Cyclamatic Hello

[SAD12]

Hello All,

Just thought I'd say hello and say how much I've learned on here and since May when I took the plunge and paid a pound less than 500 for a step through Cyclamatic. It has been some years since I practically lived on my trusty Trent Tourist as a teenager and couldn't wait to get something with an engine. More recently the Doc said I needed to exercise my knee more and that cycling would be an excellent exercise. When I said I'd probably fall off (I only have one leg) he said I should use an exercise bike. Well, I didn't think much of that advice, I mean, what's the point of peddling and going nowhere? So my thoughts turned to wondering if I would really fall off? Hence the rather cheap experiment. My reasoning was that if I couldn't manage it then I wouldn't have lost too much. 300 miles now and the only time I fell off was when I was trying to get on! The public embarrassment! My balance seems fine, a bit wobbly if cars come too close but I try and stay off the main byways and enjoy the lanes.

I like the bike a lot, in fact I'm getting rather attached to its simple pleasure and try to work myself hard using the motor only on the hilly bits. The throttle control is excellent as I can start it off, balance and then start peddling. There are times when I have to just turn it off as it gives too much assistance, I want slowish, not fast. I did wonder if there was a way of adapting it to turn down the power a bit to suit, other than stop peddling? The more expensive bikes have this I'm thinking? Then again, I'd like a bit more power on the steeper hills. Having said all this, I think it's a great way to enjoy a bit of exercise, beats being indoors anyway.

Cheers,

Shane.

 

[OldBob1]

Hello Shane and welcome, glad to see you have found the E-force, like you I found the PAS on the Cyclamatic can be a bit too powerful and hard to keep up with (Gearing to low in top) you can fit a larger chain-ring which does help.
I bought a 2nd folder to tinker with and with that I left off the PAS, and just use the throttle when I need power, increase the chain-ring and replaced battery to 36 volts.
Nice to be able to peddle and just feed in the power when needed, and goes up the hills like a ferret up a drain pipe
You could remove the PAS on yours by disconnecting at the controller?

Bob.

 

[SAD12]

Thank you for those thoughts Bob. As I'm new to this, can you just replace a 24v pack with a 36v pack and not suffer any ill effects from the increased voltage? I had thought it might go bang or something!

The chain ring is a nice thought, one for the winter layup I think. But I hadn't considered just disconnecting the peddle sensor, that makes a lot of sense and provides more manual control for when I want it, not when the bike thinks I want it, if you know what I mean.

Cheers for this.

Shane.

 

[Deleted member 4366]

You need to read the Beastamatic thread, which explains how to beastify your Cyclamatic. It works for all types.
http://www.pedelecs.co.uk/forum/electric-bicycles/9857-cyclamatic-beastamatic-dead-long-live-beastamatic.html
Pictures here:
Beastamatic Photos by d8veh | Photobucket

To summarise:

1. The standard Cyclamatic is 24v and 12 or 14 amps, so about 350 to 400w depending what version controller you. Top speed is 20mph down-hill, but only 15 mph on the flat, and it has little hill-climbing ability.

2. Solder half the shunt for 16.5 amps and 460w gives better climbing and a bit more speed.

3. A change to a 36v battery, which slots straight in would give 480 to 560w with the standard controller. The speed down-hill goes up to about 27mph, but only about 18mph on the flat. Hill-climbing is a lot better.

4. A 36v battery plus the shunt soldered for 16.5 amps gives 660w, which is about the optimum for power and reliability. Like this, the bike climbs well and is very fast.

5. 44v lipos and a 36v controller with the shunt soldered for 20.5 amps gives about 1000w, which is three times the original power. Top speed is 32 mph down a slight hill and about 25mph on the flat. You can go up steep hills without pedalling. You have to be careful not to labour the motor too long because it could over-heat, but I dis some very long medium hills without problems. You need to change the gearing because you can't keep up with the pedals. It accelerates faster than you can keep up with the pedals,

 

[SAD12]

Many thanks d8veh for the summary and the links. Reading through it I realise how much I don't know about these things. I'm a bit of an amateur mechanic with cars and bikes, ran an MGC for 16 years but I know little about the modern electronics. I think it's time I got onto it.

The reassurance about the 36v conversion looks good for the future but I'll take it one step at a time and do the shunt first, disconnect the peddle sensor and then the chainring in that order to see how it goes for me.

Thanks again, this has all been very useful and informative.

Shane.

 

[OldBob1]

Hi Shane, I second what d8veh has said, nice to have that extra power at hand to climb the odd hill.
With 36 volt battery I find even with the larger chain-ring I can only keep up with it to about 18 MPH (Which is fast enough for me on 2 wheels!!)
Great fun though.

Bob