Custom electric bicycle builds (DIY)

a new power source for electric vehicles:

http://www.tecategroup.com/ultracapacitors/kits-and-accessories.php

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slightly lower energy density when compared to Lithium Batteries... but not by much from my initial test!

extra weight added to the power system of your vehicle of choice... ie: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qiz-GY30d-E

high voltage discharge...may do this to you if you are a noob... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_WheLp0RdLQ ...a potato... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BqgxQG1PyfM&feature=related ...a watermelon... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gj1pkyCL75E&feature=related ... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hIkNY5xjy5k ...get the disclaimer picture

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instantaneous charging capability...can you say a 1 minute full charge ...needz bigz wirez thoughz orz thiz wouldz happenz http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zzKAFS6Lyrg

instantaneous regen capability...can you say absorb most of the available regen energy in a matter of seconds... an analogy from yours truely little twit oldfart dennis http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6voVYic4aS4

claimed extremely long lifespan if not damaged due to abuse... ie: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v5v4_AlDQTo&feature=related ... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZG6GR_Gow0w ... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Nzq2GorVH4&feature=related ...

testing info to follow...

Following up on two prior postings... My latest e-bicycle build, and My headway LiFePO4 cells keep dying

I ordered a couple more cells to fill the pack out to 48 volts 20 AH and have assembled the pack. Looking for a way to encase the pack protecting it from the weather I've decided on this "Dry Sack" product sold by Topeak. It fits on their MTX racks and has the desirable feature of being large inside, large enough to hold this pack. On the other hand it's easily removable and a thief might make off with the pack. On the other hand easy removability means it can be taken inside easily for indoor charging (like, at the office) ... Plus, on my other bicycle over a year of experience and no thefts with a pack held in a different MTX bag.

Anyway .. due to the size of their Dry Sack it led to a strange geometry conundrum. What fits into the bag best is rows of cells, 7 cells long. But the pack is 16 pairs of cells which would normally be 8 cells per row. That led to having two cell pairs left over and... well ...

The dry sack is in the background. In the foreground is the BMS I got from http://kenalten.com/ .. the orange bits are from batteryspace.

The plan is to put the pack into the bag - and I have an MTX rack that is already hacked up and can be bolted onto the bike (haven't chosen a location yet).

After assembling - well - tetris - needisaymore?

BMS is not wired up yet. There are 16 wires in the harness you see - the obvious wiring thing would be one wire per cell pair. The BMS doesn't have a heat sink but there are a series of 16 resistors on the inside.

That's the innards of the BMS - very simple, a set of chips with three pins each but only two connected, 12 of them. On the other board 16 resistors and a layer of epoxy spread over the board. The boards are very sturdy and the whole thing is very well assembled.

I'm gathering the components for a build, just wanted to put my ideas out there to see if I'm on the right track. I'm starting out with a schwinn heavy duty http://www.americasbikecompany.com/2009_Schwinn_Heavy_Duty_Yellow_Black_Bike_p/209heavyduty.htm I bought used (planning on upgrading the brakes obviously). What's nice is the bike already has rear dual racks for mounting everything.

Only thing I have so far is the motor, did a little research on Heinzman motors and they seemed well made (the price was right too):
http://cgi.ebay.com/36-volt-electric-hub-rear-wheel-Heinzman-for-26-bikes_W0QQitemZ110466488045QQcmdZViewItemQQptZCycling_Parts_...

looking at controllers on ebay, would this work?

http://cgi.ebay.com/36V-500W-Brush-Motor-Controller-Electric-Bike-Scooter_W0QQitemZ200437898162QQcmdZViewItemQQptZAU_Toys_Hobbie...

and of course, batteries. I'm probably going to go the SLA route (3x 12v 10AH) just because it's the cheapest at this point, hoping to upgrade as new stuff comes out. My daily commute is going to be 4 miles one way, max. I usually take my fixed gear road bike, but it sucks riding to work when it's hot out, and I can't carry much. I've been building bikes (mostly mountain) for a few years so I'm pretty handy on that end, just starting out with the electric stuff. Any input is appreciated!

I'm nearly finished with building a new electric bicycle and wanted to share about it. The only thing left is a proper trunk for the battery pack, and some wiring. The bicycle is a Giant Suede to which I've attached an Xtracycle frame extension. The motor is a Crystalyte 5xxx (IIRC Electric Rider calls this model the 'Sparrow'). The battery pack is a 48volt 20ah using Headway cells.

Those of y'all with good memories may remember an earlier posting about a hacked up bicycle using some of these components. I decided to go with this other bicycle because pedaling is very important to me. (Stretch-e-bicycle phase 1) I still have that other frame in the garage and may build something out of it still.

The battery pack.. The sticking point at the moment is a case to put this in because obviously it can't be on the bike unprotected as it is. Last night I ordered a big Topeak MTX case (their biggest model) which should be big enough for the pack and charger. The pack weighs 27 lbs.

The bicycle. The Xtracycle frame has been hanging around unused in my garage for awhile. It can carry 4 bags of groceries etc. The Xtracycle company recently released a new snapdeck made of a very hard/sturdy plastic (the original one is wood) which is meant to be a platform you can bolt things on.

My special style of headlights.. I've done similar headlight setups on two other bicycles. The individual units come from the auto parts store, they're LED based and are sold as accent lights for cars. It's white LED's and they do a great illumination job.

Rear view of the bike

Another rear view - showing the tail-lights built using red LED units again bought at the auto parts store and sold as accent lights for cars

The controller is zip-tied to the frame and the wiring still needs to be cleaned up.

The dashboard is a Cycle Analyst

I have used 24v motor on friction drive diy bikes for some time now. I have used them with controllers up to 48v and I feel that controllers are just something else to go bad ten miles from home. I find the simplest build is to use a 20amp household light switch and 600 watt motor combination with 24volts, It isn't as nice a ride as 36v but it doesn't blow fuses or burn up like a controller either.

Lately I have gotten it into my head that I want to put a simple on off relay on the bike so that I can run a momentary low voltage switch rather than the 20amp household throw switch.

My knowledge of relays is not really good so I thought I would ask you guys. What I want is a relay that will do 24v 40amp on the high side, I would like a complete circuit on the low side powered by one or more alkaline batteries. The alkaline so that I can just replace them easily. I would love to hear your ideas and advice. Thanks deacon.

PS is there such a relay...and where would I find one. Also what would happen if I used a 12v starter relay.

This is "Rapture" getting carried away! Motor is Golden Motor 48v 1000w.

Controller is Infineon 45a with regen set constant.

4 SLA's right now, got one LIPO4, saving for the other, not done quite yet. The Lipo4 boxes are CHROME!

left the stickers on, just dont give a rats patootie! LOL

Building an actual motorcycle type headlight and tailight with LED bulbs, still waiting on dealers! Dang people!

The new CA is even backlit! Gotta love that! I get off work at 11pm!

I like to build it strong! Looks dont keep ya safe at 30+mph!

Stopping is important, yes?

Mavic Crossride! A work of art unto itself! OMG!

Salsa constrictor, Masterlock cuffs, and a little ingenuity to mount my wiring and other components house.

I bought two of the Amped bike torque arms, but put them both on the wire side, with double bolts on the coaster bracket. Im going to get two more for the free wheel side, but I dont have to rewire it to do that side, so Next month that will be an easy add on.

Better view of the dual torque arms.

I think i did pretty dang good job!

i'm a total noob to the whole electrics-scheme, but i have a sweet nijland sunny transporter-trike,
currently fitted with the heinzmann 24volts brushed&geared pedelec system.
but it's a bit heavy for this voltage, now i found a bigger heinzmann hub at work,(i work for a company that supplies wheelchairs, scootmobiles
and other stuff for people with impairements) i suspect it's a 36volt
hub, also brushed&geared, because it's wider, and it has a steel gear.
it just says "heinzmann" 3 times on one side, and there's a number between the spokeflanges.
now i might be a bit overzeallous, but i want to convert the trike to 3x3 drive, so i'm after 2 identical
heinzmann fronthub-motors that i will lace and replace the frontwheels with,
but can i run two of these motors, (or even better, all 3 of them!) on one controller,
for instance one of those cheap china brushed e-bike controllers?
and is it as simple as let's say ;i find two 350 watt, 30amp fronthubs, so i'll need a 700-1000 watt,60 amp controller,
and split the wires going to the motor in two to feed the two motors?
and is there a place where i can deduct the lineage, type and tech.specs of my new 36volt heinzmann hub?
it doesn't look like any motor i've evr seen before, it doesn't have the two triangular stickers in the side with the voltage, amps and watts info.
if anyone could help me out, that would be great.
great forum by the way, already broadened my horizons loads!

To the concern of many people; i think that we can all agree that buying a car is substantially different then buying, say a new computer. Both are investments but the price and the means of use are very different. So what do we do when something new comes along that could fit between the two; the means of transportation, but the cost closer to a computer? Well the answer is simple; we shop around and see how we could get the most bang for our buck.

But still, many new people are wandering without a sense of what they want from an E Bike or how they even work? E bikes are a brand new item hitting the market with endless possibilities, the only problem is people are afraid, across the board, of investing in a new item that many know nothing about, but sometimes the cost may out way their feelings of trying something new. So then who do you trust? who do you decide to go with? the shady E bike dealer with the bargains just falling out of his creeper trench coat? or the man with the white collar and black tie that's pushing Technology and prices that are wayy over your head!

My name is Chris Ray and im an employee at Ampedbikes.com; here we understand the confusion that alot might feel when shopping for an E bike kit, and we like to feel that we make this process a whole lot easier. Our Bike Kit Conversions can be retrofitted to almost any bike out there today! We offer safe and easy explanations and instructions for our conversion kits and make our entire system "plug & play" so it's much easier for the consumer to install without the headache of the difficult novel sized instruction manual. Not to mention our prices are very competitive and are but a fraction of one you might pay for a full assembled E bike and the only difference is that your riding your bike! We are a very progressive company with new ideas streaming out daily, and 100% of our profits go directly back into the company to continue our desire for the perfect E bike kit. As such, we overtly engineer all of our technology and guarantee you will get the most bang for your buck! To Learn More Visit Our Website at Ampedbikes.com Chris Ray :mrgreen:

So far, BionX seems tb the most attractive choice for my needs.

Specifically the integration of a torque sensor in the motor with the controller - providing 4 levels of assist.

The only thing I'd want, if possible, is a more generic battery option.

Use of electric drill batteries as in Russ' "The ultimate Seattle hybrid bike" thread sounds sensible.

To wit:

- They're widely available, almost a commodity, so prices sb lower

- They're modular. 36v system, just keep adding batteries in parallel to get desired capacity

- Multi-use. You can use them at home for drill/portable saw/whatever

Seems like my ideal system would integrate BionX's torque sensing motor/controller combo with those batteries.

I'm thinking that with so many eBikes being sold in China there might be comparable motors/controllers available that can be combined - kind of like building a PC vs buying a fully-assembled MacIntosh.

??

would it be more durable to have a sensorless motor design? just thinking it would be one less moving part...