Thumb throttles

[Rab C Nesbitt]

Hello all - hope someone can shed a bit of light on this.

Long story short - having seen Daniel and all the other folks posting the photos of their really fine ebike kit conversions (by the way lads, you all seem to be good photographers - most of your bike photos are better than my wedding album) I was inspired to do my own very low tech version.
Simple 36v 700c front wheel from Alien - no pedelec or cut out brakes - just a simple throttle on my regular bike to help me home uphill and against the winds.

Well that was the plan - wheel was fitted as was the pannier + battery - all fitted and working fine but I was sent a "twist" type throttle which isn't much use as I have a touring bike with drop handle bars and mini brakes. All this on the handlebars makes it a pretty busy layout. Now Alien are looking about for a thumb throttle to send me (one with the 4 wires to connect) - do any of you know how these normally fit on handlebars ?

i.e. is it a big black plastic polo mint which means I'll have to strip my handlebars of their wrapping and all the other guff or is there a neat clasp on type mechanism that will save me from this ? I googled thumb throttles but I wasn't any wiser after trawling through the results

Grateful for any help or thoughts

 

[Andrew harvey]

Yes you'r going to need to strip the lot, but you still might not be able to slide the thumb throttle around the bend. You would be better of using the pedal sensors with an on/off switch somewhere convenient, like under the saddle or a cheap switch from an old motorbike.

 

[wibble]

Your google powers are weak! I just had a peek on google and found this:

50cycles electric bikes - Panasonic Electric Bike Throttle Kit - Turn your Kalkhoff into an ebike

 

[Rab C Nesbitt]

Ah Wibble - the force is strong with you - thanks for this.

I obviously had the Scottish Google on which would filter out a thumb throttle costing £49.50 !
Seriously - thanks, and it also lets me see how it could be fitted quite easily without a major upheaval

 

[flecc]

Be aware this is a "walk alongside" throttle which operates only to 4 mph on the standard bikes. Only on the high speed Pro Connect "S" can it operate at a higher speed, up to 12.5 mph.
.

 

[wibble]

Be aware this is a "walk alongside" throttle which operates only to 4 mph on the standard bikes. Only on the high speed Pro Connect "S" can it operate at a higher speed, up to 12.5 mph.
.

Isn't it the controller that decides how it reacts to the throttle input?. The website states that three of the Kalkhoff models only go up to 4mph. I assume that's because of the controller on those models. A throttle is simply a resistor/potentiometer without any fancy electronics?

Or maybe you're saying that the controller on Rab's bike is the same as the controller on the mentioned Kalfhoffs?

 

[fishingpaul]

Do you want to stay with dropped handle bars,or would you consider swapping them instead,the extra power of the motor should do away with the need to crouch down to cheat the wind,and a more relaxed position could be had.

 

[Rab C Nesbitt]

Thanks for the heads up on this. I wouldn't have had the foggiest about the "walk alongside" that flecc mentions. I'll see what type of thumb throttle comes my way and hopefully this bear-trap mind that I possess will work out some way to get it in a suitable position . . .. .

Fishingpaul - I do want to stay with the drop bars but not for the aerodynamic reasons you mention. . . oh that I was that fast! It's more habit and comfort really - many years growing up with them and for the last few years, commuting every day, rain hail or shine with my trusty tourer

 

[fishingpaul]

Everybody to there own but i always found the only comfortable position was to hold the top of the bars,i only used the curved bits for braking and extra speed downhill.

 

[Tiberius]

Rab,

One of my bikes has drop bars, and I fitted a thumb throttle. I think its been mentioned on here before.

One of the difficulties you may find is that drop bars are slightly larger diameter than straight ones, so the throttle won't slide on. I made up a special mount using a jubilee clip. That also solves the problem of stripping things off the bars.

As I said, I think its been mentioned in a thread on here before. If you can't find it, I'll see if I can dig out a photo.

Nick

 

[flecc]

Or maybe you're saying that the controller on Rab's bike is the same as the controller on the mentioned Kalfhoffs?

My mistake, I thought Rab had one of the Panasonic equipped bikes but I see he's speaking of the Alien, apologies.
.

 

[Rab C Nesbitt]

Rab,

One of the difficulties you may find is that drop bars are slightly larger diameter than straight ones, so the throttle won't slide on. I made up a special mount using a jubilee clip. That also solves the problem of stripping things off the bars.

As I said, I think its been mentioned in a thread on here before. If you can't find it, I'll see if I can dig out a photo.

Nick

Nick
That would be kind of you if you can find a photo of your jubilee clip mounting - photos being worth a thousand words and all that. You're probably right about the diameter in drops being slightly larger and of course, had my thumb throttle not slid on easily, I would have been reaching for the hammer to make it fit - anyway, I'll be prepared now.

Just shows you what a broad church the forum is - normally there's high level discourse about voltages, ebike legalities and milli-amps and I come in, and within a short while, we're talking about jubilee clips and hammers.. . . .

 

[Tiberius]

Rab,

I was wrong - the thread where it was discussed was on endless-sphere not on here.

Have a look at Endless-sphere.com • View topic - Throttle mods for drop bars.
Complete with pictures.

Nick

 

[Rab C Nesbitt]

Nick

Thanks for the photos - I'll probably need to go down a similar line as thumb throttle arrived today and as you predicted, it doesn't fit on to the drop handlebar (too fat).

As always my thanks to you all for your assistance

Rab

 

[Straylight]

On the subject of thumb throttles, does anyone know where to get one with a level meter and a power button? As I'm considering trying one on my Wisper. Something like this would be ideal:

Though obviously just the one

I've tried a cursory search of German e-bike sites, using the search term "daumen-gas" (thanks to google translate), but to no avail...

 

[Mussels]

On the subject of thumb throttles, does any one know where to get one with a level meter and a power button? As I'm considering trying one on my Wisper.

Let me know if you get it working, I'm looking for one. Norman warned me that a similar attempt by someone else led to a broken controller so go carefully.

 

[Straylight]

Thanks, I'd imagine if you sent 36v down the control line that the controler might not like it too much! Forewarned is forearmed, as they say, and I shall certainly have a mutimeter on the end of my forearm!

 

[Tiberius]

Straylight,

It would be easier to look for separate throttle, display and power buttons, but then of course you would have to mount them separately.

What is the power button for? If its an "on road / off road" switch, then I'd seriously consider the legality of mounting it anywhere near the throttle. I suspect anyone in authority reviewing the situation would conclude that a power boost button on a throttle was equivalent to a throttle that opened to more than 100%.

Nick

 

[Straylight]

Hi Nick,

The button on the 905se's throttle is simply an easier way of turning off the electrics than doing it at the keyswitch on the battery, it could be considered somewhat superfluous, but it is rather handy to make sure you don't accidentaly twist the throttle when pushing the bike/getting on & off.

 

[jhruk]

Straylight,

This looks like the type of throttle you're after :

Gasdrehgriff mit Akku-Anzeige - pda-tech

They also list on German ebay :

Daumengas Akkuanzeige Elektrofahrrad Pedelec E-Bike 36V on eBay (end time 07-Nov-09 09:25:04 GMT)

I'm sure they'd post to uk if you ask - in German..!