RobinC

Has there been an announcement from Onbike about TdP 2013?

I dropped by my local Aldi before lunch and they had already sold out of the short sleeve shirts, which was the only thing I was interested in. I suspect they didn't have many of these.

Hi Mark, Would you say the motors are getting better or just different? Obviously you have accumulated enough experience to fix minor niggles before they cause problems. It will be interesting to see what Brompton use if/when their rumoured project appears. I have a DIY Tongxin project, which only gets some attention when I have spare time, so it is mostly just a collection of bits & components. I should stick with the KISS philosophy but I keep dreaming up new bells & whistles to slow progress... Regards, Robin

Crank pedal threads can be repaired with an insert, but if the crankset is nothing special it might work out the same price as a new crankset. Unless the original cranks were made of soft alloy I'm surprised he was able to thread the pedals on the wrong way round. Highpath crank repairs

Apologies if this is old news, I haven't been lurking here much of late. There is a brief description of a prototype e-Brompton. Interview with Will Butler Adams Robin

Is it possible to use the Turnigy with a remote sense resistor? With a rear mounted battery & controller this would be a more sensible arrangement than having to run thick wires to the handlebars & back again. Robin

The smaller roller brakes were very under-whelming, the IM70 is OK-ish and the new IM80 might be a decent brake. Look at IM80 vs IM70 halfway down page Robin

Not easy to find but there is a roller brake to disc brake adapter available: Cesur disc adapter I don't know if it has been tried on the Tongxin hub. Robin

The splines look to be too big for a centrelock disc mount, so I think it is intended for a roller brake. The larger slots in the pictures of the Shimano disc above are on the lock ring which holds the disc onto the hub. It uses the same tool as used for cassette lockrings. Shimano XT disc hub Nexus hub with roller brake mount Robin

In the latest AtoB they mentioned that Brompton is working on an electric version but it is still some way off. I think I read somewhere that they were also in contact with Tongxin a while ago but I don't know if anything has come of that. Robin

These don't make any mention of being low self-discharge, but for a bike used frequently that is unlikely to be an issue. The component-shop might have the equipment for welding tabs in house so worth asking if you want this option for batteries without tabs. I bought some tabbed 'instant' AAs and a few other bits from there and would certainly use them again. Robin

Did you mean £9.99? The price I see online. I did see these D size Hybrid cells in stock in my local Maplin last week but I didn't look at the price, I was just interested to see they existed. Robin

I take it you mean the low self discharge type NiMH type batteries. I hadn't realised they were also better in the cold. Until recently these were only available in AA size but I see Maplin now have in them in D size also. They are definately better for occasional use application e.g. digital cameras. Generally more expensive than standard NiMH at the moment, maybe this will change in the future. I don't know if they are better for the higher current requirement of a ebike.

I was told over the phone a few months ago that web orders get free delivery irrespective of size but didn't test that as I was above the threshold (£45 I think) for free delivery for any order. Robin

I remember this display & motor catching my attention at the London Cycle Show. At first I thought the motor was a Tongxin. As a DIY bodger I was also interested in the display. The motor seemed quiet with the 'lift front wheel and turn on motor' test but I didn't have time to do a proper test. The Tongxin site seems to be more often down than up so I have attached the picture of their display mentioned earlier. Since they don't usually respond to individual contacts this is of academic interest to most anyway. Robin "LED Display: Speed,kph and mph,16"-28" Distance single, be back 0 Distance total Power capacity, 24V or 36V Lamp Assistant: OFF-LOW-MID-HIGH Blue Background light Auto sleep mode power save Odometer display&its controller(speed,distance,time,Off-High-Mid-Low electric assistant) 0.7Kg 500 RMB"

Hi Roger, You mentioned you have used your own smaller controller. Any details on this? Enquiring minds are curious.. Thanks, Robin

You could put the fuse on either wire. Not sure about the Bafang but a 20A fuse is what I plan to use initially with a Tongxin. Does the controller you are using have a built in current limit? I've just ordered one of the aluminium cases thanks.

One of these can help getting tyres on to a rim when other methods fail. I don't usually need this tool but it has saved me alot of grief on more than one occasion. Simson tyre mate

OK I will probably go ahead and order one of these cases. Since a Ping battery is a fair sized outlay a fuse to protect it in case of short would seem a wise precaution. You could use an in-line fuseholder of suitable current rating.

Will you put a fuse inside the case somewhere? You might also want to put something so the cable isn't directly rubbing on the metal where it exits the case. Maybe a bit of old inner tube or something. Other than that it all looks good. Would the battery also fit in the case with the leds facing upwards? I have already found a plastic box for my extremely slow progress project but I'm tempted to get one of these cases to see it would be a better solution. I have a pile of CDs that could do with a box so it won't be money wasted if I stick with my current scheme.

For a Tongxin hub should two torque arms be used, one on each side? I think the Tongxin axle is split in the middle so I was wondering if there could be a problem if one side is attached more firmly than the other.

Thanks for all the photos. How much does the case weigh empty?

Last year I used auctionchex for something I bought from a German ebay site. Looking back I paid about £45 for a Euros transfer worth about £38. Maybe there are cheaper options but it was cheaper than what my bank would have charged.

This makes sense, like the extra losses/diminishing returns of extreme gears on internal hub gears. Which rpm is optimum for 700C wheels, assuming some hill climbing is required?

Looks interesting. Are you using standard Tongxin controllers? I notice you are putting these inside a Brompton bag so I might be concerned the standard controller would overheat. Since you also have outlets in Australia & Israel I guess they should be a good test ground for heat stress. Robin