Cemoto Electric Folding Mountain Bike

[vincent]

yes it is obvious but when i am trying to wrassle with the bike and keep it balanced i did not notice it was doing this, and if there was some kind of latch or something you would not have to worry about it

obviously it is not supposed to close on that but gravity puts it there in your way and it is the exact length to jam in there, if that latch was longer it might not could do that....

and now realize even riding in the car that latch is ending up pushed into the prongs
not sure if it happens when i scoot it on the blanket or not, but will watch when moving the bike in and out tomorrow


just unfolded and folded the prodeco bike to see if it was different
that latch also tends to roll to the inside just like the cemoto but it is angled on the inside of the latch and made so that as soon as you start to unfold the bike it pushes the latch out of the way on its own, it cannot jam in there at all
on that bike you cannot close it onto the latch even though the set up is very similar

but the prodeco is not as wide as this one, no battery prongs there etc

the prodeco is very easy to open and close, did notice the cemoto is much harder to open and close, am going to put some dry lubricant on the hinge now and see if that makes it easier
i am having to put a lot of pressure on it opening and closing it and that with balancing the bike takes my attention away from watching the latch


if i remove the battery each time this will prevent a good bit of it too

 

[vincent]

really like that controller set up and if you guys think it is decent quality and will plug in or work with this bike will order it right now

dont know what i am doing, so how do i fill in those option slots on the right ?

dont know if it is sensorless or not, etc
if someone knows the specifics of what to order tell me and i will place the order

ebike if you feel qualified to install it i would pay you

or i am sure there is an ebike shop somewhere in tucson or phx that would want to do it lol
disappointed those guys at ajo bikes were so negative about this kind of thing today

 

[vincent]

ebike i found ironhorse custom bicycles on baseline, do you know anything about them?


they say electric and motorized custom builds but website seems geared more toward motors...

may swing by there next week when i am in phx

 

[ebike-ebike]

Howdy, thanks for the offer but unfortunately I wouldn't be able to do a build yet and won't until I build my prototype first (mine is more specific to a certain riding style).
There are still more new items being introduced to the market so waiting for some new things coming out so as I still do not have all the details I would need yet.

(Updated): I much prefer a speed-sensing torque type controller which gives more torque at slow speeds and also applies this speed sensing to all 5 PAS levels.
And since you have to change the controller for this, you might as well go with the newer higher amp multi-voltage controller (it will give more power to the motor and allow for future upgrade).

I did however initially research the more conventional options and have found the following plausible options:

To upgrade your controller to and LCD panel and 5 level PAS you can get that here I believe:

PSWPOWER.com

To upgrade to just the LED panel and 3 levels of PAS:

http://www.ebay.com
(just not sure if levers use same connectors)

Or, if you want to upgrade the motor to a 500-750w, try this kit: (this would be my choice):

http://www.ebay.com

Options select: LCD / Twist / 7 speed
They also show several LCD pictures, so request their SW 900 (as a note) when you order, it is the best one they show and has the remote thumb keypad you can mount that to the right of the left handgrip so you won't have to take your hand off the bar to operate LCD.
I emailed them for dimensions of the controller to see if it will fit, it looks like it will (3"x5"x1.5")

Again, I am going a different route now so I don't know about the controller dimensions (they seems fine) or mounting, or the connectors (but hopefully it's just plug-n-play as long as you use the included levers) but you can check that out when you pull your controller, and email them as well.

If you're looking to further upgrade the motor/controller (to 25+ amps), then you can try these sites below:

http://www.ebikes.ca

http://em3ev.com/

Best of luck...

 

[vincent]

what are the reasons for upgrading a motor? just speed/power?

at some point i might want to do that but also worry about adding much more weight
and think right now i will be happy with the speed etc

i like the bike the way it is but do not like the one speed pas at all
if that was selectable stock i would not change anything

do think it would be nice to know mph and odometer especially if it comes as kit with the selectable pas

other than that i probably will not mod it much

i also think buying stuff in a year or two that all of it will be much better, and in a year with more bike riding experience maybe i will want more power etc



found a bike shop way down south of tucson that does kits etc
cruzelectricbicycles.com
they have a small website but show pas kits with lcd etc and it looks promising

i emailed for their days and hours, if they are open tomorrow may run down there

will keep the thread up to date on how all that goes

nothing aggravates me more than wanting to spend money modifying my car , truck or now bicycle and not being able to find anyone that wants to take my money lol

 

[vincent713]

vincent - the only reason I am modding my bike to go faster is I ride with a group that has 66cc 2 stroke motors on their bicycle. They go 26-30mph and I want to be able to keep up with them. This bike goes 20mph and that's fast enough for most people. If you want to go farther than I recommend buying an extra battery like I did. If you just want more level of PAS then get the LCD display for $50 from cruzelectricbicycles.com. This display will give you speed, odometer and the things I mention before. They will be able to install or assist you with this.

 

[vincent]

great, i am excited about going down to cruz bicycles and getting this done

to me with the handlebars up and the selectable pas the bike would be about perfect

trying to call them now to see if they are open on sat

if not i should make it there monday afternoon

 

[vincent]

they are open so i am headed down there in a little bit

will keep you guys up to date

 

[ebike-ebike]

Hi Vincent, I much prefer the speed-sensing PAS type 'sinewave' or 'torque simulation' controller which gives more torque when you need it most (at slow speeds) and reduces as the bike speeds up. It also applies this torque incrementally to all 5 PAS levels which lets you choose the amount of assist. (versus basically the 20mph on/off switch like we have now!)
And since you have to change the controller for this, you might as well go with the newer higher amp multi-voltage controller (it will give more power to the motor and allow for future upgrade).

If so, here is a sinewave type controller with separate speed sensor that could work except the volt/ amp rating (250w) is too low:
http://www.greenbikekit.com/250w-brushless-e-bike-controller-lcd-display.html
But you can read the description to see how the controller 'senses'.

In my opinion, the main advantage with going with this type controller is that you no longer have to keep constantly toggling thru the 5 levels of PAS on the display while riding (you are already busy enough shifting and braking). The 5 PAS levels will simply set the amount of power assist and you can change the levels as desired but it is not required to change levels in order to ride and control speed. You control your speed as you normally do - with the gear shifter.

In biking we change our speed by changing gears to maintain an efficient peddling speed for our legs, it also works the same with motors as they become more efficient when running at the higher end of their rated RPM, just like our legs do!

So, you can take this further by adding a multi-voltage (36-72v) high motor winding turn count (10T motor winding) hub motor (high motor winding count = more torque) to maintain the best rpm range for the motor, or you can also go less turns (6T motor winding) to favor higher speed.
With the higher-amp rated controller it should deliver optimum of power to the wheel. And now with the multi-voltage motor & controller you get future upgrade possibilities simply by changing the battery to a higher voltage (48v-72v) - There will always be new battery improvements in the future with much higher AH ratings (at high 2C and 3C ratings!) and the cells will be small enough to will fit inside the existing battery case.

As far as displays are concerned, I am now leaning towards the V2 Cycle Analyst LCD which has more data fields, and capable of simple programming and data logging.

Anyway, that's my theory for what its worth.

Going out of town soon, but didn't want you to get the wrong controller or setup if visiting a shop, etc.
happy trails!

 

[vincent]

Hoping to get a little work done so will write all about the bike shop/pedal assist stuff tonite


but definitely want to change the handlebar set up out
vincent713 the riser you bought on ebay that listing has eneded

so when i typed in adjustable riser stem i saw this
and i am wondering if it will fit our bikes
http://www.ebay.com


not for the rising part but so i can undo that quick release and turn the handle bars to make the bike thinner for the trunk

this is like that shifttwister thing i found in europe that is much more expensive
but i talked to ajo bikes about installing that for me and they insisted i did not want that , that it would be dangerous....
which i pretty much disagreed with at the time but they talked me out of it

anyway does anyone have thoughts on the safety aspect and woudl this fit our bike as far as being able to make it thinner when it is folded?

 

[vincent713]

Vincent - that riser should fit as our stem is 1 1/8 inch in size. I've never used those before but it looks like it might work for what you're trying to do. How did it go at cruzelectricbicycles?

 

[vincent713]

Hello all - is everyone still riding? I recently did a 60 mile trip and it was awesome! Of course I had an extra battery with me to make it possible. The trip was about 60% PAS and 40% throttle mode. The bike perform beautifully and holding up very well. I've ordered a rear rack and still waiting for it to arrive, will post pics once I have it installed. Hope everyone is doing well.

 

[ebike-ebike]

Sweeeet, good to hear. Sounds like a nice ride.
Been busy with things but will post soon...

 

[ebike-ebike]

yes it is obvious but when i am trying to wrassle with the bike and keep it balanced i did not notice it was doing this, and if there was some kind of latch or something you would not have to worry about it

obviously it is not supposed to close on that but gravity puts it there in your way and it is the exact length to jam in there, if that latch was longer it might not could do that....

and now realize even riding in the car that latch is ending up pushed into the prongs
not sure if it happens when i scoot it on the blanket or not, but will watch when moving the bike in and out tomorrow


just unfolded and folded the prodeco bike to see if it was different
that latch also tends to roll to the inside just like the cemoto but it is angled on the inside of the latch and made so that as soon as you start to unfold the bike it pushes the latch out of the way on its own, it cannot jam in there at all
on that bike you cannot close it onto the latch even though the set up is very similar

but the prodeco is not as wide as this one, no battery prongs there etc

the prodeco is very easy to open and close, did notice the cemoto is much harder to open and close, am going to put some dry lubricant on the hinge now and see if that makes it easier
i am having to put a lot of pressure on it opening and closing it and that with balancing the bike takes my attention away from watching the latch


if i remove the battery each time this will prevent a good bit of it too

I noticed this was happening to me as well. I used a small 6" bungee and permanently secured one hook end to the seat post clamp bolt (take bolt out, squeeze bungee hook closed, insert closed hook onto bolt, and re-bolt). Then wrap the bungee around twice and clip it back to the other hook end:




When folding bike, simply un-hook the wrapped bungee end, unwrap it and hook it straight to the frame latch:




Works for me

 

[ebike-ebike]

Also when folded, use a double-sided Velcro strap (wrap it around the fork tube and rear swingarm) to transport and to keep from unfolding.
The bike should stand up by resting on the bottom frame stand (under the crank):

 

[vincent713]

A very clever idea ebike, looks like you opt for the gold color as well. Great choice, I love the gold flakes paint on this bike, makes the bike pop! Keep the photos coming and happy riding!

 

[ebike-ebike]

I agree, and thinking the gold reflects more of the hot sun out here, versus black.

 

[ebike-ebike]

Anyone try using a smaller front chainring sprocket (the large front sprocket at pedal)? I noticed that this chainring is huge compared to my other Mountain bikes and it looks like this is sized more for 'road biking' and not for MTB riding. You really notice it when peddling uphill (without electric assist), you can feel that the lowest gear (1) is not low enough. Thinking about trying a smaller one with less teeth but not sure which tooth size, etc.

 

[vincent713]

I always thought the larger gear will make it easier for you to peddle especially going up hill....?

 

[ebike-ebike]

That's true for the rear cassette gears, but the front crank (chainring sprocket) is the opposite.
If you put a smaller front chainring sprocket (has less teeth) it makes it easier to pedal and changes the ratio for all the rear gears.

I'm not sure how much smaller chainring sprocket to get (how many tooth sprocket) to get a decent low gear.
I know this will affect all 7 gears, but in a good way since 7th gear is plenty fast, I think it would make a much better gear ratio set for MTB riding.
----------
Update: Just checked it out and the chainring sprocket is 52T (tooth) which is not a MTB size.
I'm going to see what it would take to install a 46T or 48T chainring sprocket.