I'm pretty sure the battery was unplugged, cap discharging? But I was not concentrating and the lights had gone off in the stairwell and... well any way my stupid error.

 

In any case is seems that I have fried the internal PAS of my GSM, I tried with another known working controller and no dice. What a pity but I just happen to have a couple of external PAS systems on hand! Back to the soldering iron, crimping and testing. I will make this thing work!

 

Where do I get the red 5 V from on a 09 bottle battery controller for the hidden wire brake switch? There are only two wire yellow and black brakes switch wires on that one.

 

But first things first - see if external PAS works with the S06SC controller.

EDIT:

 

Don't build your own bike buy one The PAS cable that I need has gone missing... I have all the other cables except the one I need of course.

 

Why am I without a bike when it was running swimmingly? She: "when are you going to lend me your bike so I can ride it to work?" Me: "when I have a brake switch so the motor cuts off, I am used to it running on and plan ahead"... Then I go and make a stupid mistake plugging it in... <lots of words that would get me lots of bad language marks go here>

Edited October 17, 20169 yr by anotherkiwi

 

Where do I get the red 5 V from on a 09 bottle battery controller for the hidden wire brake switch? There are only two wire yellow and black brakes switch wires on that one.

Splice it in to the throttle or PAS red.

 

Then yellow HWBS goes to black brake connector. Blue HWBS goes to yellow brake.

The controller is not dead! The internal PAS is (HAL fried?)...

 

So the Dremel is out and I am fitting a Kunteng V12 external PAS. Because of space issues the sensor will be glued to the GSM motor support bracket and the 12 magnet ring thinned and glued to the crank arm. Note to Mister Moon: please use a 2 mm longer BB next time!

 

The big advantages are:

 

There is an option in the LCD-3 for this exact PAS sensor, three setting options to be precise!

The PAS does not kick in when pedalling backwards

Run on seems to be gone (to be verified on the road), stop turning the disk and the motor cuts immediately.

I take my hat off to you sir. You are indeed a very resourceful fellow. By the way, the PAS sensor and disc on the GSM are same on the BBS01. That means it's not easy to replace the internal PAS disc! there is definitely a market for external PAS for the BBS/GSM.

Living proof of the kiwi and number eight wire legend!

 

Photos will follow soon when I get things cleaned up.

Back on the road

 

Unfortunately I will get to test bike discount dot de after sales support. My b+m light doesn't work, the main light yes but the daytime LEDs and the rear light no...

 

I like the feel of the 42 tooth chainring, will need to take out a couple of links because the chain is a bit slack.

 

The Shimano steps crank arms are really comfortable, the pedals are about 3 cm closer together and it makes a lot of difference.

 

The brake cutoff switch is useful but with the external PAS run on is not as noticeable.

 

The external PAS doesn't kick in so quickly but quickly enough, the magnets are very close together on the 12 magnet disk. Proper road testing needs to be done but everything feels better than before and before I was really pleased!

 

And I have cleaned up the cable runs so am quite pleased with the look of it. If only it had lights...

Where did you get the steps crank arms from. Three centimetres is a huge reduction of the Q factor.

I'll have to be more careful with my hyperbole people are actually reading this... I'll have to measure but it is a substantial amount.

 

They came from bike-discount.de in the new e-bike parts section IIRC, yep

 

http://www.bike-discount.de/en/shop/cranksets-17871/l-24

 

Off to measure now.

 

EDIT: 3 floors down, 3 floors up <puffing>

 

2.6 cm or 1.3 cm each side, so I was off by 4 mm by eye not bad for an old fogey! About the thickness of the cranks supplied with my GSM. All those years of graphic design and the trained eye paid off!

Edited November 1, 20169 yr by anotherkiwi

So everything is cleaned up, main battery powered lights mounted and working (50% more lumens!) and I had planned on doing a few photos today to celebrate "the end" of this build. Of course it is bucketing down outside.

 

I did ride it for the first time in pouring rain yesterday. The bike was still rejecting being electrically assisted, the PAS disk now has a square hole (epoxy paste to the rescue) but is slightly (less than 1 mm) off centre so wasn't lining up with the detector... I need to find a mechanical means of attaching the detector to the frame, double faced tape is OK as a makeshift solution but it won't stand the test of time.

woosh use this cabletie cradle when converting some bikes when there is not much space

 

http://uk.farnell.com/productimages/standard/en_GB/101570205-40.jpg

 

You can find them on ebay.

bolt the sensor to the mount and strap it to the seat tube. On the magnet disc side, bolt the disc onto three of those mounts and strap them to the smallest ring.

I'm thinking of a home made metal bracket which uses the motor bracket. Or is there a 3D printer thing in my future???

with 3D printing you have to design for the bike, like this one:

 

http://wooshbikes.co.uk/2016/conversion/pas1.jpg

I promised a couple of photos of the new bits on the bike a long time ago (before the rain...) today the sun is out. Yes I was in black and white mode without realising

 

 

Above at the top the HW brake sensor, large BMS Battery controller box, the external PAS and the Shimano STEPS cranks. The cable run is a little bit tidier than it was too.

 

 

The twin chainring setup using a Precialps 104 BCD spider, Truvativ 42 and Shimano 32. The 42 tooth chainring gets me to about 45 kph before spinning out which is fast enough. I also tested the 32 tooth chainring on my local >13% test hill and it is very gentle with the motor which wasn't even luke warm at the top. The only scary part was coming back down and wondering if I was going to go over the bars when stopping at the stop signs...

 

The goal of being able to climb anything that Navarra throws at me seems to be attained. I rode back home on the flat and it pulls 25 kph in 6th no problem which is enough for in town.

 

And finally the daytime running LEDs on the new b+m headlight seem to work - two ladies actually stayed put at stop signs! I think it was the light that scared them because the had started to initially inch forward seeing me on a push bike but changed their minds.

External PAS update:

 

The external M33 motor mount locking ring was machined down to 4.01 mm thick (from 6.24 mm) at great expense by a local company and now the PAS sensor is back on its holder and locked firmly in place between the two M33 rings. I Dremeled the centre out of the magnet disk and replaced that with a holder made from a coffee can bottom. Quick and nasty prototyping for now but it works without rubbing anywhere and a nicer better finished version will be drawn up in FreeCAD and cut out with the proper tools. I think I will try machining a square into the crank arm the thickness of the metal disk which combined with a square hole in the disk itself will mean zero extra thickness at the crank and epoxy glue should hold the two together.

 

Gearing update:

The CD motor is much more able at assistance level 2 than my hub motor because of the use of the gears. I am doing much more of my riding in levels 2 or 3 now that I have the 42 tooth chainring on the front. On the road 3rd gear is the most used with this chainwheel. With the 32 tooth chainring the bike shoots up to 25 kph cut off in a couple of seconds then stays put at 25-26 kph in 6th and 7th gear which is quite enjoyable around town on the flat because it requires very little pedalling effort at normal cadence.

 

Battery update:

 

I have been using only 10 Ah of Lipo the last few days and surprise, surprise! It sags on hills, although not as badly as the 10.4 Ah Li-ion battery. My test hill was https://en.cols-cyclisme.com/pyrenees-ouest/france/col-de-saint-ignace-depuis-ascain-c1483.htm and I got a bit over 1 Volt sag on the 7% bit. My thought is that Lithium batteries perform best at 1C or lower whatever their chemistry (and whatever the C-rating claims of the battery manufacturers). If you live in a hilly area and ask for the full 15 Amps from your controller on a regular basis I suggest buying a >15 Ah battery.

First time on the train

 

So now that everything is working I decided to go south with the idea of getting some winter wear for riding in the colder days ahead. Yesterday was brilliant sun and 19°C so I was feeling that my goal a bit out of touch with reality. The ride to Irun station was uneventful other than almost being run over by a "lady" in a hurry. I have significantly downed my pace aiming for average speed as close as possible to 25 km/h but mainly comfortable riding more than a sprint. Is it age or is it wisdom creeping in?

 

Got on the train and put the bike on its stand, the first corner it fell over of course... On the way down the headlight struck the seat belt holder used for wheelchairs and the back bit broke off. I picked up all the bits of plastic and should be able to superglue it back together. But... the main led no longer lights up... With luck I will be able to disassemble and the LED will be unplugged or it will be another simple shock induced contact issue easy to fix. I do still have the daytime running LEDs and the rear light working, I will get to use my spare headlight after all till I get to taking the controller box to bits again, the wiring is a bit complicated to unplug. I am very lucky it wasn't the LCD that broke which makes me even more convinced I need to get it off the handlebars.

 

Ride back in warm sunny weather reminded me why I have a pedelec in the first place. I discovered 5 km of brand new cycle path which is very practical but getting to Decathlon S. Sebastian is still very complicated and involves some riding on (empty) footpaths. I stopped off to get some fishing tackle in Hendaye (fresh fish in the fridge!) and rode back along the coastal road with power assist, after breaking down the last time, the difference on this stretch of road is like the difference between night and day! 50 km ride and the battery is down from full charge to storage level (38.5 V) so I think 100 km range could be on the cards.

Front light cannot be repaired...

 

b+m got back to me after my service inquiry: no spare parts so the black plastic bit that I can't glue will not be replaceable, the light is ultra-sonic welded so can't be dismantled to look for a broken contact...

 

I will keep it on the bars for now because it is powering the tail light and the position LEDs still work both day and night (at night they are used for short range lighting i.e. just in front of the wheel).

 

I will go back to using my battery powered headlight for night time riding so I have everything covered. I will replace the light with the premium version next year. It has an on/off switch and 10 more lux.

 

Working on ideas to plug the hole in the back of the light.

1609 km (1000 mi) report

I did a 50 km shopping run to the Asian supermarket today. On the way home I changed down to the 32 tooth chainwheel because besides Basque Country hills I had a sack of rice and other stuff in the panniers. Result 5.82 Wh/km! Average speed 21.6 km/h.

 

 

I don't know what to do with this bike. The headset started complaining on the way home again, I will not be able to tighten it down indefinitely... Strip all the good bits off and put them on a new frame and fork? Upgrade the fork and headset on the same frame? The tiny triangle prevents me from using a HL battery with internal controller.

A quick update on the ongoing adventures of Number Two.

 

I have been running the 2 x 6S packs and 44.4v on the GSM with the 36v controller - hot off charger voltage 49.8v just squeezes under the 50v limit of the cap in the controller.

 

- cadence is much better, estimated 100-110 rpm

- motor runs silent!

- climbs like a goat at speed

- I have seen over 600 W on the LCD a couple of times

- but the controller gets too hot and cuts out...

 

Now that I have a trike I am using this bike as a round town transport vehicle only, adventure/leisure vehicle being the trike.

 

Soon I will migrate the GSM to the trike and I have the Mxus lined up to be laced into a 28" DT Swiss e-bike rim:

 

- new crankset with 38 tooth single chainwheel and chainglider chain protection

- 11-32 DNP freewheel for the Mxus

- custom battery box with 09 bottle controller

 

I pretty much use 10 Ah LiPo all the time now instead of the big 20 Ah battery and get about 45 km range between charged and storage voltage so the battery box will be big enough to fit 36v 10 Ah LiPo.

 

Bike components are working fine, the blocks in the Magura HS11 hydraulic brake are the originals and have done 3600 + >2000km. The entry level Acera rear mech shifts like a dream compares to the Alivio on the trike! It is so smooth and quiet as to make me look down to see if it has actually shifted! Wippermann chain reminds me it needs some dry lube from time to time. Tyres like new compared to the tyres on the trike which only have a few hundred km! The bad point is the headset which starts complaining after about 30 km and some play starts to creep in.

 

This bike has been very reliable though I don't go out very often in the rain (it has seen a few Basque downpours however). Comfortable and fit for purpose I guess is a good description.

Well wouldn't you know! No sooner I write an update then wham! "Accident"... My fault, riding too fast, thinking about something other than concentrating on my riding, leaned into a blind corner and someone was coming the other way

 

For some reason the front wheel blocked up (lots of metal hatches in the road there) and I went straight over the bars. Motorcycle 101 never brake hard in a corner

 

Number Two needs a new front wheel, the rim is totalled, I have cracked ribs and a few scratches and 5 fresh farm eggs made a real mess in the pannier.

 

No I wasn't wearing a helmet. No I didn't bang my head

Ouch, that will be you off the road for a few days.

Cracked ribs hurt.

Replaced my Magura HS11 brake shoes after about 7,000 km. I really should have done it sooner! Wear has greatly increased since I moved to a steep area last September and I am also doing many more km a week now.

 

+1 for the ease of maintenance on these brakes, way to go Magura!

 

Riding home it was -3° C, cold enough to make the back Avid brake wire sticky, not the hydraulic brake however another positive point.

 

The climb home used 9.333 Wh/km, the almost discharged battery still giving 635 A (controller) peak, loving the 44.4v solution.

I now have all the bits to electrify the trike which has it's own build thread so Number Two is back to being a round town, shopping and fishing bike.

 

A new chain - climbing hills over 10% gradient daily has taken it's toll, a new Wippermann chain is arriving any minute now. The original chain gave about 5000 km.

 

Moving to 8 speed - I decided to move to 8 speed because I'm putting a new Deore rear derailleur on the trike and I have quite a stock of almost new 8 speed cassettes here. In over 20 years of ordering stiff on the internet I have never had to open a dispute until today. the Chinese bloke who was supposed to send an 8 speed shifter/brake lever sent me a 7 speed by error...

 

I will mount the 11-42 8 speed cassette I bought recently. I will also mount a 42 narrow wide precialps chainwheel, that should allow me to have a decent chainline and be able to drag full trailer loads back from the garden center etc. There is also a dinghy I might need to put on a trailer... 42:11 is 45 km/h at cadence, plenty enough speed for around here, the hills are so steep you don't need to pedal downhill.

 

The trailer is being rebuilt with a box and new rims and tyres.

 

I will mount a his and hers saddle and a quick release on the seat-post for those him and her rides.

I just looked at post #1. It's interesting to see how the price of batteries has changed. Lipos still cost about the same, but the price of ready-made ebike batteried has crashed in the last year. Now you can get a reasonable 20 amp Dolphin or Shark battery for €180, which is the sa e cost as the lipos.

All of those having trouble getting wired tyres onto 28" rims should have a go with 16" rims! There isn't much rubber to stretch that is for sure.

 

My ugly duckling trailer that has been limping around with one bent steel rim almost since I got it is transformed with a shot of satin black paint and new aluminium wheels shod with Big Apple tyres. I just need to get some epoxy and varnish on the new marine ply floor and it is ready to roll.

 

Now I love aluminium lockable boxes just like the next bloke but my bank account voted for a plastic Euro container with lid. It costs roughly a fifth of the price so I won't mind drilling holes in it to mount all sorts of stuff like say fishing rod holders!

 

Photos to follow.

Battery prices have indeed changed. When I built my first ebike in 2015, good USA made packs were close to $800 (All-cell). I bought a cheap 36V10AH chinese Dolphin for $280 USD from an ebay vendor. That vendor later evolved into Unit Pack Power, and now I can get a 36V13AH Dolphin for $200 USD. That original pack still works OK . Probably still has close to 7-8AH in it.