Is my bike good enough?

[Leslie]

Mike.


Make a new spacer tube out of some good thick steal pipe.  Find a recycle steal yard and take your spacer tube with you and ask them to cut you a longer one.

A cheap flat steel file will make it smooth and perfect.  

A couple of dollars for the time they take should cover this.

[Leslie]

Make sure the thickness matches your spacer tube as close as you can.  Maybe it should be rust resistant like the GM spacer tube too.  Galvenized steel I think!. 

[bike lover]

Hello I am not sure how to reply to some of you since I do not see the reply button for each of the answers given to me.

The battery voltage is around 53 and it is only 6 months old.
When I connect my digital multimeter, I have to put on AC not on DC to get a proper reading of around
33V in full throttle measuring either 2 of the 3 wires going to the brushless motor.
Is the voltage going on the motor AC or DC sometimes I am confused.

I thought about putting 60V going to the controller but since I think the power to my lighting systems is around 6V, increasing the voltage of the battery to increase speed will not burn my electronic componants?

I also read that my windings might overheat and melt down, leaving me with no bikes at all.

To check the winding , I am not able to do it that easily, since my previous brushless motor went back to the factory and it is hard for me to convince my dealer to dismantle brand new motor having around 12 little allen bolts to just check the windings.
(My lighting, flashers, alarm system, cruise control seems to be connected to the controller.

My charging system seems to work right, I am checking my charging light and when I am cruising it comes on if I do not draw too much power from it.

If I put 60V putting another battery in series, will my controller fry since it is a 48 v controller. I could easily buy another one for 14 bucks but I am trying to avoid to be stuck with a dead controller, having to go far away to get another one.
I do not have a schematic for putting another battery in series but I also wonder how can I charge 60v when my charger gives only 48v?


I am thrilled to have people liking e-bike sharing their knowledge in the web, so I am not the only one, thanks to all.

Thank you for the ones that take the time to write me, you know who you are, thank you for your answers.
I am eager to receive them, my e-bike is one of my babies , and if I can make it unique and better, I am happy with this.

I wait for your answers if you have one.

charles

[Leslie]

Hello I am not sure how to reply to some of you since I do not see the reply button for each of the answers given to me.

The battery voltage is around 53 and it is only 6 months old.
When I connect my digital multimeter, I have to put on AC not on DC to get a proper reading of around
33V in full throttle measuring either 2 of the 3 wires going to the brushless motor.
Is the voltage going on the motor AC or DC sometimes I am confused.

I thought about putting 60V going to the controller but since I think the power to my lighting systems is around 6V, increasing the voltage of the battery to increase speed will not burn my electronic componants?

I also read that my windings might overheat and melt down, leaving me with no bikes at all.

To check the winding , I am not able to do it that easily, since my previous brushless motor went back to the factory and it is hard for me to convince my dealer to dismantle brand new motor having around 12 little allen bolts to just check the windings.
(My lighting, flashers, alarm system, cruise control seems to be connected to the controller.

My charging system seems to work right, I am checking my charging light and when I am cruising it comes on if I do not draw too much power from it.

If I put 60V putting another battery in series, will my controller fry since it is a 48 v controller. I could easily buy another one for 14 bucks but I am trying to avoid to be stuck with a dead controller, having to go far away to get another one.
I do not have a schematic for putting another battery in series but I also wonder how can I charge 60v when my charger gives only 48v?


I am thrilled to have people liking e-bike sharing their knowledge in the web, so I am not the only one, thanks to all.

Thank you for the ones that take the time to write me, you know who you are, thank you for your answers.
I am eager to receive them, my e-bike is one of my babies , and if I can make it unique and better, I am happy with this.

I wait for your answers if you have one.

charles

33v DC pulse with an AC meter = 66v DC.  You maybe getting some feedback from the coils swtiching and AC sinusoidal equasions in the meter is not correct for DC pulse with no AC centre 0v, I believe, but I am no AC expert.

Um you need to contact the manufacturer for this problem.  do not do unusual testing if youre not sure what youre doing.  Seems they made your bike weak in torque.

[mike662]

Ok so I've been gone for a little while but my ebike is complete (mostly). I still need to attach one more torque arm just so I feel safer but so far the bike is going good. Without really trying I hit 52km/h once but don't want to do that again or for too long until I get another torque arm installed. I am still very disappointed that GM sent me original parts that should fit but did not and that caused me a great deal of trouble. I had to make multiple trips to bikes shops, spent many hours trying to grind things down, and eventually grinded down a washer that I bought from Home Depot to fit on the axle between the provided washers and the freewheel. My gear shifters don't come off of the old brakes so I can't figure out how to take the handles off so for now they are still there but inoperative. Eventually I'll cut them off once I get a proper metal saw. Here is a pic:

[vapid2323]

Nice job!

[jusamaphonic]

Looks like a nice bike!

On torque arms: Upon first installing my Pie in some tiny aluminum dropouts, I had an "incident" after riding the bike ~100m. After getting off to assess the damage, the Pie had twisted inside of the dropouts and bent them open. When it happened, I was up to cruise speed, not applying much torque. I fully understand the term "bird's nest", and my repair job on these wires now resembles a "hot dog". I use the story now with bystandars as a testement to the raw, awesome power that is the Pie.

Mmmm.... Hot Dog Pie...

Anywhoo, instead of buying torque arms (I'm impatient at times), I picked up a pair of hardened steel brackets from Home Depot; the type used on Unistrut shelving (flat, three holes). Using a Dremel tool with a carbide bit, I carved out slots to match the width of the flat sides of the Pie axel. As a by-product, I had metal shavings embedded in the skin of my hands for 4-6 weeks afterwords. Ask the n00b: Never forget personal protective equipment! Painted the brackets and installed them using hose clamps on the torque end (I see you took a similar route). Only issue was undoing it all when I got a flat... YES, use slime tubes.

Una pregunta... will the Pie take a Shrader (sp?) valve? I've been running on Prestas, but Slime makes an ultra-thick tube with Shray-der valves only. I'll bore out the holes if I have to, but I figure it's free to ask first.

[jusamaphonic]

So I found the problem. Looks like the washer that GM included is too large or the spacer tube is too short. Either way, the part of the gear cluster that is affixed to the hub was grinding against the washer, hence the hard-turning wheel and the ear-piercing squealing coming from the hub when it was turned. I can't find any washer that will fit just right so I'll try to grind this one down a little or go to the bike shop and see if they have anything. Maybe I'll pick up a 3-speed gear cluster too. Here is a picture of the grinded washer:

An XLR three pin plug jacks the type used on a microphone, if they are long enough, can be pulled apart and manipulated to work as the spacer tube.  I missed place one of mine and used and XLR, When I found the spacer tube they were almost identical in size. .  Maybe you could use one as an extender on the old one?

You can get them at a musical instrument store. 


Maybe Gary will have a solution and help you out here.

I found it hillarious to see XLR jacks being used as a standard in E-Scooter charger connections. So hillarious, in fact, that I installed an XLR jack for overnight-charging of my own E-Bike batteries.

http://www.electricscooterparts.com/36vchargers.html

[Leslie]

Ok so I've been gone for a little while but my ebike is complete (mostly). I still need to attach one more torque arm just so I feel safer but so far the bike is going good. Without really trying I hit 52km/h once but don't want to do that again or for too long until I get another torque arm installed. I am still very disappointed that GM sent me original parts that should fit but did not and that caused me a great deal of trouble. I had to make multiple trips to bikes shops, spent many hours trying to grind things down, and eventually grinded down a washer that I bought from Home Depot to fit on the axle between the provided washers and the freewheel. My gear shifters don't come off of the old brakes so I can't figure out how to take the handles off so for now they are still there but inoperative. Eventually I'll cut them off once I get a proper metal saw. Here is a pic:

Good solution.

I bought a single lever shifter and put it up on the bars. and just used one brake switch on the throttle side, its hard to brake and throttle with the same hand at the same time as sometimes full the throttle release is impeded by your thumb, have the switch on the throttle side, so you don't get caught doing both.

The rack is looking pretty cool.

Have you taken it for a spin yet?

[Leslie]

.

[GM Canada]

Ok so I've been gone for a little while but my ebike is complete (mostly). I still need to attach one more torque arm just so I feel safer but so far the bike is going good. Without really trying I hit 52km/h once but don't want to do that again or for too long until I get another torque arm installed. I am still very disappointed that GM sent me original parts that should fit but did not and that caused me a great deal of trouble. I had to make multiple trips to bikes shops, spent many hours trying to grind things down, and eventually grinded down a washer that I bought from Home Depot to fit on the axle between the provided washers and the freewheel. My gear shifters don't come off of the old brakes so I can't figure out how to take the handles off so for now they are still there but inoperative. Eventually I'll cut them off once I get a proper metal saw. Here is a pic:

Hi Mike

Sorry to say I am reading of your troubles a little late in the game. You should have contacted me directly. I found some lock washers at home  depot that solve this problem. I could have sent you a few. I will try to find a picture and part number for them to help out others that have this problem in the future. The problem comes from the cylinder inside the freewheel. they have one size only and it fits the 500w motors no problem. But on some ( not all ) of the wider 1000w motors the cylinder is not long enough. I must have had a brain fart and not warned you of this problem before it happined. I am sorry for that. I try to keep up with the forum but some of the posts are so complex they make my head spin and I need sleep before I can continue   Are you still having this problem?

Also about the shifters and brakes in one unit, go to a local bike shop and pickup a new set of shifters that don't have the brake levers built in to them. They are surprizingly cheap and fit well with the GM levers. I had to do this on the bike I let you test drive, it had the same problem. I cut off the levers but then decided it looked like crap and bought a new set.

Gary

[mike662]

Hi Mike

Sorry to say I am reading of your troubles a little late in the game. You should have contacted me directly. I found some lock washers at home  depot that solve this problem. I could have sent you a few. I will try to find a picture and part number for them to help out others that have this problem in the future. The problem comes from the cylinder inside the freewheel. they have one size only and it fits the 500w motors no problem. But on some ( not all ) of the wider 1000w motors the cylinder is not long enough. I must have had a brain fart and not warned you of this problem before it happined. I am sorry for that. I try to keep up with the forum but some of the posts are so complex they make my head spin and I need sleep before I can continue   Are you still having this problem?

Also about the shifters and brakes in one unit, go to a local bike shop and pickup a new set of shifters that don't have the brake levers built in to them. They are surprizingly cheap and fit well with the GM levers. I had to do this on the bike I let you test drive, it had the same problem. I cut off the levers but then decided it looked like crap and bought a new set.

Gary

Thanks for the reply Gary. I'm not having any more problems with it now so all is good but I'll be doing some tune-ups along the way when I have time. I've been in Poland for the last week and still am so I haven't had access to the forum lately.

[mike662]

Good solution.

I bought a single lever shifter and put it up on the bars. and just used one brake switch on the throttle side, its hard to brake and throttle with the same hand at the same time as sometimes full the throttle release is impeded by your thumb, have the switch on the throttle side, so you don't get caught doing both.

The rack is looking pretty cool.

Have you taken it for a spin yet?

Yup, the 52 km/h I did was while riding the bike. It was the reading I got off my GPS and not the speedometer on the bike at a standstill. I was riding it for a week before I went overseas and it was holding up great. I just wish the offset rear wheel wasn't so offset because I can't get my rear brakes working and I decided that I don't want to use regen as it could put some pretty bad back-and-forth strain on my dropouts.