Calling all math majors

[PCeBiker]

My new e-bike has a Bafang type display that is WAY Easier to navigate.

I learned how to "program" it in ten minutes by just turning it on and pushing the buttons.

This setting is fake though,..

I just left it at 1 A just in case it takes a little time to activate or something.

 

[PCeBiker]

In my younger years, I used a full twist throttle on my motorcycles without any issues.

Me too. I don't ever remember having a problem with any of my motorcycles including my dirt bike.

Now, with my e-bikes, my hand cramps up trying to hold the twist steady for any length of time.

Same here, so I replaced my half twist throttle with a full twist throttle to double the rotation of the throttle.

It turned out that's not what it means, and I ended up with full grip throttle instead of half grip throttle that already had.

 

[PCeBiker]

My new throttle just arrived,..

It's for a Surron.
I thought it might be a full twist throttle, but it's just another full grip half twist ebike throttle the same as my half grip half twist throttle that I currently have.

I haven't tested it yet, but it may in fact be a ¼ twist full grip throttle, if there are any dead spots in the rotation??

This is my current half twist half grip throttle,..

It's got a wire pointer showing the movement.
The throttle is off now and doesn't active until the pointer moves down to the first black line.
It reaches maximum throttle at the second black line, followed by another dead spot.

It's been more than 30 years since I rode a motorcycle, but I could swear that the throttles all had way more movement in their rotation?

How much twist should full twists twist, when my half grip full grip half twists don't twist worth a s*it?

 

[PCeBiker]

Without good empirical data like this, the math is pointless anyway. Garbage in, garbage out always applies.

I say ebike throttles are garbage, including throttles, but I can't find any angular rotation data on throttles.

My next step is an Electric Motorcycle throttle but they're about $100 so I'm gonna make sure that I know how much twist it has.


Ohhh,.. BTW
Check out this Cat's Ass of a thumb throttle from Grin. $220 CAD

Made in the USA, and it's got the price to go with it.

Dyol Bidirectional Throttle, Right

High Quality American Made 2-Way Throttle from Dyol. Right Side, All Metal Construction. Roll-In to Accellerate, Roll-Back for Regen. Customized for 1V Signal Offset

ebikes.ca

 

[6zfshdb]

Due to my hand & wrist issues, I need to use these "palm" support style grips with a half grip throttle. Full grip palm style grips don't work well with full length, full twist throttles.

 

[spokewrench]

The OE grips on my Aventon are like that. Even as I hold the half twist throttle open, there's almost no pressure except on my outboard palms.

 

[PCeBiker]

I have them too, and they work great !!

I also have a horny pair of grips

They are even better.
I just snug them up tight enough so that I can adjust them while I'm riding, and if I have to flip my bike upside down to fix a flat tire, I just rotate them and stand the bike on the horns to get clearance so I don't crunch my display.


They've got these handlebars stands, but they were $89 a couple of years ago and I thought that was ridiculous, so I made my own stands,..

The horny grips are still the best because they cost less than the t-stands, you always carry them with the bike, and they deploy in ten seconds flat.


I just found these ones from Australia,..

I wonder if they cost ninety bucks?

I tried pool noodles over the grips, but my bike is too heavy and the noodles were too soft and spongy.

 

[6zfshdb]

My new e-bike has a Bafang type display that is WAY Easier to navigate.

I learned how to "program" it in ten minutes by just turning it on and pushing the buttons.


View attachment 189359View attachment 189360View attachment 189361



This setting is fake though,..

View attachment 189362


I just left it at 1 A just in case it takes a little time to activate or something.

It seems to me, the programming you describe is more complicated than it is for this one:

To change battery capacity, you just hold the center "Set" button for 5 seconds and press the right & left buttons to enter the new capacity. Like many other pieces of electronic equipment, you just get used to it.

BTW, just because your battery is rated for so many amp hours, doesn't mean that number is accurate. If you're serious about calculating range, you need to measure the actual capacity every so often. As you know, batteries loose capacity with age & use. I bench test mine every few months and write the new number on a label stuck to the back of the battery. It's risky to take what once was a 21ah battery for a ride only to find it actually holds only 16.

Most of the size & weight of that shunt is the heat sink which can be easily removed. The shunt itself can be mounted directly to the inside of your controller housing or other enclosure. That heat sink is designed for 500 amps of near continuous use. Most e-bikes draw less than 40 amps peak but only intermittently. Most of the time, the amp draw is far less, which means the shunt generates very little heat. Most of the time, it isn't even warm to the touch.

Is the display of your gauge really that much easier to read? From the picture, the digits seem smaller to me.

I'm not wild about the green background either but it goes out after a few seconds. The time it stays on can be adjusted or turned off. The gauge is still readable without the backlight, even in bright sun.

Like so many other pieces of equipment, you tend to stick with what works for you. What works for some, may not for all.

 

[6zfshdb]

My OE Aventon grips are similar. Even as I hold the throttle open, there's almost no pressure but on my palms.

I agree, as long as you're using a half grip or thumb throttle. With a full grip twist throttle, the palm support surface would twist with the throttle, making it awkward and uncomfortable to hold.

 

[spokewrench]

Due to my hand & wrist issues, I need to use these "palm" support style grips with a half grip throttle.

Not long after a desktop wrist pad cured what I'd thought was arthritis in my right wrist, a similar problem appeared in my left wrist. If I got down on the ground, I'd have to find a way to get up with my right hand only. I decided I'd broken a bone from the shock of hitting bumps on my Radrunner. I put on Wolf Tooth foam silicone rubber grips. They made little difference. Eventually, I realized the handlebars were too low, and they weren't adjustable. A riser helped a lot, but riding still hurt.

I decided that I had a torn tendon at the base of my thumb, caused by bars that were too low with grips at the wrong angle. I bought a pair of bars made for a kid's bike. The grips were at a different angle and, as an added benefit, they had 2" more rise, in addition to the 4" riser. Bumps no longer caused any pain, and my tendon healed.

The height or angle of handlebar ends can cause wrist issues.

 

[PCeBiker]

It also displays real time voltage & current. It isn't elegant but it's the most accurate method I've found.

I wanted to say that it was you that inspired me to buy the same Watt Hour Meter.

It's an accurate, quality instrument, that would do everything that I'd want it to, but I was too damn lazy to figure out how to operate it.

Instead of feeling a sense of accomplishment for learning how to operate it, and put it in to regular use, I'd feel disappointed for letting myself be trained like a monkey.

I don't like to serve my tools.
They're supposed to serve me.


By the way, your 8,700 ah battery is mighty impressive !!
Is that at 36 volts or 48?

 

[PCeBiker]

Like so many other pieces of equipment, you tend to stick with what works for you. What works for some, may not for all.

There's A Lot of Vado smoke clouding up my memory, and all that I seem to be able to remember lately is that I used to know how to do something ?

I used to be able to write out a three page answer calculating the fourth derivative of a function, and visisualize 3-Dimenentional objects in my head.
Now I can't count out change without screwing up.

That's OK though, cuz I just tap and go now.

 

[PCeBiker]

,.. I bought a pair of bars made for a kid's bike.

That's what I did, but I found the handlebars in the garbage.

The seat was ripped too, but tape fixed it up real nice and slick.

 

[PCeBiker]

The height or angle of handlebar ends can cause wrist issues.

I found the best way to avoid hand pain from the grips and handlebars is to not use them.

It's fine once you get use to it, and a lot of fun too !!

 

[spokewrench]

It's an accurate, quality instrument, that would do everything that I'd want it to, but I was too damn lazy to figure out how to operate it.

Instead of feeling a sense of accomplishment for learning how to operate it, and put it in to regular use, I'd feel disappointed for letting myself be trained like a monkey.

I like electronics with PDF manuals available so I can find the manual on my computer when I forget the instructions.

Was it 20 years ago that I bought a Kill-A-Watt? It didn't need instructions. The five buttons were labeled to show 8 measurements. Their price kept rising as cheaper ones with more features came along. I bought another Kill-A-Watt 8 years ago, an alternative 4 years ago, and another alternative last week.

The new one has 8 modes showing up to 3 measurements each. In fact, each mode shows the elapsed time and 1 or 2 other measurements. It's a disadvantage because I have to cycle through 8 modes.

There are 4 buttons: Mode, Set, Up, and Down. The instructions aren't printed on the back. There is no PDF, and the instruction slip is sure to disappear. I typed the instructions into a computer file.

Hold Mode 3 sec to set overload

Press Mode and Down to toggle sound

Press Mode and Up to clear data

Hold Set 3 sec to set price

Press Down to toggle backlight

Press Down and Up to set backlight time to 10 min, 1 hour, 4 hours, 8 hours, or always

It's too much for me. Where can I rent a smart monkey?

 

[PCeBiker]

I used to be able to visisualize 3-Dimenentional objects in my head.

I remember struggling to see the 3-dimensionality of this diagram, where all the vectors expand in the positive direction.

After I was done my homework I got stoned and thought about it.

I realized that to see all the vectors in a positive way, I needed to see into the box, and not see the box from the outside,..

 

[PCeBiker]

I like electronics with PDF manuals available

Speaking of that,..
Do you remember the schematic diagram of the voltmeter you made using zener diodes, so the meter would read from 11 volts to 15 volts?

I want to make one that reads from 40 volts to 60 volts for my ebike.

I know Exactly What I Want To Know, but I spend hours trying to find a fricken schematic online and just gave up.

I fricken hate computers...

 

[harryS]

I want to make one that reads from 40 volts to 60 volts for my ebike.

If it's a digital readout that reads from 0-60V, does it matter that the 0-40 never shows?

 

[spokewrench]

Speaking of that,..
Do you remember the schematic diagram of the voltmeter you made using zener diodes, so the meter would read from 11 volts to 15 volts?

I want to make one that reads from 40 volts to 60 volts for my ebike.

I know Exactly What I Want To Know, but I spend hours trying to find a fricken schematic online and just gave up.

I didn't have a schematic. If I wanted the analog movement to read what was over 11 volts, I needed an 11 volt reference. I don't remember if I used a zener diode or a voltage regulator IC, adjustable by resistance between two leads.

Now the meter could measure the difference between the supply voltage and 11 volts. Suppose it takes 1 ma to read full scale. If you want that to be 15 volts, you want to measure 4 volts, or 15-11. Four k ohm will allow 1 ma. If the meter coil has 1 k ohm, you put a 3 k resistor in series.

When I turned the key to ON, the position of the needle would give me an idea of the state of charge, the voltage under a small load. If the state of charge was low but when I ran the motor the voltage was over 14, that would suggest that the battery wasn't accepting much charge current, probably because it was cold. Either way, seeing the state of charge each time I turned on the key would tell me when I should use a charger, to prevent problems and extend the life of the battery.

 

[spokewrench]

I found the best way to avoid hand pain from the grips and handlebars is to not use them.

It's fine once you get use to it, and a lot of fun too !!

I used to ride a Jackson, a rebranded Raleigh sold as a motorless motorcycle to avoid Elizabeth's sky-high bicycle export tax and Dwight's retaliatory bicycle tariff. (I don't know if the queen of France said, "Let them eat cake," but Elizabeth seems to have said, "Let Americans ride Captain Kangaroo Schwinns.)

Coming home from the public pool, I'd ride down a hill of maybe 15 percent with no hands. It was the only safe way because I needed my hands to spread my towel behind my head as an air brake so I wouldn't wreck at the bottom like Old 97, whose air brakes failed because Westinghouse hadn't given the engineer a user manual. If only he'd had a towel!