the e-bike life....

this is one of those form follows function bikes. Everything there is for a reason nothing for show. I rode it a couple of times today and it is a good ride. I have begun using the front shift only as a high and low gear for use with the motor. The lower gearing is good for starting off and the high is good for keeping the speed up. I don't use the rear gears at all. Those two speeds seem to work just fine.

I have three speeds on the front I might just try all three one day soon. I haven't tried the lowest one yet. It might make starting on a hill easier. I also have a throttle coming next week so that might help as well.

Next I am going to build that pusher with a bike wheel. The controller if I get it working will take a 750 watt motor so I'm going to upgrade this one to something near that, then use the motor on a bike wheel. I was going to swap the sprocket on the motor, but I think I will swap the one on the wheel of the bike wheel I plan to use instead.

For the picture I should have put the batteries on the L brackets hooked to the sides. The pusher is completely self contained. It is a bolt on unit. The trailer has a long two strand lamp cord hooked to a wall switch that is the only control on it at the moment. I have ridden it like that for about a week. I will probably put a throttle and controller on it next week.

Last night while testing that bad throttle I blew the controller. That's it for me no more controllers with brushed motors. I needed some kind of throttle because the new pusher throws the chain when it starts from a dead stop and the motor is engaged before the bike is on a straight course. In other words I think the torque is too much for it to start at 24 volts all the time.]

So I rewired it so that I have a 12 volt setting and a 24 volt setting, or half speed and full speed. I am using two switches now but a three leg will do. One leg is off and one is 12 volt and one 24 volt. See the wiring diagram below. This is also a lot cheaper than a controller and throttle system.

Sorry no spell check in paintbrush

I bought that three way switch and while I was installing it the bike came alive. It climbed the back wall of my shop. I'm not sure but I think I melted some wires in the process. I'll take a better look tomorrow.

So I got the new wheel on the lime green bike. I just welded the sprocket from the last PAT (Pedal Assist Trailer) to the 16" bike wheel. I rode it a mile then took it for a real world test. I should rechecked everything because I didn't have the axle nuts tight. Somehow whenever I have the off side nut loose the chain jumps off. This time it jammed the wheel and blew the fuse. The chain was so loose when I tried to get home it kept on falling off.

I did get it home and test rode it again. Uneventful but I think the 16" wheel needs more motor than I have. It hums right along on the flats. It goes like a bat from a warm place when it is headed downhill. But it requires a lot of pedal push going uphill. Now I don't think it would get down to blow a fuse slow but it definitely needs a lot of help to maintain the blistering speed. over twenty on the flat.

The second upside I noticed so far, and I might just be an illusion, is that the rear end seems more stable. I have no idea why that is the case but it seems to be.

Welcome Thomos if you need anything someone is always available to help. These are very helpful guys around here.

Most of you guys no that I had two working ebikes at the moment. both are DIY PATs and I also have one hub motor waiting for a new controller the last controller died.

At least for now controllers for brushless motors are not as easy to find as brushed scooter type controllers. The PATs use scooter motors so they are easy to find. So one of my pats is 350 watts with a 67 tooth rear sprocket. The second is a 500 watt with a 44 tooth sprocket. Naturally the 500 watt is faster and pulls better I think even with the smaller sprocket.

I took the 350 watt out for a test run today. I usually ride it to the park where I walk. This afternoon I decided to run it to the shooping center a few blocks from my house. There is an auto parts store, a small discount store, a grocery store and a goodwill outlet there. Not quite everything I need but close.

The problem is there is a rather steep grade coming back. So I rode down on the 350 circled the parking and rode home. The 350 performed adequately on the hill. Yes I pedaled some but at one point still in he grade I stopped pedaling and let the motor pull me up the hill. It seemed to be the same speed whether I pedaled or not. Pretty slow.

But faster than I could pedal for sure. The reason I know it was slow is that the pedal stayed engaged. On a lesser hill the pedals will freewheel. Still it did good enough to use if the situation required it.

So I got to thinking,,,I bought the 350watt motor for about thirty five bucks delivered. It's on a five dollar yard sale bike....The motor mount was part of a scooter wheel deal but could be easily rigged. The chain... I bought ten feet for less than twenty bucks and probably used less than two feet on this project. The trailer frame is a few pieces of scrap metal I had laying around.... Add fifty dollars worth of sla batteries and you just might have around a hundred bucks all together in it.

The 500 watt might cost fifty more total.

I do have one more idea I might try. Adding a sprocket to the rear wheel china 2stroke kit style connectors. With the scooter sprocket on the right side of the rear wheel as well as the pedal chain on the right, I should be able to run the e motor directly on the bike's rear wheel and still have a freewheel situation.