Alien 36V brushless conversion kit

[wormie_dk]

Hi there,

I just finished my first e-bike with the Alien 36V brushless kit (he now sells boths brush and brushless sets).

I am very pleased with the set and it works brilliantly in "unrestricted" mode. The hub motor is supposed to have a freewheel function and it seems to work ok. There is not much extra resistance in the wheel when the bike is turned of or motor is disengaged. However when I hit 18-20 mph (32 km/h) there seems to be quite a lot of resistance from the forewheel. Is this normal?
I have read somewhere that although the wheel has a freewheel I still have to drive the planetary gear which might be causing the resistance?

No matter what the resistance is not much of a problem for me. The main reason for buying an e-bike was to increase my speed on hills which it does very nicely

 

[flecc]

I have read somewhere that although the wheel has a freewheel I still have to drive the planetary gear which might be causing the resistance?

That's right, the freewheel is between the motor and the planetary gears, the latter always engaged with the hubshell rack. The gears are nylon and quite tight at first, but they will run in to some extent. There will always be more resistance than with a normal bicycle wheel though.
.

 

[wormie_dk]

Ok that sounds good. It might get a little less resistive with time then...
A small bonus question. Does anyone have experience with the battery meter. I had a trip of 36 km today (22.4 miles) and all lights are still full although the last light flickers a bit while hill climbing.

 

[rooel]

My experience with these battery meters suggests that if you had travelled a further mile up hill, or two on the flat, all the lights would have gone off and you would have had a dead battery.

 

[thingaby]

This doesn't directly answer your question but I think it is relevant and I'd be glad of others advice. My key question is have I got a duff battery?
I've done about 500 miles on my Alien Cruiser and I think the battery is starting to give out. It's 11 months old.
The pattern of my journeys is this: (and I only use pedelec, work quite hard and my top speed is 12/13 mph on the flat))
The commute to work - once or twice a week when the weather is good and I don't need my car for work - about 3.7 miles starting with a moderate uphill and then a decent run down hill and then it's on the flat. I always charge my battery at work immediately after this commute. Going home I used to get back up the hills no problem but now the battery has started to fail going up the last hill. It's only a few yards from 3 lights to two and then stop. The simple act of turning the battery off and then back on will give me a re-start and a few yards but generally I have to push for a while and I'll get a little more. I tend to push until I can continue without using the battery at all (which is hard work). I charge my battery when I get home - usually overnight.
The second type of journey is the week-end spin along by the river or canal (ie most of it is on the flat). The battery starts to give out at about 18 miles at the first hint of an incline. I've probably done 6 or 7 of these long journeys.
When I put a meter on the battery the day after fully charging it and then not using it for 24 hours it showed 36 volts on the nose.
When the battery has reached the point where it has 'packed in' it will run the wheel with no load at all but the simple act of switching the lights on will cause the wheel to stop in less than 5 seconds.
What do you think?
and finally - I have enjoyed this purchase and don't regret it!
atb steve

 

[flecc]

Those cutouts are the symptoms of the battery nearing the end of it's useful life due to cell voltage dropping too low. Alien did suffer some failing batteries, so it would be advisable to contact them asap, detailing the failure.
.

 

[thingaby]

Thanks for the advice Flecc. I've sent off the e-mail to Bob and will let you know what he says. My experience of his customer service in the past has been that it is excellent. Fingers crossed.
atb steve