Hopefully I have put this in the correct place , as I explained in my first post I am new to forums so just shout if I don't follow the protocol!

Well the GS2 arrived this morning despite TNT's multiple attempts to avoid delivering it to me, what a fiasco, but nothing to do with Jim or Alien I hasten to add.

I read everthing on this forum regarding the Alien which was very helpful and I recommend anyone thinking of purchasing one to do the same, Although I am new to electric bkies and haven't cycled for 40 years I was attracted to the GS2 even before discovering this forum and following the old adage "if something looks right it usually is" I was already half sold on it anyway.

So it has turned out, and I set about unpacking and getting it built and checked over earlier today. Everthing was straightforward and I fitted the panniers which I also purchased from Alien and a Cateye Strada bicycle computer. Whilst doing this the battery was on charge.

The only faults I found were a few paint chips on the frame, two slightly loose spokes on the front wheel and a gash in the front rim (on the black part). Nothing to worry about and the first two faults were readily fixed

Just had a quick run (10miles on suburban roads averaging 15.8 mph with a max of 25). The lights, particularly the rear seemed effective with motorists giving me a wide berth when overtaking, unless it was because I was wobbling ... lol. Everthing worked well with no problems, although even at this early stage it is fairly obvious that the gearing is on the low side and as others have pointed out a higher top gear would be something worth considering, I think it could climb a wall in bottom!!.

That'll do for now, have just realised my legs feel a bit rubbery !

Nice one RR, look forward to reading futher reports, welcome to the world of E-biking!

a higher top gear would be something worth considering, I think it could climb a wall in bottom!!.

 

Definitely agree there Roadrunner. I purchased a 48/38/28 tooth replacement similar to the one NRG has, just need to get round to fitting it.

If its the exact same one as mine Kalimbakey beware there are 4 raised metal 'leaves' inside the inner ring that will foul the pedelec disk as they are raised above the surface of the ring. You will either have to remove the disk or do as I did and flatten them down a touch with a hammer!!!

If its the exact same one as mine Kalimbakey beware there are 4 raised metal 'leaves' inside the inner ring that will foul the pedelec disk as they are raised above the surface of the ring. You will either have to remove the disk or do as I did and flatten them down a touch with a hammer!!!

 

Or transfer the pedelec to the left:eek:

LOL! Now why didn't I think of that Faced with buying the right tool to dismantle the bottom bracket or a 5min hammer job and be on the road in 10....I went for the latter option

Alien GS2 first proper run

 

Hello again folks, just in from the first proper daylight run on the steed! Perfect timing as I waited until the frost cleared, enjoyed perfect winter sunshine the whole time and the instant I returned home the snow started, thats what I call organisation.., lol.

Total distance 30.3 miles avg speed 13.2 mph max 26.1 mph. Bearing in mind how long it is since I have been on a bicycle I was rather pleased with this, and if anyone reading this is hesitating getting an ebike or doubting their ability then believe me its a doddle, go for it ,you will enjoy it! I feel I could do 50 miles without a problem ( well ok the battery might have a problem, but even after 40 miles on first conditioning charge I have still amber and red charge indicators showing ), You can certainly notice the drop in battery power but still impressive for first charge I think. The run was two thirds canal tow path and one third outer suburban busy roads, the tow path was just perfect on the bike.

No issues whatsoever with the Alien, although I did ajust the rear brake before setting out as I noticed it was rubbing slightly,- 30 second job.

You old hands will probably laugh but the simplist things make a big difference and maybe worth pointing out to other "freshers". An example is making sure you get the seat height spot on for your particular physique, I thought I had but found an extra few millimetres of height made all the difference when I made an "en route" ajustment. Its the sort of thing only mileage will show up once you get the feel for your particular bike.

The low gearing of the bike is fine except on fast well surfaced roads - yeah like we've lots of those..lol, but I find that the bike just wants to go , and of course at above 15-18mph its all human power so I'm curious to know what I could do on a lightweight racer, ( for a quarter of a mile anyway !!) Thats for another day, meantime looking forward to my next run which will simply be to drain the battery and get it on its second reconditioning charge. Is two enough anyone?

 

Cheers for now

You don't need to! Its a Lithium battery

confused

 

I was told when I came on the forum to do 3 deep charges to commission the battery (Li-ion)

Thanks for that NRG, electronics isn't really my thing ! Thought I read somewhere I needed to, must have dreamt it:D

I was told when I came on the forum to do 3 deep charges to commission the battery (Li-ion)

 

There's some dispute about this, some companies say do it, others don't. There's a suspicion that the discharging advice is a "left over" from previous battery types like NiMh where it was important, and this is further complicated by the fact that integral meters in batteries do need a full discharge to register a correct zero point to measure from.

 

So if there's an LED meter built into the lithium battery, do a full charge, followed by a full discharge.

 

If no integral meter in a lithium battery, probably ok to just do a full charge and then start using the battery normally.

.

Welcome aboard Road Runner, sounds like you have made the right purchase for you & all the research has paid off. The bike does undoubtedly have a few shortfalls, but overall it is a stylish machine that packs a bit of punch at a very decent price. Happy cycling.

have been keeping an eye on threads about Alien GS11, close to making leap into ebike world due to impending knee replacement and would be interested in any shortcomings you think the GS11 might have.

have been keeping an eye on threads about Alien GS11, close to making leap into ebike world due to impending knee replacement and would be interested in any shortcomings you think the GS11 might have.

 

Hi,

 

Choosing an electric bike is a very individual decision, a drawback to one person may well be a positive factor to another. If you click on NRG's profile name, Kalimbakey, Pete, or mine (we've all bought one in the past 3 months or so) you should find a variety of posts about some of the possible drawbacks & possible adaptations that could be made to the bike to rectify these. Although having said that, in all honesty the standard bike is very usable in it's existing format & is very good vfm in my opinion. Issues like the on/off switch being on the rear of the bike & the issue of it only having one pedelec mode (Fast!!) have not really diminished my pleasure in using the bike.

 

I live around the Essex Suffolk border, if you are anywhere near me you would be welcome to come over & give mine a test ride.

 

All the best, Rus.

Thanks for that, live in N Cumbria, a bit far to go for a test ride!

Have read most of the posts about GS11 and have come to the conclusion that the gearing and pedel assistance are the main areas for tweaking. has any tried inserting a high/low switch into the pedel assist circuit.

Have cycled for years on bikes i've modified to suit me but electronics is not something that I have any experience of.

Cheers

Neil

There's some dispute about this, some companies say do it, others don't. There's a suspicion that the discharging advice is a "left over" from previous battery types like NiMh where it was important, and this is further complicated by the fact that integral meters in batteries do need a full discharge to register a correct zero point to measure from.

 

So if there's an LED meter built into the lithium battery, do a full charge, followed by a full discharge.

 

If no integral meter in a lithium battery, probably ok to just do a full charge and then start using the battery normally.

.

 

Surely that depends on the type of 'meter' Flecc? I suspect that the majority simply measure the volts and light up a corresponding number of LED's...I would think that there aren't any actually preprogrammed to know the Ah (or more importantly the Wh) of the battery and log the drain during use...or are there?

Surely that depends on the type of 'meter' Flecc? I suspect that the majority simply measure the volts and light up a corresponding number of LED's...I would think that there aren't any actually preprogrammed to know the Ah (or more importantly the Wh) of the battery and log the drain during use...or are there?

 

I would also superficially think that, but in practice many are different. For example the widely used Paanasonic battery has a meter so sensitive to zeroing that it has to be taken down to the fast flashing final stage of discharge to record accurately.

 

Batteryuniversity.com gives similar advice without specifying the meter type:

 

Although lithium-ion is memory-free in terms of performance deterioration, batteries with fuel gauges exhibit what engineers refer to as "digital memory". Here is the reason: Short discharges with subsequent recharges do not provide the periodic calibration needed to synchronize the fuel gauge with the battery's state-of-charge. A deliberate full discharge and recharge every 30 charges corrects this problem. Letting the battery run down to the cut-off point in the equipment will do this. If ignored, the fuel gauge will become increasingly less accurate.

.

Yes, I take that back...a bit of Googling discovered this new device from TI the BQ3060 released very late last year that seems to be a very sophisticated device:

 

TI introduces single-chip battery fuel gauge with protection

 

http://focus.ti.com/lit/ug/sluu319/sluu319.pdf

 

From my quick scan of the doc. it seems to require some sort of pre-programming for the battery its connected to and then needs to go through a learning cycle to work out capacity. From there on it can accurately adjust for temp, self discharge and perform self calibration so maybe its even more advanced than the device Panasonic currently use, or maybe not!....interesting stuff...

Edited February 18, 201016 yr by NRG

I'm hijaking the thread so I'll stop with this post! :o

 

Seems TI has a number of devices sutible for different applications see:

 

Battery Fuel Gauges - Power Management - TI.com

 

....this diagram caught my eye for a 4 cell battery monitor and how these things work:

 

Thanks NRG, yes they've come along way since the old 14 pin "ladder" LED ICs. In size too, often vanishingly small and wafer thin now.

.

Battery range

 

Weather's been a bit against me for a few days but this morning was perfect,- crisp air, no frost, and sunny. So off I set to see how far the battery (or myself !) would last over varying terrain but with me pedalling all of the time ( apart from an occasional treat of a freewheel downhill ). Roads were a good mix of undulating drumlin country, city streets, suburban roads and cyclepaths and canal towpath, Total distance 45 miles, average speed 14.0 mph, max 27.6 mph, journey time 3 hrs 10 mins. The battery was dead at 43 miles so the last two were under human power alone. This was a non stop run other than at road junctions. it is noteable that the green light only went out at 40 miles so only got a few more miles on the amber, so don't be fooled into thinking you have alot left when the green goes out! At least thats how my indicator works.

I publish these figures as they may help others to decide if an ebike will suit there needs as this is the sort of data that I wanted to know when I was investigating the subject prior to purchase.

As for the GS2 it has performed faultlessly to date. The only problem has been the battery charger which developed a fault on its first full charging cycle - switching on and off at 2 second intervals and overhaeting. Emailed Jim at Alien at 2.30pm on a Friday and he had a new charger with me by 9.00am Saturday,- excellant service we all seem to get from this company.

Thats it for now. Cheers

This is great to hear as I've just recommended Alien to a friend who is considering 'going E' on a budget, he's at least 6' so I thought the GS2 would be perfect .

43 miles is impressive well done. My local terrain means I manage about 28~30 at best...yes agree about the lights...as soon as the green goes out 3 miles or so is all that's left.

Yeh! that Alien motor combined with what seems to be a decent battery does seem to work well distance wise and speed wise. I`m glad I did the conversion but with hind sight I should have paid the extra and purchased the bike rather than the kit maybe.

 

Although thinking about it my Evans with the kit is still quite a light set up.

Yeh! that Alien motor combined with what seems to be a decent battery does seem to work well distance wise and speed wise. I`m glad I did the conversion but with hind sight I should have paid the extra and purchased the bike rather than the kit maybe.

 

Although thinking about it my Evans with the kit is still quite a light set up.

 

I did not think the Alien was particularly light....... yours is probable lighter - no?

 

whats a GS2 weigh then?