Recent content by John Galvin

  1. John Galvin

    Lost key for frog battery

    Thanks for that but panic over now. I went home and found it in my Brompton bag. I presume I had two keys once but I certainly only have one now. I must see if I can get it copied. Good to know it comes apart so easily just in case I get in trouble again.
  2. John Galvin

    Lost key for frog battery

    Hi I built a folding ebike about five years ago using a front mounted frog battery. Metal fatigue finally overtook it a short while ago so I took it apart to weld on a new mounting point. Having got the welding done, I'm at the point of putting it back together again and I can't find the key...
  3. John Galvin

    Carbo folding ebikes

    Hi Looking for a cousin who wants a folding electric bike. I've built one before around five years ago and I'd love to build one again but she lives on the other side of the country so there's no way I could offer support. (Insert obligatory picture here!) I had a look around at electric...
  4. John Galvin

    Custom length 9 core motor cable

    Thanks for all the suggestions. I ordered the shortest cable from ebike solutions and it's actually the perfect length. It's fitted to the bike now and I'm glad I went ahead as the original joined lead was showing signs of wear. I'll find some time in the next week or so to write up the build...
  5. John Galvin

    Custom length 9 core motor cable

    Thank you! I reckon that's exactly what I need. 30cm is a mite too long but I can fold the extra 10cm in the controller box easily enough. I've been meaning to document my build in case it would be of any help to others so I'll get around to that in the next week or so.
  6. John Galvin

    Custom length 9 core motor cable

    Thanks - that's the shortest one I've come across. Still a bit longer than I'd like unfortunately.
  7. John Galvin

    Custom length 9 core motor cable

    Yes, I've done that but I feel it's a weak point on the bike. It flexes every time it's folded and though I don't fold it often, it's definitely something to be aware of. A custom lead would really do the job.
  8. John Galvin

    Custom length 9 core motor cable

    Thanks - I'll try those two.
  9. John Galvin

    Custom length 9 core motor cable

    Hi I'm wondering if there's anywhere I can have a motor cable made up to a specific length, say around 20cm. I'd need female on one end, male on the other to connect the controller to the hub motor. When I built my ebike four years ago, I cut the supplied cable and soldered it together. It's...
  10. John Galvin

    Folder - What kit type?

    I converted a Tern in 2014 which would be quite similar to the Dahon. I used a front hub motor and mounted a Frog battery at the front, using the luggage mounts. It worked out pretty well. If you want any more details, let me know.
  11. John Galvin

    electrification of lightweight folder with hub gears

    Brompton certainly do hub gears. The two speed has a derailleur at the rear, the three speed is a hub gear and the six speed combines the two systems, albeit with different (wider) gearing for the hub. They're a great bike but I didn't power mine. I built an electric folder based on a Tern nine...
  12. John Galvin

    Increasing my top speed

    Ok, confused again! When we were talking about upgrading the frog battery, I was under the impression that I would just change the battery and drive on. Going with the shark battery, it's the same voltage (or is it slightly higher?) and I'll also need a new controller. That's not a huge issue...
  13. John Galvin

    Increasing my top speed

    Good point of course. I've been lucky so far with stuff coming from China but you never know. I came across some ebay sellers but £180 versus £300 is a fair difference, even given the chance of being caught by customs. I'm in no great hurry as I want to enjoy my bike while the weather is...
  14. John Galvin

    Increasing my top speed

    Just looking around at my options and I see that for $300 shipped I could get one of those 'shark' type batteries in 48v form (pic attched). It's a little bit more expensive than making a frog but it can be charged much more simply. I'm experiencing the dreaded frog battery droop already so this...
  15. John Galvin

    Increasing my top speed

    So does that mean I have to either have two chargers or charge them one after the other? My current setup has a number of cells wired in series to produce 36V. I thought that moving to 42 would just be a case of replacing the cells in series and working away. Am I completely wrong?