Teejay

She's of the opinion any passer-by could have spotted them at any time the garage door was open, blaming me for doing so whilst giving the bikes a wash recently. The place is on a fairly busy thoroughfare My opinion is it must have been a van job. The odd thing is, I'm up very late, she gets up early, so there's someone about here nearly 24hrs a day - yet neither of us heard a thing. What's "fb market place"? The police have told me to keep an eye on www.bikeshd.co.uk which I was told lists all recent bike adverts on gumtree, ebay and craiglist. Unfortunately it doesn't date them. Sadly I forgot to ask what I'm supposed to do if I spot something that may be mine!

They were nicked from the garage attached to the house I'm currently living in. It's my girlfriend's house, I'd be astonished if it's anything to do with her. She has had the builders in recently. It's NW London, borders Wembley and Kingsbury. She thinks it's professionals. I don't, they left both chargers...

Went into the garage of the place I'm staying at the moment and to my horror - both bikes gone, stolen sometime between Wednesday evening (26th) and this afternoon. 1. Brompton M6R with Nano conversion. 2010 model. Black with red forks and rear triangle. Cateye Velo computer. Integrated lights. Distinguishing marks - magnetic brake sensor held in place by Gorilla tape, left hand front mudguard stay fractured, front mudflap bolstered with Gorilla tape, front tyre (Schwable Marathon) due for replacement - coming off rim, rear luggage straps well stretched. 2. Woosh Big Bear. 2015 model I think. Suntour suspension seat post. Schwable Marathon tyres. Non-standard features: Luggage rack attached to seat bolt rather than frame bosses. Right hand rear rack attachment by allen bolt and nut, padded out with washers, rather than allen bolt into frame. Left hand standard. Integrated lights run straight off main battery. AXA ring lock (sadly with keys left in). Battery attachment broken, held in place by bungee strap. Large, rather tatty throw over panniers. North Road style handlebars.

Thanks to vfr400 for such a prompt response. Had an inkling a duff cell might be the case and your diagnosis confirms this I think. Taking the battery apart and certainly welding in new cells is way beyond me but you've helped clarify for me what to do. Once again, my thanks.

My Brommie was converted just over 3 years ago. Still on the original Bosch 4 amp-hr battery, though had to get a new charger in January after the original died. All went well till last week. I'd run the battery down to the flashing red light level. Putting it on the charger, that also gave a red flashing light. The book of words said, 'voltage too low' despite it still showing about 32v on the multi-meter. So I parallel charged it from the 36v battery off one of my other bikes for a minute or two. That did the trick and it charged up nicely on the charger. A few days and miles later, time to top up the charge. Sticking the battery on the charger, this time a continuous red light. 'Temperature out of range' said the book of words. Palpable nonsense - but where do I go from here? Tried contacting Nano for advice, by e-mail and then phone - but to date, several days later - no reply (not like them at all but we're in unusual times...), so, before shelling out for a replacement battery, thought I'd first come to this forum for any advice or suggestions.

Checked with Nano's today and they confirmed they do still use the Tongxin motor, whilst adding that it has been improved over the years. As it's not a Bafang as previously discussed, I would still wonder at the wisdom of "hotting it up" though..

I thought the Nano kit used the Tongxin Nano motor, which a search on this site gives the advice they don't take kindly to extra current or over volting. Does anyone know when (or if?) they changed to the Bafang?

Interesting Woosh's reply to my post seems to be gone today. My reply to it would be it's fine if you want a small bag for a Tablet or knick knacks, but my suggestion leaves you free to use any bag Brompton or others provide, just as on a standard Brommie. To answer DBrown67's post, if you look at Swytch's site they do now offer luggage block mounting as well as the handlebar option. In my view the latter is inelegant. Unfortunately, the link I offered doesn't seem to work, so you cant see what it looks like. They use a slimline shark battery that fits under the saddle when folded. It doesn't affect the fold at all, though an extended or telescopic seatpost would probably be needed. I need that on a Brommie anyway to pedal comfortably and I'm not particularly tall or long legged. My experience with my Nano is the extra weight on the luggage block makes swinging the forks and wheel round a bit more difficult and it's a bit more likely to become unhooked when carrying the bike folded. Aesthetics are in the eye of the beholder I suppose. You're right though, I await looking at Woosh's design with interest.

Well, the electrifying Bromptons market seems to be hotting up. We've had Nano for years, now there's Swytch with Woosh in hot pursuit. If Swytch's prices double after this Friday then no doubt Woosh's kit will give them a run for their money. I own a Nano Brompton and a delightful thing it is too. The conversion has transformed the utility of the bike for me. My trips often take me up Hampstead hill and it makes all the difference. I only wish it had a bit more, well, elan; mine runs out of puff at about 14 mph. My understanding is there is a limit to how much power that can be fed into the Nano motor. However, what I want to ask is, why do they all persist in mounting the battery on the luggage block, thereby depriving the owner of the use of a Brompton bag? Alright, the clever Nano system mounts the battery in a bag - the price you pay is fiddling around plugging the adaptor in in the dark.. Surely the obvious place to put the battery is on top of the main frame tube, in front of the seat stem. For example, look at https://ecyclesblogspot.com/2017/06/brompton-electrica-mk2-650 Ok it's in Spanish but it shows it can be done. It baffles me why mode don't do it that way, or am I missing something?

Was the centre drive version of this the bike the one that was touted a year or so ago as possibly having the option of having a hub gear? IIRC the new version of the Sturmey 5, which is advertised as being suitable for e-bikes, was mentioned. If so, why was the idea dropped in favour of derailleurs?

Thank you to all for your contributions in answering my original post. Whilst I appreciate attaching self contained battery lights is an easy answer, I've never had a happy history with these things, going back to the days of 'Never Ready'! I regard them as a lash-it-on-afterthought. Cars and Motorcycles have integrated lighting systems, why shouldn't bicycles - at least those used as transport like mine are? As I pointed out in my original post, what started this was a battery light getting nicked. Dynamo lighting systems and their close cousins powered by an e-bike's battery don't suffer this disadvantage. Thank you especially to Neath. I'd guessed something like a 5 amp fuse would be needed to protect against shorts (and would at least partially answer Woosh's reservations) and it's useful to know it should be on the +ve feed. Forgive my ignorance here, where would you get a 36v 5amp fuse? Most car systems are 12v, would a 12v 5amp fuse from a motor factors do? Or would it be a 12v 15amp one? Or doesn't voltage matter? I somehow think it does... Anyway, what I'm really after is practical assistance in fitting the system. The thought of me attempting to cut insulation and solder wires into other wires fills me with horror Very high chance that really would mess things up! Any ideas there?

Got a second hand Woosh Big Bear through these columns a couple of years ago. Rode it round for a bit and great fun it was too. After a few repairs were needed anyway, decided to take it off the road in order to turn it into a more practical machine for me. All of that (north road bars, frame lock, schwable super marathon tyres etc) is all done but I've come to a shuddering halt with the new lighting system. After a lash-on torch got nicked, I decided it's far better to have an integrated ligting system powered from the bike's main battery. So got a Busch & Muller headlamp and wires, which is advertised as running on up to 42V. And it has a 6v output for dynamo-style rear lights - so got one of them as well. Cost me very little, as I had some Amazon vouchers I'd been given, going spare. However, I have neither the knowledge, equipment nor temprament to do this myself. My mate, very good on conventional cycle mechanics, demurred. Woosh wouldn't do it. So, is there anyone out there who could help me with this, or at least give suggestions as to what I could do, please? I'm in suburban NW London.

If Woosh do end up doing a Kreiger/Bali/Big Bear (Front hub motor is ok with IGH of course) with a decent hub gear (Shimano 8? Sturmey 5??), reckon I'd be on the next train to Southend As an aside, it baffles me why no-one ever uses 3/16" chain for CD bikes with a hub gear. It would surely be ideal for the purpose - or am I missing something?

I can see that an 'S' class, with machines capable of nearly 30mph would have to have extra restrictions, as otherwise the Motorcycle trade would doubtless loudly cry "foul"! I also accept that the OP's suggestion of legalising power up to 20mph or so is most unlikely to be adopted. What I don't understand is WHY NOT? Whatever are 'the authorities' so frightened of? It would - in my view - be a most sensible change, enabling our machines to be both more thrilling to ride and yet more practical, without the disproportionate and unnecessarily draconian consequences of getting 'caught' hanging over us. Such a change would doubtless improve sales too. Those who prefer to go around at 12-15 would happily continue doing so, I don't see that as a reason to oppose the idea.

I went down to Newquay by train on Saturday and bought wolfmandave15's (lovely chap) Big Bear - the deal being done on the Platform in the half-hour between my train's arrival and its subsequent departure The astonishing thing is, given that the bike was such a bargain - I did pay more than his minimum suggested price but even with the train fare as well, in my view it's still a bargain - he told me mine was the only enquiry he received! Having got the hang of riding it, it's very different from my old Agattu but really rather jolly. It rockets up hills in Assist 5. It is, presumably being a later model, notably better than the example I tried at Redbridge in September 2014.

Gosh, what a swift and courteous reply! Thank you. Much as I suspected though. I'll muse on

Just musing at the moment, I don't have any plans to actually do this! I don't mean the Impulse motors, what I mean is on German e-bay there is, for example, this http://www.ebay.de/itm/Panasonic-Pedelec-E-Bike-Mittelmotor-Freilauf-350Watt-36V-NUA035HB-/321925212523 which I didn't even know existed until coming across it! My real question is, these 36V ones look on the face of it identical to a '24v' motor but would it be a direct swap in, for example, an old Agattu? I see it comes with a battery platform. Speaking of which, it would clearly need a 36V battery with similar fittings to the 24V ones (not the new curved ones), which also seem available, e.g. http://www.ebay.de/itm/Original-Derby-Cycle-E-Bike-Pedelec-Akku-36V-14Ah-NKY397B2-Panasonic-/291659819486 Again, would this be a straightforward swap? Has anybody done this I wonder? What's it like in practice? At a guess, the 36V ones would have more 'go', presumably generating more torque - but does anybody know?

The one I mentioned went for a Grand in the end! Mike63's point was valid - in spade loads...

Just surfing E-Bay for amusement when I came across this.. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/kalkhoff-agattu-impulse-ebike-electric-36v-540wh-8sp-mans-town-city-bike-dutch-/391110006711?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item5b0ff917b7 "No charger" "Can't be put back into shops (due to) small cosmetic marks". What do members think? It seems a bit, erm, odd to me.

It counts from the bottom. So gear (n+1) will have a ratio 1.25 times higher than gear (n), like the second example mike killay gives above. Therefore gear (n-1) will have a ratio of 1/1.25 = 0.8 that of gear (n). The direct drive gear on these, that is the wheel goes round at the same speed as the sprocket, is 3rd. I would agree with the implication that it's a bit of a shame they've narrowed the overall range slightly on these compared to the previous model. Jerrysimon's thinking is probably sound - but I'd be intrigued to know how you are going to arrange for the control wire to run inside of the chaincase? Necessary I would have thought with the rotary gear selector inboard of the sprocket. Unfortunately, I've never looked at any bikes with full chaincases and Shimano gears (like Kudos' City and Tourer models) to see how they do it.

Oh, at last Sunrace Sturmey-Archer have seen the light! A problem with the original British 5-speed model was that 1 to 2 and 4 to 5 were too close, compared to the 2-3 and 3-4 gaps, a result of it being developed from the FW hub. Sunrace S-A missed a trick a few years ago when they widened the gearing range by adopting the cogs from the BWR hub. Had they kept the original cog set for 2nd and 4th, the result would have been close to the desired geometrical progression. Instead they were lazy and adopted the cogs from their standard 3-speed, so the same problem arose. However, with these new RX hubs, it seems they have a perfect geometrical progression, with a claimed 25% gap between each gear. Interesting too they have adopted rotary gear selector and a rotary changer, very similar to those on the Shimano Nexus hubs. Thanks to shemozzle for the heads-up on this one

In the second page of the Grin Technologies Guide, (the link above) in the paragraph about Controllers, it says, "... and converts the DC (direct current) type of electricity the battery provides into the AC (alternating current) electricity needed to spin the hub." A mistake, surely??

Yes, I'll happily have a pop at that Fingers crossed for fine (or at least dry) weather that afternoon

Well, think I'll give it a go! With Hainault (or Fairlop) at the other end of the Central Line, it'd be a lot easier for me to get to than Southend. It'll be interesting to see which makes turn up as well as Woosh. Let's just hope the weather co-operates!

After years of reading Pedelecs off and on, I'd understood the the BMS controls things like keeping all the battery's cells balanced, cutting off the juice when the voltage falls too low, that kind of thing. Whereas the current to the motor was controlled by the Controller - and to get more go you change the controller for one that allows more amps, or you 'solder the shunt'. But now were told they're uprating the BMS on the Big Bear to give it more grunt. Can somebody explain, please, 'cos I'm obviously not understanding something and frankly I'm confused?