Hi. Any help appreciated, my Carrera crossfire e has died, commuter

[Vinny]

Good evening.

I’ve had a Carrera crossfire e for the past 3 years. I have commuted pretty much every day to work from my village, the ride is 5.7 miles each way and is completely flat, I have a very short 2 minute ride on a stone / hard surface near to work but the rest is road, I can commute fully by road but save a couple of minutes taking the shortcut, my journey takes me 21 or 22 minutes each way.

The Carrera has been good to me, had the cut out issue maybe 10 times in 4200 miles which was resolved by wiggling the rear connector that covered by the Velcro pad. Around 2 months ago I had the battery connector melt (common issue due to cheap components) so re soldered to one spare terminal inside battery and controller but finally it gave up the ghost last weekend and I had a very tough ride home

I put the schwalbe? marathon plus tyres on which were faultless over their 4K miles. The top gear was starting to slip as I pretty much lived in it with assistance on maximum. My bike is purely to commute to work and home.

So why am I here?

1. The Carrera crossfire is dead , the battery has took a lot of charges and the bike needs serious repairs if I’m honest but I am not arguing with 4K miles and zero maintenance bar oiling the chain. I can put a normal 700c rear wheel on, fit a new rear sprocket and the bike is perfect as a hybrid.

2. I have a brand new well 50 miles covered maybe 2013 voodoo hoodoo that I bought and never used.

Since my ebike went wrong I have used this to commute to work, ride takes 30-40 minutes wind dependant and I arrive at work feeling like I have biked.

So I would like to convert the voodoo hoodoo to either a mid drive using one of the bafang kits or to I guess a rear hub driven ebike. There is a guy who has done this with the bafang kit here

Bafang BBSHD Bike Conversion | Through the Square Window

Any advice would be appreciated along with where to buy either the bafang kit or the rear hub kit.

I understand that 500w would be fine for me, I’m not after ridiculous speeds, 20mph would be nice requiring little or no effort from me, being a postman I do enough walking to then want to cycle home.

I understand that I don’t want to scrimp on a battery or a controller either.

I’m not mega rich but if I can get another 3 years from a bike without much of an issue I’m happy. The voodoo is a nice bike and I don’t mind modifying and or building it up.

As I said I live in the fens so super flat and boring. Me myself I’m about 73kg so not much to me.

Sorry for the long winded post, and I look forward to any responses

Vinny

 

[vfr400]

Get the hight torque 250w version from Brighton Ebikes.

Bafang BBS01B-ETM (MM G430.250) 36V 250W motor kit

Bafang BBS01B-ETM 36V 250W mid-drive complete conversion kit including LG MH1 cell battery

www.brightonebikes.co.uk

 

[Vinny]

They look a very professional outfit. The 250w motor I presume I can up the limit to 20mph for example?

Reading through some testimonials and looking at the gallery everyone seems very happy.

Samsung cells too which I presume are good?

Many thanks

 

[vfr400]

They look a very professional outfit. The 250w motor I presume I can up the limit to 20mph for example?

Reading through some testimonials and looking at the gallery everyone seems very happy.

Samsung cells too which I presume are good?

Many thanks

It'll give you what you want and it's legal. That's all that matters.

 

[Bonzo Banana]

Good evening.

I’ve had a Carrera crossfire e for the past 3 years. I have commuted pretty much every day to work from my village, the ride is 5.7 miles each way and is completely flat, I have a very short 2 minute ride on a stone / hard surface near to work but the rest is road, I can commute fully by road but save a couple of minutes taking the shortcut, my journey takes me 21 or 22 minutes each way.

The Carrera has been good to me, had the cut out issue maybe 10 times in 4200 miles which was resolved by wiggling the rear connector that covered by the Velcro pad. Around 2 months ago I had the battery connector melt (common issue due to cheap components) so re soldered to one spare terminal inside battery and controller but finally it gave up the ghost last weekend and I had a very tough ride home

I put the schwalbe? marathon plus tyres on which were faultless over their 4K miles. The top gear was starting to slip as I pretty much lived in it with assistance on maximum. My bike is purely to commute to work and home.

So why am I here?

1. The Carrera crossfire is dead , the battery has took a lot of charges and the bike needs serious repairs if I’m honest but I am not arguing with 4K miles and zero maintenance bar oiling the chain. I can put a normal 700c rear wheel on, fit a new rear sprocket and the bike is perfect as a hybrid.

2. I have a brand new well 50 miles covered maybe 2013 voodoo hoodoo that I bought and never used.

Since my ebike went wrong I have used this to commute to work, ride takes 30-40 minutes wind dependant and I arrive at work feeling like I have biked.

So I would like to convert the voodoo hoodoo to either a mid drive using one of the bafang kits or to I guess a rear hub driven ebike. There is a guy who has done this with the bafang kit here

Bafang BBSHD Bike Conversion | Through the Square Window

Any advice would be appreciated along with where to buy either the bafang kit or the rear hub kit.

I understand that 500w would be fine for me, I’m not after ridiculous speeds, 20mph would be nice requiring little or no effort from me, being a postman I do enough walking to then want to cycle home.

I understand that I don’t want to scrimp on a battery or a controller either.

I’m not mega rich but if I can get another 3 years from a bike without much of an issue I’m happy. The voodoo is a nice bike and I don’t mind modifying and or building it up.

As I said I live in the fens so super flat and boring. Me myself I’m about 73kg so not much to me.

Sorry for the long winded post, and I look forward to any responses

Vinny

Not worth looking into getting the Crossfire repaired? How many miles do you get out of a charge, 20 miles maybe? Well 20 miles x 500 charges is 10,000 miles so the battery should still have capacity left and doesn't the bike have a common issue with a torque sensor. It feels like with a bit of attention the bike could be back in good working condition again but I really don't know what happened to state its 'dead'. It's a geared hub motor so would have thought it was capable of at least 8,000 miles before the nylon planetary cogs need replacing. I have no idea what is typical of that model but I've read somewhere that you should expect to the lifespan of the motor to equal the lifespan of two batteries with geared hubs. I've heard of direct drive hub motors lasting over 40,000 miles although that might include bearing replacements.

Feels like the bike should only be half way through its lifespan but I understand there are issues with the Suntour HESC system.

 

[Vinny]

Not worth looking into getting the Crossfire repaired? How many miles do you get out of a charge, 20 miles maybe? Well 20 miles x 500 charges is 10,000 miles so the battery should still have capacity left and doesn't the bike have a common issue with a torque sensor. It feels like with a bit of attention the bike could be back in good working condition again but I really don't know what happened to state its 'dead'. It's a geared hub motor so would have thought it was capable of at least 8,000 miles before the nylon planetary cogs need replacing. I have no idea what is typical of that model but I've read somewhere that you should expect to the lifespan of the motor to equal the lifespan of two batteries with geared hubs. I've heard of direct drive hub motors lasting over 40,000 miles although that might include bearing replacements.

Feels like the bike should only be half way through its lifespan but I understand there are issues with the Suntour HESC system.

On max assist when I get home my battery ranges from 40-60 percent left, during the summer I was using 25 to 30 percent a day, it has literally been out in all weathers but is in a shed at night and bike shed during the day.

I think I have maybe charged the battery 600 times could be wrong.

The torque sensor does make noise these past few months like a graunching noise, the cut out seemed to happen a little more.

To repair I need

New battery and cradle
New rear derailer
New rear sprocket
A pair of new schwalbe marathon tyres
New brake pads all round

I work that to be maybe £500-£600

As said if I just put a new normal wheel on the back I have a good hybrid.

I don’t even mind converting this again.

I just don’t trust it for another 4000 miles.

I got it through cycle to work so it’s cost me very little

Decisions eh, meanwhile tomorrow I mist once again cycle with my legs haha

 

[vfr400]

On max assist when I get home my battery ranges from 40-60 percent left, during the summer I was using 25 to 30 percent a day, it has literally been out in all weathers but is in a shed at night and bike shed during the day.

I think I have maybe charged the battery 600 times could be wrong.

The torque sensor does make noise these past few months like a graunching noise, the cut out seemed to happen a little more.

To repair I need

New battery and cradle
New rear derailer
New rear sprocket
A pair of new schwalbe marathon tyres
New brake pads all round

I work that to be maybe £500-£600

As said if I just put a new normal wheel on the back I have a good hybrid.

I don’t even mind converting this again.

I just don’t trust it for another 4000 miles.

I got it through cycle to work so it’s cost me very little

Decisions eh, meanwhile tomorrow I mist once again cycle with my legs haha

Some people on this forum chucked the battery, LCD and stupid torque sensor and replaced with standard Chinese stuff, which is pretty straight forward if you can solder 11 wires, and it costs around £350 depending on options. the new system would make you master of your own destiny regarding power and speed. You could even go to 48V, which would give a lot more of both if that's what you wanted.

 

[Vinny]

Hello again

that certainly interests me!

I can solder to a degree haha, do you have any more information

i presume I would continue to use the rear wheel from the bike and upgrade the rest

the 48v part is also of interest.

let’s say my motor is half worn out with just over 4K miles but I can get some more use from it, now I presume if I choose wisely here with controller and battery when the time comes I could replace the rear wheel motor for a bafang anyway and use whatever I purchase with this fix

hope this makes sense

I am searching through the forum aswell

thank you very much!

vinny

 

[vfr400]

It's pretty well as simple as buy the new kit, unscrew and unthread the old stuff, fit the new stuff, solder the motor cable wires, and enjoy your new bike.

48v allows the motor to spin 30% faster, so you get more choice of maximum speed. The downside is a bit of loss of efficiency at low speed., so not the best choice if your modal speed is 10 -12 mph of you weigh 120kg and have steep hills.

It's important that your new system uses current control (AKA torque simulation) otherwise the power isn't so controllable. you get current control with any KT controller, which are what's in that battery from Topbikekit above.

Personally, I prefer the separate controllers in aluminium boxes with conventional block connectors rather than the sealed waterproof type because they're easier to test and diagnose if ever there are problems, but this means that you need a separate bag or box to install the controller in. I've always used a toolbag under the seat.

 

[Vinny]

Fitted a 1000w voilamart kit to my voodoo hoodoo. Bolted in no problems and had a few journeys to work. Very enjoyable so far. Picked up a yose power 48v 12.5ah battery which seems fine for my needs as well.


drilled the frame for additional rivnut and all seems good, fitted some schwalbe city tyres and the hybrid seat and mudguards, it’s a real mixed bag but seems to work for me!

I do need to buy hydraulic brake sensors but the voodoo brakes have very little movement on the grip so will be a tough job to do I think.



also need a plastic box for the controller or something as I dislike the bag

 

[vfr400]

Fitted a 1000w voilamart kit to my voodoo hoodoo. Bolted in no problems and had a few journeys to work. Very enjoyable so far. Picked up a yose power 48v 12.5ah battery which seems fine for my needs as well.


drilled the frame for additional rivnut and all seems good, fitted some schwalbe city tyres and the hybrid seat and mudguards, it’s a real mixed bag but seems to work for me!

I do need to buy hydraulic brake sensors but the voodoo brakes have very little movement on the grip so will be a tough job to do I think.



also need a plastic box for the controller or something as I dislike the bag

What about torque arms?

 

[Vinny]

Fitted two 6mm thick two part ones. £24. Not those cheap ones with jubilee clips from China.

on my photo you can. See one side partially fitted

 

[Harrie]

Hi, could you have used your old Carrera Crossfire battery with the kit if it still had plenty of life left in it?