LiFePo4 battery latest

[Citrus]

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thanks for that i couldnt find it earlier, minor question, when it says it "has the remainder of the warranty"......does the warranty NOT carry forward to a second owner on electric bikes ?....this has come up a few times so not sure if 50 cycles have some special deal where it does carry forward, tempting if so

"The battery, charger and motor are fine, and have the balance of their 2 year manufacturer warranty remaining"

That is the full and correct quote from the eBay auction - not trying to mis-lead anyone here. The bike has a one year warranty, nearly used up, which I haven't mentioned as I am sure 50Cycles wouldn't honour that. However, the battery, charger and motor (all made by Panasonic) have a two year warranty with Panasonic regardless of the owner. In any event, if any of those items failed (highly doubtful) and it was not due to mis-use, I would be willing to help the buyer in any way I could.

In saying all that, I wouldn't sell it to you Keith - you seem like a very troublesome type of a buyer only joking....

 

[Citrus]

Hi Citrus,

As others have suggested, running the motor at high speed but with no load does not draw much current from the battery. There isn't much power dissipation in the motor either so it should all just run and run.

If you want to see current draw, then run it at low speed against the brakes - but don't do it for long.

Out of interest, what's the handling like on the bike with the weight distribution like that?

Nick

Hi Nick,

I guess the only real way to test the running time of the battery without a rider and at full throttle would be to use a rolling road or treadmill type of thing to give you the resistance. Although again, this would only give you an idea as rider input, wind, hills etc. would all be missing. Anyway, it was good fun being clubbed to death by everyone for daring to try it. I now know what a baby seal feels like.

The bike does handle differently with the extra weight, although it is difficult to pinpoint exactly how. The steering has a slight wobble to it which I think is due to the weight at the rear, as the wheel runs true.

 

[Tiberius]

The bike does handle differently with the extra weight, although it is difficult to pinpoint exactly how. The steering has a slight wobble to it which I think is due to the weight at the rear, as the wheel runs true.

Citrus,

A rear rack is a common place to put weight but I'm not sure it is the best place for handling. One thing you may experience is that it requires larger steering corrections to balance the bike, more noticeable at low speeds.

That wobble could be due to frame flexing, or possibly tyre flexing. You may find that it has a natural frequency that goes up as you go faster. You ought to check that it is self damping at the speeds you are likely to use.

Nick

 

[cogs]

i like your bike Citrus. The waterproofing looks first rate.

There are some snaps of mine if you follow this link to page 3 and 4 of cyclechat:

Electric assist - Page 3 - Cycle Chat

 

[wibble]

I'm also really impressed with the look of Citrus's bike. It's really cool. Although the big box on the back is a bit iffy.

Maybe some paniards like Frank9755's bike would help normalize it a little.. You've probably seen it already, but if not, it's over here:

http://www.pedelecs.co.uk/forum/electric-bicycles/1494-my-tongxin-kit-bike.html

I think the best setup for an e-bike so far is the Cytronex Trek and it's bottle battery. Shame about those skinny wheels though. Skinny wheels are very practical for road bikes, but just look plain silly on a mountain bike.

 

[Citrus]

Citrus,

You may find that it has a natural frequency that goes up as you go faster. You ought to check that it is self damping at the speeds you are likely to use.

Nick

That is exactly as you describe. Not too noticeable at low speeds, noticeable at medium speed and starting to disappear again at higher speed. I will look into some kind of damping - thanks for the advice, very helpful

 

[Citrus]

I'm also really impressed with the look of Citrus's bike. It's really cool. Although the big box on the back is a bit iffy.

Maybe some paniards like Frank9755's bike would help normalize it a little.. You've probably seen it already, but if not, it's over here:

http://www.pedelecs.co.uk/forum/electric-bicycles/1494-my-tongxin-kit-bike.html

I think the best setup for an e-bike so far is the Cytronex Trek and it's bottle battery. Shame about those skinny wheels though. Skinny wheels are very practical for road bikes, but just look plain silly on a mountain bike.

Frank's bike looks great - he has done a fine job on it and spent a lot less than me probably. I might paint some go-faster stripes on the back box to disguise it

 

[Danny-K]

...Although again, this would only give you an idea as rider input, wind, hills etc. would all be missing. Anyway, it was good fun being clubbed to death by everyone for daring to try it. I now know what a baby seal feels like...

Sorry Citrus, didn't intend to make you feel like a clubbed seal, (thought I put a smiley in my post?) If not here's some retrospective one's now -

- Looked at your Agattu for sale on eBay and feel you might attract more bidders for it if you can try and insert the magic words electric bicycle somewhere in your title line.

When buying my bike, (I didn't discover it until 24 hours before it closed) - it didn't have a single bid on it, and as I would be working the next day I placed a proxy bid, hoping that it would remain unopposed; alas 2 hours before closure a second bidder turned up, put in a bid, then a second and gave up when it still fell short of my maximum bid. I still got it for a bargain price IMO. However, I don't think I'd have 'won' if the seller had included 'electric bicycle' in the title line.

 

[Citrus]

Sorry Citrus, didn't intend to make you feel like a clubbed seal, (thought I put a smiley in my post?) If not here's some retrospective one's now -

- Looked at your Agattu for sale on eBay and feel you might attract more bidders for it if you can try and insert the magic words electric bicycle somewhere in your title line.

When buying my bike, (I didn't discover it until 24 hours before it closed) - it didn't have a single bid on it, and as I would be working the next day I placed a proxy bid, hoping that it would remain unopposed; alas 2 hours before closure a second bidder turned up, put in a bid, then a second and gave up when it still fell short of my maximum bid. I still got it for a bargain price IMO. However, I don't think I'd have 'won' if the seller had included 'electric bicycle' in the title line.

Title is uneditable once bidding has started. Hopefully "pedelec" in the title will be enough.

 

[keithhazel]

Here it is here Keith Kalkhoff Agattu 49cm Wave frame pedelec on eBay, also, Bikes, Cycling, Sporting Goods (end time 26-Oct-08 14:34:37 GMT)

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for a 49cm one how tall are you please citrus.....at 5" 8" am i too tall ?

 

[Citrus]

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for a 49cm one how tall are you please citrus.....at 5" 8" am i too tall ?

Hi Keith,

I am 5' 7" tall (or short, depending on how you look at it ). I think inside leg measurement is a better guide than height. My inside leg is 29 inches. The bike is comfortable for me with the original sprung saddle about 1 inch raised. I had my own unsprung saddle on it though and had it raised by about 3 inches. The bike would suit anyone from about 5' 5" to about 6 ft. But again, I think inside leg measurement is the best guide - so an inside leg of between 28 inches to about 34 inches. At the extremes the next frame size up or down would probably be better, but there is obviously an overlap between frame sizes. Hope this helps.

 

[iaing]

Kalkhoff Wave Frame Size

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for a 49cm one how tall are you please citrus.....at 5" 8" am i too tall ?

Hello

I have the Tasman Step Thru (or Wave frame) in the 49cm (Small size) with the sprung saddle set at its lowest point (29" inside leg), so you should not have any problem with this size.

Iain

 

[Rad]

Good spot Wibble. Though with that amount of waterproofing I doubt it'll 'Short Circuit'

 

[wibble]

Good spot Wibble. Though with that amount of waterproofing I doubt it'll 'Short Circuit'

...........

 

[The Maestro]

Hi Citrus,

I'm going to try and do the same kind of enclosure for my controller. Do you mind if I ask where you got the brackets from that attach the Maplins box to the bike's frame? Are they specifically for that purpose or some type of generic bracket I could buy at a general DIY shop?

I also like your seat post mounted rack. Again, where could I get one of those brackets?? Did you have to do some welding to create that rack?

Regards,

Dave

 

[Citrus]

Hi Citrus,

I'm going to try and do the same kind of enclosure for my controller. Do you mind if I ask where you got the brackets from that attach the Maplins box to the bike's frame? Are they specifically for that purpose or some type of generic bracket I could buy at a general DIY shop?

I also like your seat post mounted rack. Again, where could I get one of those brackets?? Did you have to do some welding to create that rack?

Regards,

Dave

Hi Dave,

The bracket I used to attach the small maplins box that houses the controller was salvaged from the original Alien fittings. You could probably use any clamp mechanism from B&Q and get a simillar result. The large maplins box is held onto the carrier using "U" shaped wire rope fittings from B&Q which fitted nicely through my rack and through 7mm drilled holes in the base of my maplins box. I can't remember now where I got the rack from, but this one Etc... Alloy Seatpost Fit Carrier Rack £19.99-Discount Bicycles Ltd. is very close to it and even has some holes in it that self-tapping screws could go through into the base of the box.

However, if I was to do it again I would opt for this for the batteryTopeak Dynapack DX Bag - Only £47.99 - Rutland Cycling which will hold a 4.5kg weight and is waterproof (with a cover). It is also quick release so you can easy remove your battery from the bike. It looks like this https://secure.cyclexpress.co.uk/Products/Dynapack.aspx when fitted - although that is the smaller one.
Hope this helps and sorry for the late reply - been busy with eBay and my wife is expecting our second child....tomorrow

Regards

Eric

 

[The Maestro]

Hi Eric,

First of all congrats in advance on the new baby - lets hope its quick release too

I think the clamp must only be with the Alien 24V kit which is a really nice installation compared to my 36V kit. A few days ago a had a long walk around the local B&Q and couldn't find anything I thought suitable so if anyone knows what I should be looking for please let me know.

I actually wrongly assumed you had made the seatpost mounted rack because I'd never seen such a thing before. I really like the look of that Topeak bag too, it looks awfully big for for 5 litres though. I'd wonder if the dimensions would be right for fitting most batteries it. Have you seen Carradice's range of SQR saddlepacks which are similar? www.caradice.co.uk (I think). I had one of their 7 Litre packs and would have fit the Alien 36V Phylion battery like a glove but it got pinched

 

[Citrus]

Hi Eric,

First of all congrats in advance on the new baby - lets hope its quick release too

I think the clamp must only be with the Alien 24V kit which is a really nice installation compared to my 36V kit. A few days ago a had a long walk around the local B&Q and couldn't find anything I thought suitable so if anyone knows what I should be looking for please let me know.

I actually wrongly assumed you had made the seatpost mounted rack because I'd never seen such a thing before. I really like the look of that Topeak bag too, it looks awfully big for for 5 litres though. I'd wonder if the dimensions would be right for fitting most batteries it. Have you seen Carradice's range of SQR saddlepacks which are similar? www.caradice.co.uk (I think). I had one of their 7 Litre packs and would have fit the Alien 36V Phylion battery like a glove but it got pinched

The Topeak bag comes in two sizes - the Topeak Dynapack is 5.2L capacity (too small), but the Topeak Dynapack DX is 9.7L capacity and will fit my 24v 16Ah LiFePo4 battery - link here Topeak Dynapack DX Bag - Only £47.99 - Rutland Cycling

I am sure my wife is hoping for a quick release too... I personally don't like to think about it too much

 

[Hooligooner]

Ok guys, hopefully some one can help me and my novice ways.

I am currently running a 'Izip' Currie CB26 and have got it into my head that, when the standard SLA battery goes bye bye, I can replace it with a LiFePo4 set-up which I can fit into the same case. I have heard that it may be possible to over-volt the motor as long as care is taken not to overheat it under heavy load. The current battery is, I believe, 24V 12ah; which really doesn't mean much to me. Ping claims to be able to manufacture these into a custom form.

My questions are:

• I am hoping to fit a 36V 20ah battery, would this break the motor?
• Any idea if this size battery would fit into the existing case?
• How easy for a novice would this task be?
• Ping, nice approachable, helpful kind of chap is he?

Many thanks in advance.

Elmo.

 

[Citrus]

Hi Citrus,

I'm going to try and do the same kind of enclosure for my controller. Do you mind if I ask where you got the brackets from that attach the Maplins box to the bike's frame? Are they specifically for that purpose or some type of generic bracket I could buy at a general DIY shop?

I also like your seat post mounted rack. Again, where could I get one of those brackets?? Did you have to do some welding to create that rack?

Regards,

Dave

Hi Dave,

I have just seen this Topeak TriBag - Bags - Pannier - 8.99 GBP - Free P & P to UK & Ireland, Cheap International Rates. Next day delivery from Europes Largest Online Bikeshop.
This could be turned round the other way and attached in front of the saddle with the controller in it. You could then use the the Topeak DX bag for the battery - the whole set-up would look very neat and not as "Heath Robinson" as mine. I am even considering buying them to try it out with my system.