Luyuan Condor Electric (E-Bike) Scooter

The hub is a Luyuan geared brushless 450watt CPU Hub Motor. The micro controller allows for automatic Hi/Low gear shifting and also constantly monitors the torque, speed and power levels and adjusts them all for efficiency and overall operation. The Luyuan controller is a 48V 25A digital controller with a built in micro computer to supply the same features as above plus the micro controller also controls and provides the EABS rear braking service.

Ken Finch

I recently added FIAMM Air Horns, a Gorilla Motorcycle Alarm System, MP3 Sound System, Bluetooth Handsfree Kit for my cell phone, TomTom One 3rd Edition GPS Receiver and a Cigarette Lighter Plug for the 12V devices and a 12V 3A AGM SLA mounted in the glove box to run all these 12v devices. I have a seperate 12V/1.5A SLA Battery Charger/Maintainer for this battery.

Ken Finch

I got my 1st. flat today in my rear tire on my way to work today. Had to lift/push the scooter 1.5 miles home so I could patch its tube. Found out it is easy to get to the tube if you just lay a tarp down, lay the bike on its side then just unseat one side of the tire to pull out the tube to patch it. That way I do not have to remove the wheel and side mounted geared hub motor. Patched the tube and put it back in the tire then reseated the tire in the rim. Reinflated the tire and then rode to work 1.5 hours later. I was already late for work when the flat happened. I also just installed Slime in the wheels 2 days ago to prevent flats. Of course I found out Slime is useless, luckily the 2 bottles only cost me $10.00 + taxes. Bad day today I guess.

Ken Finch

Latest update on my E-Bike. I have not stopped riding it at all. I still ride it even is rain or snow storms. It has proven to be a very reliable form of in city transportation. My batteries do have a bit of reduced range at or around -10 degrees or lower temperatures, but the E-Bike keeps going even with wind chill temperatures of -30 or below. So this has turned out to NOT be a seasonal vehicle but a reliable all year long vehicle. Even my boss has commented that I have already have gotten the purchase price in use out of it and is very impressed with it.

Everyday I am riding it this winter, people 1st think I am crazy until they see how stable and reliable it is to ride in all weather. I have been out riding sometimes on roads when most other cars were broke down from freezing up fuel lines or carburetors. I happily just ride on by on my E-Bike and they either have a surprised look on their faces or an angry face cause their car that cost well above $10,000 has failed them and a under $2,000 E-Bike is running fine. Makes me feel proud to be an BEV rider.

Yes, it has been reliable. But I must report I did have the motor and rear wheel bearing replaced under warranty. But technically it should not have been covered under warranty (My opinion) because I road it when there was salt on the roads which may have caused the corrosion that formed along the rear axle and into the motor and the rear wheel bearing. But my dealer said he does not know what caused it but replaced the parts under warranty because I have been a good customer and I was openly honest with him and told him that I hit a large pothole once and road it all year long. He likes his customers being honest with him and will help out whenever possible. That is why I consider

http://mobilityunlimited.ca/g_force_electric_bikes.htm

To be the place I recommend people buy their E-Bikes from. They are honest in their sales and their E-Bikes are the highest quality I could find. Also they will stand behind their products 100% before and after the sale.

Well my chargers fan is noisy when it 1st starts up and then after about 1-2 minutes it quiets down. By the way that is normal and is caused by the way the ambient temperature compensation circuit works. This charger reads the ambient air temperature with a built in temperature sensor then adjusts the output voltage accordingly. The colder it is the higher the charging voltage. When the charger is cold or 1st plugged in the voltage is high which over speeds the fan slightly and causes the noise you hear. After the charge warms up by it's own heat produced by it's MOSFETs the voltage lowers a little, then the fan slows to it's normal speed and quiets down. So all the Condor chargers are noisy when you 1st plug them in at the begining of the charge cycle. By the way these are very good 4 stage temperature compensated microprocessor controlled 48 volt 3 amp SLA chargers. They are almost as good if not as good as most Soneil chargers. I know this because I opened up my charger and looked inside to see its design and was impressed.

As far as winter driving goes, traction no problems. But salt on the roads will cause corrosion on your rear axle if not cleaned off fast enough. I had salt corrode my rear axle and the gears inside my motor. I was honest with John and he covered the repairs on my Condor under warranty. So here is a tip to prevent future corrosion of the rear axle, motor and rear wheel bearing. Pack the rear axle with wheel bearing grease in between the rear pedal sprocket and the frame on the right side of the bike facing the rear of the bike. That will prevent dirt, water and other materials from getting in between the axle and the rear wheel bearing.

Here are photos of my LED headlight mod;

LED headlight power off;

http://img513.imageshack.us/img513/4493/1000064.jpg

LED headlight low beam on;

http://img211.imageshack.us/img211/2055/1000065j.jpg

LED headlight high beam on;

http://img513.imageshack.us/img513/3349/1000068w.jpg

Yes the complete electrical system on the Condor is 48V including the lighting system. My LED headlight runs directly off of the 48V with no conversion at all. I have completed the rear LED tail/brake light version and will install it this weekend and pics will be up here soon after. Then I will look into smaller versions for the front/rear signals and then the dash lights. Then my complete lighting system will be a LED lighting system all running at the 48V with no conversion, but it may take some time to figure it out.

Well if you live in Oakville you should be able to get 48V lights from this dealer;

http://www.mobilityunlimited.ca/dealer_oakville.htm

Ken Finch

I recently did the same type of LED light mod to my E-Bikes tail/brake light. All I have to do now is figure out how to add LED lights to replace the Incandescent bulbs in my signals and dash lights.

Ken Finch

The 12 volt charger and the 12 volt solar trickle charger I use to keep the completely separate 12V 3A AGM SLA battery I have in my E-Bikes glove compartment charged (not the E-Bikes 48V 12A battery pack).

I bought my Condor from Mobility Unlimited's Gerrard street location. Blue Avenue's new Mountaineer is now a completely different model then my Condor. Blue Avenue's 2008 model was the same as my Condor. I recently stopped in at Blue Avenue and Vince lied and said that all his bikes are better in quality then everything else on the market when he well knows that his E-Bikes are from the exact same factory and exact same production line, just a different paint scheme.

Oh well. That is why I chose Mobility Unlimited and have been very happy with my choice. In fact I volunteer every Saturday at the Gerrard Street location so I can learn about E-Bike technology from Spen the head technician and to help out as well. I am just a very satisfied customer with a very solid E-Bike from a very supportive dealer.

Ken Finch

Well I feel the same way. Veleteq are very high quality E_Bike as well are Mobility Unlimited E-Bikes. You would not be disappointed by buying either brand. And both dealers provide very good after sales support which is much needed in the E-Bike industry. I am slightly biased towards Mobility Unlimited because of the very good after sales support and they are also a great bunch of guys to deal with and talk to as well.

Ken Finch

I bought from Walmart a Bell Wireless 15 function Bicycle Computer for $24.95. It has a larger sensor so it will work with scooter style E-Bikes better because on the Condor the forks are further away from the spokes where the magnet would be mounted on a spoke.

It's functions are:

clock, odometer, speedometer, thermometer, calorie counter, trip meter and some other functions that I do not currently remember but do not use. It is inexpensive and works flawlessly. You program the wheel diameter to 1287 mm for an accurate reading.

Ken Finch

Yes I inflated my tires to 40 PSI last year and they have stayed inflated without losing any air at all. The harder the tire the less rolling resistance, the less power required to roll the wheel, thus less battery power used. The manual is wrong, go by what is on the side of the tire.

Ken Finch

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but your motor is a brushed motor with only 2 power input wires. And the controller you bought is for a 3 phase brushless motor with 3 phase wires and up to 5 hall sensor wires for the motor. There is no way to get them to work together that I know of.

Ken Finch

Well good luck. The brushless motors are PWM (Pulse Width Modulation) controlled by an intelligent IC inside the brushless controller. Brushed motors controllers can control the motor by either PWM control, old fashioned relays (contactors)(not used too often because the speed control is stepped instead smooth like the other two meathods) or by an analog control with a rheostat control (old and not used anymore, because excess energy is dumped off as heat).

Anyways if the parts inside the brushless controller are not compatible with your brushed controller then do not worry. Brushed controllers are less expensive to buy then brushless controllers because they are much less complicated to design and less parts are needed.

Ken Finch

Thanks, for the post, I will not dispute your remarks, but with spokes you can adjust the spokes to "True" the rim back into shape. But with alloy rims, once they bend or break they are garbage and must be replaced. Spokes are replaceable. I ride my Condor everywhere and I usually carry in my trunks about 10-15 pounds of tools, air compressor and chargers at all times, under the seat I carry my MSI Wind Netbook and it's AC Adapter. I have also mounted a 12V 3A AGM SLA battery in the glove compartment for the built in Gorilla Motorcycle Alarm System, FIAMM Freeway Blaster Car Horn and a 12V Accessories Plug Outlet. And myself which I weigh around 200 pounds, and my Condor carries this daily. Also a few times a week I buy and carry groceries home on it and usually it is $30 to $40 worth of groceries in 3 to 4 bags tied to the rear trunk frame assembly. That is usually an extra 30 to 40 pounds of weight which does not affect my Condors performance hardly at all. Technology does improve over time, I am just happy with my 2008 model and the many years of service it will give me.

Ken Finch

Well it sounds like the newer alloy rims are suited to you better then the spoked rims, good. But it is sort of weird because my Condor with spokes is fine after almost a year (including riding all winter long) while carrying a load well over 220 pounds all the time. But to each their own, I enjoy my Condor and you enjoy your new Mountaineer that is all that really matters anyways, we both benefit. I installed my own Gorilla Motorcycle Alarm System and a FIAMM Freeway Blaster Car Horn under the front ABS fairing under the front headlight assembly. I also modded in a front LED headlight and a rear LED tail/brake light. I also have a secondary/backup motion detector alarm setup under the rear trunk in case something ever goes wrong with the main Gorilla Motorcycle Alarm System. Plus I did the torque mod to the controller and added my personal touches to the Condor via decals.

Ken Finch

The Federal Law in for Canada restricts E-Bikes to 32kmh. If your E-Bike is modified to go faster then it is no longer an E-Bike but a LSM (Low Speed Motorcycle) which you will have to license, insure and plate accordingly, also you will need a DOT motorcycle helmet because a bicycle helmet is not legal with a LSM. As far as getting your E-Bike to ride faster here is what you need to change to get it to go up to 40 to 45kmh. Add a 5th SLA batter of the same size and capacity in series with your other 4 batteries. Replace your 48V SLA charger with a 60V SLA charger. Replace your 48V controller with a 72V controller. Also upgrade your hub motor from a 48V version to a 72V version. Upgrade all the E-Bikes power and drive line wiring with heavier gauge wiring. Then upgrade your E-Bikes brakes and suspension to handle the faster speeds and harder bumps. If your E-Bike uses a 48V to 12V converter you will have to change that to a 72V to 12V converter. If not then change all your 55V light bulbs to 72V light bulbs. Also if your signal flasher is rated at 48V you will have to find and replace it with a 72V version of the flasher unit. Basically the only parts you will not have to change is the ABS fairings, seat, frame and wheels.

Mobility Unlimited gives them out with a purchase of an E-Bike. You can also buy them in store for $10.00.

Well for me this morning I woke up to not fully charged batteries on my E-Bike but cooked very hot batteries. My charger has not been detecting the end of charge voltage properly. And Mobility Unlimited and me were awaiting a replacement more advanced but more expensive charger for my E-Bike which is a week away yet. So we were hoping that my charger would hold on till then, well my luck ran out this morning. I got home about 10:00 PM last night and plugged in my charger to my E-Bike and retired for the night. I woke up this morning and went out to get my E-Bike ready to go to work this morning. I noticed the charger was still on high charge when it should have been finished hours ago. So I immediately unplugged the charger. I felt around the outside of the battery box and it was very warm. I then rode to work and removed the battery pack from the E-Bike and took it in my shop. The battery pack was still hot to the touch even though it has been off of charge for an hour and I discharged it some by riding to work. After I disassembled the battery pack and removed the 4 12V AGM SLA 20A batteries they were still almost too hot to handle, definitely cooked. So I called Mobility Unlimited and they will exchange the batteries with 4 new ones for me and supplying a replacement charger as well till the newer charger comes in. So my boss is taking the old batteries down to Mobility Unlimited to exchange them for the new batteries and bringing back the replacement batteries as well. Nice Monday morning I am having, good way to start off the week.

Ken Finch

Well I received the 4 replacement batteries and wired them up in the battery box and they are on a top up charge with the replacement charger. That was an unfortunate problem But Mobility Unlimited came through for me again! I will always recommend them, they always back up their products before during and after the sale, a good bunch of people.

Ken Finch

Uknighted I have seen you on many different boards under many different names, I have never disguised my self at all. Ask Vince (if you are not Vince himself) how is his business doing. How does his customers get warranty support in the winter months when his store shuts completely down every winter. Ask why his workers when assembling an E-Bikes strips screws or drops screws in the body of the E-Bikes then does not replace the stripped screws or remove the loose screw from inside the E-Bike, which I physically witnessed?

Also Mobility Unlimited has many satisfied customers and we also have many repeat customers as well. Also our service center is very busy because we service a lot of E-Bikes sold by other dealers that will not or cannot properly service what they sell. We have a complete parts inventory in store and in our warehouse as well. Can you say that about your dealer? We also have a properly set up smaller service center in store, and a complete full service center in our warehouse for more intensive work. We also service Mobility Scooters and Electric Wheelchairs and Electric Golf Caddies. Mobility Unlimited has been in the industry for over 3 years now, how long has your dealer been in the business. Also since E-bikes are not Mobility Unlimited's only product we will be still in business even if things go sour in October, will the other dealers survive that only sell E-Bikes within Ontario only?

I currently am not employed at Mobility Unlimited but volunteering there Saturdays. But as of August 8th 2009 I will be a full time employee there. Now I am not going to name the other dealers I have personally visited to just see what they had as a product line and I quickly found out how some of these dealers work to get their one time customers, by personal observation! I have been working in the computer industry for 20+ years as a service tech and I know from behind the scenes how retail and the service industry works, the E-Bike industry works the same way, just a different technology and product. But there is a proper way of running a business and providing after sales support and then there is the short sighted way of trying to just make a quick buck and then not providing proper after sales support.

I chose Mobility Unlimited because they have a good selection of vehicles, they have a well stocked and full service center, their attitude towards business and customers, their willingness to go above and beyond the norms in helping their customers out when needed in emergencies. Now we do have to turn away some potential customers albeit rarely. But these are people that either wants to pay way below the normal service rates or expect instant service when our service center is very busy (they do not want to fairly get in line like the other customers) or their E-Bike is from a manufacturer we do not have parts for. Majority of our service is on E-Bikes from other dealers and it is usually the same story why the customer came to us. The customer bought their E-Bike and was promised the world to make the sale. But after a little while the E-Bike broke down and needed work. Usually that dealer either does not have the part in stock and the customer will have to wait till that dealers next shipment from China comes in on a container (may take several months!) or the dealers service tech's work is not of high enough quality for that customers needs.

So before you believe this person (most likely a competing dealer (B.A. possibly)) or a person who came into the store wanting service but not wanting to pay the going rates for the service and tried to scam for a cheaper rate and failed. Go to www.ebikeriders.com and read the open forums and the truth will be their in print by myself and others.

Ken Finch

Uknighted why are you telling lies? If that was true why is our store so busy daily in the retail sales and in the service center??
If we had such a bad reputation and actually were committing these things you state, why are we growing in dealers and in repeat customers as well as new customers??

By the way this thread was created by myself as an informal blog about my Condor E-Bike experience. If you do not like it's topic then please do not read it or post in it. There is plenty of other posts and topics on this forum you can enter and read and post in, but please do not troll this thread because you are a Blue Avenue supporter. It is fine to have a alternate dealer to support and mention it in a thread about the competition. But it is bad taste and shows Blue Avenue's real way of doing business by unprofessional spreading lies and false truths in that thread. The only time I said anything about Blue Avenue is from what I experienced myself while physically at his store. And that was last year anyways. And I am not trying to hide that I have a vested interest in supporting Mobility Unlimited. Why are you hiding who you really are and trolling boards to spread your lies. Why does Blue Avenue have to advertise this way, can it not stand on it's own through more legitimate ways of advertising? Yes I promote Mobility Unlimited the best way I can by describing my experiences with them, but I do not do it at the expense of a competitor. That way of marketing is proven to come back and hurt your business in the long run. Because eventually the public will wise up to this marketing tactic and stop supporting that underhanded dealer and then go to the competition. So try advertising legitimately and you will see a better ROI then using this strategy.

Ken Finch

See the private post I sent you regarding a torque mod.

Ken Finch