tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32530031266909920802024-03-12T20:10:07.313-07:00My Life on an E-BikeIT'S ABOUT my new life without an automobile. It's about the challenges that I have to meet in my lifestyle...IT'S ABOUT ME....IT'S ABOUT LIFE...deaconhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13216973533277632063noreply@blogger.comBlogger583125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3253003126690992080.post-41249100164578902032010-12-14T13:57:00.001-08:002010-12-14T13:59:30.030-08:00I spent the last couple of days remaking the nimh battery packs. I have two 12volt forty ah packs hooked up with one `12v sla battery to make 36v of mixed power. I want to see how it does before I finish the nimh battery pack. It's going to be interesting for sure.deaconhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13216973533277632063noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3253003126690992080.post-69852235961113927472010-12-01T16:44:00.000-08:002010-12-01T16:46:55.336-08:00I gave up on the small weed whacker motor but I think I will get a gas motor this spring. I plan to keep my ebike though. I have a feeling that the ebike is more dependable and I could always take it to the store. I might even figure a way to ride it for exercise. <br /><br />I'm not doing anything till spring. I just bought a junk bike from the thrift store to use with the emotor. It has gears which I think I want so I can run the ebike at 24 and pedal it more.deaconhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13216973533277632063noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3253003126690992080.post-1376586469443837502010-11-25T09:59:00.000-08:002010-11-25T10:05:23.966-08:00I am experimenting with a gas engine again. The experiments are with a weed whacker motor but I will most likely buy a gasoline friction drive kit. I am tired of the battery and trailer thing to be honest. I don't mind the slower speed or the short distances between chargers for the most part but frankly the cost of lightweight batteries and the charging times just make it seem as though for the most part a gas bike is better for me at least.<br /><br />I know it isn't green but that's life. If you want green, make the batteries cheaper and more efficient. Which is not the same as making gasoline bikes too expensive to ride. That's the socialists idea of improvements. Don't make the new technology cheaper, instead the lefties say make the old technology more expensive through false costs.deaconhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13216973533277632063noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3253003126690992080.post-89094108548020953282010-11-17T07:42:00.000-08:002010-11-17T07:44:22.644-08:00I picked up three weed whacker motors yesterday. I took a couple of them apart so I am ready to see if I can make either of them run. If so I will begin designing my drive system. I'll let you know how that turns out.deaconhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13216973533277632063noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3253003126690992080.post-79869665672174641072010-11-15T15:53:00.000-08:002010-11-15T15:54:29.063-08:00i have decided to try another weed whacker bike. I am going tomorrow to pickup a couple of engines. I think I am going to try to adapt them to my present building techniques.deaconhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13216973533277632063noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3253003126690992080.post-52422243723206328782010-11-07T05:44:00.000-08:002010-11-07T05:52:55.063-08:00The bike is doing fine with just an on/off switch. I'm running the 24v 600watt Currie motor with a 24v sla and a 6v nimh battery for 30v. I mention the nimh as a separate battery because it makes the power surge different. More mello is the only way I can describe the difference. With Sla when you hit the on switch the bike jump like crazy. With the nimh in the circuit it just eases into the power curve. I know it sounds ridiculous but that is what happens.<br /><br />Anyway it does fine. On most of the hills here the bike runs fast enough that I can't catch the freewheel. I should put a larger chain ring on the bike so that I can help more, but I just haven't felt the need just yet.deaconhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13216973533277632063noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3253003126690992080.post-87002223045390106372010-11-03T05:31:00.001-07:002010-11-03T05:51:57.315-07:00I have been painting the house lately, so I didn't get to ride the bike after the switch back to an on off switch until yesterday. The bike has noticeably more power with the on off switch. It probably is pulling a couple of more amps going uphill. It doesn't seem to be enough to damage the wiring or switch yet, so I'm going to try to ignore it for now. I have wired it with lamp cord wire, so I'm hoping that if there is a failure, it will be in the 15amp rated wire rather than the twenty amp on off switch. I would much prefer the circuit go open than closed.<br /><br />I rode the bike after a day of painting and very little sleep, so I was fairly clumsy with it. I got a good feel for what would happen if I accidentally turned the switch on. Not much happened. I just turned it off again, when it tried to stand up on me. I have the simplest of all kill switches. It is just a loop of wire twisted into the positive wire from the battery. The two ends of the positive wire are taped to the bike frame, then the loop is twisted to the ends to make a solid lead. I can easily grab the loop in a melt down and pull it out of the circuit. Unless the ends of the positive wire make a circuit using the bike frame somehow the power should be killed.<br /><br />I wanted to keep this bike as simple as possible, so I kept the coaster brake as the only brake. One thing I knew from the past experiments was that if I turn the motor off, the drag of the drive system on the rear wheel would bring the bike to a stop eventually. The coaster brake and the drag are very effective. in case of a broken chain, the bike goes slow enough that I could let the drag stop it or even run into the curb or something to stop it in an emergency. A front brake would be nice and I might put one on. I have plenty of room for it and bunches of them around. Lack of a brake isn't the problem, I just didn't want to fool with it at the time.<br /><br />Frankly I'm still looking for a dual suspension bike to test the motor on. It really is my last test of the rhino configuration. I am still vacillating between it and a gasoline friction drive system. Pulling the trailer is a pain but it is doable of course. The trailer is the weakest link at the moment. I really need a better connection or rethink how I carry batteries.deaconhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13216973533277632063noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3253003126690992080.post-2244777389999846442010-10-31T13:38:00.000-07:002010-10-31T13:39:30.655-07:00I put the controller back on the bike and the power went way down, so I pulled it off again. I'm sorry everyone tells me you have to have a controller but it is just a waste of money for me.deaconhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13216973533277632063noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3253003126690992080.post-91054337868762785832010-10-22T03:59:00.000-07:002010-10-22T04:17:41.584-07:00Well the bike I built with the chain drive burned up. I guess it was hauling just a little too much blubber to over volt. I pushed it up the hills and coasted down for about four miles. I decided to put a coaster brake wheel and a rhino drive on the frame but then I bent the frame. From experience I know that when I bend a frame, I can never get it straight again. So I went and bought a 12 dollar trick bike a the thrift store. I had to change the wheels since they were plastic mags. The front wheel had been bent and the rear wasn't a coaster it was a one speed. I wanted a very simple low powered bike this time. <br /><br />I don't even have a front brake. The rhino drive has drag on the rear wheel. If I turn the motor odd it will stop on its own eventually. Brake one is to just turn off the switch. Brake two is the coaster brake. Since the bike runs slowly it is more than enough.<br /><br />I began with the bike at thirty six volts but I felt that it was just too fast for a pleasure bike. That's what I wanted to build since the fast bikes seem to die on me. I also wanted to get a little exercise, so I cut back the voltage to 24volts. It didn't have much pull that way, so I removed the controller and throttle to boost the motors output. The bike is almost full throttle all the time anyway. If I want to tool around a parking lot at dead slow, I can just pedal it.<br /><br />My big experience so far with the bike was with the laid back seat. I bought that bike because it had a laid back seat post. I thought I would need it to make the pedals work. Most of the time the pedals on a kids bike are too close.<br /><br />I tested it with the 36v and at the first stop sign the bike did a wheelie and ran out from under me, I barely managed to keep it under control. So I changed the seat post immediately. I found that with a standard seat post I can reach the pedals just fine. I think since it was designed as a trick bike it was built for older teens.<br /><br /> I will be doing more test on it today but I think I can manage with 24 volts. If not I will just add 6 more volts to it somehow. Thirty volts is ideal. I am running the bike with a 20amp house type on off lever switch. I have burned up the 15amp switches but never a 20amp. I also have a forty amp circuit breaker and a pull wire kill switch. This bike goes so slowly I can probably just lay it down in case of emergency.<br /><br />I am coming to grips with the fact that is a bicycle not a motorcycle or even a moped. It has its own place in the world of transportation. At least this winter it will be a ten mile an hour wind in my face not forty on a motorcycle.deaconhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13216973533277632063noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3253003126690992080.post-30276964800288084702010-10-15T08:45:00.000-07:002010-10-15T08:53:52.999-07:00I put the chain and sprocket drive on the bike again. I did it because I am getting down to one bike and it is the easiest one to keep adjusted. There is less tinkering with it than the rhino friction drive.<br /><br />I don't think it is any more efficient, but who knows it is at least close or the same as the rhino. I put it on the bike with gears. I put the special wheel on the bike which is a one speed rear sprocket. I decided to leave the derailleur so that I could make it a two speed bike by changing the front sprocket with the gear shift. The derailleur acts as a chain tensioned. The problem was the 3/16 chain would not fit the sprocket on the Currie drive wheel. My fix was to remove the 3/16 chain then run the 1/4 inch chain through the guide and derailleur. It is a tight fit and binds a little but it does work. If I change the gear slowly it will move between the two front sprockets. The smaller sprocket is easier to pedal when starting on a hill, but the big one allows me to catch the freewheel earlier on hills while riding. I can keep the throttle lower and pedal assist it some.<br /><br />Anyway for right now it seems to work pretty well. I am able to get three sets of 36v/12ah batteries in the trailer so it has pretty good range I think.deaconhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13216973533277632063noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3253003126690992080.post-37613620164632465212010-10-06T10:42:00.000-07:002010-10-06T10:46:22.610-07:00One thing I learned that afternoon, water all looks alike. The secret was on the shoreline, not in the water. <br /><br />We passed a restaurant and bar on the way to the recovery site. The parking lot was enclosed on the water side by a low concrete block wall. It would not have been difficult for an average guy to lift an average sized woman over the wall. I had assumed that the woman was average size. <br /><br />“The woman, they fished out of here, wasn’t especially large was she?” I asked.<br /><br />“Pretty average I would say,” Jane replied. <br /><br />“Thanks I couldn’t for the live of me remember that part of the autopsy report.”<br /><br />“They say the memory is the first to go,” she suggested.<br /><br />“It isn’t.” I said with a laugh. “It’s the legs.” <br /><br />I sat quietly until she said, “We should be right on top of where they found her floating. Some guys on their way fishing saw her.”<br /><br />“So we are about a mile north of the restaurant,”<br /><br />“Yes but there are plenty of houses with lake access around here as well.”<br /><br />“I guess you are right. So where is the campground from here?”<br /><br />“Two miles north west of here.”<br /><br />“Why?”<br /><br />“Just trying to figure out where she might have gone in.”<br /><br />“She didn’t go for a swim chief, she was strangled then dumped.”<br /><br />“Well that’s true enough.”<br /><br />“Okay I have seen enough. It’s a little chilly on the lake.”<br /><br />“Chief you are going to need long johns if you plan to go out on the lake,”<br /><br />“I suppose I’ll have to put them on my list. At least the uniform coat is pretty warm.”<br /><br />“Yes it is chief, but it is so damn green.”<br /><br />“Not your best color?”<br /><br />“I look terrible in green. Not to mention how my legs look dangling out the bottom of that heavy parka.” I had to admit she had a point she probably looked like a chicken in the heavy parka. “Which is why I wear two set of thermals and the lightweight jacket in the winter. I just hate that parka.”<br /><br />“I think the parka is going to be my best friend,” I suggested.<br /><br />I got home around six that evening with the pizza in tow. I immediately put it into the frig’ since Jayjay liked it cold.deaconhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13216973533277632063noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3253003126690992080.post-19548622789975481252010-10-05T08:47:00.000-07:002010-10-05T08:56:35.835-07:00I rode the bike (with the 30v battery supply) to the mall. It did better than before with 24v. The six volt nimh battery didn't over heat and showed just a little drain. The 12v batteries came in at 13.25 which is considered full. Most likely they drained less than a volt for two miles which is pretty good. Without a controller I can get help from them all the way down to 11.5 or so without any significant damage to them. The nimh won't be a problem since they can drain lower than the sla without damage.<br /><br />I have all those nimh batteries laying about. I might just make up some more of the six volt packs to keep one charged at all times. I have set the packs up so that i can pull them out of the loop and have 24 volt packs with the same batteries. The no controller bike is a lot more versatile. The nimh addition somehow eliminates the jerk when starting. I think it keeps the output of the batteries consistant. That would help with the power drain of the sla if it is true. We shall see after some more time passes.deaconhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13216973533277632063noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3253003126690992080.post-17066294557350585482010-10-04T14:00:00.000-07:002010-10-04T14:02:47.872-07:00This afternoon I made a 6v 48ah battery from some of the nimh batteries I have. I have so many if it had a meld down so be it. I tried it and it seems to work just fine. One thing the nimh batteries do is to smooth out the power curve. The bike doesn't jerk as badly when the motor hits.<br /><br />I will need to do a lot more testing but it seemed to do okay.deaconhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13216973533277632063noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3253003126690992080.post-82095897324287262122010-10-04T04:52:00.001-07:002010-10-04T04:57:49.887-07:00If I switch all the batteries I have over to 24v packs, I should have enough to go anywhere in town. Each 24v 12ah pack should go five miles and I have five of them. The wright will be a monster but what I can do is to ride all day making short trips. I can rotate the packs. Two packs on the bike at a time is very doable. I will have to get up the nerve to try the marina trip one day. I will definitely need to wire in a fail safe kill switch of some kind. I think a pull link would be the best idea.<br /><br />All in all for the time being, I am happy with this bike. I have to work a little but not so much that I can't go where I want so far.deaconhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13216973533277632063noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3253003126690992080.post-34930313772145761352010-10-03T08:51:00.001-07:002010-10-03T08:55:37.642-07:00Well I stripped the big bike and redid it completely yesterday. I made it 24v with no controller. I tested it last night and it was questionable. Today I rode it to the mall for my walk. It did perfectly. It even did well coming home up a major hill. I pedaled a lot but I'm not sure how much I really needed to pedal.<br /><br />Funny how I have gone so far to come back to the same basic design as before. I do use the rhino drive but it is just a little more complicated that the first bikes I built. Well I'm in better condition now, so I don't mind the pedaling.deaconhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13216973533277632063noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3253003126690992080.post-42480109059163513982010-10-01T10:39:00.000-07:002010-10-01T10:48:40.925-07:00I trashed my 24v experimental bike today. I decided just to keep one bike. The bike I kept has a controller that will work at 24 or 36 volts. 24v with a controller is crap. If I build another bike ever it will be 24v no controller. I caught a ton of grief on the forum for advocating that kind of bike but it is the way to go for me anyway. Should the controller on the bike I have now go, I will convert it to 24 volts no controller in a minute.<br /><br />Meanwhile I have a much faster bike in the 36 volts so I will ride and enjoy it knowing that it is best only for the speed.<br /><br />I may try again to get the direct drive with skateboard wheel working. I just need a better connection to the motor.deaconhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13216973533277632063noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3253003126690992080.post-63482057189652856962010-09-30T17:05:00.000-07:002010-09-30T17:13:06.117-07:00I am a terrible welder... I put the skateboard wheel on the bike and it lasted about one block before it twisted the weld I made right off the motor. That was okay because I learned what I wanted to know by then. The skateboard wheel attached directly to the motor is a winner. In my case the weld was so bad and the attachment so out of balance that it just shook itself apart, but it will drive the bike just fine. Only if I get the thing put on correctly.deaconhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13216973533277632063noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3253003126690992080.post-49222098863612252032010-09-30T04:37:00.000-07:002010-09-30T04:42:21.862-07:00It if rains two inches in a week nothing much happens around my house. But when it rains one day enough to saturate the ground, and the it rains two inches the next day, my basement is going to flood. The basement has good natural drainage except that there were no natural gas water heaters when the house was built in 1028. When they installed the water heater in the fifties or so, the installed it too close to the ground. when I replaced it three or four years ago I had it done the same to save a few bucks. So now when it rains as I stated above, I have to stay awake to pump the water out.<br /><br />There are two things i can do to eliminate the problem. I can dig a sump and put in an automatic pump. Or i can raise the water heater, The water heater is about three or four years old and won't need replacing for a few more years. The sump I can install anytime. I'm going to have to give it some thought.deaconhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13216973533277632063noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3253003126690992080.post-21690275087102092052010-09-29T06:20:00.000-07:002010-09-29T06:22:05.142-07:00it is raining again today. I have no idea what I will do today. Probably something with batteries.deaconhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13216973533277632063noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3253003126690992080.post-55483126717083500062010-09-28T12:56:00.000-07:002010-09-29T06:01:51.278-07:00I am waiting for the wheels so I began some power use tests on the drive I have. It seems that going with the lower voltage actually helps with consumption. It causes me to pedal a lot more since the speed is lower. That helps add a lot of human power to the mix.<br /><br />I think i can get four of five miles on a 12ah battery pack. Two of those would give me about 8 to 10 miles. That should be enough for someone to get to work if they have any interest in these bikes. I can't see anyone going more than 10 miles on a bike.<br /><br />It would also be enough to take someone to the store or the doctor's office. Again only if they are even considering a bike. The person who is not an urban dweller wouldn't even consider a bike. This is really for urban transportation.deaconhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13216973533277632063noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3253003126690992080.post-85564958985520963012010-09-26T13:56:00.001-07:002010-09-26T13:58:22.688-07:00In spite of promising my wife I would not do any more bike building, I have ordered some skateboard wheels. Small two inch ones actually. I plan to make a super inexpensive drive to see if building this design for sale is feasible. The problem is that the people the bike was intended for can't really afford much. It will be a challenge for sure to build something that they can afford.deaconhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13216973533277632063noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3253003126690992080.post-62289765072810163182010-09-26T04:46:00.001-07:002010-09-26T04:53:16.107-07:00The energy is returning slowly. I did get the drive completed yesterday. It appears to work satisfactorily. With the small 6" wheel, it will fit one most any bike I think. By keeping it down to 24v the need for complicated electronics is pretty much eliminated. Even so it is still pretty darn effective.<br /><br />I have lots of tests to run on the bike for a while but this one is much simpler than my big bike. I have high hopes for it, which is usually the kiss of death for a device I build. We shall see.deaconhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13216973533277632063noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3253003126690992080.post-54354820150557909552010-09-24T06:54:00.000-07:002010-09-24T06:59:19.884-07:00I'm still sapped from the two days of non stop work on the bike. I rode it around the park to be sure it would get me home after a ride through the park. I worked just fine with the exception that it is much slower with the smaller wheel and lower voltage. I did expect that, so I'm fine with it.<br /><br />The good side is that it is very safe this way. The smoother plastic wheel spins when I apply voltage at a stop. The bike only starts to move after I pedal it a couple of times. If the power should stick on, the bike would do nothing but spin. I could get it stopped. The only problem would be if the brake failed at the same time my switch melted shut. Then I could pull the wiring I left accessible. All in all its a pretty safe bike.<br /><br />I plan to ride it more than the big bike, but it will never replace it for a trip to the lake or the store. This bike is purely for exercise. The big bike is more like a tiny lil motorcycle than a bicycle. The one I just finished is more like a bicycle on steroids. It still performs like a bicycle but has a little more power.deaconhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13216973533277632063noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3253003126690992080.post-85913808518158190672010-09-24T05:11:00.000-07:002010-09-24T05:17:21.477-07:00While repairing my bike, I put a smaller drive wheel on my experimental bike engine the last couple of days. It is a true six inch wheel. The other wheel was eight inches. My speed is down considerably but that is okay. I just want to be sure it will pull the big hill on the way home from the park. My wife has gone to the grocery store, so when she comes home and I get the groceries into the house, I am going to take a ride down to the part. I will either push the bike home or it will be good to go. I still haven't decided what to do about the new bike thing. <br /><br />The ride this morning might help me make up my mind. But I could also use a rest from the building for a while. At least from the heavy part of it. Well I'm off to feed the pack and get my big girl out to the kennel.deaconhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13216973533277632063noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3253003126690992080.post-83937094199492679852010-09-23T10:48:00.000-07:002010-09-23T10:50:57.167-07:00I wanted a smaller drive wheel so that I could put the drive on a larger geared bike. By doing that I hope to make it easier to mount and dismount. I have managed to adapt a 6" lawnmower wheel to the drive. It should prove interesting.deaconhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13216973533277632063noreply@blogger.com0