Riding an electric bicycle in the rain

[paul]

with all the miles i am putting on this bike i have still not ridden it in the rain. most of the rain we get is at night and when it rains during the day it last 5 or 10 minutes then clears up. i rode to work this morning. nice day and right now raining cats and dogs however it will clear up in about 10 minutes or less. when we do get rain it rains hard but only for short periods of time. question is can i expect anything different not if but when i get caught in one of these down pours besides getting wet. i imagine it will be just like riding any other bike in the rain but thought i would ask. i hate surprises.

 

[BarelyAWake]

Interestingly, as fate would have it - the entire first week of the "testing phase" w/mine it was raining constantly, a perpetual downpour... I thought it a bitterly appropriate that I'd be testing an electrical system in such conditions but as it turned out there wasn't even the slightest issue...

...other'n my shiny new toys getting all filthy ofc

The 'Magic Pie' is actually quite well sealed (to the point of being somewhat difficult to get it apart), my concern was more the assorted buttons, connections & controls as with the MP2 at least, they're not the best. Still, I had no problem, no water intrusion that I could find *shrug*

I've since ridden it in all conditions w/o a concern or second thought

 

[lonlyrider]

I made the mistake of getting off the road and mud flew into every crevice of my bike. I still on cleaning mode. But I learned a lesson.

 

[paul]

thank you. that is what i was hoping to hear. its just a matter of time till i get caught in the rain

 

[NunyaBidness]

Yet another concern about electric bike I had. I am glad to know this info.

 

[Thud]

Hey paul,
just follow some common water handling procedures:

1) Make sude the wires going into your hub loop lower than the axel so water will drip off instead of running into the axel.
2) Any conectors should be oriented so water will flow out of them

It is a commom misconception that the hub should be air tight....to the contrary, you need a good air flow so any condensation or entraped moisture can evaporate with normal motor heat.

many guys are shocked to see the rust build up in a closed hub...many hot-rodders drill vent holes for better air flow & they have zero issues with rust.

The current trend is to run a few cc'c of light oil to better transfer heat to the outer shell of the motor for enhanced cooling (more surface area) with the added benifit of an oil slash to keep any corosion in check.

 

[paul]

thanks thud. i rinse a lot and oil because of the salt environment i live in

 

[SoSauty]

Heck yeah Paul,
Riding in the rain can be a refreshing experience.

I showed up at the LowKey Century run this last Feb with an unforcast rain coming down. Made it 70miles with exposed lipo and conncetors; no issues.

Thud has it pretty much covered and I 2nd the water loop with motor wires. I smeared vasoline jelly, the kind ya' put on chapped lips, on the outside of my throttle along its' openings.

http://http://www.ebikes.ca/store/store_motors.php

These reputable folks are talking about selling their 9 Cont hub motors with drilled side covers.

 

[paul]

it finally happened. 4000 miles plus and finally got caught in the rain coming home from work. you are right sosauty. it was a refreshing experience. just like riding on a nice day but got wet lol

 

[lonlyrider]

glad you enjoyed your ride on the rain

 

[Easy Rider]

it finally happened. 4000 miles plus and finally got caught in the rain coming home from work. you are right sosauty. it was a refreshing experience. just like riding on a nice day but got wet lol

Paul,
Did you do any drying or blow off the bike after the ride home. Just in case I decide to go for a rain ride this winter.

 

[paul]

i wiped the bike frame down a little with a towel just to keep it clean. only time i have heard of people having problems is when they try to wash them with a pressure washer. when i do wash the bike i don't spray directly on the hub or electronic connections. i rode 10 miles thru the rain and i think if their was going to be a problem it would have happened because i was soaked and their was no way to avoid puddles and little rivers coming across the road. i am not concerned about riding in the rain anymore. very happy with this kit

 

[deacon]

First thing I did after I made sure the thing ran was to wrap all the connectors with inner tube and seal them with electrical tape. I have a few extra switches so I put a lil flap over them so I'm thinging you guys have eased my mind some thanks all./

 

[BarelyAWake]

Rain? I'm so glad we're back to just that again lol



A bit over five thousand miles ago I decided to try using Mongo the ebike as an all season daily rider/commuter regardless of the weather & subjecting it to not just the salty air & storms of coastal Maine, but the brew of calcium chloride & rock salt they use on the roads around here, the muck & clay of the trails, a near ceaseless abuse with constant soaking & filth, a sort of a "worst case scenario" testing...

...and I've still absolutely nothing interesting to report.

All I've had to do is the usual maintenance you'd expect of any bicycle used in such a way - I've lubed the cables & chain, swapped out tires, got new brake pads & just this spring replaced the chain which had gotten a little too crusty from the winter. All I'd done to "weatherize" it was to use some waterproofing on the saddlebags.

The ebike stuff just doesn't seem to care about weather conditions, wet or dry, hot or cold, it has defo changed my views regarding electric vehicles... there seems to be a lot of preconceptions & fears that in hindsight are a lot like cautioning against gasoline engines, that they might burst into flame at any second because they use a flammable fuel - which sounds logical, but just isn't the case lol

 

[deacon]

Well I think I have covered everything that had a water route to the electrical system. Now if I could only get the city where I live to resurface a few roads I could actually enjoy the ride. The roads in this town due to budget issues just keep getting patched not resurfaced. I have no suspension at all on my trike so it's taking a beating. The roads are so bad it isn't how fast the trike will go, it's how fast can you ride it and stay on. I'm not sure it has ever reached max speed.

When they beat this one to death I am going to turn a dual suspension mountain bike into a moped. No pedal but it will still be electric.

 

[n3glv]

My chinese BMS shut down on me in the first rain I ran into.
It came back up a while later (inside) so I only had to push my 70lb beast a mile...
I have redone all the joints and wire passages in and out of it with what we hams call
coax seal, aka butyl <sp>. Electricians putty would work..
I chose this over hot glue or other adhesives since it never gets hard.. It _IS_ a bit messy if you rub clothing against it.
Survived a few rains since with no malfuntions.
More than I can say for the factory on/off button on the hub motor currie (izip via rapido)

 

[Highwaystar]

Here is a great product from the 5th scale r/c world.

http://www.killerrc.com/product/korrosion-killer-2oz/

It is an awesome water proofing product. Myself and many of my friends have used this to waterproof servos, electronic speed controls and receivers. It also has many uses as a lubricant too. Another guy used it for the axles/wheels for his son's Pinewood Derby car with first place success.

 

[n3glv]

And as a side note, WD40 was originally made for US-mil as a drying agent for electrical connections (I think for planes)

 

[paul]

over 6,000 miles on my motorized bicycle and still not caught in a real rain, few times light but not enough to get drenched. its just a matter of time but amazes me. this island will have all these rain showers about 3 miles in diameter. I have had them all around me but never hit me, I have pulled into work parked the bike and big time down pour soon as I walk in the door, sooner or later my luck will run out

 

[biknut]

And as a side note, WD40 was originally made for US-mil as a drying agent for electrical connections (I think for planes)

It might have been the space program.

WD = water displacer, 40 = 40th formula.