New member with Claud Butler Glide 1

[John Calvert]

Hi,

A brief introduction and question. Being of a certain age...over 60.....my wife wanted an electric bike to ease her ride around town.
After hiring for half a day we were hooked so spent 3 months looking for one on Ebay. Finally found a Claud Butler Glide 1 in York, which was immaculate and seemed just fine when we tried it, so we shelled out £350 and brought it home.

The bike does have a problem though and I'd like some advice on the steps to go through to isolate this. The bike sets off normally, but seems to give maximum power whatever the throttle setting. I'd have expected a minimum of assistance which you could wind up once you hit a hill, but it just sets off full tilt and you hardly need any effort.

It also stops intermittantly, which I initially thought was maybe when it reached 15mph, but it can happen at any speed. It then doesn't restart until the battery is reset by switching off and back on.

Any suggestions most welcome.

John

 

[Cyclezee]

Hi John,

Welcome to the forum.

The best place to post for such a query is in this section, you will soon have some helpful advice Electric Bicycles

Regards,

 

[Deleted member 4366]

I'm not sure what you're saying. The bike has a throttle. If you don't pedal, does the throttle give a variable speed?

Your bike is also operated by pedal sensor. If you pedal and don't use the throttle, after a short delay, you get maximum power, which is normal for this bike, but most bikes that have this arrangement have throttle precedence, so, when you pedal, the power is determined by throttle position until you close the throttle, whereupon you get full power even a couple of seconds after you stop pedalling unless you use the brakes.

The cutting out that you describe: Does it happen when the motor is working hard, like going up a hill. If so, it's a sign of a weak battery. If it hadn't been used for a bit before you bought it,the cells might have gone out of balance, so see if it gets better after a few charges.

If you can't control the power with the throttle and really don't like the full ower, you'l have to get a new controller for about £25 that has three levels of pedal assist and a properly working throttle.

 

[John Calvert]

Thanks d8veh,

The bike has a throttle and pedal sensor, so if you don't pedal you get nothing. You have to pedal to set off at which point it gives full power, which you say is normal for this bike. So, what's the point of the throttle if it only gives full power?

Cutting out occurs when the motor is working, but it doesn't have to be terribly hard for it to do so. I take your point about the battery so will monitor over a few charges. Meanwhile I'll experiment with the throttle and see if I can figure out what it is doing.

 

[John Calvert]

Well, the bike has sat in the garage for a few months, so this morning I decided I would get to the bottom of why it wasn't working properly. Having tinkered a while, and tried various riding techniques, I've discovered exactly how it works, and I'm pleased to say it works just fine, though not in the way I was expecting it to.
So, for anyone with a similar bike, this is how it works. First of all switch on, select your gear and start pedalling. After a couple of turns the power kicks in regardless of throttle position and away you go. Quite quickly you reach 15mph and assistance stops. What you then have to do is stop pedalling. Free wheeling with the pedals stationary resets the bike and when the speed drops a little start pedalling and power kicks in again.
My previous error was two fold, and not helped by buying a second hand bike with no manual. First, 15mph, though the legal maximum, is really quite slow, so I wasn't expecting the bike to cut out so soon. Secondly my reaction was to keep pedalling, thus preventing the motor from kicking back in, and making it hard work.
So in summary. Pedal until power is turned off. Free wheel then pedal again and it works just fine.

 

[John stephenson]

My wife and I both have Glide 2s. Being mid 60,s this is invaluable especially as we live in a hilly area.
My only problem I have is trying to install an led rear light attaching to the bikes electrics. Would any kind soul have any advice or point me towards a wiring diagram?