CENTINEL WHEEL -kickstarter

Croxden

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Jan 26, 2013
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anotherkiwi

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Jan 26, 2015
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I may buy a 67€ one just for the bike i.e. use as a small cheap tablet computer never as a phone. My current 7" tablet would look a little bit silly on the handlebars...

Back to the wheel: 24 V, 26", 6 kg in the wheel are three no-no's for me (that would be non, non, non in French :rolleyes: )
 

trex

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May 15, 2011
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it has a wireless throttle. Does it make the wheel illegal in the EU?
 

anotherkiwi

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Optional wireless throttle. It has two motors, that makes it illegal on the paper and it is 2 X 180 W or 360 W nominative which makes it illegal.
 
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shemozzle999

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Sep 28, 2009
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The design appears to switch between the 2 motors which have different gearing, one for speed and one for torque, no good for all you power hungry doubting members.

Probably means only one motor acting at any one time.

Another headache for the strictly controlling regulators and their tightly written regulations impeding future development of the industry.
 
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trex

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May 15, 2011
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I like this project a lot, its aim is to provide cheap and easy conversion.
The choice of motor (dapu) is a good one.
I will watch this project with interest.
 

anotherkiwi

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Don't you think that it belongs in a full suspension MB? I can't imagine having 6+ kg in my back wheel on the roads I ride on, vibration = constant supervision and tightening of nuts and bolts...

They can't fit much battery density in there and with 24 V the range will be much less than 55 km on my terrain, I would say less than 35 km. They show swapping out the battery which is a solution of sorts.
 

flecc

Member
Oct 25, 2006
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The design appears to switch between the 2 motors which have different gearing, one for speed and one for torque, no good for all you power hungry doubting members.

Probably means only one motor acting at any one time.
I can't see any mention of this and their other products comparative specification says 360 watts, so probably illegal in the EU pedelec class, though ok as an S pedelec.
.
 

trex

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May 15, 2011
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Don't you think that it belongs in a full suspension MB? I can't imagine having 6+ kg in my back wheel on the roads I ride on, vibration = constant supervision and tightening of nuts and bolts...

They can't fit much battery density in there and with 24 V the range will be much less than 55 km on my terrain, I would say less than 35 km. They show swapping out the battery which is a solution of sorts.
sorry to go off topic but I am mostly interested in their commercial success. IMHO, there is no need to push the ease of installation to extremes. If it's as easy as flat packs then it's good enough for 99% of the market. So still no bottom bracket to remove, no looking for a place to lose excess wires, no wheel dishing but a few extra bolts won't hurt. Once you stop going to extremes, you can find easily ways of making a better kit (or kits) for the roads.
 
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shemozzle999

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Kudoscycles

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Apr 15, 2011
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Sorry,absolute hatred of Kickstarter projects,it's a complete turn off for me when I am introduced to one at shows.
If it's a good idea then put your own money in or sell some equity and get an angel to fund it....seems to me that Kickstarter is another word for charity ,get someone else to take the risk.
I fund dozens of new projects every year,some you win,some you lose.....hopefully more winners than losers.
Why do people want to go to novelty to power e-bikes,the hub motor/down tube battery seems to work very well and not expensive....I think the battery/controller and wiring could all be more consolidated to make a much simpler/neater package....it needs refinement now ,not a leap into the unknown.....who would want to put 6 kg into their wheel with minimal battery capacity?
KudosDave
 
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flecc

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Oct 25, 2006
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Checkout their website:

http://hycore.com/?ckattempt=2

and their numerous videos on youtube under "CENTINEL WHEEL" showing their earlier attempts.
Still not clear though, differentially geared on the earlier ones but can't see anything about that on the current one. The website spec shows 180-360 watts and the comparison with other 350 watt ones shows it as 360 watts to show it's equality/superiority. So it still appears that it's at least optional to use it as a 360 watt system with both motors driving and it seems to me to be mainly aimed at the US market.

Of course they could detune and re-rate as a 250 watt system, but I'd like to see them clear up this 180/360 question. They seem to have made everything else very clear so this omission seems odd.
.
 

shemozzle999

Esteemed Pedelecer
Sep 28, 2009
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That is what happens when you let the Americans take over the PR:)

From the website:

"Centinel Wheel adopts Hycore’s unique dual motor technology, DUOMO, Which improves the motor’s speed-torque performance"

That and logical analysis predicts that a 24v, 7aH battery won't get you far if you are running both motors concurrently as at least one of them will be running inefficiently if they are geared for different operating conditions.
 
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trex

Esteemed Pedelecer
May 15, 2011
7,703
2,671
Sorry,absolute hatred of Kickstarter projects,it's a complete turn off for me when I am introduced to one at shows.
If it's a good idea then put your own money in or sell some equity and get an angel to fund it....seems to me that Kickstarter is another word for charity ,get someone else to take the risk.
I fund dozens of new projects every year,some you win,some you lose.....hopefully more winners than losers.
Why do people want to go to novelty to power e-bikes,the hub motor/down tube battery seems to work very well and not expensive....I think the battery/controller and wiring could all be more consolidated to make a much simpler/neater package....it needs refinement now ,not a leap into the unknown.....who would want to put 6 kg into their wheel with minimal battery capacity?
KudosDave
I think most bike wheels projects would have nil chance without kickstarters.
Kickstarters offer them a mean of harvesting early adopters without much outlay and allow them to say more or less anything they like, american style PR, without fearing the wrath of the ASA.
 

flecc

Member
Oct 25, 2006
53,221
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From the website:

"Centinel Wheel adopts Hycore’s unique dual motor technology, DUOMO, Which improves the motor’s speed-torque performance"
Yes I read that and understand that if differentially geared the nmotors would swap between torque or speed advantage at differing road speeds. But it still seems that both motors are always able to run together to meet the 360 watt spec.

The 250 watt e-bikes struggled in the US market and didn't succeed until upgraded to 350 watts, which seems the magic number minimum there, so if a 180 watt system this would certainly fail in that market.

The impression I get from the quote of 180-360 is that at low torque pressures when the going is easy it can drop back to 180 watts using the higher geared motor, maximising range, but both motors driving together with a claimed 360 watts in tougher conditions.
.
 

Lancslass

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Nov 3, 2015
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Blimey, I wish I'd seen THEIR version of a modern electric bike before I bought my Juicy Lucy!!!


:eek::eek:
 
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