Road Bike to Ebike......

[RobertBurton]

Hello everyone,

I've just had my account activated so I wanted to say "Hi" and give you a little review of my eBike etc.

Well, I'm Rob, 30 (6' 96kg) and I ride a full carbon road bike for fitness and fun and wanted to commute to work 2-3 times a week on a bike. However, it's approximately 19 miles there and 19 miles back. When I'm relatively fit I can average 17-18mph on my road bike but I didn't want to be on my bike any longer than a hour getting to work and I didn't want to be hot and sweaty either. I actually stumbled across Ebikes on youtube and thought this could be my answer.

I eventually decided on an Alien Aurora as it had a little more kick than the others as I needed to get to work in under an hour and feel fresh for work too!

The pictures on their website of the Aurora put me off a little as it looked a bit weird with the upright handlebars and MASSIVE saddle etc. I knew I could change that and tweak it to look like a mountain bike with panniers.

When it got delivered I quickly removed the saddle and stem and purchased mountain bike components to replace them (also removed stand too). I then removed the inner tubes and tyres and fitted Schwalbe marathon Plus tyres and Continental inner tubes. I removed the front light (and the weird spring thingy attached to the frame) also cut the power cable to the motor about 10" from the hub, then put bullet connectors on the wires and liquid electrical tape on the connections...... I then fitted a Lizard Skin chainstay Protector to not only protect the frame from chain slapping but hide the wire from the hub. I also lowered the rack as low as possible to disguise the rear hub

The reason I went to all that effort with hub cable was to minimise the time it would take to change the rear tube 'IF' I ever got a puncture as I can't afford to be late for work. I think Alien Ocean should fit this as standard otherwise you'll need to remove the cable from the controller and cut all the cable ties etc - I can't be doing with this!!

I started cycling to work around 2 months ago and have had a blast!! With moderate effort I average 22-23mph on high setting, it takes me about 47-50 mins to get there with 2 lights remaining on the battery gauge. I recharge the battery at work so I have plenty of juice on the way home.

I did make the mistake about a month ago of believing the battery gauge when it showed 2 bars! I had just finished a night shift and decided to ride home........Well, I got about 8 miles in and the bike started to slow down and then shut off completely!! I had to ride the beast home with no power at 6am and feeling tired from work anyway. I was only doing about 12-13mph and felt like crying - LOL!! You live you learn I suppose

Had a real quick question for you guys...... My rear wheel had a very slight buckle from new and the spokes made pinging sound at low speed. My local bike shop had a look and trued it but reckon the spokes were tight enough. They cured the pinging noise and buckle but after 80 odd miles later the pinging sound has return (wheel is still true though). Do the spokes need quite a bit of tension?

Any help would be great as my rear wheel sounds a bit like the spoke thingys you got in Kellogg’s Frosties years back

Cheers Guys

Rob

 

[D C]

The pinging sometimes emanates from the point where the spokes rub together as they cross each other, if you go round the wheel squeezing the spokes together at that point whilst pressing them quite hard against each other you may find some that "jump" and don't rub together smoothly.
If so you could take a bit of emery paper and rub the the touching surfaces till they move across each other without resistance.
If you want a quick test to see if that's the problem you could put a spot of oil on all the crossing places and see if that removes or changes the noise for a few miles.

Dave.

 

[RobertBurton]

Excellent, I'll give that a go


Cheers

 

[Artstu]

That's a nice turn of speed, really just the sort of speed that all e-bikes should be capable of.

 

[johnc461165]

Keep us informed with your problem Robert may help someone else in the future.John
ps. I have the same great bike

 

[RobertBurton]

Hi,

Had a look at the spokes today. Where they cross, none of them touch so I'm sure it's not that making the pinging noise. Some feel quite loose compared to others. Should I tighten all the spokes by half a turn and see what happens?

Cheers

 

[RobF]

Hi,

Had a look at the spokes today. Where they cross, none of them touch so I'm sure it's not that making the pinging noise. Some feel quite loose compared to others. Should I tighten all the spokes by half a turn and see what happens?

Cheers

You mention in the OP your local bike shop trued the wheel a while ago.

Probably simplest to take it back to them for a tension check.

You could tighten the looser ones yourself, but there is a knack to the job and if you are anything like me you will make a balls of it.

The back wheel on a rear wheel drive hub bike has a lot to contend with, so spoke problems are common.

Additionally, you have more power than some and clearly know how to use it.

Which is my way of saying I suspect the problem will recur.

 

[D C]

Hi,

Had a look at the spokes today. Where they cross, none of them touch so I'm sure it's not that making the pinging noise. Some feel quite loose compared to others. Should I tighten all the spokes by half a turn and see what happens?

Cheers

I would agree with RobF and at this stage I would let the bike shop have another go.
It's a worry that the wheel was out of true from new which it really shouldn't have been.
Once a rim has been twisted it's sometimes asking too much of the spokes to re-align it and you get some which end up too much under tension and some which are a bit slack.
Maybe the ultimate cure would be a new rim and probably new spokes.
If you are feeling brave and there are not too many slack spokes you could try an exactly equal turn on each to see if it helps, if you mark the ones you do you could reverse the process if it doesn't work or if it sends the wheel out of true.
Noises which shouldn't be there are so annoying!

Dave.

 

[RobertBurton]

Hello Gents,

I'll try and give them a little tighten up tonight and see what happens

I do put quite a bit of my own force into the crank plus the power of the hub motor. Maybe I'll have to make the wheel/spokes a thing I do frequently with my maintenance schedule.

Thanks again, this forum is great!!

Cheers,

Rob