Just Registered? Introduce yourself here!

[rsscott]

Hi James and welcome.

From what I hear, BionX are very secretive regarding the technical side of their kit i.e. no technical documentation etc. There may be some owners in the US that can help, I'll see if I can get any info for you.

cheers
Russ.

Originally Posted by James Riley

I have a 250W BionX system and am quite happy with it (except for the fact that the digital controller/throttle unit gave out and it was difficult diagnosing the problem - with the help of the factory technician - and even more difficult riding two weeks without the motor until I received a new unit). Nevertheless, it is a good system, and if it remains reliable I 'd really recommend it. Which brings me to my reason for posting: I really would like to find the electrical connectors which the BionX factory uses to connect the wiring so that I can adapt a second motor to the rear wheel (my motor is presently in the front). Any suggestions?

[mygrumpy]

HI.My names John i live in Sutton Surrey, i ride a eZee Rider.a bit heavy, have got 18mph on the flat,would like to change to niMi batterys,would i have to change anything else.john

[flecc]

Hi John

THe lead acid battery on the Rider has the same 36 volts as the NiMh of course, and the Rider's lock pin would work on the NiMh, unlike with the lead acid, but otherwise I'm not sure. The narrower NiMh might not have the same pin alignment, and the Rider's Curtis Instruments controller with it's different DC motor may not be suitable with the NiMh. I think it would be best to check with eZeebike on this one. Here's an email address for you to use:

service@ezeebike.com

My guess is that it would work electrically if the pin alignment is ok, and a spacer was put in to keep the NiMh still in place.

[MazB]

Hello Everyone,

My name is Marian and I live in Bristol (originally from Liverpool and much flatter LOL). A lot of Bristol and the surrounding areas can be quite hilly.

I have a Trek Navigator 100 14.5inch low step through, yes I'm very short hence one of the reasons I don't have a "normal" electric bike. On most bikes I can't even slightly touch the floor whilst in the saddle, and that scares the hell out of me.

So I managed to find the nice Trek 100 and attach the Currie Electro Drive - rack mounted of cors because I have no cross-bar. Even fitting the rack on a small bike was a problem as all the fittings are meant for normal sized bikes, but with the help of my Husband (bless him) we managed to find extra attachments, which probably took a couple of months in all, and I got it all fitted.

I love it and I'm thinking ahead of when it starts snowing and I can't cycle, I am going to be so grumpy in work after that horrendous bus journey!!

I am having a few problems with the motor at the moment, just when I need it most up the hill and I can see home and it cuts out, its not overheated so maybe I just need to strip it and give it a good clean and a tweek. Saying that I have read the reviews of the BIONX and that looks well cool so maybe I will invest in one of them.

I've rattled enough I think so glad I found the site, and if anyone can give me any hints on why the motor cuts out I would be very happy.

Marian

[allotmenteer]

I'm Paul from Aldershot.

Thought I'd write a few words about my bike and my experiences with it.

I have recently purchased the 350W rear hub motor Kit from electricbikessales.co.uk. The kit has a 6.8 A/h li-ion battery (weighs 1.5 kg) The battery is 24V (reads 29V+ when fully charged) and so far I've been quite impressed with it. You really feel the push from the motor when you open the throttle.
I am getting about 16.7 mph out of the motor on gentle slopes (I don't often use it on the flat as I can pedal faster than that without much effort - say 18-20mph on a good surface). Going up steeper slopes (which on my non-assisted bike slow me down to about 8-10mph plus make me expend a fair bit of effort) I can easily maintain 13-14 mph with minimal effort and hit the max 16.7 mph with extra effort.
I have found my average speed has gone up to 16-17.5 mph on my nearby routes. On my non-motorised marin on the same routes I would get 13.5-15.5 mph (and expend much more effort!)
The range is about 12 miles+ (using the motor only on hills and also to boost acceleration on the flat. I also use the motor against headwinds). On the flats once I hit 16 mph or so I cut the throttle as the motor is no longer assisting me. Riding into headwinds I keep the throttle on and it really takes the effort out of riding.

The battery performs excellently. There is no gradual loss of performance at all, the bike runs as if the battery is fully charged right up until the voltage drops to the cutoff voltage and it dies completely (then you really notice how much assistance you were getting especially when it does it on a hill!)

When I have time (and weather permits) I shall try the 16 miles commute to my work. I can do it in 65 sweaty minutes on my non-assisted bike (80+ mins on the way back due to it being more uphill). I reckon my electric bike should cut that to 55 mins (65 mins coming back) plus 1/2 the effort - we shall see.

I need to get a decent bike to fit the kit to though as I have it fitted to my knackered old mountain bike - the drivetrain is badly worn. I had problems fitting the kit as it is 140mm wide and my dropouts were 130mm. After bending the frame a bit it fits but the chainline is not optimal (the hideously worn chain does not help - lots of stiff links) Also the wheel is not centered in the frame due to the dimensions of the motor and the lack of dishing on the wheel. I couldn't fit the kit to my good bike as the frame is aluminium and thus it is not a good idea to bend it + I'd have lots of problems with gears going from 9 to 7 speeds on the rear). If anyone else has experience with fitting rear oversize hub motors I'd love to hear about how they got on.

Well that's more than enough for now I think.

[flecc]

Hello Paul, welcome to the site, and thanks for all those details.

The Li-ions normally have that useful characteristic of maintaining power until the end, much better than the fading other types are prone to. I don't think you need worry too much about stretching the rear frame to fit a motor. Many frames currently have around 135 mm rear separation anyway, but I've stretched both alloy and steel frames much further than this.

Many years ago in the cycle trade when oilbath chaincases were still common, we would carry out tube and tyre changes by using a rear frame expander, like a reverse clamp where the bolt expanded the jaws, stretching the frame past the spindle end sufficiently to pass through the tyre or tube.

On my alloy framed Giant Twist, I stretch the 135 mm out by around 50 mm more to pass through a new tyre or tube, and have even passed through a Schwalbe Marathon Plus tyre that way, one of the thickest tyres around. I don't use an expander now, just a bit of muscle to do that.

Therefore I don't think a need to take a few mm extra will matter for you.

[rsscott]

Hi Paul,

welcome to the site. Do you have any photos of your setup that you can share with us?

cheers
Russ.

[allotmenteer]

Originally Posted by rsscott

Hi Paul,

welcome to the site. Do you have any photos of your setup that you can share with us?

cheers
Russ.

Hello Russ

I'm afraid at the moment I would be too embarrassed to post any pictures since it looks awful - lots of masking tape and wires all over the place.

The battery should clamp onto the seatpost and the controller uses the bottle cage fittings. However, I found that my seatpost was too small a diameter for the battery holder clamp so I have just had to tape the battery to the frame for now. Also the holder for the controller which should fit to the bottle holder doesn't because the holes are not the same distance apart.

When I get a another bike to fit the kit to I shall also make a new box for the battery and controller and fix them to a rear carrier. Hopefully over the Christmas period I shall get time to do all these things.

Regards

Paul

[MazB]

Hello,

Thanks Flec for the advice on my problem with the motor cutting out.

This weekend I think I will strip everything and give it a good clean and hopefully that will solve the prob. I will also check out the Lead Acid batteries to see if there is a problem with them.

I've had the batteries for about a year and a half, but only used them since June this year, I understand they have a life cycle even if you don't use them, so maybe I need to replace them??

Will let you know how I get on and thanks again....

Marian.

[flecc]

Yes, I'd be interested to know Marian.

The sealed lead acid batteries have a shelf life of at least three years, so your's should be ok. The terminals and connectors are the ones to clean, making sure the current has clear resistance free path from battery to motor.