Biting the bullet!

[anotherkiwi]

Having waffled on for quite a bit on this forum I am finally in the stage of buying the kit! Photos and build details hopefully next week.

Being a member of the working poor my budget is tight. I have spent slightly more than I can afford applying knowledge gained here on this forum and elsewhere. This will be my only means of transport

I have chosen the Ciclotek kit from Spain:

1. European guarantee, just down the road (300km) from me
2. Cheapest I could find (could have been even cheaper delivered to a Spanish address but I don't have the time)
3. other good reason goes here...

The host bicycle (host = receives, donor = gives) is a Decathlon 3.10 which is over 10 years old. So far I have spent:

Bike 0€ gift from a friend who had it in his attic for 8 years, it is too small for me but see note about budget above
Tyres and tubes (Michelin City 26x1.75, Schwalbe tubes) 57€, excellent sticky semi-slick road tyres even in the wet
A Magura hydraulic front brake 55€, I can't say enough good things about this brake!!! Swiss brake pads for the rear v-brake 9€ I can't say enough good things about these brake pads either!!! The bike stops when I need it to now...
Cheap clip on mudguards which will be replaced by full mudguards next week because they don't stop the wet rear stripe effect ... 6.95€
A stand 16.70€
A B+M mirror 10€
Cheap Decathlon clip on battery powered LED front light ?€ powerful enough out of town and also serves at work every night as a torch - you can attach it to an umbrella!
Cheap chinese rear LED 3-4€. Lights will be replaced with B+M dynamo lights
I have chosen high end components (front brake, lights) with the idea that one day I will be able to afford another host bike and migrate everything to a frame which fits me.
I have also ordered a new seat, a seat post coller (yes I know that allen key equiped thieves can still steal the seat), screw on freewheel (thus saving 30€ compared to cassette type motor!), a new chain and a frame lock with chain.

For the kit I chose a rear wheel hub motor because I have hills and lots of rain. A sine wave controller because it is better than square wave (even my high school physics help me understand why). And I spent over budget on a bottle battery with Samsung cells rather than generic Chinese ones - rated at 2C nominal and 3C peak rather than just 2C peak. The extra 80€ should be recovered easily with extra life so better annual battery depreciation cost.

My spreadsheet says total cost of the bike will be 999.12€.
Add to that helmet, rack, panier bags and a tool box for a grand total of 1289€

Stay tuned for photos and first impressions when the boxes of stuff get here.

Tony

 

[Deleted member 4366]

One comment. Does it make any sense to use electricity from your battery for the motor to turn a B&M dynamo to make electricity for the lights, when you can use the electricity directly from the battry to work the lights? Also, without the dynamo, you can get some decent lights that cost 1/10 of the B&M ones.

Which motor and battey did you get? Can we have a link?

 

[anotherkiwi]

I know they are expensive but having given them the go over they are very well built too - I have ordered lights from China but they never got here, "lost in the post"...

I am still fit enough to use the bike without the motor around town. Think of the motor as a tool to get me from here to San Sebastian or Bayonne and back. It will also be used when I have the trailor on but otherwise not. You don't forget to put them in your bag or back on the bike before leaving home because they are always screwed on, you don't forget to recharge them for example and you don't have to carry spare batteries. So dynamo lights are a good option for me and I want them to last.

http://www.ciclotekstore.eu/b2c/productos/1/2/114/kit-platinium-lcd5-b-o-s-/1

It is a Xofo XFC I think (they sell the Xofo mid drive) with the 10.4 bottle battery with Samsung 26F cells

 

[anotherkiwi]

My bank account is empty and I am watching parcel tracking way too often (when will we have real time tracking ?)

Tomorrow looks to be the day all the bits get here!

 

[Deleted member 4366]

Good luck.

 

[anotherkiwi]

First road block, the effing pedal cranks (plastic to boot) require a special tool...

Kit arrived,on time 72 hours, very well boxed, as noted in another thread it is a Mxus.

So will go to Decathlon tomorrow. If that fails I will need a split PAS ring and some epoxy to glue the detector on.

Other small glitch is the scew to attach the console to the handlebars is too short. Long live cable ties! I don't like the controller bag, it wll have to go at a later date. Will replace with a box behind the downtube
when I find one at a reasonable price.

A suivre...

 

[Alan Quay]

First road block, the effing pedal cranks (plastic to boot) require a special tool...

Kit arrived,on time 72 hours, very well boxed, as noted in another thread it is a Mxus.

So will go to Decathlon tomorrow. If that fails I will need a split PAS ring and some epoxy to glue the detector on.

Other small glitch is the scew to attach the console to the handlebars is too short. Long live cable ties! I don't like the controller bag, it wll have to go at a later date. Will replace with a box behind the downtube
when I find one at a reasonable price.

A suivre...

Your donor bike has plastic crank arms? If that's the case then I respectfully suggest that's it's not up to the job as an ebike, as the brakes will also be very poor.

 

[anotherkiwi]

Please read first post

 

[Alan Quay]

Ah, I didn't read that. Respect to you, you seem to know what you want to achieve but I've got to ask, why would you spend £1000 on a bike with plastic crank arms?

In F1 racing it's often said that 'The cheapest part to change is the driver'.

In DIY ebikes the cheapest part to change is the bike.

 

[Deleted member 4366]

You might need a BB removal tool too. If you have a non-cartridge BB that doesn't need the tool, it might be worth uograding to a cartridge type. If you do, make sure it's long enough to allow dpace for the magnet disc.

 

[anotherkiwi]

Ah, I didn't read that. Respect to you, you seem to know what you want to achieve but I've got to ask, why would you spend £1000 on a bike with plastic crank arms?

In F1 racing it's often said that 'The cheapest part to change is the driver'.

In DIY ebikes the cheapest part to change is the bike.

1. It doesn't attract unwanted attention
2. I don't have an extra 400€ for a new bike
3. The beauty of a kit means that when I do have the money I can swap it over

 

[anotherkiwi]

You might need a BB removal tool too. If you have a non-cartridge BB that doesn't need the tool, it might be worth uograding to a cartridge type. If you do, make sure it's long enough to allow dpace for the magnet disc.

I have the tool (I hope it is the right one). The BB looks pretty standard.
In case of necessity I will swap it out.

 

[anotherkiwi]

A short update.

A large hammer and a flat spanner got the pedal off. Decathlon does not have the removal tool...

I broke the BB dust cover screwing it back in, LBS said "happens all the time, crappy Decathlon plastic..."

Reconstructed using Loctite epoxy paste. First use what wonderful stuff!

Missing a file to shave a hair off the dropouts. Very sturdy steel which saves me from torque arms on this one.

Final straight!

 

[trex]

..
A large hammer and a flat spanner got the pedal off. Decathlon does not have the removal tool...
Final straight!

must remember that.

 

[anotherkiwi]

Who wrote final straight? This one does not want to be an e-bike...

HELP NEEDED PLEASE

So I bought a Shimano mega range freewheel, the one with the 34 tooth granny gear. It has a nice (I thought) black plastic spoke protector. I screwed it on finger tight.

The damned thing is stuck to the motor cover plate and prevents the freewheel from working! So I try to remove it. Can't use the freewheel tool because of the axle. Chain whip then and yes it unscrewed the motor cover...

No freewheel means the pedals keep turning which means the motor never stops...

Any sugestions not involving a vice which I dont have are most welcome.

 

[Deleted member 4366]

You have to get a freewheel removal tool. There's no other way to get it off other than to completely destroy it.

You will find that the gearing on your Shimano Megarange is too low for comfortable pedalling. You nèed a DNP one with 11 teeth on the top gear. It's a shame you're not in UK because I have some, and I have the tools (long reach for DNP). Do a search on your local Ebay.

 

[anotherkiwi]

You have to get a freewheel removal tool. There's no other way to get it off other than to completely destroy it.

You will find that the gearing on your Shimano Megarange is too low for comfortable pedalling. You nèed a DNP one with 11 teeth on the top gear. It's a shame you're not in UK because I have some, and I have the tools (long reach for DNP). Do a search on your local Ebay.

You are a genius! Remember how I took the bearing cover off another freewheel buy mistake? I just dissassembled and reassembled the freewheel! Et voila, it turns.

For the gearing I thought long and hard. I am not after speeds on the flat over 25-27 kph and have been watching my riding habits and am rarely out of 5th gear, 6th gear on my old wheel is 14 teeth and top is 12. Around town no motor use so no change in ratio. Out of town hills.

I will do a full report after some intensive trials. For that the rain, cats and dogs style will have to stop...

 

[anotherkiwi]

FIRST RIDE REPORT

OK so it works. Even quite well!

1. Gearing: I used four gears, 4th was the lowest on my 10% gradient test hill. Mostly 6th and 7th with a bit of 5th on the steeper bits. The chain line is not perfect and I will have to reset the rear derailleur for the new freewheel.
2. Sine wave controller: I don't regret spending the extra 40€, it is silent to the point of not noticing the motor is turning except for current used on the watt meter on the LCD. Also very smooth startup. Assistance level 5 gives a nice firm push to your rear end up to 25kph.
3. Speed: I set the top speed to 27kph so the motor pulls all the way to 25 before starting to cut off at just over 26.7kph . Average speed over the 36 km course was 26kph just taking things easy - I am working tonight... I can pedal up to 40 kph on slight downhills and 35-37 on the flat. Freewheeling down the steeper bits up to 47.6 kph, but at about 45 kph you can feel air resistance stopping further acceleration.
4. Battery: I spent an extra 100€ for a Samsung one over cheap no name cells. We shall see how that works out in the long run. After 36 km of hilly terrain I am at 38V and one stripe gone on the battery level indicator.
5. The bike: a suspended seat post is on the short list of things to buy! The extra 8-9kg have taken away the nice springy feel the all steel frame had with only my 79kgs on it. My "repairs" to the BB held up and, touching wood, no strange noises or vibrations today. If the clients are very generous with their tips this summer a Decathlon 340 Rockrider will replace it.

Climbing +5% hills without breaking a sweat (well a little bit - the air temperature was between 26° and 29°C today) at 25kph is very enjoyable. I am happy to have a personal means of transport at last after a couple of years without. Photos to follow.