Oxydrive Kit

[Deleted member 4366]

I finally got round to fitting my Oxydrive kit. I won't bore you with all the details of the kit because you can find those fron the website and Andrew's video.
OXYDrive - electric bike conversion kit
OXYDRIVE electric bike kit what's inside the box.wmv - YouTube
I had a spare frame lying round off a Specialized Rockhopper Pro off which I had stripped everything to make my Giant NRS. I also had a new pair of Rockshox Dart 3 forks and a few other bits and pieces. I managed to find some used Deore XT mechs, chain and changers locally for £90, so I then had enough to get started.

First step was to fit the motor in the forks. The forks have 9mm drop-outs so I had to widen them a bit woth my Dremmel and I chose to deepen them a bit to re-centralise the axle. When I tested it, it span freely, but I could hear a ticking noice, which was the motor just touching the fork leg. This wouldn't have happened if I hadn't deepened the drop-outs so far. Solved by making a 0.5mmwasher, which kept the leg clear.

The rest of the installation was very straight-forward. I had a 113mm BB assy, but when I tried it there wasn't room for the magnet disk, so a quick trip to Halfords and I had a 122mm one for £10. I got some pedals there while I was at it (£14)
Next, where to put the throttle. I tried lots of positions, but none were idea. Then I realised that the gear indicators on the changers were removable, which gave a perfect solution with the throttle right next to the grip.

The only other problem was the bracket that holds the wiring manifold, which fits on the steerer tube. The hole was just a little too small, so I had to run round it a couple of times with my Dremmel to open up the hole to make it fit. . Normally it would just be a case of lifting your stem and handlebars and sliding it on. When on, the manifold was a bit low, so I drilled another hole in the bracket to lift it up a bit.

After that it was a simple case of tying down all the wiring. This is a well organised kit with moulded connectors everywhere and no external controller box to hide too long wires, which means that the excess wire has to be carefully folded and tucked at the bottom of the battery.

So I was finally finished. I fetched the battery and tried to clip it in - woops! The top end clips in from the top, so you need frame clearance above it. After a bit of fiddling about, I found the correct angle to clip the battery in, Phew!

I fired it up and everything worked as it should. The motor was very free-running immediately. No initial friction from the seals/whatever that you normally get with a hub-motor. A quck ride around the block showed a speed limit of 15mph, where the motor cuts as soon as you're faster and comes back in when the speed comes back down. So I got the meter manual out and re-set the max speed limit to 40kph.

 

[Deleted member 4366]

Yesterday, I went out for a 36mile ride on it. The battery had no conditioning charges, so I was a bit worried about whether it would get me up the final 2 miles of relatively steep hills, but it did it - just.
It was nice to have variable PAS. None of my other bikes have it, which renders the PAS useless on the more powerful ones.

Like many hub-motors, this one is beautifully smooth and quiet once you get past 10mph, but makes that characteristic noise under acceleration. Power-wise, it's the same as most 250w hub-motors, but seems to be a higher speed winding. No-load speed I measured as over 24mph (after adjusting the speed limit), which translated to being able to maintain 20mph on the flat with my 100kg on board, so a bit faster than your average 250w bike.

The different PAS settings appear to limit both power and speed. The power on level one was about 100 to 130w and level three was about 250w. I didn't use the others. The throttle always gives it's whole range of power regardless of PAS setting. The main difference I noticed on this bike from similar bikes was how well it free-wheeled. I seemed to have found downhills that I hadn't noticed before on other bikes.

So I had a nice ride to the river in Shrewsbury town park along Cycle route no. 81.

During the journey the battery level bars went down in proportional to distance. No sign of battery sag under power. When I got to the final two mile climb, I was a bit tired, so turned the power up to level 4, but with one bar showing on the meter, I got cut-outs at 350w, which immediately re-set, so I reduced to level 2 and made it up the main hills. At the very final short steep hill, I turned it up to level 3, but it cut-out at 250w, so back to level 2 and I made it home. I didn't think 36 miles was bad for a first charge with a 9aH battery.

So, in summary. I think that the Oxydrive kit is a bit faster than most 250w kits, it rolls beautifully and looks fantastic. (For best effect you need a black frame with red or white trim.) If you need serious hill-climbing help, a 250w hub-motor is not going to be enough whichever kit you get, but this one would be great for general riding around and commuting etc, where the extra speed would be useful if you want to compromise range.

 

[Deleted member 4366]

I forgot to mention the brake sensors, which are the hidden wire type. Of course they only work with cable brakes.

I'd love to know how they work because the cable passes straight through. I'm thinking it must be a pressure sensor.

 

[eddieo]

Nice looking set up! My Daahub does 20-23mph (deristricted) and I'm 17 stone and far from fit......

 

[Old_Dave]

I'd love to know how they work

Its dremel time

 

[NRG]

Looks good and a very respectable range from 9Ah, how many bike do you now have d8veh!?

 

[eddieo]

Looks good and a very respectable range from 9Ah, how many bike do you now have d8veh!?

I couldn't do it......What with all them batterys aging while I try to sleep. The thought of just my 2 is bad enough

 

[NRG]

me too, I'm down to 2 bikes, can't justify replacing the one on my Alien at the moment.

 

[KirstinS]

Thanks D8veh

I considered this before plumping for the £425 8fun 9ah bottle battery kit (would have been cheaper but I wanted UK guarntee)

Having read your post I'm fairly convinced this was the right choice. The extra 400 quid seems to get you a better paint job and a reduced rolling resistance and....thats it ? Or have I missed something ?

 

[Deleted member 4366]

Looks good and a very respectable range from 9Ah, how many bike do you now have d8veh!?

Seven. You can see them all in my profile. I need to get rid of some, but I can't choose which ones. I like them all. Each one has different strengths. The yellow Giant is a work-horse for commuting. The grey Giant is fast and a lovely ride. The Rocky mountain is everything except speed. The Dahon goes in the boot of my car. The GNG is so much fun. That only leaves the Oxydrive, which is a bit too new to judge, but the bike isn't as comfortable for touring; it doesn't climb like the more powerful motors; It's not as fast as the 328rpm motors. It's a good all-round bike, which I would be very happy with if it were my only one.

 

[Deleted member 4366]

Thanks D8veh

I considered this before plumping for the £425 8fun 9ah bottle battery kit (would have been cheaper but I wanted UK guarntee)

Having read your post I'm fairly convinced this was the right choice. The extra 400 quid seems to get you a better paint job and a reduced rolling resistance and....thats it ? Or have I missed something ?

What you said plus faster, better battery (higher discharge rate) , LCD display with inbuilt cycle computer and watt-meter, adjustable PAS, and full UK support and guarantee.

 

[alemanyorks]

I really like the look of your conversion d8veh, is that bag on the top tube where the controller is or is it built into the battery case somehow?

I have to agree with KirstinS that seems a big premium to pay for those extras. A lot of these kits seem to have these bottle battery's with them(inc. mine) how do you know what sort of cells are in them & does that make a big difference?

 

[Deleted member 4366]

I really like the look of your conversion d8veh, is that bag on the top tube where the controller is or is it built into the battery case somehow?

I have to agree with KirstinS that seems a big premium to pay for those extras. A lot of these kits seem to have these bottle battery's with them(inc. mine) how do you know what sort of cells are in them & does that make a big difference?

The controller is in the battery dock base. It's potted with silicone, so not possible to tamper with. The bag on the frame is my toolkit with pump, spare tube, tools, etc.

Not all batteries are the same. This one has Samsung cells in it. The cases are generic, but it's what's inside that makes the difference.

 

[KirstinS]

fair an ough on battery - i though the panasocic cells in mine were the same discharge rate ? And I do have uk support (personally tested as well!)

LCD discpaly and cycle comp with PAS is a very nice addition mind. Still not convinced that double the money is worth it here but hey, horses for courses

 

[Eagle]

Dave, that looks a seriously impressive piece of kit.

Is there much difference in the handling between a front hub bike and a rear hub one?

I was under the impression that a rear hub was better/safer. I can understand that the front hub does not need to bother about any conflicts with the gear cassette, freewheel etc.

What is the price of a replacement battery?

Are suitable brake cutouts available for Shimano hydraulic disc brakes?

Finally, the old chestnut, can a Hollowtech crank be modified to allow the fitting of the speed sensor?
Would it be safe to accurately grind about 5 or 6mm (or less) off the side of the left-hand crank?

 

[eddieo]

I loaded the picture of my hollow crank the other day....was the info no good? no need to modify anything I think...

 

[Eagle]

eddio,
Thanks for your reply. I am sorry but it is difficult to tell anything from that photo. Do not take offence!

In any case, my Hollowtech crank is absolutely flush with the push-fit Shimano bottom bracket, so how do I fit a speed sensor?

 

[eddieo]

No offence..I was half cut when I took pic

the plate is in 2 bits and you glue the sensor on with epoxy resin I believe. The plate is only a few mill at most so I guess they just eased it back a bit....

I will find out from Wisper

 

[Deleted member 4366]

eddio,
Thanks for your reply. I am sorry but it is difficult to tell anything from that photo. Do not take offence!

In any case, my Hollowtech crank is absolutely flush with the push-fit Shimano bottom bracket, so how do I fit a speed sensor?

Hollow tech cranks have spacers behind the bearing holders that can be removed to give more space for the magnet disc. Their removal effectively narrows the width between the bearing outers. You'd have to bore out the hole in the magnet disc to 24mm to fit over the axle, which is easy enough. The main problem is the sensor, which doesn't reach far enough over the bearing holder leaving a gap of about 7mm to the disc. A solution would be to remove the sensor from its bracket and make a 6mm spacer to go between the sensor and its bracket, or you can cut the middle out of the magnet disk and glue it to the inner chainwheel so that it overlaps the bearing holder. It might get close enough to work, but might still need a thin spacer. The latter would be my preferred solution because I don't like the idea of the unsmooth plastic disc against the bearing seal. It should be OK because it'll rotate with the bearing and seal, but somehow it doesn't feel right to me.

Looking at the sensor in this post, it looks very thick compared with the Oxydrive and standard Chinese ones, so maybe it's specially for hollowtech cranks. On a non-ho;;owtech crank that sensor would be squashed against the magnet disc,
http://www.pedelecs.co.uk/forum/electric-bicycles/12844-my-crank-bearing-has-dissolved-wisper-bike.html

 

[shemozzle999]

Which type of Bafang motor is supplied with the kit d8veh?