Cyclamatic: The Beastamatic is dead! Long live the Beastamatic

[evendine]

Have been investigating chain-wheels / crank-sets and this looks good for the price - do you know if the existing chain is compatible with Shimano kit?

Shimano FC-2300 square taper chainset - www.fatbirds.co.uk

Might thermally connect the voltage regulator to the case, as it's in a convenient position - should help in heavy load situations...

 

[Deleted member 4366]

That one should work Ok but this one looks a lot cheaper:
SHIMANO 300EX BIOPACE CHAINSET CRANK SET | eBay
or this one, but notice £10 postage.
cranks and chain rings shimano biopace 52-40 | eBay

 

[evendine]

Cranksets...

That one should work Ok but this one looks a lot cheaper:
SHIMANO 300EX BIOPACE CHAINSET CRANK SET | eBay
or this one, but notice £10 postage.
cranks and chain rings shimano biopace 52-40 | eBay

Will check those out - thanks again!

I notice the hall sensor has a large 'washer' next to it inside the chain-wheel. Presume it's necessary / removable / refitable?

 

[Deleted member 4366]

If you mean the black magnet ring, you just leave it where it is when you remove/replace the chain-wheel.

 

[evendine]

Standard controller?

Before I plug the new 36v battery in, can I verify that this is the standard controller? It's dated 2009, so just wondering if it's been updated since?



I've upped the controller power resistor rating to 6W and thermally connected the regulator to the case (using electrically non-conductive material), so ready to go otherwise, i think...

 

[Deleted member 4366]

That's the standard controller. You're lucky that it's set to 14amps. Later ones are 12ampps

 

[evendine]

The Beast lives! (at least for now!)

That's the standard controller. You're lucky that it's set to 14amps. Later ones are 12ampps

Glad to hear that

So first bit of good news - the Battery Supplies 36v 10AH LiFePO4 unit delivered seems to be a 12AH one, judging by the size of it So it can supply up to 24A peak.

Was a pain to get it to fit - power pins were reversed compared to the old batt and needed to do some drilling / milling of the locator strip to get it to seat properly, but got there eventually.

Just got back from my first 3 mile mixed terrain test run with a very big smile on my face! Getting 26mph on the throttle on the flat and didn't come across a hill I couldn't get up in top gear! Wow!

Here's hoping the controller and sensors hold up, but in any case - thanks for all the advice. If it keeps going the way it is I will be more than happy.

Next stop, re-gearing - waiting on 52 tooth chainwheel and crankset...

 

[evendine]

Did another quick ride up one of the most evil hills locally as a stress test - 'phenomenal' is the only word!!! ;0) :0))

 

[evendine]

Test

Latest multi-terrain test - 3 mile lap, half up hill, 1/4 flat, 1/4 downhill, half B Road, half country lanes. Previous record going flat out 10 min 10 seconds (about 15mph avg). Cruised around today on damp roads using nothing below 5th gear, 8 mins 30 seconds (avg 21mph)

 

[Deleted member 4366]

Now that you've done that, you're ready for 12S lipos at about 48v for the full 32 mph.

 

[evendine]

Hard to imagine needing more power / speed...
I'm already having to slow-down approaching bends going uphill!!

 

[evendine]

Fitted the new chain-wheel / cranks - 52 teeth seem to work fine - makes gearing usefully higher than it seemed under power previously, but obviously better top speed.

 

[evendine]

Can anyone advise me on conditioning new LiFePO4 batteries? I've read conflicting reports that you should just keep them fully topped up and others that you should deep discharge them a few times when new. Not sure which is the best approach?

Also, is is right that it's best to keep them as fully topped-up as possible during normal use?

 

[Eagle]

I have been advised by FreeGo to deep discharge the batteries for the first couple of times and then top up when required, at least once a month.

 

[joeytwomugs]

I've now tried it with a 36v battery. I was able to pedal up our 1 in 4 hill in top gear. It now has a top speed of about 20mph on the flat. Now for me it's difficult to keep up with the pedalling. Up to 18mph was OK, but I'd need a larger chain-wheel if I was going to keep it like this. younger riders with a faster cadence would probably be OK. I think this amount of power would be enough for most people. I did a lot of full throttle tests for about 2 mins and repeated short hill tests. Nothing has smoked yet!

Sorry d8veh, long time reader first time asker, are you saying you have done the shunt AND swapped the battery for the 36v (with no further mods to help the bike accept a higher voltage battery? I'm interested more out of general curiosity as my cyclamatic's battery went about a week out of warranty. I just ordered a 24v battery with 15ah to replace the old 10ah one even though I don't need to travel any further every day (max 25 miles) and would like it if my bike was faster.

 

[Deleted member 4366]

Sorry d8veh, long time reader first time asker, are you saying you have done the shunt AND swapped the battery for the 36v (with no further mods to help the bike accept a higher voltage battery? I'm interested more out of general curiosity as my cyclamatic's battery went about a week out of warranty. I just ordered a 24v battery with 15ah to replace the old 10ah one even though I don't need to travel any further every day (max 25 miles) and would like it if my bike was faster.

Yes. No mods are necessary. You should try the 36v battery before soldering the shunt. I'm fairly heavy (100kg) so I need the extra climbing power. Don't over-solder the shunt; About half way is the safe max. With 36v, the big resistor gets hot. I think it was Evendine who changed it from a single 51 ohm to two 100 ohms in parallel, which is quite a good idea, but it would probably be better to calculate a new value for it if you know how the regulator works. Somebody here probably know - perhaps they'll chip in. If you don't want to change the resistor, you could leave the end of the controller for more circulation as long as you don't ride through deep water.

With a 36v battery, you'll need to change the gearing to a 52 or 53 tooyh chain-wheel or an 11T free-wheek from Cyclezee, otherwise you won't be able to pedal fast enough.

 

[joeytwomugs]

D8veh, Aw, unfortunately it seems mine is the 12a max controller... Does that effect whether you would/should do the shunt mod and up the voltage from the battery? I have no idea how the regulator works for I am no engineer, just a mere operator meaning that following instructions is no problem but I lack the fundamental understanding behind the electronics. Sadly I have bought the 24v battery already, when it dies maybe I'll look at the 36v battery but for now my pocket lint is saying just do the shunt but I'm also happy to switch the 51 ohm resistor for a pair of 100 ohm ones in parallel (I assumed that was only required for the 36v upgrade though. I was looking at doing 1/3 of the shunt as I don't want to kill the bike.

Upon opening getting the controller out I have noticed three disconnected wires two white (a male and female) and one red (male)... I am assuming that I have cackhandedly disconnected them while working the controller out of position... Any idea what they do? Should the white ones be connected together or does red go to white? And why on earth does that leave one with nothing to plug into it? All three are coming from the bundle of small wires leading to the controller itself... Are they just wires that the cyclamatic doesn't use?

Thank you for dishing out so much advice to so many people who all seem to want to do the same thing. It is all very appreciated.

 

[joeytwomugs]

Also which 100ohm resistors should I be buying... They seem to come in many flavours, carbon I assume 1w? 2w? 10w?

 

[NRG]

3w metal oxide should do...

 

[Deleted member 4366]

D8veh, Aw, unfortunately it seems mine is the 12a max controller... Does that effect whether you would/should do the shunt mod and up the voltage from the battery? I have no idea how the regulator works for I am no engineer, just a mere operator meaning that following instructions is no problem but I lack the fundamental understanding behind the electronics. Sadly I have bought the 24v battery already, when it dies maybe I'll look at the 36v battery but for now my pocket lint is saying just do the shunt but I'm also happy to switch the 51 ohm resistor for a pair of 100 ohm ones in parallel (I assumed that was only required for the 36v upgrade though. I was looking at doing 1/3 of the shunt as I don't want to kill the bike.

Upon opening getting the controller out I have noticed three disconnected wires two white (a male and female) and one red (male)... I am assuming that I have cackhandedly disconnected them while working the controller out of position... Any idea what they do? Should the white ones be connected together or does red go to white? And why on earth does that leave one with nothing to plug into it? All three are coming from the bundle of small wires leading to the controller itself... Are they just wires that the cyclamatic doesn't use?

Thank you for dishing out so much advice to so many people who all seem to want to do the same thing. It is all very appreciated.

12 amp max definitely needs the shunt soldered. .Run solder along from one end to about half-way. After applying the first blob of solder. Leave the soldering iron on for about 10 to 20 seconds and wipe it along to transfer enough heat and you'll be able to see the solder adhering to the surface, which it won't do until up to temerature. Then add some more so that you get a nice thick coat all the way round. Be careful not to let any blobs fall where they shouldn't. Also, be careful not to let the solder run through the shunt holes and make big blobs on the other side of the prined circuit board. I usually turn it sideways (on edge) so that solder can't drop/run down.
Don't forget to undo the screws in the side as well as the ends of the controller otherwise you can't remove the PCB.

Here's a photo of my wiring that shows a single red, in same sleeve as green and black, connected to a single whie. I seem to remember the wiring being very unusual compared with most bikes. I don't have my bike any more, so this is the best I can do.