermarket (ebay) and found...

Lead acid batteries get no respect... and for good reason... but they *will* get you rolling and within your budget. That's cool. $171 for batteries and charger? And it gets you on the road? Good for you. Yeah, they won't last so long. But save your pocket change every day, and in a few months you'll have enough to upgrade batteries. Meanwhile, you'll be rolling. That's cool.

And if you get the trailer setup sorted out, and later upgrade to higher power density batteries... you could have a rig that takes you loooong distance.

And your existing project? I know the Jersey shore. Flat like Kansas. And your 10 mile distance? Pretty short. Your setup kind of makes sense, especially given working within a budget.

There is some old saying along the lines of "an engineer can do for $10 what anybody can do for $100". One of the fun things in building bikes is to drive towards that goal.

Anyway, have fun, and save that pocket change towards your ideal batteries. By the spring, you'll have enough to splurge.

 

[GrindGarage]

Hey I figure 3 things may happen.

1: I like the bike, the lead fails and I get a new battery.
2: I see the potential of a great bike and start from scratch.
3: I ride it till the batteries fail and I sell it.

I really like running around with the trailer right now. I drop my kid off at school and get groceries with it. Plus I'm a self proclaimed speed-addict (having a hard time finding meetings). Grew up at Mount Snow in VT. Spring was my favorite time of year when NORBA would come along and having the World Champs. Too bad this kid only had a cheap 18 speed steel bike. My friends and I would ditch the last week of school and ride 40-60 miles a day. But I grew old and moved to flat ground.

The trailer prevents me from darting in and out of traffic, jumping off curbs and other behavior that might get me into trouble. On the other hand If I see true potential I may end up building a full suspension electric bike for some real fast fun. Right now I am building the minivan of E-bike's hopefully it works well for this purpose.

 

[GrindGarage]

argghhhhh..... sent a 25" rim. What do I do? I contacted the seller probably will not hear from him until tommrow. The listing was for a 26" says it everywhere. Guess i'll wait for his reply.

Pic:

 

[footloose]

Grind --
I think that "25"... refers to the width of the rim, not the diameter.
http://www.jh-samson.com/en/detail_456.html

 

[GrindGarage]

Almost positive and inch is missing from this rim. 26" tire slid right on, V brake doesn't reach the rim

 

[footloose]

Well that sucks, whatever the exact reason.

Two possibilities:
-- The new wheel might be 24", though that would be a bit unusual... 26" is much more common. (Probably not 25"... the manufacturer doesn't make such a beast.)
-- Your Fuji hybrid might actually have 700C wheels as original equipment, not 26" ?

If the first, seller needs to send you the right item.
If the second, and if frame is steel... you could braze on new brake bosses in the correct position. I've done it a couple times, fiddly work but fun, you can do it with basic MAPP gas torch and some silver solder.

 

[GrindGarage]

May be the hybrid. I have a second bike I took the 26" tire off.... Can always switch the front fork over if the wheel is a 26". Really didn't have the time to really get into it. Guess I'll have to check it out in the am.

 

[TheBeastie]

Grind --
I think that "25"... refers to the width of the rim, not the diameter.
http://www.jh-samson.com/en/detail_456.html

Yeah I think your right,I recon it is "26inch rim but is like a super wide rim.
So I guess he need a super wide tyre and tube to be able to use it.
If my assumptions are wrong then jee what jerks But it just seems to weird and rotten to of all things send a rim thats 25inches.

Guess its easy to argue though that it's not what he ordered if your right.
I know that I often when first receiving a package jump to conclusions that my order is all wrong but after longer inspection relize it's in fact all good. I remember my first order from another seller I thought my rim was way too skinny but I did manage to get a 2.5inch tyre in the rim.
Your rim does took fat though.

 

[GrindGarage]

My bad.... It is a 26"wheel. Rather than mess with my hybrid I decided to turn my rusty old Schwinn into the e-bike. Probably better off anyway. Feel like the hybrid is too nice for this use right now anyways. I did get the motor and all the bits and peices moutned up. Waiting for a shipement to complete my battery. This bike has disc brakes. Had to remove the front. Going to have to buy a V-Brake setup.

Any recommendations on good v-brakes ?????

Need V-Brake:

My custom washers:

Grinding Dropouts:

Finished Dropout:

Torque Plate Ebike kit.com

 

[GrindGarage]

Got it all sorted out and have been riding it daily for the last 4 days or so. The kit does well off the line, is easy to break the front tire loose. This is with the bike and myself, about 250lb and with about 80 in the trailer, kid and batteries. Top speed is 30 MPH according to my garmin. The top speed seems limited by the controller, the motor sounds like it is working and than once it reaches 30 starts to cruise, the chessy LED gauge seems to confirm this as well, goes from pulling a red light and once at speed rests with 2 or 3 blue LEDS.

I'm sure this is probably boring most people out there. Guess I am happy with my purchase overall.

One thing I do notice is that I do get a random misfire (or the gasoline equivalent). When I am at just off full throttle the motor will hiccup, maybe a sensor fault or controller program. Maybe I'll replace the cheesy wiring harness plugs.

I would say that overall I'm happy. Looking forward to wearing out the lead and getting a better battery when it's time.

I miss my nice hybrid. Are e-bikes infectious? I am all ready planning the bafang crank drive for the hybrid and searching for the elusive giant DH to turn into a 60mph monster.

 

[Ankan]

Still happy with your cheap electric bike kit.
Have you have any problems with it?