major switch in the works

[deacon]

The new wheel and motor arrived today too late to begin working on it. The 350 watt rhino drive motor came so I installed and tested it. I know that drive so well it was just a small project to swap out the motor and shorten the chain.

So tomorrow I fit the new rear wheel and figure out where to mount the motor. The seller sent me two pieces of chain that look an awful lot like bicycle chain. I think a bike chain would fit both the motor and the rear sprocket, but I'm going to use his at least for the motor. I think alligning the motor might be a trip, but since the chain is so heavy duty, I might get a tensioner if I need one. The motor mount has a tension adjuster if I can figure it all out.

The freewheel is on the rear wheel I got so I should be able to run the motor backwards. I might check out mounting it outside the bike frame It might fit on the axle but I doubt it. If all else fails I will just build a luggage rack over the rear wheel and mount it there. Tomorrow I will know more.

 

[deacon]

I looked it up and the motor I have will probably run backwards which will make it easier to attach. Maybe I can attach it on the outside like a tumor. I do that with the rhino drive. I used to have a special mount for that kind of motor but I long ago lost it.

It is at least another possibility. The more ways it could go the better.

 

[deacon]

Did I ever mention how much I hate sprocket drive anything. Well I put the wheel onto the test bike and it went on with a little spreading of the frame. I got the motor on enough to test it and it works fine backwards. That's when stuff started to fall apart. I found that while working on the bike somehow I broke the thrumb rest off the throttle which means it is useless.

I checked my bike shop and he had a couple of throttles left over from the days when he carried electric kids scooters. That's when it all went to dung. The electronics failed me and the motor won't stay in place. I hate sprocket drive bikes.

So tomorrow I am going to stabilize the motor and test the bike on my relay if I can find it. If not I'll run it through a heavy duty switch. Once I get it stabilized I will work on the electronics. I plan to ride the rhino some as well.

Frankly I think I might have wasted my time and energy on this one. When the bike ran, it didn't appear to be any stronger or faster than the rhino drive bike. Still I will give it a fair test and keep it for those wet road days.

 

[deacon]

Plans for the day and the chain driven bike

1- resist the urge to burn the darn thing.
2. stabilize the motor
3- pull all the electronics and wiring.
4- rebuild a trailer to carry batteries (have to move the tongue since it must connect on the other side of the bike.)
5- test the bike with on off switch to determine the value of the system
6- test and hardwire the complete electrical system. (Ie solder all joints)
7- If controller is bad, order new one 36v 800 watts minimum.
8- resist the urge to burn the chain driven bike.

 

[zabac70]

If you're nervous , you might mix up your list:
1- resist the urge to stabilize motor.
2- burn all the electronics and wiring.
3- pull a trailer to carry batteries....

It is suppose to be fun - relax..
P.S. I've thought that I'm impatient one ...

 

[deacon]

The motor got stabilized quite quickly.

The electronics got tested and I had already burned up the controller so no worries there.

I wired the bike for a simple on off switch

Then I rebuilt the trailer and fixed a hitch to the bike (turned into a major operation requiring every tool in the shop.)

I rode the bike one mile at 24volts. It runs bad. I don't mean there is anything wrong with the motor or the wheel, it just is a terrible performance bike. I will set it for 36v and it will be adequate for wet days, but it is a definite pedal assist at 24v. I mean more than 50% pedal.

Okay I have had a gasoline bike, a small hub motor, a friction drive, and not a chain sprocket ebike, the best for my purposes is the rhino friction drive. But if you don't try them you just don't know. Even the rhino with the 350 watt at 24v when run at 36v making it about 500 watts is better than the chain and sprocket 450watt at 24v run at 24v... Of course the best of all performance wise is the 600watt at 24v run at 36 that bike is perfect except for the battery drain. I am going to ride the 500 watt more or less rhino drive for a while and see how it does on drain.

I am going to order a 36 v controller for the chain drive bike. I can always use it on the rhino if I burn the chain and sprocket bike.

T

 

[zabac70]

There will be better days, when everything works (and performs) as you planned it.

 

[deacon]

ah well those days happens way to Infrequently. I did ride the rhino with the 350 aka 525 watt motor and it runs rings around this bike, but when I jack it up to 350 I think they will be pretty close. The Rhino is slower than it was at 900 watts but that is to be expected I hot to redo the trailer on it and try out the nimh batteries on it. It might just do better than it did on the bigger motor.

 

[deacon]

I ordered the 36v controller. Since I'm not going to be running big bikes through it, I got a light duty one for the 650 watt motor. It is enough for either the rhino or the chain drive. So next week I will need to be ready for it.

i want to do something to make that motor even more stable. Then it should be good to go. I did fit it with a small trailer made from lawn mower tires with no bearings. I will have to keep an eye on those. Plastic hubs with no bearings, I have no idea how long they will last but I was curious to see. I expect they will wallow out and be very loose before they break so i should have time to replace them.

The home improvement place sells metal wheels with bearings that don't seem to be too expensive. I might try those next.

 

[deacon]

first thing this morning I put together a small 36v battery pack and took this bike for a quick test at 36v. It runs much much better. Since I don't have a controller I just ran it around the block but it picks up much better and I have no idea what the speed will be I shut it down before it reached top speed. So it will probably be about like the rhino it seems.

 

[deacon]

I changed out the brace on th new bike. The first one I made wasn't rigid enough. I hope this one works better. I also took a link out of the motor chain to give it more tension that might help keep it tight as well. I still despise chain drive lol.

 

[zabac70]

Chain drive slowly growing on you...admit it

 

[deacon]

No lol i rode the rhino today and thought how wonderful it was lol Just get on it and ride. I am going to use it for all the battery tests now that is has a more usable motor.

 

[deacon]

Yesterday I switched all the electronics from the rhino drive to the new chain drive bike. I wanted to ride early on these we or rain threatening days. The rhino will do that but the I wanted to try something different. I also spent part of the time rebuilding a trailer so tht it had more room for batteries.

I have no idea how long this trailer will last. It had ten inch plastic lawn mower wheels and a plastic milk carton bed. It's pretty light weight is about the best I can say for it. It would probably do better if I supporter the outside of the wheels. It is going to be hauling around some real weight with the sla and nimh packs on board. I have plenty of bike wheels laying about plus I have the trailer with the scooter wheels. i would have to change the tongue on it but that is doable. I hate to do it because once I get a new controller I will probably use the rhino again.

 

[deacon]

I finally got the good power trailer moved to the new chain drive. The two of them paired up makes me feel pretty confident in their ability to get me where I need to go. Which isn't very far away. The 450 watt @24v is a pretty peppy little motor at 36v. I run it on a 20" wheel but I expect it would be a real performer on a 26" wheel configured like mine is. I also ran it at 30v and it did very well. I like the way this bike performs but it really isn't any more powerful than my 600watt @24 volt rhino run at 36v. Probably a little less power.

About the only real benefit to me is the ability to ride it in the rain or on wet roads without worrying about the tension on the wheel. The tension on friction drive is the most challenging thing.

 

[deacon]

After all the testing all the waiting and all the adjusting, I got to make a four mile ride on the chain drive bike today. Watt for watt I can not see any difference in the power of this bike and the rhino drive bikes. The jury is out on the energy consumption. I rode it four miles and used .8 of a volt which is about the same as the rhino used to do. I will have to ride it a lot more to get to know it better. This bike is about 100 watts, give or take a few watts, bigger than the rhino I have now. It is almost 200 watts smaller than the rhino I ordinary rode. And it does fall somewhere in between the two of them.

If I knew then what I know now, I doubt that I would have bothered to build this bike. However let me say this. I run a twenty inch wheels. With a 26" wheel it would be considerably faster than the rhino with any wheel.

This bike and the small rhino run about 12/15 mph I think. The big rhino ran a little more closer to 20 top end, but they could never be any faster unless I changed the sprocket on the drive wheel. If I did that I lost my hill climbing preference.