Right kit for Boardman Hybrid Team and 33 mile round hilly commute

[BAH48]

"BBS has built in pas and it is proportional to the effort you put in whilst pedalling so a more sportier ride and near normal cycling experience"

That describes the Bosch motor, but not the Bafang. There is no torque sensing, you just need to rotate the pedals - at least, that's what happens on mine. I have a Bosch as well and they are quite different.
There are other motors with torque sensing available.

 

[Ferdinand]

Never mind http://www.pedelecs.co.uk/forum/threads/a-reminder-to-use-torque-arms-on-kit-builds.16959/

And there was me thinking that a Torque Arm was a medieval torture device used by Tomas de Torquemada on people who made quips like this one.



(Gets coat and leaves)
(Unable to leave due to having been locked up in dungeon for quality of jokes)

Ferdinand

 

[Chris.mitu]

Help
What do I do with the torque kit.the platelets are too thick to only mount two like in the earlier photo. I need to mount all three but i don't fully understand how to fit them or what they are stopping from occuring if they are not on.

Any suggestions please?the kit is the 12mm Cyclezee one.

 

[Chris.mitu]

Does it look ok?

 

[Deleted member 4366]

That's not very satisfactory. Ideally, you want a right angle beteen the axle piece and the tie-bar. You don't need to use all three pieces. Two is enough, like this:

 

[Deleted member 4366]

Looking again, your one's tie bars are thicker. Put your tie-bar on top and stick some washers under the end that screws to the frame.

Don't forget that the cable needs to exit downwards.

 

[Chris.mitu]

It is built
Took me a good 4 hours cutting and drilling. I took it out for a short spin - it's insane how the PAS kicks in - I love it.

The only outstanding issue is the brake cutoff switches which I didn't install. Should I insulate the empty socket dangling from the LCD unit?what with?

 

[Deleted member 4366]

Of course, you can turn power down to make it very soft, if you don't want so much oomph. Try it on the different power settings as well as the 6 levels on the display. Then, I guess, you'll be back on full power racing the lycras.

Yes, you need to stop water getting inro those unused connectors. A bit of tape should do.

 

[Chris.mitu]

I rode it into work this morning. 17 miles, 5 minutes faster and no sweating. It felt like a relaxing ride in the park. And all the lights are still on the battery Is it a case of the first charge not showing the battery level properly? The LCD shows that the battery went from 42V to 38V.
I couldn't stop giggling while going up hills with very little effort at 16mph when previously I was huffing and puffing at 8-9mph on the same hill.
If the charge indicator is correct I could have bought a smaller battery
Best of all I think I can start cycling in my work clothes when the weather is fine and commute on the bike daily.
The kit is set to Normal and PAS 4.

 

[RobF]

I rode it into work this morning. 17 miles, 5 minutes faster and no sweating. It felt like a relaxing ride in the park. And all the lights are still on the battery Is it a case of the first charge not showing the battery level properly? The LCD shows that the battery went from 42V to 38V.
I couldn't stop giggling while going up hills with very little effort at 16mph when previously I was huffing and puffing at 8-9mph on the same hill.
If the charge indicator is correct I could have bought a smaller battery
Best of all I think I can start cycling in my work clothes when the weather is fine and commute on the bike daily.
The kit is set to Normal and PAS 4.

I can get 16 or so miles out of my Bosch bike on eco setting before the first battery indicator goes out.

If no lights go out on the way home, I think you may have a battery indicator problem.

But there are lots of variables.

You've been doing your 17 mile commute on an ordinary bike, most new ebikers would not be fit enough to do that.

So you will tend to be lighter on battery use than others on here who have the same kit.

You have also put it on a lightish, fast rolling bike.

Look on the bright side, your battery should last ages in both respects.

A long range, and it should take you years to wear it out.

 

[Ferdinand]

How much does the bike weigh now?

F

 

[selrahc1992]

I rode it into work this morning. 17 miles, 5 minutes faster and no sweating. It felt like a relaxing ride in the park. And all the lights are still on the battery Is it a case of the first charge not showing the battery level properly? The LCD shows that the battery went from 42V to 38V.
I couldn't stop giggling while going up hills with very little effort at 16mph when previously I was huffing and puffing at 8-9mph on the same hill.
If the charge indicator is correct I could have bought a smaller battery
Best of all I think I can start cycling in my work clothes when the weather is fine and commute on the bike daily.
The kit is set to Normal and PAS 4.

using it more or less like you describe I get 30 miles on a charge - but it goes with two bars showing on the meter - and it sometimes shows a "code 6" - however, a charge later and I get another 30 miles no problem.

 

[Deleted member 4366]

There's nothing wrong with the battery indicator. It takes a long time to lose the first segment. The remaining ones go a bit more quickly. Also, your bike is very efficient, so you won't be using much electrical power.

Have you reset the speed limit, which can increase your speed to about 24 mph cruise?

 

[Chris.mitu]

There's nothing wrong with the battery indicator. It takes a long time to lose the first segment. The remaining ones go a bit more quickly. Also, your bike is very efficient, so you won't be using much electrical power.

Have you reset the speed limit, which can increase your speed to about 24 mph cruise?

On PAS 4 the motor cuts out at about 14-16 mph. 19 for PAS5 Not tried 6 yet. When does the motor cut out when restricted/unrestricted?

Bike weight - feels like it weighs a ton when I pick it up but going on specs the bike is 10.1KG plus 7.8KG for the kit taking it to 17.9KG. Still a lot lighter than most ready built ebikes.

 

[mfj197]

OK, I understand now.

It's not just about speed. You can gear a BBS01 to do a 100mph, but every time you change gear on a crank-drive, the torque goes down until you have very low torque in top gear, which is not enough to sustain high speed.

Just like one's legs. That's what makes the crank-drive more natural to a cyclist - it is assisting the pedalling, not the bike's wheels. Whatever gear you're in you are getting an equivalent amount of assistance, whether you're whistling along at high 20s or grinding up a 30% incline.

The Oxydrive motor is much bigger and more powerful than a 250w BBS01.

It is heavier, yes (4.2kg without controller vs 3.7 with integral controller). But it's not much more powerful, at least not if the BBS01 controller has been reprogrammed to drive at 18A (as per the 350W version - actually measured at 18.65A). Oxydrive motor efficiency is 80%, BBS01 is 81.4% (measured) * 98% (derailleur losses) = 80%, so both the same. Assuming a similar efficiency curve and power curve (as you say here, although I do think this is one area that could be different), the Oxydrive is only 7% more powerful than a BBS01 at the wheel. And the BBS01 can use that power at any speed whereas the Oxydrive can't.

It has substantially more power in the range 15 to 23 mph, which is why it would win any race.

It isn't substantially more powerful, see above. And it is running out of puff at 23mph whereas on a flattish commute a large proportion of the ride is above that. It's possible to maintain over 23mph on assist 3 of 5 with pedalling - bump it up to full assist and the speeds increase to 27 plus on the flat, and that is on a BBS01 that has not been increased to 18A drive current.

I'm certainly not advocating a crank drive for everyone - hub drives also have many positives which are mentioned elsewhere in this thread, and both have negatives too. Neither am I advocating racing! However I do think it's important to try both types of drive to see what works best for the individual.

Michael

 

[Deleted member 4366]

Rather than going on a lot of internet statistics, I think you should try an Oxydrive, Oxygen MTB or anything else with the Bafang CST motor, then you can write about how they deliver their power.

 

[mfj197]

Rather than going on a lot of internet statistics, I think you should try an Oxydrive, Oxygen MTB or anything else with the Bafang CST motor, then you can write about how they deliver their power.

I'd certainly like to, and when my motor eventually gets old and dies I could fit one to the Cube. However the comments above about speed are based from experience, not internet research.

 

[Deleted member 4366]

On PAS 4 the motor cuts out at about 14-16 mph. 19 for PAS5 Not tried 6 yet. When does the motor cut out when restricted/unrestricted?

Each of the levels on the LCD (0 to 6) is an individual speed limit that applies to both PAS and throttle.The maximum speed setting in the advanced settings is global, so it overrides the limits set from the 0 to 6 levels. It's a case of whichever is the lower, so if you set the global limit to 15 mph, the speed in levels 5 and 6 will become the same as 4 except they might have slightly different power profiles.

A bike with 700c wheels should be able to just about reach 25 mph with everything on maximum.

 

[Chris.mitu]

The finished bike in better light.

 

[Deleted member 4366]

Very neat. Kits have come a long way since I bought my first one in 2010.