March 14, 20233 yr overtaking the cars is the best part lol All the vehicles on that long downhill totally smooth road 4 miles away, are travelling very fast indeed. It's hard to judge braking in time for the roundabout at the end. Thirty years ago, I would have already swapped out that chainwheel.
March 14, 20233 yr my brakes are so strong i tell every one that has a go dont pull the brakes hard or you will go over the bars a few come close pmsl. cant say i have ever made a speed cam go off tho and a 30 limit round here must not like my ass as kids we used to race down that with vbrakes on the schools bikes, they never lasted long brand new to fooked in 4 weeks
March 14, 20233 yr my brakes are so strong i tell every one that has a go dont pull the brakes hard or you will go over the bars a few come close pmsl. cant say i have ever made a speed cam go off tho and a 30 limit round here must not like my ass as kids we used to race down that with vbrakes on the schools bikes, they never lasted long brand new to fooked in 4 weeks The peak very near me is a couple of hundred feet higher than Cam Peak's 700ft, and it was a bloody nightmare coming down that on my Dahon after enjoying a nice kebab illuminated by just moonlight at the top last summer - not well suited with no suspension and 1.75" tyres. But fun. And a bloody nightmare.
March 18, 20233 yr Author Back on topic. I finally made a bit of time today to take the bike off road. The power delivery is a bit sketchy, but I think that I can fine tune that at some point. The tyres seem to be adequate rather than great, but I wasn't exactly expecting miracles from them. It was certainly good fun to ride though, and I can't wait to get back out on it again tomorrow. I have also made a little modification to the bike by putting a cut down mudguard over the controller, just to give it a bit of added protection from water and crud. Edited March 18, 20233 yr by EddiePJ
March 19, 20233 yr Not sure about this Eddie , I think you will be hankering for your mud plugging days if you aren't careful .
March 19, 20233 yr Author Not sure about this Eddie , I think you will be hankering for your mud plugging days if you aren't careful . Yesterday's ride didn't really go to plan. I thought that I would visit old haunts, but didn't realise how wet and muddy that it was going to be, nor how my ride routes have changed so much over the last two years of not having ridden them. The rain has caused alot of erosion, and there were seemingly an endless amount of fallen trees. Today's ride wasn't much better in respect of erosion and water, and that was with me trying to stick to the drier known bridleways. I definitely need to look at the bikes power delivery, and the drive chain is awful quality as well. Range wise, I still haven't really been able to test it, but the ride today was 21 miles, with 2,400ft of elevation gain, and it used two of the displayed bars. I didn’t really work at the riding, so it currently looks promising. I didn't risk riding through this stream, and took the footpath bridge instead.
March 25, 20233 yr Author Just had my first hiccup with the bike. The console reading for the battery level is next to useless. 5 miles from home and it was reading 2-3 bars out of 5 remaining, and the bike got slower and slower, then all but cut out. Trying to pedal and push a bike that weighs near on 35kg for 5 miles, all of which was up hill, was no fun.
March 25, 20233 yr It's good to see you back Eddie, I don't visit here much myself but have wondered how you're getting on. Now then with that rack we need to see another remake of the advert on Gold Hill https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tIOGkIw4CQo
March 25, 20233 yr Now then with that rack we need to see another remake of the advert on Gold Hill 44 years on from the original, Evans Cycles have revisited Sir Ridley Scott’s iconic 1973 Hovis advert. The original Hovis boy Carl Barlow, now a 57-year-old retired firefighter, is seen conquering Gold Hill in Shaftesbury, Dorset, thanks to the power of an electric bike. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=55aNSgQHSF4:71
March 25, 20233 yr 44 years on from the original, Evans Cycles have revisited Sir Ridley Scott’s iconic 1973 Hovis advert. The original Hovis boy Carl Barlow, now a 57-year-old retired firefighter, is seen conquering Gold Hill in Shaftesbury, Dorset, thanks to the power of an electric bike. Thanks I remember that, shocking that it was 5 years ago! seems like yesterday.
March 25, 20233 yr 44 years on from the original, Evans Cycles have revisited Sir Ridley Scott’s iconic 1973 Hovis advert. The original Hovis boy Carl Barlow, now a 57-year-old retired firefighter, is seen conquering Gold Hill in Shaftesbury, Dorset, thanks to the power of an electric bike. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=55aNSgQHSF4:71 @ 1m 31s, that looks like a mid-drive. Figures.
March 25, 20233 yr Author It's good to see you back Eddie, I don't visit here much myself but have wondered how you're getting on. Now then with that rack we need to see another remake of the advert on Gold Hill Good to see that you are still alive and kicking as well. I already have a love hate relationship with the front rack. The load carrying capacity is great, but it is a bit disconcerting not being able to see the front tyre when riding off road. I suspect that night riding with it is also going to be interesting. I'm actually planning on redesigning how it is mounted, and rather than having it bolted on, I plan to make it quick hitch. It should be easy enough to, and will make it more versatile. I also intend to rig up something similar for the rear, to enable a large cargo bot to be fitted, for firewood collecting. The bike is certainly a tank, and just as ugly. My first accessory was my first extra battery! I have certainly always had two batteries on the go with all of my previous bikes, but I'm not really worried about it on this one, as I don't intend for any epic rides. Today was a miscalculation based upon looking at the day console, and my prediction that that partially charged battery should of easily completed the ride below. I need to investigate the battery power bar settings on the console, but might start a separate thread about that. I have read that other bike owners ignore the displayed setting, and use the one on the battery itself. Edited March 25, 20233 yr by EddiePJ
March 25, 20233 yr if you can get another gen 2 cx or yamaha motor peter can pretty much keep them in service forever and now the bosch batts can be recelled but its about 500 quid but cheaper than bosch and you can get 3rd party batts for the yamaha as well. https://www.ebikemotorcentre.com/yamaha-motor-parts/ or cyc make a new smaller motor now and looks good. https://www.cycmotor.com/photon
March 25, 20233 yr It needs as simple volt meter rigged up Eddie, then you can use the voltage as a much better indication. It ha always been said on here leds or battery bar meters are pretty much useless.
March 26, 20233 yr Author It needs as simple volt meter rigged up Eddie, then you can use the voltage as a much better indication. It ha always been said on here leds or battery bar meters are pretty much useless. Thanks Nealh. Any advice on which one to purchase? The display is a Key- Disp KD51C-U, and assuming that it is just a generic display for many brands of bikes, it is puzzling where the default settings have come from. In respect of the battery power bar settings, the default for level one is 31.5v and no default is given for the remaining four bars. The battery is 48v so am I to assume that the settings should read an additional 4.1v per bar? I am curious to know how the default voltage of 31.5v was arrived at. I also noticed that the controller over-current cut settings can be changed with the default being 15A. This is something else that I would be interested in researching further. This is taken from the manual.
March 26, 20233 yr a 36v bosch batt is fully charged at 42v and why those 5 bars done my nut in and got a kiox display then down the dealers for a can shake as said every time i turned it on it wanted one or else max power will be at 25a tho this will reduce range
March 27, 20233 yr With 31.5v the manual is referring to a 36v battery, 41v is the lowest one will want a 48v battery to go but typically 42 - 43v is a better lowest value. They haven't re written the values for 48v usage. The 15a will give a theorectical 720w but once one takes into account motor efficacy losses will be nearer 570w , 20a will give a theoretical 960w but with efficacy losses about 760w. For voltage readout if I need one I have used a cheap round £2 panel mount type led coloured display, simply two wires wired via the battery/controller connections Edited March 28, 20233 yr by Nealh
May 1, 20232 yr Author Not a bad way to spend a Bank Holiday weekend, although when I got home. I did discover that I had returned with two unwanted extra passengers. I hate ticks, and like them even less when they are on me! As for the bike, it is going well, but it's hill climbing isn't really that great, and the range isn't either, given the battery size, manufacturers claims, and YouTube claims by people who have been given bikes to review. From my own use using the lower assist levels, I am getting about 25-30 miles with roughly 2,400ft of elevation gain.
May 1, 20232 yr ...but it's hill climbing isn't really that great, From your manual snippet above, could you increase the CUR current value up from 15A to 20A to improve that (although I guess that would reduce the range further)?
May 1, 20232 yr Author From your manual snippet above, could you increase the CUR current value up from 15A to 20A to improve that (although I guess that would reduce the range further)? Funny that you should mention that. After having to take a much longer way to get home yesterday, so avoiding the 14% gradient that the lower end of my road has, it did occur to me that I should really look at the settings. I should of checked that when I had the voltage issue. I shall let you know how it goes.
May 3, 20232 yr Author From your manual snippet above, could you increase the CUR current value up from 15A to 20A to improve that (although I guess that would reduce the range further)? Finally found the time to look at the settings, and the CUR value had been set to 15A, which I have now changed to 20A. It will certainly be interesting to see what difference that it makes.
May 3, 20232 yr Finally found the time to look at the settings, and the CUR value had been set to 15A, which I have now changed to 20A. It will certainly be interesting to see what difference that it makes. the bosch controllers and batts are 20A just make sure the batt can cope with the amps if you turn it up more but you will get to a point where the motor just gets hot no matter how many amps you send to it because of its size and windings and nuke the range. more power less range
May 8, 20232 yr Author Sadly, I am still struggling for time ⏲️ so have only completed one more ride, but I am pretty sure that the bike climbs better now. My favourite time of the year.
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