re Upland 26

[Grizzly Bear]

Hi Everyone
if you read my thread about the problem I had regarding an Upland 26 e-bike, well I contacted the seller and told him. I also told him that I didn't want the refund that he offered me, because I had transplanted the electric bits on to my Giant mountain bike. Regardless of this, he is going to replace the battery pack, and exchange the charger for one he knows to be working ok. Bob sells quite a few of these bikes, and has had few problems, he also told me that just about all the spares are available from him. Yes the bike is at the cheap end of the market, but it goes really well, it has a 36 volt NiMH battery, good spares availability, and the most important thing, he is a real genuine guy. Not every one can afford a thousand pounds for an e-bike, find the Upland 20 and 26 on Ebay, and buy it knowing that you are not going to be conned.

My faith in human nature has returned.

 

[flecc]

That is good news GrizzlyBear, I'm pleased for you after that disappointment.

The product does have some shortfalls like the 29 cell battery, due to the price of course, but at least with support like that you can be reasonably confident of getting your money's worth.

 

[Grizzly Bear]

Hi Flecc
yup, now I've got 28 spare cells for my battery pack, and it's a Tongxin (nano) hub motor too, can we post photos? my Giant looks fab.

Grizzly Bear

 

[flecc]

Yes, can do, but you need to put the photo into a web page somewhere. Any of the free photo posting sites will do. Then you publish in here like this.

Go to your web photo, right click it and select Copy Image Location from the context menu. Then return to the Post Reply box in the thread, position the cursor with a space below the text where you want the photo to appear and click the yellow mountain scene icon above. You'll get a box to paste in the link, so do that and click OK.

Then submit the reply. Your photo will be displayed, and I'd like to see the result.
.

 

[Grizzly Bear]

Hi Flecc
I will try tomorrow. You may be interested to know that Bob is selling the Tongxin hub motor for £64 and good quality controllers for £48, also NiMH batteries as far as I can tell.

All the best Grizzly Bear

 

[flecc]

Thanks GrizzlyBear, that's very interesting. A Nano motor at that price should get some interest from DIYers.
.

 

[Grizzly Bear]

Hi Flecc
my one is just about totally silent, and appears to be of high quality. It's hard to believe how much power it's got, considering how compact it is. Indeed DIYer's take note, I'm going to get some spares at that price, that's for sure. Also you may be interested to know that, when I bought my partner's Synerie Mistral, I enquired about a replacement battery (36volt 10 ah lithium ion) I was quoted £167, I was thinking of getting one for my Giant.

Regards Grizzly Bear

 

[flecc]

For that Nano motor it would be a good idea, especially at that price, but you would need a suitable charger as Li-ion batteries are very vulnerable to damage, though I assume you'd use your partners charger.

At that price the battery could well have a cobalt based cathode, and there is a small fire risk with these. If it is, I'd keep that type outdoors for safety, although the risk is very small. If you can find out and it's Manganese based, it'll be no problem.
.

 

[Grizzly Bear]

Hi Flecc
We already have a lithium ion charger with the Mistral, they are however available and reasonably priced. The Synergie Mistral is a great bike, by the way, it did 28 miles with loads left in the battery, and is of surprisingly good quality, the quality of Chinese imports is improving all the time, don't you think, and it's got to be good for everyone interested in e-bikes.

Regards Grizzly Bear

 

[HarryB]

You may be interested to know that Bob is selling the Tongxin hub motor for £64 and good quality controllers for £48, also NiMH batteries as far as I can tell.

Out of interest do you know if your Tongxin hub motor has 3 or 5 wires to the controller? If it has 3 wires it has to be used with the matching Tongxin controller as it does without hall sensors.

HarryB

 

[flecc]

the quality of Chinese imports is improving all the time, don't you think,

That's my impression too Grizzly Bear, and it seems to be following the pattern we experienced many decades ago with Japanese stuff. Initially in the early '60s that was very dodgy, with a high proportion of duds and weaknesses in design, but they gradually learnt and ended up producing some of the highest quality stuff around, cars and cameras for example. If the Chinese go that way we'll all be winners.
.

 

[flecc]

Out of interest do you know if your Tongxin hub motor has 3 or 5 wires to the controller? If it has 3 wires it has to be used with the matching Tongxin controller as it does without hall sensors.

HarryB

Yes, I'd vaguely wondered that too Harry. The use of that other controller seems to indicate a normal 5 + 3 wire, but the motor looks very much like the Nano and the reported silence bears that out.
.

 

[HarryB]

Yes, I'd vaguely wondered that too Harry. The use of that other controller seems to indicate a normal 5 + 3 wire, but the motor looks very much like the Nano and the reported silence bears that out.
.

The nano does come in two versions - with or without the hall sensors so it could be either. Cutting out the extra 5 wires should help reliability but would be a problem with DIYers trying to match to a normal controller. Could be either and I would be interested in finding out.

 

[flecc]

I hadn't realised that Harry, and that makes it sound very much like the 5 +3.

That wouldn't worry me, since I'm a little concerned about the initial take snatch on the 3 wire system. Maybe ok on a 16" Brompton wheel, but I wonder if that's behind the odd reports of transmission trouble with the roller drive in the USA when in 26" or 700c.
.

 

[Grizzly Bear]

Hi Harry
I can't see how many wires there are to the motor, but it feels like three, but I'm not sure, there are many thin wires connected to the controller, and I may not be able to feel them through the outer sheath of the motor cable. The controller I've got is a CHANGZHOU HINGDU ELECTRIC CO. model WZKD3615KA-HD1 brushless intellect 1:1 Motor Controller. if that's any help. Bob updates the system with this controller I think, I checked on the internet, and this is a 36 volt 15 amp controller, as the numbers suggest.

Regards Grizzly Bear

 

[Grizzly Bear]

Hi Flecc
I have had no success with the photos, I don't get the Copy Image Location option when I right click the image, it' a pity I've got some nice photos of the bike.

I have had a closer look at the controller, and I'm pretty sure it's 3 + 5, the power transmission is very smooth on take off, by the way, does that confirm to you that it's a hall effect unit?

I've just created a web page (e-bikes.grizzlyfish.com) copy and paste url - see my Giant/Upland hybrid e-bike

 

[Ian]

Out of interest do you know if your Tongxin hub motor has 3 or 5 wires to the controller? If it has 3 wires it has to be used with the matching Tongxin controller as it does without hall sensors.

HarryB

I have a Tongxin nub motor salvaged from a Synergie Elite I used to own which was identical to Grizzlys Upland apart the controller. On the Elite the controller was mounted within a headlamp casing and was notoriously unreliable, being the cause of the bikes eventual withdrawal from the market.

My Tongxin motor has 3 phase wires and 5 hall effect sensor wires (3 sensors, +ve supply and gnd). It also has no integral free-wheel.

It sounds like the Upland bikes for sale on ebay are re-works of the original Synergie bikes which were actually branded Upland.

 

[Grizzly Bear]

Hi Ian
the Tongxin on my bike is the free wheel type, pedaling without assistance is like a normal bike. It is interesting to note that, due to the fitment of the Upland wheels and tyres, I find it no more effort to pedal now unassisted than I did before the conversion. This is because the original tyres fitted to the Giant rock se are very knobbly, and offer alot of resistance, especially at higher speeds.

Regards Grizzly Bear

 

[Ian]

Sounds like the motor has changed somewhere along the line Grizzly, the elite had regeneratve charging hence no freewheel, this then evolved into the Levanto which did not have regeneration so the freewheel probably appeared at that point. The Levanto continued to have controller problems though so it would appear your supplier has sourced an alternative controller.

 

[Grizzly Bear]

Hi Ian
you know what, the crazy thing is, after swopping the gearsets, I put my old Giant wheels on the folding Upland mountain bike, and I could sell it on, or use it when I have meltdown on my motor/controller/battery/charger!
I've jinxed myself now haven't I, everythings going to pear shaped isn't it?

Griz