7cfm

PE33 (plus extra characters so I can post)

Hi Bob, Will Juicybike be at the east of england electric bike rally in May? I notice that the merlin has a rear motor, does it have derailleur or hub gears?

I am thinking of changing my bike but I don't think the bike I want exists, here's what's on my shopping list Motor: Quiet and robust so preferably direct drive, sensorless, brushless front hub motor, but would consider geared if its quiet and has freewheel. Power: Upper end of what is legal i.e. more Ezee/heinzmann power and less powacycle/Tonxin Gears: Hub gears for less maintenance, minimum 6 gears Suspension (there are some very rough roads on my route to work) Crossbar / Gents bike Long range so must have high capacity battery, either single battery of at least 15 Ah/36v or preferably two batteries, would prefer LiFePO4 Any-one know of a bike that ticks all (or most) of the boxes? Ken

My own experience is no, which is why is so important to go somewhere reputable that will replace a faulty battery under warranty.

I have just checked and the battery charger is still flashing red/green, the charger is cold so I guess that's just the way it works.

I guess you'd better pop out and find a 24 hour garage then

Thanks Frank, thats useful to know. I'll check it before bed and if it hasn't settled down I'll see whats its doing in the morning.

Its just gone on charge, will check it about ten

Thanks both, I will try and leaving it charging overnight tonight and see if that sorts out the flickering.

I recently purchased an additional battery and charger from Kudos to use in Parallel with an existing battery on my bike. When I charge the new battery the charger indicates red as expected, but when it’s fully charged the light continuously flicks red/green/red/green etc. Is this normal? I have two Kudos chargers and they both behave in the same way. This is my first lithium iron phosphate battery, the other 3 bike batteries I own are all lithium manganese and all show a steady green light on their respective chargers when fully charged.

kinetics.org.uk

It was launched at Eurobike 2010 and there are a few scant details on the Heinzmann website. No-one seems to be selling it and there are no technical details that I can find apart from its a direct drive brushless hub motor. It should be a quality bit of kit coming from Heinzmann, any-one got any details?

I'll be there, I'm looking forward to it. My in-laws lives near Yarmouth so I will use it as an excuse to pay them a social call.

I have now finished adding the second battery to my bike, electric transport shop in Cambridge did the mod for me while my bike was in for a service. I supplied the parts, the total cost of the project was £365 as follows 10Ah battery and 2 chargers from Kudoscycles.com £255.16 Controller case with battery connector from Kudoscycles.com £19.60 Ezee Battery bag from Cyclezee.com £19.76 Y Splitter cable from ebikes.ca £22.70 ($35) 2 Schottky Diodes from pingbattery.com £17.57 ($27) Labour charge from electricbikesales.co.uk £30 The hardest things to source were:- The diodes (ebikes.ca no longer do them and re-voltage.eu are in the process of making up a new batch). The ones from ping are really nice and encased in a plastic box. They are not listed on the website as they only normally supply them to battery customers. A suitable battery bag for the battery, the Ezee one would not accommodate the battery + controller box. Ideally I would have liked a Kudosbattery rack as they are purpose built for their batteries but these are currently out of stock with an expected lead time of 6 to 8 weeks I now have a 10 Ah battery behind the seat and a 10 Ah battery on the rear rack wired in parallel so I should have now have a range of at least 30 miles

As an end user I despair when companies use citylink as I have not had good experiences with them. Fedex are good as are parcelforce as they will deliver to a local post office for a small fee.

I agree that 35 miles is a tall order, a dual battery arrangement might be capable of it, I know that Ezee do them. What sort of terrain will you be riding over?

I've not ever come across one in Norfolk

Done but 1) I live in East Anglia (I ticked south east rather than midlands) 2) I hardly use the throttle at all, only in two places on a 30 mile round trip, pulling away from a set of traffic lights and starting on a junction that is uphill. (I ticked never as I do not routinely use it to start) 7) Average distance one way to work or return trip? (I assumed two way, 30 miles) 10) Battery in parallel and higher power controller for more torque, not higher speed. (I answered yes). Happy to help but thought I would comment on my answers as like others I found some questions to be ambiguous. Looking forward to seeing the results in due course.

A progress update, I have got the connector and will order the battery later in the week, hopefully I should have the finished article by the weekend. I still need a battery bag for the rear rack, can you let me know the dimensions of the battery? Thanks

We wanted 3 bikes with approx budget of £1,000 each. Our 'local' electric bike shop turned out to be Electric transport shop Cambridge which either 45 miles by car or 9 miles to the local railway station then by train. We all wanted hub gears for easy maintenance. Reasons / Requirements Me To get some exercise and fresh air while commuting to work April - September To avoid the hassle of parking when I get to work 30 mile round trip on forest paths / dirt tracks / C class roads and cycle paths so need some off road capability and long range Hub gears Diamond frame Quiet battery charger in case I need to top up at work Wife To get some exercise and fresh air while commuting to work April - September 23 mile round trip on C class roads to work Hub gears Integrated lights connected to bike battery Step through frame Daughter To get to college every day (No bus service) 22 mile round trip in summer on C class roads 8 mile round trip in winter to the nearest bus stop on C class roads Hub gears Step through frame What we ended up with Me - Smarta GT8 Wife - Ezee Sprint Eco Daughter - Smarta LX3 I would have seriously considered Kudos had they been available at the time.

OK mystery solved. I put a multimeter on the charger but the voltage reading was everywhere, however I noticed a part number on the charger. I looked up 'model hp1202l3' and according to the specs I found its actually 42v/2a. I am guessing a possible reason I could not get a voltage reading is that it also says "No Load Voltage: 0~41.5V Pulsed"

Thanks all, really useful information. I am still a bit confused about why my wifes charger output is rated at 36v when she has a lithium ion battery (battery and charger are ezee, 36 v is listed on the input/output rating sticker on the charger). Checking the cycleeze site they also list their ezee charger as "eZee smart battery charger 36v 4 amps". Is this duff info or is there something different about Ezee chargers? FJJ - I nearly made the mistake of buying a cheap LiFePo4 charger, I will PM you about the charger, thanks

Thanks d8veh. I have just checked my charger and 'Mrs 7cfms' charger, the output on mine is 36v / 3a and on hers its 42v / 1.8a, I'm not sure why the voltage on her charger is so much higher than mine? I am assuming the only difference the amps makes is how quickly it charges the battery?

Apologies if this has been covered before. Are chargers from different electric bike manufacturers interchangeable provided that:- The charger uses the same connector type The charger is for the same voltage as the battery The charger is for a lithium based bike battery (i.e. not NIMH etc) The reason for asking is that my other half would like a charger to keep at work and charger prices range from £20 - £100

Dave, Thanks for your help with this and yes I'll report back, it'll probably be in about 3 to 4 weeks