Ebike Update

It has been about a week since I posted on my electric bicycle, and I have learned some more about the kit in that time.

I am firmly within the 'best battery capacity' part of a SLA battery, so the highest range possible is going to be right now. I set out yesterday to see exactly how far I could go on a single battery, with me assisting pedaling 100% of the time. The route was over paved streets and flat bike paths. There were a total of 11 starts from a dead stop. I also had another battery in the rack (a total of 2) so this was a real world test of range. I was able to do 8.1 miles until the battery was dead. That is with me pedaling 100% of the time at a comfortable pace, except on the starts, when I pedaled as hard as I could to gain speed.

Just like before, there is a marked dropoff in power almost exactly at the 5 mile mark. At this mark, the battery actually shows 100% charge. At mile 7, I have to do about 80% of the work pedaling the bike to maintain top speed, and the battery shows 2/3rds full at this point, and 1/3rd full at about 7.5 miles. Just before mile 8, the charge indicator shows red, and after about 500 more feet, the motor cuts off. The charge indicator is definitely not calibrated correctly, but once you are used to riding the bike, the seat of your pants will do a much better job with estimating the battery life than the charge indicator will.

During the week, I also found that 2 of the 4 bolts on the adjuster for rack length came out. Both used plastic locking nuts to keep the nuts from coming off, but both came off anyway. I replaced them with new bolts, lock washers, and thread locker.

I also had a very crappy experience with a pothole. It was about 4 inches across and 2 inches deep with the lip about 30 degrees off from the direction of travel; so it was very small. When the rear wheel hit it, the pothole knocked the rear wheel out of alignment by about 1/2 inch at the top of the wheel. This made the tire rub on the side of the battery 100% of the time when the bike was in motion. I was worried something like this was going to happen at some point because there is very little spare clearance between the rack and the tire. I pulled the battery on that side and put it on the other side then went home where I had my tools.

Still, all in all, I like the kit.