Bafang or 8FUN

[rmosier]

I went with the 22P 12.3 amp hour triangle battery from EM3EV. I would like to offer a correction to my previous statement regarding battery capacity. I didn't know this, but it seems that the four segment indicator that shows remaining capacity is very unreliable. I finally took a long enough trip to completely deplete the battery. For most of the 39 mile trip, is showed four bars. About half way through the trip, it showed three bars. Shortly afterward, it dropped to one bar, then shut off due to low voltage very soon after that. I am still impressed with the range that I obtained, but the "gas gauge" is wildly unreliable. I've since heard that the cycle analyst does a much better job of this but I have no plans on getting one just yet due to the fact that I'm pretty broke. From now on, When I'm on 3/4 of a "tank", I'll consider it to be half, and head home. Still very happy with both the battery and the motor.

 

[flymeaway]

I now have over 1500 miles on my 36V 500W BBS-02. I have a 15AH battery and have ridden the bike over 35 miles once. My normal ride is 28 miles (commuting). I've never dropped a bar! Yes when the motor is under load it does drop the 1st bar, but when the load is removed the bar returns. I have learned to match assist level to cadence and monitor speed. If you keep the bike moving near the top range of the assist level you will conserve energy in the battery. If you go up a grade and leave the assist level (say 4 on a 5 assist range) as the bike slows you'll quickly lose a bar. I've also learned to drop assist levels when going up long grades as the bike falls into the lower assist levels speed range. You still get assist without "loading" the motor trying to pull at an RPM that's unachievable. Kind of like down-shifting a car.....I set my system up with 5 assist levels and ride mostly in 2/3. When I approach a hill I move up to 4 get the bike moving and as the speed falls I back down to lower assist levels. Once I got the speeds and gears matched my riding became much more fluid and I found I was not using higher assist levels as much.

Just a note...on my Neo Carbon the 1st bar seems to last "forever" (actually about 8-10 miles), but the 2nd and 3rd bars don't last nearly as long. Usually by the time I've gone 20 miles I've lost 3 bars.

Court J.

 

[rmosier]

I now have over 1500 miles on my 36V 500W BBS-02. I have a 15AH battery and have ridden the bike over 35 miles once. My normal ride is 28 miles (commuting). I've never dropped a bar! Yes when the motor is under load it does drop the 1st bar, but when the load is removed the bar returns. I have learned to match assist level to cadence and monitor speed. If you keep the bike moving near the top range of the assist level you will conserve energy in the battery. If you go up a grade and leave the assist level (say 4 on a 5 assist range) as the bike slows you'll quickly lose a bar. I've also learned to drop assist levels when going up long grades as the bike falls into the lower assist levels speed range. You still get assist without "loading" the motor trying to pull at an RPM that's unachievable. Kind of like down-shifting a car.....I set my system up with 5 assist levels and ride mostly in 2/3. When I approach a hill I move up to 4 get the bike moving and as the speed falls I back down to lower assist levels. Once I got the speeds and gears matched my riding became much more fluid and I found I was not using higher assist levels as much.

Just a note...on my Neo Carbon the 1st bar seems to last "forever" (actually about 8-10 miles), but the 2nd and 3rd bars don't last nearly as long. Usually by the time I've gone 20 miles I've lost 3 bars.

Court J.

Yup... That's all consistent with my results. So in the end, The battery level indicator could be improved, but everything else about this motor and battery have exceeded all of my expectations. And it all started by watching your video review of the Surly karate monkey that you borrowed from Long island electric bikes. Thanks Court.