Andy Day

Cheaper camera For much less spondulics you could try the "flycamone2", used by us model aeroplane people attached to flying models to take aerial stills or video. See this: ACME FlyCamOne2 & Available Accessories

Hmmm! I don't think it is as simple as that, I would imagine:- We know the speed controller needs to see the wheel with the motor in turning before it will apply power to the motor. This is probably acheived by what we call hall effect sensors, which are semiconductors which can be turned on by close proximity to a magnet. Thus there will be one or more sensors in the hub which as the wheel rotates are turned on momentarily by a magnet, which is affixed to the hub, passing by. This generates in simple terms a pulse which is seen by the controller which then decides the bike is moving. The next hall effect sensor which works in the same fashion as the one in the hub is the one at the bottom bracket, which senses rotation of the pedals. The third is the actual throttle. So the speed controller will need to see pulses indicating a rotating wheel + at least one pulse indicating the rotation of the pedals + an open throttle, before it will attempt to power the motor. All this is probable done with some type of micro controller - a minature and simple pre-programmed computer. It could be done with discrete components but in these days not many people would follow that design route due to complexity and cost. So, to sum up, I think just connecting X to Y as you are indicating proves nothing, and may in fact do damage. If you have proved the integrity of all the interconnections, without detailed knowledge of electronics and circuit diagrams there is only one real solution - swapping out bits 'til you find the fault. But bear in mind if your Powabyke is like mine it won't do anything unless you rotate the front wheel at greater than I think 3.7mph, rotate the pedals and hold the thottle open, all at the same time! Quite difficult to acheive in the shed, but it can be done!

Well I would imagine the majority of the electronics is the PCB in the box behind the headstock of the bike, this is what I would call the speed controller, but it must also include the hall effect sensors in the motor, the sensor at the bottom bracket if you have a "pedelec" feature on your machine as I have on my 2008 Powabyke, and the twistgrip itself which may be resistive or hall effect - I don't know. The regulating elements on the PCB are almost certainly field effect transistors (FETs), and these are readily killed by many situations. But my experience of faultfinding anything electronic is first to be sure of dc conditions - in simple terms are the battery volts going where they should be, and are they of the correct voltage, secondly is the connectivity of all the elements of the system as it should be? Remember after some years there will be the possibility of corrosion in connectors and elsewhere, and fractures of wiring - possibly unseen inside the insulating sheath. There are two ways to faultfind, one by swapping bits, 1, the dumbo approach, and 2, by measuring things and trying to understand what isn't correct. 1. is possible if you have the bits, 2. if you have the circuit diags and can read them! But, take heart, a simple approach can often work, proving the old adage that bullshit baffles brains! Things changed after you fiddled. Could be you totalled the speed controller, maybe you disturbed a dodgy connection and now things are just different. Try to measure the continuity of all the wiring, look for signs of corrosion in connectors etc. Much of the wiring will be colour coded, so red at the twistgrip, (for example) would have continuity to the red at the other end of the twistgrip cable where it goes into the connector at the PCB. To do this you would need a simple multimeter on it's lowest resistance range, good connection = close to 000 reading, failing that you are stuck with solution 1. or 2.! If you fiddle more and fail then things are no worse, you could always take the whole plot to a dealer although the cost may often be more related to the dealers skill than the actual fault, remember he will want to make a bob on the job and may if unscrupulous pass the cost of his inefficient diagnosis on to you, as many car repairers do!

As an electronics engineer but not a Powabyke expert I'd be highly surprised if you haven't killed the speed controller, if you reversed the power supply polarity. It is possible to build protection into these units but is either costly or saps power a little.. I would reckon you won't fix it unfortunately without bits to swap, particularly if you can't get into diagnostic mode, which generally needs all the electronics to work to tell you anything useful. Of course I'm quite prepared to be disabused of these ideas by the helpful Mr Curran who is really you best bet for assistance!

Hi Folks, I've been offered a freebee "Raleigh Select" by a mate, he has used it for retrieving free flight model planes at meetings around Britain, but the batteries have died and he has bought a new machine. A quick search on the internet shows it may be a museum piece, but I can't find any info or picture. Can anyone help? Andy

Caused offence? None meant! Of course I didn't mean to cause offence Conal, and apologies to Moon if I did. I'm glad, Conal, your experience of brake wear is different from mine. I've been running ebikes for 4 years now, and have lost count of the number of times I've had to both adjust brakes and replace blocks. I'd say adjust every 200 miles and replace every 500 or so. I'm no porker either, weighing in at 13 st. However I do live in a hilly district and often touch 35mph downhill, so brake wear is high and frequent adjustment essential to maintain optimal performance. But. It is my experience that you are best on your own in practical terms when it comes to routine maintainance, but I guess that reflects the fact I live 10 miles from my dealer and don't drive. If the bike is busted or unrideable I can't get it to the dealer so I have to fix it myself! I haven't asked and the dealer hasn't offered, but a 20 mile round trip to adjust the brakes seems a bit daft! There is also the matter of trust. I'm sure most dealers are competant enough, but as an ex long circuit kart racer I'd rather be responsible for my own spannering, I've had no safety issues so far. It would be interesting to hear from a number of dealers to discover the normal response with regard to routine maintenance as opposed to major servicing which is a different issue. Perhaps a poll is in order?

Routine maintenance Oh dear! Of course the brake cables are not coming loose! The brake blocks are wearing because the higher speed and weight of an electric bike imposes higher loads. I'm sorry Moon, but welcome to the world of people who need to know one end of a spanner from another! Of course you don't need to take the bike back to a dealer each time the brakes need adjusting. What next, get them to inflate the tyres and charge the battery? It sounds to me as if your dealer has categorised you as someone with no mechanical skills! I don't think you can expect to use an electric bike in the same way you would a modern car, just put petrol in and check the tyres once a year and leave the rest to a dealer service. It will need constant fiddling with to give its best performance. With regard to the brakes, adjust the cables until you get a comfortable amount of movement at the handlebar lever. Check by spinning the wheel that the brake blocks are not rubbing on the rim. If they rub one side it may be the brake needs centralising. There should be a screw on each brake arm which adjusts the force of the springs that push the brake arms away from the rim. Fiddle with these, small adjustments at a time until the brakes don't drag or bind.Keep an eye on the brake blocks. (The bits that rub on the rim), if they get a bit thin replace them. Of course it's reasonable for the dealer to charge for work, also for him to try to protect himself from incompetant home mechanics. It's up to you to prove yourself able to do basic maintenance!

Powabyke suspension forks geometry Hi, I've just got some suspension forks on my ally Powabyke commuter as I couldn't tolerate the pummeling my hands got from the rigid forks. I tend to suffer from arthritis and found my knuckles on both hands swelling. I suppose these suspension forks are bought in items, the geometry of the forks doesn't seem to match the frame. The bike was very stable on a smooth surface with the rigid forks, I felt reasonably safe at 42mph down a steep local hill. These new forks kick the front of the bike up by a fair bit, feels like a couple of inches at the bars. Normally that would increase the trail and rake of the forks putting the front wheel spindle further ahead of the axis of the steering head. That conventionally would increase stability and reduce turning ability but it doesn't feel like it! The bike does feel more remote and twitchy, I wonder if some other angles of the forks are different, perhaps a compensation with less trail? I shall try lowering the bars to put more weight on the front and see if things feel better, but that rather nullifies the idea of saving me knuckles! Rake is the angle of a line drawn through the steering head to the ground. Trail is the distance in front of this line of the front wheel spindle. Less rake and less Trail = less stability but quicker turning.

Compare our worrys to this offering! Seen currently for sale on an internet auction site. It obviously would need to conform to the construction and use regulations, which it clearly doesn't, be registered, taxed and insured as a motor vehicle. I asked how I could register it and received the following reply. "I think everybody does the switch it off and peddle it routine when there’s trouble around if you know what i mean. Keep a rear right side mirror so you can see what’s coming behind you to switch off in time. Some say you can ride it like normal, others say you can’t; we could never get a straight answer from DVLA. That’s why we recommend you do your own investigation and reach a conclusion if you decide to use it on road as you will ultimately be responsible. Mind you in many other countries like America in most states a gas motorised bicycle has the same rights as a bicycle, this means no license no reg and tax required. Even in Europe under the European specification light moped not reg, tax or insurance is required I’m told. Many people do use them for private off road fun too and in this context the legality becomes irrelevant. Don’t hesitate to contact me if i can be of any further assistance. Hope that’s helped. " And we are concerned about a matter of a few Watts equating to a few miles an hour? We all know the police can't enforce 9/10ths of the legislation thay are presented with and can't understand. I obey the law, but sometimes I do wonder why, when every other idiot seems to get away with it! Picture attached.

I think the safety requirements of ebiking are a subset - or perhaps even a superset of those required for motorcycling. Firstly observation, awareness of the surface you are riding on, which constantly changes. Gravel, leaves in autumn, sunken drains and potholes can all catch you out. even worse is any road feature than leaves a longditudinal ridge in the surface, the trenches dug by service companys which were probably level when first filled and have subsequently sunken can be difficult if deeper than 1cm or so. The front wheel, particularly on front wheel hub motors tracks the low part of the ridge and can't climb out, and down you go. Observation should also include traffic ahead, parked cars should be given the width of an open door as clearance, many a cyclist has been wiped out but a door suddenly flung open. Road junctions should be treated with caution, particularly those coming from in this country, the left. We don't loom large in other road users perception. Complex junctions, particularly roundabouts are best walked around unless you are particularly brave or stupid. If you have ever been t-boned by a car and been across the bonnet you'll find it rather unpleasant, I did and still carry the scars. I often mount the pavement before a large roundabout and if there are no pedestrians ride the pavement route round. This bit is not part on the motorcycling set! Wear easily seen clothing, at least a Sam Brown luminous belt or even a luminous waistcoat Pedestrians, particularly in this day of ipods etc, should be kept a sharp eye on. More than once I have had a teenager turn suddenly at right angles off the kerb without so much as a glance. They are worse in groups, seeming to think they are invincible, they even step out in front of cars! PLEASE observe traffic lights! It really p@?!!@ me off when I see a cyclist sail over a red light, commonly a pedestrian crossing as if it doesn't apply to them. It does the cause no good at all.

Roller brakes? I'mm sorry, but are they roller brakes? Look like disk brakes to me! Roller brakes are / were the old rod operated things on grandads ride to work Hercules! Am I out of touch?

Hi. Dependant on the grade stainless can be brittle and subject to sudden breakage in shear, exactly the stress present at the spoke bend where it goes through the hub. It's fine in tension and compression. A few years ago there was a huge scandal when a manufacturer of stainless classic motor cycle components made some front wheel spindles from the wrong grade - it doesn't bear thinking about. You can get zinc plated steel spokes of the correct grade material made to order from Central Wheel Components , Central Wheel Components Limited. 01-625-462264. Best thing is to send them a couple of spokes as a sample, you'll probably find as the wheel is dished they are different lengths side to side. cost, including nipples was £44 plus post last time I ordered. I rebuilt my Currie rear wheel with their spokes after countless breakages, I used 12 guage, but had to drill out the holes in both rim and hub. Since then nothing has broken or shifted.

Don't talk about falling off bikes! It's a funny thing, but you do get used to it! I hadn't fallen off a push bike since 1964 (and I was 18 and drunk) until I came to ebikes 4 years ago. Since then I've been down 4 times, three on the canal towpath. Just getting the front wheel cross-threaded on a ridge of mud running in the direction of travel did it each time, and fortunately I seem to bounce quite well. The other time was a bit silly, and I must tell the story - it contains lots of shouldn't do's! My wife and I had been out for lunch on the bikes, (no booze!), and were coming up the hill on the pavement. (I know, shouldn't, but it was a deserted 3pm and the pavement is 4 metres wide!). The hill is steep and my wife, riding her old Raleigh Misty was tired. I gave her some electric assistance by putting my hand on her back and giving the Currie full welly. (I know, shouldn't, but we are old and daft!). But! wife wobbled, handlebars touched, she came under me, I lost balance and fell against her and down we went! She was pinned under her bike, I was sandwiched between hers and mine! My left foot was stuck under the bike, it took some gymnastics to get it out, pull two bikes off my wife, who was laughing hysterically. Not very dignified for a man of 61 and a woman of 57! The final outcome was a couple of grazes for me, a bruised knee for my wife. She won't let me help her up hills any more.

Ah yes, windings, that is the most likely solution. Model Airplane motors come with differing windings to give different RPM for the same applied voltage, the lower rpm per volt motors giving more torque and turning larger props at lower revs. Same as the Tongxin does for larger diameter wheels, And the max speed must still be limited by the controller, but if the controllers are all the same it must be by current limiting, unless the controller has some complex algorithm to understand the motor it's connected to and set it's self up accordingly. With regard to the rating of the controller, both I have had have been updated to 15A in biro! The latest replacement from Tony Castles, although he assures me it has differently spec'd components inside looks the same as the one that fried. Doesn't exactly fill one with confidence.

Ping the spokes with a screwdriver. They should all give a bright note, if any spoke is loose or broken it will give a duller and flatter sound. Alternatively may be a bearing problem, possible dry. I've had similar noises from both bottom bracket and wheels when they need greasing and readjustment. Repack with high melting point grease, but be careful not to overtighten a cone bearing if your bike has them, leave the tiniest amount of play at the rim or end of crank if it's a bottom bracket problem.

These motors come in a range of speed options from the highest geared (I think) 160 rpm motors for 700c wheels to the lowest geared 260 rpm for the Brompton sized wheels (whatever they are). Do the manufacturers, Tongxin actually make motors with differing internal mechanical ratios? I would find that very surprising, I would have thought it was more commercially viable to limit speed electronically within the controller.

I agree with you completely Frank. A 700c rim with a slim tyre has a lot less rolling resistance than a broad 26 inch tyre. Plus it's lighter, and and adding lightness means speed! Plus of course less expenditure of energy. There is also the energy required to accelerate the periphery of a heavy rim and tyre every time you increase speed. All these small increments in weight here and there kill performance. Additionally the slightly larger diameter of a 700c rim raises the gear ratio, so increases the speed but may reduce hill climbing ability, but not in my limited experience of ebikes. And a rant about modern bikes. I went down to Halfords today. Saw a bike called a Gryphon, £449, slim wheels and tyres, aluminium frame, looked really good. Felt the weight, it's heavier than my steel ( Renolds 501 tubed) 80s Falcon Camargue sports bike that I paid £40 for last year! Perhaps the alloy was solid?

I've got no recommendations here, this is more by way of an observation, although more experienced ebikers than me may want to give their sixpenn'orth. I've found that lateral, ie sideways stiffness is of great importance, if the carrier can move sideways it seems to begin to oscillate out of sync with the bike and induce weaving. Another factor is height, the higher it is the worse the wobble. Thirdly is the position of the load relative to the rear wheel spindle, if the bulk of the weight is behind the spindle then any wobble is magnified by the pendulum effect of this weight. Obviously the steering characteristics of the bike frame and forks in the form of rake and trail have an influence, and some framesets may be better than others, but that isn't the sort of info we normally have access to. Finally, the other feature to bear in mind is the position of the bulk of the weight of an ebike, the battery. If this is in the centre of the bikes frame, between the riders legs, good. Behind the rider, bad. There is a relationship between the mass in front of the rider and the mass behind, in terms of the forward weight damping the movement of the rearward weight.

And of course thanks to people at your end Frank. It would be interesting to hear the diagnosis when the rig gets back to you, although I understand Janes were going to stick it outside their shop over the holiday weekend to try and drum up some interest, so it may be delayed. Shame about the weather!

Hi Oldun, I have similar ticker problems, and live in Hemel Hempstead, at the top of a hill, shops etc at the bottom! How steep are your hills, and can you give some assistance via pedals? I have a feeling if your area is very hilly and you can't give at least as much pedal assistance as it takes to pedal into a fair headwind on the level you won't find a legal! solution. My experience is to get a good bit of help on hills you need 300 - 350 watts, which is over the top as far as Plod is concerned. How Plod would know however eludes me! But to cut to the chase if you want more than the legally allowed power you must research the machine you buy carefully, and be aware that you don't get it all ways, more power = less distance. Good luck with it.

Got a replacement Powabyke! Time to report back on the problems I had with the first delivered Powabyke, or more correctly how they were resolved. I'd bought the bike from JANES of EDLESBOROUGH in Beds, midway between Hemel Hempstead and Leighton Buzzard. Also close to Luton, Milton Keynes and Aylesbury. I can't complement Janes enough for their service, I had no previous dealings with them, but I was so surprised at the good old fashioned direct way they dealt with the problem I feel I must give them some praise. Peter Janes arranged with Powabyke they would have a complete bike delivered for use as spares. After doing the PDA on this bike they arranged for me to go to the shop to do a comparison and find a solution. I rode the old bike the 10 miles to Edelsborough last thursday - fortunately it's flat so not needing too much motor! I arrived at the shop to meet Marcus, who took my bike for a ride and after 20 or so minutes returned and proclaimed it faulty. It was then agreed I'd take the bike supplied as spare and they would send mine back to Powabyke for investigation. I can't recommend Janes too highly - and they deliver free locally! I rode the new bike the 10 miles back to Hemel, stopping after a few miles to fiddle with seat height and handlebars to get them more to my liking. It made the flat 8 or so fine, then I began the climb through Nettleden, Potten End and Fields End up to where I live in Warners End. It's certainly more lively than the first bike. The freewheel is not so loud. It still groans like it's in it's death throes, although I have a feeling after a few more miles this may be reducing. Slightly! I've noticed another phenomenon. It goes decidedly better when it's hot! I took it out - had to - in the awful cold rain on monday, and it went decidedly slower than today, tuesday, when the temperature is up a few degrees. However, I went down to the supermarket today, and brought back 16 cans of lager, two bottles of wine and the makings of a big picnic (big family do!), and it lugged the lot back up the hill with only an average amount of personal input, so it must be better, and certainly usable. Not as lively as the Nano, but hopefully a reliable workhorse.

Nano in 700c rims I have a Nano motor (front hub) built into a Falcon Camargue sports bike from the late 70s. The Nano is of course a Tongxin as well, but I've had good reliability until recently when I had to have a new ESC. The bike started out with 27" rims but that limits the tyre choice so I've laced the wheels up with DTC 700c rims, fairly slim tyres, Continental 24mm profile if I remember correctly. When I bought the Nano Simon Mills at Systems for Reliability asked me to send the front wheel to him so he could lace it up. That was when it had 27" rims so I've rebuilt it since into it's current 700c format. I haven't found any problems building my own wheels, I thing there is a lot of BS* talked about wheelbuilding, given a bit of common sense any Fred Dibnah back street mechanic can do it! Do take some time working out the spoke lengths before ordering them though, The Nano is a small unit and fits between the Falcons fork without any need for bending, although I did need to file the slots to accept to larger diameter spindle. The original torque washers (stop the spindle from rotating the opposite way from the motor, every action has an equal and opposite reaction) gave up the ghost - made of monkey metal, so I made some from 1/8 EN26 steel and they are fine. Being a lightweight bike with Renolds 501 frame tubing and almost everything else ally the performance is excellent, I've centralised the mass of the 36v 12ah SLA batteries in the frame triangle so it handles like a normal bike as well. I think there are many advantages to "electrifying" a good lightweight as opposed to a mountain bike carthorse. Narrow high pressure tyres give low rolling resistance, the lack of weight gives good handling, increased mileage per charge and the ability to give more assistance via pedals.

Hi folks, I also have a Nano powered Falcon 700c rimmed lightweight, in addition to the Powabyke I'm moaning about. The Nano has been off the road for a few weeks 'cos the ESC (Electronic Speed Controller) had fried. Tony Castles now has had a delivery from Tongxin after problems with Chinese customs etc, has tested them and sent me one. All is back as it was, a lovely lightweight quiet responsive machine that feels like a normal bike, even when pedaling! But given the track record of my ebike experience I'm sure it's only a matter of time before something else goes pop. It's all down to being retired, off out every day and doing 2000 miles plus a year! Now everyone is going to post telling me they do 15000 a year on a Sinclair with no problems. Bah humbug!

Hi Griswold, I know Portsdown hill. I'd end up pushing! You are right about the noise, on the Nano I can creep through Hemel town centre and no-one looks twice, they assume it's a normal bike. The Powabyke makes people turn round and do a double take, to the point where I have taken to parking it and walking the final hundred yards or so.

I heard from Peter Janes today, he tells me Powabyke are sending out a complete bike for spares and diagnostic comparisons, which is excellent service. Lets hope it result in a solution.