Hello.

 

Had my mountain bike converted by ETS London with the 48V Boss motor.

 

It's got a problem which ETS don't seem able to solve, and I was wondering if anyone had come up against a similar one:

 

The bike runs with throttle and/or pedal-assisted power. Thus, it's fitted with electrical cut-outs on the brakes, for safety.

 

Trouble is, after braking, the pedal assist takes several revolutions to 'kick in' again. You can over-ride this by giving it some throttle instead, but I want it to work just like my Wisper 905, i.e. you pedal, you brake, and almost as soon as you pedal again, you have power through the pedals (maybe with half-a-revolution delay).

 

If anyone has experienced a similar problem I'd be grateful for your views, as although modifications would be technically beyond my skills, I could pass on suggestions to ETS.

 

Thanks for reading this.

 

Allen.

you should check the micro-switches in the brake sensors with a DVM. If they work properly then follow the sensors to the controller and check the connectors. If they are good then your controller is faulty.

It's probably how the software in the controller is programmed, in which case there's nothing you can do other than get a different controller. If you have a thumb-throttle, it's very easy to make a cruise control so that you don't need the PAS.

Thanks for the pointers.

 

No, it's a twist throttle (like a Wisper).

 

I specifically wanted pedal assist, in fact had to pay an extra £600+ to get it, otherwise it would have just had the throttle!

 

A

 

I specifically wanted pedal assist, in fact had to pay an extra £600+ to get it, otherwise it would have just had the throttle!

 

 

£600 for a PAS sensor? are you sure?

the Boss is just a straightforward 48V BPM CST kit.

£600 for a PAS sensor? are you sure?

the Boss is just a straightforward 48V BPM CST kit.

That's what I thought. The basic motor, controller, throttle and other stuff should cost about £300. That's with a sine-wave controller with a nice LCD. Then add about £500 to £600 for a decent battery. A PAS sensor costs 89 pence from BMSBattery!

 

..if it doesn't work, can I bring it back for a refund?

 

..no.

That's cruel, Trex!

Check with the Electric Transport Shop web site.

 

The basic Boss conversion costs £1500.

I opted for the more powerful 48V version, which was £2000.

This would have given me a 'moped' (their description) - i.e. my pedal bike with an electric motor and a throttle.

No good for me, I wanted a bike like my Wisper, but with loads more oomph.

So, their new price for doing this, i.e. adding electric cut-out brakes, the 'work' involved, special controller (don't ask me), sensors, a specially strong Topeak rack and bag to carry it all, and so on...

was £2650, or an extra 33%.

...

Way over the top maybe, but if I end up with the bike I want, then, well...

 

A

I know you can't put a price on happiness but we can put a figure on the margin, about 140%-170%. I blame their directors for being greedy, not their sales staff.

It's the price of old age and incompetence to a large extent. There is No Way I could do any of it myself, so (like most people) I have to rely on the shop.

 

But having paid top dollar I do expect to get what I paid for!

 

A

£2650!!!

If anybody wants the same kit fitted, you can send your bike to me by taxi from anywhere in the UK, and I'll give you all the oomph you need for that price. Then we'll have a party afterwards, like ETS must've done. You don't need any special controller. A S12S would do nicely for about £50. It would be nice to know which one they fitted.

 

Can you show us a few pictures of the bike?

d8veh -ho ho, but apart from the rolling around, how about the original question? Do you think they need to change the controller to give me what I want?

 

Ta.

 

A

very likely allen. They should fix the problem for you FOC, it's not safe if the brake cutout does not quite work.

Well, it's going back next week, so I'll keep you informed. Thanks for the advice (and sympathy).

 

A

Just for my info, does anyone know of ANY other ebike that behaves like mine, i.e. with a longish delay between braking and pedal power being reestablished?

 

Ta.

 

A

There's quite a few controllers like that. Every controller is different. Unfortunately they never give you that sort of information in the controller specification. I'm not using my big controllers at the moment, so I can't say what the delay is on a S12S, but I don't remember it being noticeable. Perhaps if someone has a S06S they could check it. The software for the S12S should be the same.

 

It would be nice to know what controller you've got. As far as I can see, your motor is a Xofo motor, but I don't understand what they charged you extra for because the Xofo controllers already have PAS. Please give us some photos.

 

For £2600, I would expect that ETS should give you a system that your happy with. Whatever you do, don't pay them any more. I'm pretty sure that you've been ripped off unless someone can explain what the extra £1100 was for.

Thanks d8veh.

 

Photos tomorrow.

 

A

and people tell me eZee kits are expesive:eek:

And you always believe what people tell you.

There's quite a few controllers like that. Every controller is different. Unfortunately they never give you that sort of information in the controller specification. I'm not using my big controllers at the moment, so I can't say what the delay is on a S12S, but I don't remember it being noticeable. Perhaps if someone has a S06S they could check it. The software for the S12S should be the same.

 

Just to wade in here. I have the S12S and it takes 2 turns of the crank to bring the system back up to full power - however I'm Ok with that as it ramps the power up gradually which should save wear on the motor.

 

So it probably is the controller. Good luck with the discussions - it does sound like some margin has been added!

Thanks pn, that's useful.

 

Just for the record, I've not been complaining about the price - Otherwise I wouldn't have bought a top of the range Wisper originally.

 

But when you pay Rolls Royce prices, you expect the clock to work!

 

A

we should not be too hasty to rubbish TETS about this. They've done a good job but it does not quite suit the customer, that's all there is to it. Maybe changing the PAS disc to 12 magnets double Hall would do the trick.

It's difficult to say without seeing what they've done for the money. As far as I can see, they're selling and fitting a Xofo kit. The same one as Frank sold as his Xipi kits, but with a different battery in a frame bag rather than the aluminium box one that Frank did. £1500 for a fully installed system, to me, sounds just about reasonable if it has good guarantees. The bit I can't understand is what the additional £1100 was for, of which £600 was for a PAS function, which it should have had in the first place. I'm intrigued, I can't say that it's unreasonable because I don't have any facts, but on the surface, it doesn't quite add up.

There are two separate issues here.

 

On the one hand, the price, which I repeat I am NOT questioning. It was my choice to go to their website, to their shop, to choose the £2K Boss system, and my choice to accept their onward quote of an extra 33% for making the bike do what I wanted. Maybe I'm a mug with more money than sense, but that's not the primary issue!

 

On the other hand, the functioning of the finished system. What I'm asking of my fellow ebikers here is ammunition and if you like moral support, so that when I get involved in a confrontation with TETS, with me saying "This bike isn't doing what you said it would do,", and them saying "All bikes are different, you'll get used to it," I will be able to gird up my loins and argue.

 

And believe me, one of the drawbacks of getting old and feeble is that you REALLY don't want to have to bother arguing any more! The only weapon now left in my armoury is money., viz I can buy things that I (presume) will work. (I would RATHER be 40 years younger, but you can't have it all).

 

Why can't it all be simple?

 

A (Photos shortly)