Sort of related, I've been looking at the cost of electric bicycle hardware recently and the cost have come down significantly from last time I paid attention. The battery packs and motors are less than half the cost of a few years back. I'm looking to upgrade my 36v/10ah and 300w motor to 52v/20ah 1200w motor -- the entire conversion shoud set back about $750.
I split this off to get more details, LM.
Is this a recumbent bike?
I bought a Rad Power bike in Fall 2019. Using it for city, meal and grocery trips. Really enjoying it.
>recumbent
For a high-end electric recumbent, try Outrider USA based in Asheville NC.
(Biltmore estate offers tours on Outriders)
>recumbent
I'm hoping it's not. I'm more interested in the 2-wheel frame and how the motor mounts. Those home-builts I've seen in the past were sorta just hung together.
I had a three-wheeled recumbent, the low slung kind that you kinda sit in instead of sit on. I enjoyed it a lot, but I only recommend it if you could ride in an area without cars. Riding on a city street feels like tempting death.
The bike I am about to modify was made by Schwinn, its an electric chopper that was made without doing any proper market research. Basically, they targeted kids, but there was not place in the US where they were legally allowed to ride them 10 years ago. I was able to pick one up new for just $200 (though used ones are sold for a lot more now). They also were originally sold with an under-powered SLA 24v system, which made them very slow. Fortunately the underlying electronics and hub motor were capable of handling a36v 10ah LiPo4 battery pack. That was good enough to make it a fun toy to take the kids zipping around a parking lot with, but I've been wanting to upgrade the motor to something over 1000w for a while. With 1200w & 52v system the top speed will be about 27 - 30mph, I'll probably never take it that fast.
The bike attached is not my bike (that one is a slightly smaller frame), but it may look something like that when I put the new pieces on.
> recumbent...Riding on a city street feels like tempting death.
Agreed. There is a local fellow who has one and the only thing that's saving him (so far) is that little orange flag. Besides, at 70, low-slung cars|bikes|chairs|beds becomes problematic.
So the motor is in that rear hub?
Yeah. There are few different approaches to motor placement. Front hub motor is the simplest, but also the setup that could take the least amount of power. Rear hub is a simple setup that generally works better because of weight distribution and the frame is stronger than the front fork. Some complete DIY setups use a mid-mounted motor pulling a separate chain, it's complicated but seems to work well. The fancy and expensive setup these days is where the motor is built into the crank assembly.
>little orange flag
LED whip lights are becoming popular for visibility, at least in the UTV market. Will probably reach the ebike market soon.
Bwwwwaaaahahahaha!
Jeep's all-terrain e-bike is available to pre-order for $5,899
https://www.engadget.com/2020/03/01/jeep-e-bike-pre-order/
750 watt motor for $5900? yikes. So many better options.
Qulbix
Vector
Stealth
Sur Ron
>$5900? yikes
Yeah, that's $4k for the brand, or $1k/letter.
<warp>
LM, when you were working on your e-bike did you do any battery terminal welding to build your battery pack?
>LM, when you were working on your e-bike did you do any battery terminal welding to build your battery pack?
Nah, everything just snapped together. I've been considering doing another upgrade, the prices have come down and the power options have gone up quite a bit. I'm looking at the cost of going 48V or 52V and a 2000W motor and it is tempting.
I'm having a tough time keeping good 18v li-on battery packs going for an old,old set of tools. I have newer replacement tools but enshitification has hit battery tools, too --the old ones are *much* more heavy-duty.
CN battery replacements can still be bought but they are crap. Two new ones died on 1st use.
DIY packs: The how-tos say the battery terminal bridge strips should be welded because of the heat the batteries will generate when stressed. I have a battery spot-welder, planning to use samsungs and re-use the tool's controller chip.
I was hoping you'd had some experience/tips.
Sorry, honestly, I avoid heat near lithium batteries. You may want to ask in the ebike subreddit.
>Sorry
NP !!
>avoid heat near lithium batteries
Me too! But, in this case, the batteries are the heat source. (That's one of the functions of the chip --shut down if way-too-hot.)
>ask in the ebike subreddit.
Good idea.