Finally Got One

[grouchyolfart]

So I was looking on Craigslist when I find this listing for an ebike at $250. I thinks, hey that's a pretty good price considering it comes with an extra set of batteries, everything's already mounted and it runs. So I set out this morning at 6am and get to the seller's house around 6:30. He gives me the particulars, I pay him the cash and bring the bike home. It's a 24 volt system with a 450 watt motor. Things got some torque and carries me around 25 mph. Seller guessed around 20 mph, but I think it's a bit faster. I like it................................so does the wife.

Well, now that I can see what the setup looks like, I might have to build another bike for me. Here's a couple of pics.

It's built on a full suspension Next mountain bike and is chain drive off a geared 450 watt motor. Only problem is the rear rack does not pivot with the softail assembly. I may have to swap everything out to a hardtail frame. The SLA battery pack is heavy so the rear rack has to be ridgid. With my weight, somethings going to break if I hit a good pothole.

 

[deacon]

I think I have seen that motor on TNC
TNC Scooters (Scooter Sales and Service)
I have no idea how it works though. Good find by the way... I am sure you will like it.

 

[grouchyolfart]

Thanks Deacon. Today, we found a really nice 6 speed cruiser with hand brakes and a brown gel seat for $80. I'm going to put the motor on this bike instead. Just not comfortable riding on that Next bike. I also have to find a way of mounting the batteries lower. My wife did notice that it's kinda unstable riding with so much weight up high. Later this year, we'll be looking into lighter batteries and possibly building another ebike for my daughter, Now that I can see what components are needed. Oh yeah, the wife said it needed to be pedaled up hill, but the motor helped to make that chore a breeze. Told her that's what it was for. Me thinks the batteries are old and are not holding a full charge anymore.

 

[deacon]

Yeah that happens when the batteries are not stored fully charged they say. I have a set like that as well. I just bought a replacement for them.

the kit I got which I didn't use came with one battery holder for each side. It was a tiny basket that hooked at the bottom to the axle bolt then the top hooked to the down rod, that way the battery weight was on the axle and plenty low enough, Cloth saddle bags would do the same thing.

I used a twenty inch wheel on the rear of the bike to get the weight lower. I need the low wheel to mount the bike, I am not very steady.

I built a small trailer to carry spare batteries as well.

I also have to pedal up hills and I usually pedal it more than that to conserve battery power. On one of my friction bikes I had the batteries on top of a 26" wheel and the bike toss me on my butt while I tried to climb on it.

I use a 12amp hour battery and on my new ones I can get about four miles. If you are doing that or better it's just the nature of the beast, A really good investment if you don't have one is a multimeter.

The best I can tell when you measure each battery in the pack a couple of hours after charging they should read 13.25 volts. or there abouts. The battery that is bad from the grand daughter scooter will read 12.75 or less. It's effective change is gone after a quarter mile. What you can do if you have a meter is check all of your batteries and use the two best ones. They seem to go bad at different rates.

 

[grouchyolfart]

Luckily, we recently scored a couple of really nice mountain bikes that were in NIB condition. One came with an expensive rack and nylon saddle bags. I'll be using those bags for the batteries. The bags are also big enough I still have plenty of storage space for my rain gear and such.

Thanks for the tip on the battery condition. I'll be going to the hardware store sometime this week for that meter. The bike also came with a regular plug in charger and a solar charger. I've been using both to keep the charge up on the present batteries until I can get some new ones.

I only need the motor to help with a couple of hills, a bit more if there's a detour, but most of the roadways between home and work are mostly flat and pedaling is fairly easy. I was surprised at how easy the cruiser is to pedal. The 6 speeds make it more so. Barring any damned detours, my round trip is only 4 miles. Even the "bad" batteries should hold plenty enough juice for that ride. If all else fails, I can always walk. Hey, a bike with a flat tire or thrown chain is way easier to push than a moped out of gas.

 

[deacon]

On the hub motor the controller shuts it down when the batteries get below 12.25 volts I think. You can feel it cut in and out when it is very low. when it is a little low I can not tell performance wise on it.

On the friction I can tell when it is getting low. The bike will actually slow down and not want to pull the hills at all.

Let me know what your batteries are running after an hour off the charger and not having been run. I'm always curious to know about batteries.

 

[rearengine]

Say Deacon! What do you think of the gear motor chain drive, that you just got, compard to the hub motor in the front wheel, performance wise? It looks a little like the Currie set up, but more compact. I'm thinking about going electric on my Rans recumbent.
Thanks .. Also thanks for all your thoughts & ideas .. Bill

 

[deacon]

I dont have a chain drive but I like the concept. I'm waiting for more info on them. I could have bought a complete 250 chain drive from wally-mart for the price of the hub kit. The problem with that is that I need to customize a bike for my balance issues. The kit made it much easier.

This gentleman has it figured out how to mount the chain drive kit. When he builds one I hope I can con him into taking lots of pics and detailing it for me. If so we should all be able to build one.

Mounting the engine and attaching it to the bike drive is my only issue. I can wire and build battery pack systems no problem.

 

[rearengine]

Deacon ! I thought you were the one that had the Currie looking rear mount motor . I see now it is Grouchyolfart. Thanks for the reply though. Bill

 

[grouchyolfart]

Guilty. Got everything in pieces getting ready to move them over to a Huffy Cruiser I found this past weekend. Still didn't get that multimeter, but have been keeping the batteries on a solar charger during the day just to keep the charge up. Hoping to find time soon. Waiting on buyers from Craigslist is the pits. They call, they make a time to come and never show up. <sigh> All part of the territory I guess.

The gear drive works great, but needs to be tightened up a bit. Looks like there was way too much slack. When the controller is turned, there's a noticeable jerk when the motor kicks in. When backing the bike up, the chain binds and locks up the wheel. I'll correct that on the new bike. Just hoping there's no tricks needed for transferring that free spinning gear.

 

[POPS]

I dont have a chain drive but I like the concept. I'm waiting for more info on them. I could have bought a complete 250 chain drive from wally-mart for the price of the hub kit. The problem with that is that I need to customize a bike for my balance issues. The kit made it much easier.

This gentleman has it figured out how to mount the chain drive kit. When he builds one I hope I can con him into taking lots of pics and detailing it for me. If so we should all be able to build one.

Mounting the engine and attaching it to the bike drive is my only issue. I can wire and build battery pack systems no problem.

Deacon
Cyclone bicycle motors.
Paco in Taiwan is a good guy and can speak english. I have delt with him and can say he does honest business. The web site shows all about chain drive...POPS

 

[deacon]

Deacon
Cyclone bicycle motors.
Paco in Taiwan is a good guy and can speak english. I have delt with him and can say he does honest business. The web site shows all about chain drive...POPS

Thanks for the information..

I took a look at the site. I think i will go back to it again later for a look at do it yourself ideas. The kit price is just a little heavy for me. But I really do appreciate the information

 

[rearengine]

Grouchy!
Good luck on the transfer, maybe it's done already.. I would be interested in how you like it.. I haven't bought the front hub motor for my Rans V2 yet.. Thanks Bill

 

[deacon]

I rode my front hub today on wet roads and it did fine. I like it but If you want to get more fun and less exercise i would definitely get at least 500 to 600 watts more is better since it is all about the same price now.

The only real difference is the battery pack size and weight I think.

 

[grouchyolfart]

I got'er done!!! This is my Huffy commuter bike with all the electrics transferred from that Next bike. The soft pack on the rear rack is for the batteries. On the other side is also a saddle bag to hold my work stuff. I have 2 flashing rear lights and the one front headlight. It's still top heavy, but it'll have to do for now.

Only downside is the batteries definitely don't hold a full charge anymore. Don't need a multimeter to tell me that. One set gets on kinda sluggish. The other has more pep, but not very long lived. Guess I'll have to spring for at least one new set of batteries and keep the wife off of the bike. LOL

The Point Beach is my next project for a 2 stroke. Couldn't resist and called one of the vendors for a quote on shipping. Just gotta pick up a bank check and wait a few weeks. That'll give me enough time to clean this puppy up and install some quality parts scavenged from my "junk" bikes. Btw, when I'm done, the old bikes will get donated to our local University. They have a group there whom will rebuild these old bikes and pass them on to students who need transportation, but can't afford to buy a new bike.

Btw, notice that familiar looking green Next. If wondering about the cost, I picked up that Huffy for $80 and the Point Beach went for $20, but was part of a $40 package which also included a Schwinn mountain bike for someone around 7'.

 

[deacon]

TNC Scooters (Scooter Sales and Service)

This is a bike motor I think it looks like yours kinda

 

[grouchyolfart]

TNC Scooters (Scooter Sales and Service)

This is a bike motor I think it looks like yours kinda

Yup. The MY1018Z, 450W, 24V, geared motor.

I find that I can pedal faster than the motor takes the bike so I will be getting some excercise. Kinda fun trying to see how fast the bike can go if I pedal assist. When cruising, it has a nice, quiet whine to it. I'm wondering if I can get more speed if I change a gear or two. I know nothing about gearing. If it proves to be too humbug, I'll just leave it. It ain't broke, as they say.

 

[deacon]

I dont have any gears on the bub motor bike.

When I put my mind into conservation mode I try to match the motor to the pedal speed. It is very interesting to pedal a while with the engine as helper, then when I get tired i just stop pedaling. It keeps right on going at the same speed. Another reason it is stealthy. Now one is quite sure if it is power or not. If i hide the batteries that is. I am going to have to make a cover for my batteries on the trailer as well.

Actually I'm thinking a small basket on top of the battery pack for carrying things. I bit of foam under it to cushion the batteries and insulate the contacts and a basket on top. I could use a couple of bungee cords through the basket bottom to secure it to the trailer and it would also help secure the batteries. Now that would help disguise the batteries.

that trailer pulled so well, it might be worth thinking about taking the battery pack off the bike completely. Looks like it is back to the test track for me.

 

[rearengine]

Grouchyolfart!

The Huffy sure looks sharp.. You say you can peddle faster than the motor.. Maybe one more 12 volt battery would be easier than gearing. More wieght though, not good.. I think you said the batterys needed replacing, have you done that? I see your motor is mounted up a little higher than some. Are there different mounts for different bikes? I'm interested in how you get along with this motor. I'm thinking hub motor or gear, like yours.. I'm going to school on you & Deacon.. THanks to you both...Bill

 

[grouchyolfart]

Grouchyolfart!

The Huffy sure looks sharp.. You say you can peddle faster than the motor.. Maybe one more 12 volt battery would be easier than gearing. More wieght though, not good.. I think you said the batterys needed replacing, have you done that? I see your motor is mounted up a little higher than some. Are there different mounts for different bikes? I'm interested in how you get along with this motor. I'm thinking hub motor or gear, like yours.. I'm going to school on you & Deacon.. THanks to you both...Bill

Hoi, Bill. Thanks for that compliment.
I was wondering about the motor height as well, but that's how it was mounted on the other bike. I may try to swing the assemble forward of the hub. That way, I can probably make more space to allow for a saddle bag. The mount appears to be a universal type and simply bolts onto the axle. That website that Deacon pulled up does sell other motor mounts as well, but they look like they hook up to the axle as well.

I haven't changed out the batteries yet. They seem to be able to charge up, just not last as long. Me thinks that's how it is. Like Deacon mentioned, it would probably be good only for around 6 to 8 miles, which is plenty enough for my commute. Probably going to be more since I do plan on doing more pedaling. Gotta get that multimeter.

Today, I'm going to try and build a vertical battery box that will mount on the right side of the rear tire. Kinda offset the weight of the motor and lower the center of gravity. Almost pulled a wheelie while test riding the other day. May also make the bike more stabel when on the it's kick stand. I got a whole sheet of 1/4" plyboard that's waiting to be used.

Hey Deacon, what gauge wire is good for coming off the batteries? That website mentioned 12 ga. power leads off my motor. Should I just stick to that or go bigger? I know one of the hot leads does tend to get a bit warm after a ride. A bit of a concern, right now, since I'm using a soft pack to hold the batteries.