Alien GS 2

Roadrunner

Finding my (electric) wheels
Feb 5, 2010
7
0
Hopefully I have put this in the correct place , as I explained in my first post I am new to forums so just shout if I don't follow the protocol!
Well the GS2 arrived this morning despite TNT's multiple attempts to avoid delivering it to me, what a fiasco, but nothing to do with Jim or Alien I hasten to add.
I read everthing on this forum regarding the Alien which was very helpful and I recommend anyone thinking of purchasing one to do the same, Although I am new to electric bkies and haven't cycled for 40 years I was attracted to the GS2 even before discovering this forum and following the old adage "if something looks right it usually is" I was already half sold on it anyway.
So it has turned out, and I set about unpacking and getting it built and checked over earlier today. Everthing was straightforward and I fitted the panniers which I also purchased from Alien and a Cateye Strada bicycle computer. Whilst doing this the battery was on charge.
The only faults I found were a few paint chips on the frame, two slightly loose spokes on the front wheel and a gash in the front rim (on the black part). Nothing to worry about and the first two faults were readily fixed
Just had a quick run (10miles on suburban roads averaging 15.8 mph with a max of 25). The lights, particularly the rear seemed effective with motorists giving me a wide berth when overtaking, unless it was because I was wobbling ... lol. Everthing worked well with no problems, although even at this early stage it is fairly obvious that the gearing is on the low side and as others have pointed out a higher top gear would be something worth considering, I think it could climb a wall in bottom!!.
That'll do for now, have just realised my legs feel a bit rubbery !
 

NRG

Esteemed Pedelecer
Oct 6, 2009
2,592
10
Nice one RR, look forward to reading futher reports, welcome to the world of E-biking!
 

NRG

Esteemed Pedelecer
Oct 6, 2009
2,592
10
If its the exact same one as mine Kalimbakey beware there are 4 raised metal 'leaves' inside the inner ring that will foul the pedelec disk as they are raised above the surface of the ring. You will either have to remove the disk or do as I did and flatten them down a touch with a hammer!!!
 

Old Timer

Esteemed Pedelecer
Dec 5, 2009
1,279
12
If its the exact same one as mine Kalimbakey beware there are 4 raised metal 'leaves' inside the inner ring that will foul the pedelec disk as they are raised above the surface of the ring. You will either have to remove the disk or do as I did and flatten them down a touch with a hammer!!!
Or transfer the pedelec to the left:eek:
 

NRG

Esteemed Pedelecer
Oct 6, 2009
2,592
10
LOL! Now why didn't I think of that ;) Faced with buying the right tool to dismantle the bottom bracket or a 5min hammer job and be on the road in 10....I went for the latter option :D
 

Roadrunner

Finding my (electric) wheels
Feb 5, 2010
7
0
Alien GS2 first proper run

Hello again folks, just in from the first proper daylight run on the steed! Perfect timing as I waited until the frost cleared, enjoyed perfect winter sunshine the whole time and the instant I returned home the snow started, thats what I call organisation.., lol.
Total distance 30.3 miles avg speed 13.2 mph max 26.1 mph. Bearing in mind how long it is since I have been on a bicycle I was rather pleased with this, and if anyone reading this is hesitating getting an ebike or doubting their ability then believe me its a doddle, go for it ,you will enjoy it! I feel I could do 50 miles without a problem ( well ok the battery might have a problem, but even after 40 miles on first conditioning charge I have still amber and red charge indicators showing ), You can certainly notice the drop in battery power but still impressive for first charge I think. The run was two thirds canal tow path and one third outer suburban busy roads, the tow path was just perfect on the bike.
No issues whatsoever with the Alien, although I did ajust the rear brake before setting out as I noticed it was rubbing slightly,- 30 second job.
You old hands will probably laugh but the simplist things make a big difference and maybe worth pointing out to other "freshers". An example is making sure you get the seat height spot on for your particular physique, I thought I had but found an extra few millimetres of height made all the difference when I made an "en route" ajustment. Its the sort of thing only mileage will show up once you get the feel for your particular bike.
The low gearing of the bike is fine except on fast well surfaced roads - yeah like we've lots of those..lol, but I find that the bike just wants to go , and of course at above 15-18mph its all human power so I'm curious to know what I could do on a lightweight racer, ( for a quarter of a mile anyway !!) Thats for another day, meantime looking forward to my next run which will simply be to drain the battery and get it on its second reconditioning charge. Is two enough anyone?

Cheers for now
 

NRG

Esteemed Pedelecer
Oct 6, 2009
2,592
10
You don't need to! Its a Lithium battery ;)
 

Old Timer

Esteemed Pedelecer
Dec 5, 2009
1,279
12
confused

I was told when I came on the forum to do 3 deep charges to commission the battery (Li-ion):confused:
 

Roadrunner

Finding my (electric) wheels
Feb 5, 2010
7
0
Thanks for that NRG, electronics isn't really my thing ! Thought I read somewhere I needed to, must have dreamt it:D
 

flecc

Member
Oct 25, 2006
52,862
30,413
I was told when I came on the forum to do 3 deep charges to commission the battery (Li-ion):confused:
There's some dispute about this, some companies say do it, others don't. There's a suspicion that the discharging advice is a "left over" from previous battery types like NiMh where it was important, and this is further complicated by the fact that integral meters in batteries do need a full discharge to register a correct zero point to measure from.

So if there's an LED meter built into the lithium battery, do a full charge, followed by a full discharge.

If no integral meter in a lithium battery, probably ok to just do a full charge and then start using the battery normally.
.
 

rustic

Esteemed Pedelecer
May 31, 2008
288
42
North Essex
Welcome aboard Road Runner, sounds like you have made the right purchase for you & all the research has paid off. The bike does undoubtedly have a few shortfalls, but overall it is a stylish machine that packs a bit of punch at a very decent price. Happy cycling.
 

neilmeansneil

Pedelecer
Feb 11, 2010
25
0
have been keeping an eye on threads about Alien GS11, close to making leap into ebike world due to impending knee replacement and would be interested in any shortcomings you think the GS11 might have.
 

rustic

Esteemed Pedelecer
May 31, 2008
288
42
North Essex
have been keeping an eye on threads about Alien GS11, close to making leap into ebike world due to impending knee replacement and would be interested in any shortcomings you think the GS11 might have.
Hi,

Choosing an electric bike is a very individual decision, a drawback to one person may well be a positive factor to another. If you click on NRG's profile name, Kalimbakey, Pete, or mine (we've all bought one in the past 3 months or so) you should find a variety of posts about some of the possible drawbacks & possible adaptations that could be made to the bike to rectify these. Although having said that, in all honesty the standard bike is very usable in it's existing format & is very good vfm in my opinion. Issues like the on/off switch being on the rear of the bike & the issue of it only having one pedelec mode (Fast!!) have not really diminished my pleasure in using the bike.

I live around the Essex Suffolk border, if you are anywhere near me you would be welcome to come over & give mine a test ride.

All the best, Rus.
 

neilmeansneil

Pedelecer
Feb 11, 2010
25
0
Thanks for that, live in N Cumbria, a bit far to go for a test ride!
Have read most of the posts about GS11 and have come to the conclusion that the gearing and pedel assistance are the main areas for tweaking. has any tried inserting a high/low switch into the pedel assist circuit.
Have cycled for years on bikes i've modified to suit me but electronics is not something that I have any experience of.
Cheers
Neil
 

NRG

Esteemed Pedelecer
Oct 6, 2009
2,592
10
There's some dispute about this, some companies say do it, others don't. There's a suspicion that the discharging advice is a "left over" from previous battery types like NiMh where it was important, and this is further complicated by the fact that integral meters in batteries do need a full discharge to register a correct zero point to measure from.

So if there's an LED meter built into the lithium battery, do a full charge, followed by a full discharge.

If no integral meter in a lithium battery, probably ok to just do a full charge and then start using the battery normally.
.
Surely that depends on the type of 'meter' Flecc? I suspect that the majority simply measure the volts and light up a corresponding number of LED's...I would think that there aren't any actually preprogrammed to know the Ah (or more importantly the Wh) of the battery and log the drain during use...or are there?
 

flecc

Member
Oct 25, 2006
52,862
30,413
Surely that depends on the type of 'meter' Flecc? I suspect that the majority simply measure the volts and light up a corresponding number of LED's...I would think that there aren't any actually preprogrammed to know the Ah (or more importantly the Wh) of the battery and log the drain during use...or are there?
I would also superficially think that, but in practice many are different. For example the widely used Paanasonic battery has a meter so sensitive to zeroing that it has to be taken down to the fast flashing final stage of discharge to record accurately.

Batteryuniversity.com gives similar advice without specifying the meter type:

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Although lithium-ion is memory-free in terms of performance deterioration, batteries with fuel gauges exhibit what engineers refer to as "digital memory". Here is the reason: Short discharges with subsequent recharges do not provide the periodic calibration needed to synchronize the fuel gauge with the battery's state-of-charge. A deliberate full discharge and recharge every 30 charges corrects this problem. Letting the battery run down to the cut-off point in the equipment will do this. If ignored, the fuel gauge will become increasingly less accurate.
.
[/FONT]
 

NRG

Esteemed Pedelecer
Oct 6, 2009
2,592
10
Yes, I take that back...a bit of Googling discovered this new device from TI the BQ3060 released very late last year that seems to be a very sophisticated device:

TI introduces single-chip battery fuel gauge with protection

http://focus.ti.com/lit/ug/sluu319/sluu319.pdf

From my quick scan of the doc. it seems to require some sort of pre-programming for the battery its connected to and then needs to go through a learning cycle to work out capacity. From there on it can accurately adjust for temp, self discharge and perform self calibration so maybe its even more advanced than the device Panasonic currently use, or maybe not!....interesting stuff...
 
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NRG

Esteemed Pedelecer
Oct 6, 2009
2,592
10
I'm hijaking the thread so I'll stop with this post! :eek:

Seems TI has a number of devices sutible for different applications see:

Battery Fuel Gauges - Power Management - TI.com

....this diagram caught my eye for a 4 cell battery monitor and how these things work:

 

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flecc

Member
Oct 25, 2006
52,862
30,413
Thanks NRG, yes they've come along way since the old 14 pin "ladder" LED ICs. In size too, often vanishingly small and wafer thin now.
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