Pashley Parabike Conversion

[One_Box]

Due to the unique design of this bike I want a conversion which is as discrete as possible.

To this end I was thinking of a 8FUN BBS01 kit ( probably the 350W version ) and a rear rack mounted battery of at least 10Ah.

Whilst the motor kit seems readily available they seem to be sold with either bottle or the newer USB batteries which I don't want.

Does anyone know where I can source a suitable battery and rack ( I would want the battery to be lockable to the rack ) ?

This will be my first conversion so any other thoughts would be gratefully received.

 

[Nealh]

Have a look at the Woosh website or BMSB, although Woosh don't show racks contact them and they may sell you one with a battery.

 

[One_Box]

Sorry, what is BMSB ?

 

[pdarnett]

BMSBattery.com

 

[One_Box]

Thanks

 

[One_Box]

Panda can supply me with a rear rack and battery but I will have to wait until they come from China at the end of September

I also emailed Eclipse but have'nt had a response from them.

Anyone had experience of either company re sales and service ?

 

[trex]

woosh have rear rack batteries - same models they use on their Big Bear (15AH) and their Petite (10AH) - if you want one, ask Andy @ Woosh. They are slightly more expensive than Eclipse.

 

[One_Box]

Thanks Trex, all available from Woosh and in stock.

 

[One_Box]

Ordered today for delivery tomorrow.

Woosh are terminating the battery mount with an appropriate cable and connector for the BBS01

 

[One_Box]

Just received my kit and am a bit worried about the 15Ah battery Woosh have supplied. Apart from two scratches on the plastic end where the charge indicator lights are, the bar code reads 1407070006. At face value this indicates to me the battery was manufactured in July'14 and is thus already 1 year old ! How much capacity would it have lost in the last year assuming it has been on Woosh's charging rack ( I'm rather hoping it hasn't been used on a demonstrator ! ).

The motor kit is fine with a bar code beginning 1505.

Should I contact Woosh re the battery ?

 

[trex]

yes, you should, for your peace of mind.
the capacity decreases with the charging cycles, the manufacturing date does not affect that. Generally, manufacturing techniques improve over time. This year's cells should be better made than last year.

 

[One_Box]

Talked to Andy today. All the current Woosh stock batteries are of this date or earlier. Apparently batteries are only in stock for approximately 3 months before being sold so mine should not be a problem.

I am enjoying fitting the kit and hope to finish tomorrow with no problems so far. Interestingly Woosh changed the battery connector on the BBS01 to bullet connectors which they consider superior.

I hope to post a picture of the finished bike shortly.

 

[Swytch Bike]

Panda can supply me with a rear rack and battery but I will have to wait until they come from China at the end of September

I also emailed Eclipse but have'nt had a response from them.

Anyone had experience of either company re sales and service ?

Hi - good news the rear rack batteries made it (just) onto our latest shipment and will be delivered in early August. I lost track of your email from a few weeks ago but remembered you when reading this thread.

Pop us another email in a few weeks time, we should be able to get one of those rear rack batteries to you in the last 2 weeks of August if you are still interested

 

[One_Box]

Finished fitting the kit and well pleased with the result.

I'm amazed how quiet the BBS01 motor is compared to my Kalkoff and OH's Woosh Petite.

 

[trex]

the BBS01 is not bad is it? I have one of the very early BBS01, still running sweet and quiet.

 

[One_Box]

I've decided to change the stock 46T chain wheel for a Bafang 44T.
When I rode the bike pre-electric I changed the chainwheel to a 42T in order to get up the local hills better. ( The Parabike weighed in at 18 Kg before conversion ! and only has a 5 speed Sturmey Archer hub ). I reckon this will be a good compromise now I have the BBS01 to call on and hopefully, will allow it to run at the sweet spot speed of approx. 80 RPM more often.

 

[One_Box]

Just went on a longish ride to test the battery ( 15Ah ) capacity completing 68 miles with 4477 ft climbing. Really pleased as only used 50%.

There is obviously more than enough capacity for any ride that I'm likely to undertake with a margin for using more motor if needed.

Also impressed with the pedelec tuning of the BBS01. I've set 4 levels but really only use 3 or 4 depending on the incline with no brutal cutoff. The independent throttle provides a boost beyond level 4 for really steep hills.

Have fitted a 44T Bafang chainwheel and the gear ratios are about as good as I can get it now.

 

[Deleted member 4366]

If you had used 50% of your battery, that wold give you a range of 136 miles, and the consumption would be approximately 4 wh/mile, which is an aveage power output of about 30w at 10 mph, which is not a lot of assistance. Most people would want at least 250w to climb hills, so they wouldn't get anywhere near your range.

By way of comparison, I was out on my bike yesterday and did 38.77 miles at an average speed of 14.0 mph, climbed 1527 ft and used about 2wh from my battery, which is about 0.05 wh per mile, so it looks like my bike is a lot more efficient than yours. With a 36v 2aH battery, I'd be able to do about 1,440 miles before the battery was empty.

 

[One_Box]

Nice one

If only I was able to attain your level of efficiency !!

 

[Deleted member 4366]

Anybody can do it. You just have to practice a bit first. Range is a very personal thing. Different people will get completely different results on the same bike. Anecdotally, most people seem to consume somewhere in the range between 10 and 15 wh/mile on a legal 250w electric bike, so it's easy to calculate expected range, which would be between 2.4 and 3.6 mles per amp-hour of 36v battery. A 15Ah battery would therefore do between 36 and 54 miles. It makes very little difference what type or size of motor you have, though some systems encourage you to pedal harder. Obviously, the harder you pedal, the further you go.

Coming back to your bike, you need to be careful about assumptions. If you're basing your 50% battery usage on the battery meter on the display, it could be a long way out. Most meters aren't linear, by the time you get down to two segments/lights out of four, the battery is nearly empty.