pn_day

I would vote for the option to just wire the lights separately - through a fuse, then a switch. That way you can run the display without the backlight, and run the lights as you require. It also means that you aren't limited by the output from the controller.

You can spend a little more and get something that definitely does meet the standard - my experience is that the claims on some of these lights are not quite true (e.g. lux). I've got 2 of the Spanninga Axendo 80 lights on my velomobile and like them a lot. Much better beam pattern than all the previous lights that I've bought from bangood, gear best and the like. Various places do them, the chap who runs this shop is a nice chap who moved from the UK to the Netherlands for the cycling. https://www.dutchbikebits.com/recumbent-velomobile-parts/spanninga-axendo-80-xe

I would recommend you get an additional bar (often used for mounting lights, cameras, or cycle computers) and then attach the throttle to that. Cleans up your main bars, but still keeps the controls in reach. Something like this: eBay or lots more choices at SJS Phil

I've never owned a Bosch system, but believe that they are pretty good at stopping you from bypassing the required speed limit, so would be surprised if your proposal actually worked. In addition, in the early days of the Alfine there were lots of reports of the 11 being less durable - I read a couple of people who had gone back to the 8 for improved durability. So in summary, I don't think that this is a good idea. Keep the bike as it is and enjoy it, or get something else would be my advice. Good luck, Phil

Some of these cheap lights don't have a good vertical cut-off - so you run the risk of annoying any oncoming traffic. Another alternative that meets the stringent German requirements and will run off your ebike battery is by Spanninga (and is much cheaper than the premium offerings by others). Available in a few places, mostly in the Netherlands - I've used David @ Dutchbikes and found the experience to be very easy - he's a Brit who moved over to cycling nirvana. https://www.dutchbikebits.com/spanninga-axendo-80-xe?keyword=spanninga&category_id=0 Phil

As the others have said, a crank drive will be better. Have a look at the various Bafang BBS offerings, or the TSDZ2 (or whatever it is called). Available from lots of sellers including Woosh: http://wooshbikes.co.uk/?cdkit#tsdz2 Another alternative which might be a bit left field - if you have got the version of the Hase without a differential, you could use a motorised rear wheel on the non-drive side. Any geared hub motor would do for this - there are lots of choices. Hope that helps, Good luck, Phil

I'm sure you'll get a fuller answer from somebody more knowledgeable, but here's my tuppence worth... The EU spec of 250W is a bit confusing - it is a 'nominal' value. In practice you are perfectly correct - the combination of battery and controller often mean that a '250W' system might actually be peaking well above this. In your case, you might well find that the 36V battery is closer to 42V fresh of the charger, so you max power may be closer to ~630W. Don't worry about it - most other '250W' systems will be doing something similar. About the only thing you can do to damage it is run the motor too slowly (i.e. go up a steep hill without pedalling at all). Apart from that, if you are using the stock controller and not increasing the current beyond the defaults you should be fine. Enjoy the new freedom that having e-assist brings! Phil

Interesting bike - nice find! As a starter, I would get rid of the knobbly tyres unless you are off-roading. In terms of motors - I agree that having the rear wheel motorised would make sense here - and a smaller wheel will have the advantage of more torque from the same motor when compared with a larger wheel. Another option would be a crank drive - it looks like there is no front derailleur so it would be relatively easy to just add a crank drive unit (like the Bafang BBSx or TDSZ2, or GSM, or...) This gives the benefit of driving through the gears (so better on the hills), but is more fiddly to use - driven rear wheel is probably less hassle if you are using it for shopping, commuting, and getting about town. Good luck, Phil

Thanks for the update - sounds like it has been a success! I've just finished putting my GSM build back in the velomobile - now running at 48V, and experienced a similar joy - in a quick test ride I was able to turn the cranks at ~115 rpm without any feeling that the motor was limiting the crank speed. Much better for my purposes. Thanks for sharing the detail about the internal differences in the BBS - I'm sure this will come in handy for others in the future. Enjoy the improved ride! Phil

Try Jimmy at Insat

I’ve given up on this idea - there is not enough room, so I’ll just live with the wider Q-factor, and enjoy the freewheel!

Hi Vern, Firstly - you are lucky to find a Rohloff equipped frame in your man cave - should be a lovely thing to use. Does the TSDZ2 allow use of a chainring spider? If so, you should be able to either get chainrings that are dished and therefore move them out that way, or get an adapter (big washer with holes through it) that sits between the spider and the motor mount to move the whole thing out. If you are stuck with the chainring that fits directly onto a motor, then life becomes more difficult... I would ping the helpful folks at Woosh - they should be able to help. Good luck, Phil

Dear all, I've not been on here for a while - as I went through a foolish phase of trying to ride my heavy aluminium recumbent (velomobile) without e-assist. I've seen the error of my ways, so may lurk a little more frequently again... One of the things I am wondering about is using a crank drive / BB motor (I have a GSM model from Woosh with external controller, which is very similar to the Bafang BBS), but instead of attaching pedals directly to the spindle on the motor, using a conventional BB and having the motor elsewhere in the driveline (probably in front of the cranks), connected via a secondary chain to the normal cranks (probably an inner chainring). I intend to use an external PAS sensor on the left hand crank as normal. The reason for doing this is that most crank drives are rather wide - their Q-factor is wider than a standard BB+crank - and the internal width of my velomobile is restricted, leading to the side of my foot striking. Would this work? Or would I be driving the whole stage of the motor when pedalling without power instead of just the secondary reduction + freewheel as normal when pedalling the cranks attached directly to the BB? Enquiring minds want to know. The easy option is just to put the GSM back in and attach cranks directly to it, but this way could give more lateral space. Thanks for any comments or wisdom you might have, Phil

Interesting find - I hadn't realised that GNG were working on smaller, lighter motors as well as the powerful but rather industrial units they used to make. I'll stick with the GSM as I have it for now, but will keep an eye out in the future... That GNG unit could have the potential for a thinner Q-factor as well - due to the different geometry. Yes, I have an A4. Great fun, except when going uphill and running out of low enough gears Picture attached about half-way into my commute - the bike path at that stage goes past a local harbour.

Thanks AK - useful info. I had the motor in there last year, but didn't like the slight resistance of the crank + increased resistance (I'm guessing back EMF) when trying to increase cadence. I then stripped it all out and rode without, which at least told me more about the natural cadence I tended to use on hills. But a ~45kg aluminium velomobile on a 10% hill is even more challenging than I feared, so I'm now looking at putting the GSM back in, this time with 48V (and maybe running on very low assist levels all the time to avoid the 'cogging', rather than switching off completely). For now I will use the S12S that I already have (shunt already modified to take down to 17A - will then reduce current further to bring down to the 15A recommended max for 48V). Q-factor is a bit of a pain - I know the motor is not as wide as the TZ, but it is still wider than a normal BB. Straight cranks (Schlumpf) plus the Precialps spider have helped this. Cheers, Phil

Hi AK. Would you care to share which controller, and where from? I'm about to put my GSM back on my velomobile, but want to run at 48V as I was also experiencing issues with the limited crank speed. (Short cranks on a recumbent mean that 90-115 rpm is not uncommon, even for an unfit bloke like me). Thanks, Phil

I would also suspect the controller, or the actual PAS disk which I think is internal on a BBS. I think you could either buy a new controller (internal), or do the mod to allow an external controller - and then you can use an external PAS as well. Not as neat, but might be easier to troubleshoot.

Another alternative if you want stability is a tadpole style recumbent trike. ICE in the UK make good ones http://www.icetrikes.co, and there are many other manufacturers out there who also make good options. The advantage of a tadpole trike is stability during steering - 2 wheels at the front do the steering.

Thanks all for the tips. Cheers

Dear all, I have a 36V 20Ah battery which is still working (bought from BMSb a few years ago). I got 2 chargers with it, which both deliver approximately 2.5A at 36V (or 42V as it appears to be). They work well, but are very noisy - the small onboard fan spins up an creates quite a noise. The chargers I have are similar to this link, with a UK plug on 1 end, and a 3 pin female IEC ?C13? plug on the other for connecting to the battery) https://bmsbattery.com/ebike-charger-ev-charger/23-alloy-shell-180w-lifepo4-li-ion-lead-acid-battery-ebike-charger-ecitypower-charger.html I would like to get a charger without such a noisy fan for use at work - even if it will be lower power and therefore take longer to charge the battery. Does anyone know of a suitable charger? Also does anyone know of the pinouts to connect to the battery if I need to buy one without the correct IEC connector on the end? Thanks in hope, Phil

Cheers AK - I placed an order with BMSb for an S06SC anyway, so have also ordered the new display. I'll let you know my thoughts. (The S12S is great for using with the GSM crank drive since I modified the output current, except that the speed cut-off is relative to the motor speed, not the wheel speed. At the moment I have both a momentary and latching switch setup to kill the motor, and switch off when I am up to speed - saves fiddling with the assist levels all the time.)

djah - the manual contains P and C parameter settings. Depending on which version of the controller you have, some of the C settings may not be present. Worth a search online if you have a unit that includes C13/C14 settings - mine doesn't. KT_LCD3_newerManual.pdf

Hi all, I was looking for a replacement display for my trusty KT-LCD3 (also labelled by BMS Battery as an S-LCD3) as the control button casing has split, and the display is a little wide for the current location. I noticed that the new generation includes LCD6 - which is in a portrait orientation, and much to my delight, now also displays the current cadence - useful for those with a crank motor. I've not got it yet so can't give a review, but thought it might be of interest to others with a crank drive using an external controller (e.g. GSM). See http://www.szktdz.com/en/news_show.php?article_id=438 Cheers, Phil

Magic. Thanks Daniel.

Hi all, I made an interesting discovery over the weekend. I'm using multiple LED strips on my velomobile build (white at the front, red at the rear, amber for indicators) and was getting all sorts of strange problems (some not working, some being dimmer than usual). The strips I used are like the one in this link: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Neuftech-Flexible-Light-Waterproof-Car-White-White/dp/B00UL8BBGS LED strips like these don't like being wired in series. Wiring in parallel made all the weird problems go away. Just sharing in case it saves somebody else some bother... Phil