6 months update on self-build electric bike

[morphix]

Hope everyone is well and enjoying the good weather.

It's been 6 months since I first took to the road on my self-build electric bike.. I thought I would do a quick update to let everyone know the bike, and in particular, the two Chinese 36v 5Ah LiFePo4 batteries I ordered via eBay, are still performing as good as the first day.

I charge the battery once daily and I haven't seen any degrading in life or performance on the bike at all. I have two batteries and just used the one initially, but over the last month or so I've started alternating usage as I was worried the other battery might suffer not being used and I might forget to charge it occasionally.

Looking forward to another 6 months of cycling and doing a further update after 12 months of usage!

 

[jerrysimon]

Thanks for the update. I am nearly two years/over 2000 miles on from my self build and all is going well.

My little ebike has transformed my daily commute and improved both my physical health and well being

Regards

Jerry

 

[kitchenman]

Hope everyone is well and enjoying the good weather.

It's been 6 months since I first took to the road on my self-build electric bike.. I thought I would do a quick update to let everyone know the bike, and in particular, the two Chinese 36v 5Ah LiFePo4 batteries I ordered via eBay, are still performing as good as the first day.

I charge the battery once daily and I haven't seen any degrading in life or performance on the bike at all. I have two batteries and just used the one initially, but over the last month or so I've started alternating usage as I was worried the other battery might suffer not being used and I might forget to charge it occasionally.

Looking forward to another 6 months of cycling and doing a further update after 12 months of usage!

Hi Morphix, hope you are well. I'd like to complete my entry for you in the MEMBERS KITS spreadsheet. Can you give me the details I need? ...
Donor Bike: what was your donor bike?
Fork Type: Carbon/Chromoly/Steel ... etc ..
Fork Size: 100mm, 80 mm, etc ..
Motor: Vitenso 250w - how many rpms?
Controller: 500w 12 mosfet universal ,, etc ...
Throttle: Yes/No
Battery Type: Rack/Seat Tube/Bottle
Battery Manu.: Panasonic, etc ..
Battery Life: 250 Cycles, 1000 Cycles, etc ..
Condition Reqd.: Do you have to condition it?
Battery Lock: Yes/No
Battery Warranty: 1 YEar, etc ..
Battery Cost:
BMS Size: Not sure why I have this? Does you BMS have an associated size? Is there a more sensible question I should ask about the BMS? ...
Charger: mine is a 2.5 amp 36v charger. Whats yours?
Charger Cost: if yous broke how much would it cost to get another one?
Charger FULL cutoff? Does your charger cut off or do you use a timer or just watch it?
Recharge Time: Whats your typical recharge time? How long does it take from being depleated?
Charger Noise: Is your charger noisey?
Brakes: Disk/V vbrakes? ..
Budget: What was your original budget?
Cost: How much did it actually cost you in the end?
Kit URL: any links to the kit you used or the component parts ?
Photo: Do you have any photos?
Build Issues: Do you remember any particular build issues i.e. on mine I had a threaded axel and had to have it re-died ..

Thanks,

 

[Cyclezee]

Hi Alan,

Sorry for butting into this thread, but is there a specific section to post a members kit spreadsheet, do I just copy and edit the format above and finally is it open to Trade Members?

Many thanks,

 

[kitchenman]

Hi Alan,

Sorry for butting into this thread, but is there a specific section to post a members kit spreadsheet, do I just copy and edit the format above and finally is it open to Trade Members?

Many thanks,

Sorry? are you serious? .. some interest in my spreadsheet idea. I'm over the moon! ....
Yes, this is simply information that you will find on the forum but in a format that makes it easy to find stuff ..... Its a google document which means you have to have a google email account. If you PM me yours then I can share MEMBERS_BIKES and MEMBERS_KITS which are the ones that will interest you most. Although I will obviously be happy share my CYCLE_LOG

 

[Scimitar]

kitchenman,
I tried PMing you but your inbox is full.

 

[morphix]

It seems I was a bit premature in my post, as luck would have it I suffered two break downs not long after the post just a week apart. Sods Law!

The first one happened last week and luckily turned out to be nothing serious. I was riding along on my daily commute to the sorting office and the bike kept stalling like a car running low on petrol! It was putting up a flashing a spanner icon on the LCD and diagnostics error code 3 whatever that means. I thought the battery had given out. After fiddling around in the handlebar bag where the controller and battery is I discovered one of the three connectors to the motor was loose. So with a sigh of relief I was able to continue my journey.

Then the second incident happened a week later, yesterday. Funnily enough, I was in the exact same spot as last time, on my way to the sorting office just a few hundred meters from my home at the foot of a big hill. This time the power just cut out completely. I tried to power it up again it did come on but cut out again as soon as I started the motor. Checked all the wires, everything looked fine. Wouldn't come on at all. Limped back home and switched the battery for my other one and it started up no problem.

It turns out the battery is dead, kaput. Lasted 7 or 8 months. I would of expected it to last a bit longer, but to be fair it has seen daily charging I have treated it rather rough (riding on full power all the time and on throttle-only a lot, even up steep hills, and also left it on charge for extended periods past the charge point). Also it is only a small 5Ah battery. For those who don't remember my setup it's a self-build and I had the batteries made up by a Chinese guy who sells them on eBay, cost about £80 each.


The other battery (I had two the same) wasn't used until about 3 months ago, and is still working fine. Although it doesn't seem to have has much power as the other one did. Doesn't feel as fast and the power doesn't last quite as long.

So there's a little update.

I'm in two minds now about whether to buy another battery from the same guy. Looking at the cost, let's say both the batteries lasts 7 months, at £80 for 5Ah that works out at £11 a month, or £137 for 12 months. For two batteries giving 10Ah that works out at £274 for 12 months. I suppose it's still considerably cheaper than what you would expect to pay for a 10Ah battery from a bike manufacturer in the UK..

 

[morphix]

Hi Alan,

Hope you're keeping well and busy? I tried to do your spreadsheet online a while back but didn't have any luck as it wouldn't let me edit it. So I've put the info you wanted below.. Sorry about the delay replying. I'm so busy these days with work and other stuff...started doing forex trading full-time a few months ago and it's become all absorbing..keep meaning to make time to get into the forum and playing with gadgets and cameras ;-)

Hi Morphix, hope you are well. I'd like to complete my entry for you in the MEMBERS KITS spreadsheet. Can you give me the details I need? ...

Donor Bike: what was your donor bike?

It doesn't have a brand, it was just a cheap Chinese 26" folding MTB.

Fork Type: Carbon/Chromoly/Steel ... etc ..

Steel.

Fork Size: 100mm, 80 mm, etc ..

Got me there, 100mm I assume? standard MTB.

Motor: Vitenso 250w - how many rpms?

Not sure.

Controller: 500w 12 mosfet universal ,, etc ...

Not sure.

Throttle: Yes/No

Yes, thumb throttle.

Battery Type: Rack/Seat Tube/Bottle

Small 5Ah cube battery in handlebar bag.

Battery Manu.: Panasonic, etc ..

Unbranded Chinese LiFePo4 import.

Battery Life: 250 Cycles, 1000 Cycles, etc ..

Not sure, it's lasted 8 months of almost daily weekday charging, so estimate 200 cycles.

Condition Reqd.: Do you have to condition it?

No.

Battery Lock: Yes/No

No.

Battery Warranty: 1 YEar, etc ..

None.

Battery Cost:

£80 including delivery.

BMS Size: Not sure why I have this? Does you BMS have an associated size? Is there a more sensible question I should ask about the BMS? ...

Not sure about this one..

Charger: mine is a 2.5 amp 36v charger. Whats yours?

Says on it: 36v 17-24Ah, that's all I can find.

Charger Cost: if yous broke how much would it cost to get another one?

Well it came with the battery, I have no clue how much they would cost separately,
I'd say at a guestimate around $30 USD.

Charger FULL cutoff? Does your charger cut off or do you use a timer or just watch it?

Good question. Haven't been able to get a clear answer on this from supplier.. I think it cuts
off as the fan certainly stops when its fully charged..and the green LED stays lit, so I just
remove the battery then.

Recharge Time: Whats your typical recharge time? How long does it take from being depleated?

Takes 2 hours.

Charger Noise: Is your charger noisey?

Yes it is a bit, from the fan.

Brakes: Disk/V vbrakes? ..

V-brakes.

Budget: What was your original budget?

£400.

Cost: How much did it actually cost you in the end?

About £470 with a few upgrades to bike.

Kit URL: any links to the kit you used or the component parts ?

RFTEC & Vitenso Elektrofahrrad, E-Bike Umrüstsatz

Photo: Do you have any photos?

http://gallery.amorphix.net/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=3709&g2_serialNumber=2

Build Issues: Do you remember any particular build issues i.e. on mine I had a threaded axel and had to have it re-died ..

Apart from putting the wheel on the round way around (seems to go opposite way to the usual way hub motors go I've been told) and the bike going backwards lol it was very easy and trouble-free build.

 

[Deleted member 4366]

I just found this on Ebay. Looks somewhat familiar. Look at the picture of the bike!
250W 36V Electric Bike Conversion Kit (Front Hub 26" Wheel) Ebike | eBay
Morphix, you need to clear out your private messages. I wanted to send this by PM, but you're full.