Felt Sport-E 50 Commuter Conversion / Shimano EP8 / Alfine Di2 Hub...

[stompandgo]

Yes. If you can't get it done with your PCE02, you'll need a remote session.

 

[speedub.nate]

Hey an update just for what it's worth, the bike is with a shop and in the work queue for an online session with Shimano.

When the E030 message is present (shifter is plugged in), I managed to get the electric shifting working across all 8 gears, but the motor remains off / no assist.

Unplugging the shifter continues to clear the error and the motor operates, stuck in wherever gear I last left it in.

One of the requests for Shimano Tech is adjustment of the default 3,000 mm wheel rollout to 2,180 mm. I've read elsewhere that 3,000 is what all Shimano motors begin with, to prevent speed limit cheating, and that although the E-Tube app allows an adjustment range to correct speedometer errors, the untouchable base setting is what governs all.

I performed a lighting check before turning the bike over to the shop, all works as expected, so this bike will be ready to roll – got fenders, racks, and eventually a new handlebar to finish it off.

 

[stompandgo]

I'm curious what they will find. Thanks for the update.

 

[speedub.nate]

Oooh-wow-wee this was unexpected.

Shimano told the shop that they couldn't speed de-restrict my motor, that certain regions are "locked out" and mentioned specifically Vietnam. Now I would have thought that Shimano Tech, if anybody, would have admin privileges to make that happen when remoting in. They supposedly tried, but no joy.

They did clear my E030 error, got my electronic shifting working, and adjusted my wheel size to my request. So... yay!

Totally unexpectedly, the shop handed my bike back with no charges, since they could not complete my requests and because "Shimano did all the work." I bought a new handlebar, handlebar bag, and tail light from them, so they didn't get left empty handed.

Now what do I really think? I think that I need to roll back the motor's software version to 3.4 and that will allow the speed restriction to be modified. However if I'm going to go that route, I'll have to do that version downgrade myself, and if I'm going to figure out how to do the software rollback, then I can just as easily do the speed adjustment.

 

[speedub.nate]

I have a happy update to this saga! It works!

This all has deviated quite a bit from the original post that kicked off this thread, so I'll write something more specific and detailed in the Shimano forum in the coming days.

Here's my attempt at keeping this update brief:

My AliExpress EP8 motor was originally designated for the Taiwanese market. Shimano specifically locks these down in such a way that the region can't "easily" be changed, 16 MPH speed limit and power output is restricted to 400W (from 500W).

So when my bike shop worked with Shimano USA Tech Support, and Shimano couldn't change the motor to the US region, they technically weren't blowing smoke.

I poked around at my options and landed on eMax-Tuning who apparently are a dedicated crew of Shimano Steps enthusiasts in Germany.

The process is both complex yet simple — the main hurdle is reading through their very thorough instructions to understand what all needs to be done. Also, specifically for this motor I needed to be in possession of the Shimano PCE-02 Windows/USB interface cable, which I already own but otherwise is an additional expense. However, for many users eMax works over a Bluetooth connection. For my situation, it played out like this:

1. download the eMax miniMax software
2. send a screen shot to eMax-Tuning to make sure everything will work
3. PayPal eMax their fee for the license code specific to the drive unit's serial number

Now normally that might be it to make any changes, but for my TW-region motor it got slightly more technical. I'll save the gory details for a separate thread, but in a nutshell:

4. eMax provided a link to an earlier version of Shimano E-Tube software to install on my laptop
5. eMax provided a link to earlier motor firmware that I downloaded, unpacked, and inserted into a hidden Shimano directory
6. I connected the cable to the bike and opened this earlier version of E-Tube, which instantly prompted me to "update" (downgrade) the firmware in the motor
7. The installation went perfectly, just like a normal update, and took about a minute
8. using eMax's miniMax software, I was then able to select the US region (20 MPH speed limit) and modify my wheel size
At this point, I tested the bike and the speed limit had indeed been lifted. But my motor was still restricted to 400W. So...

9. I connected to the bike using the most current version of E-Tube, which detected I had been up to some unauthorized shenanigans and also advised me there was a software update available
10. I performed the software update as suggested, and this brought the motor back to the current firmware version (4.2.0)
11. switching back to the eMax software, I could confirm that I was now at the full 500W, was still at 20 MPH / US region, and could still freely adjust the wheel circumference

My only other mods were to (a) divide the correct wheel circumference by 1.6 (changed from 2190mm actual to 1370mm) and (b) change my display from MPH to Km/H. This gives me a 32 MPH assist limit but shows the correct speed readout on the display, just pretend that the Km/H is MPH and all is good!

I'll say this about eMax: The guy Markus who replied to my emails was super responsive. My initial inquiry was on a Sunday morning and he was back to me that day. Despite the time difference and a few back-and-forth emails, I got everything I needed to perform the update by the next day, Monday. I did take the extra time to read through everything thoroughly and download / install the necessary files while at my desk, but for the actual bike-connected-to-computer time, this was literally **minutes** and there were no false starts, everything worked exactly as it should have the first go, crazy and unexpectedly simple.

And back to the original subject of this email: I took the bike out today for its first real ride. The pushbutton Nexus shifting is working perfectly, about as well as I remember it working on the E6000 Raleigh it came off of. The EP8 motor is so much quieter and quite a bit torquier than the 6000-series, comparable to the Bosch Performance Line motors I've got on two other bikes. I've got to finish the build with the Jones bars, racks, fenders and lights, but for now it's finally a rideable bike that had previously been sitting, deconstructed, in a dusty corner for the past five years. I'll post a proper photo here once I've completed it.

 

[BlackHand]

I admire your persistence and am glad you got it working!

 

[speedub.nate]

I thought I was going to post the final build pictures and be done with this thread. But nope!

Nothing to do with the motor, but I installed the Jones H-bar handlebar, and my hydraulic line is too short! The handgrip position is in roughly the same place as the flat handlebar it's replacing, but the increased sweep angles the levers forward enough that the hydraulic line to the rear caliper suddenly stretched.

Not a huge deal to replace the brake line, just inconvenient, but because of the internal routing I'll have to pull the crank to remove the spider & chainring to drop the motor (access to one motor mounting bolt is blocked by the spider), and risk scrambling all of my careful wiring. Waah!

BTW for anybody reading this far, here is a link to my step-by-step walkthrough of the motor de-restriction I posted in the Shimano forum:

Updating Locked Shimano EP8 Motor to US-Region / Speed De-Restriction using eMax Tuning...

Executive Summary: A walk-thru of my unlocking a Taiwan-region Shimano EP8 motor, purchased from an overseas vendor on AliExpress. Motor is s/w 4.1.8 and is software-locked, preventing Shimano USA tech support being able to switch it to US-region. The motor is speed-restricted to 16 MPH and...

forums.electricbikereview.com

 

[stompandgo]

Or use a Park Tool IR1.3 Internal Routing Kit. Cut off the barb at the lever end. Screw the threaded coupler into the old and new hose. Pull lightly and push strongly to work it through the frame.

 

[speedub.nate]

^^ I like this option and have seen similar demonstrated in video tutorials.

What I think is going to be a (literal) hangup is the way the brake line gets wedged in over the hump of the motor as it passes through the bottom bracket area and into the downtube. It's not pinched, but it shifts up then down then back up, and I am expecting that to give me fits. But I'll try before I begin pulling parts.

 

[Gionnirocket]

^^ I like this option and have seen similar demonstrated in video tutorials.

What I think is going to be a (literal) hangup is the way the brake line gets wedged in over the hump of the motor as it passes through the bottom bracket area and into the downtube. It's not pinched, but it shifts up then down then back up, and I am expecting that to give me fits. But I'll try before I begin pulling parts.

My brake line as well as the Rohloff shift cables take the same road. Having dropped the motor before... I wouldn't even attempt to snake a replacement. There's just too many tightly spaced direction changes as well as some small wires that could be damaged in the motor cradle.

 

[speedub.nate]

I know nobody here is waiting with bated breath for an update, but nevertheless I feel like I owe this thread something.

Fun Fact: if a Shimano ebike with a rear wheel sensor is towed, even though it's powered off, the computer accumulates miles! Huh. Probably wouldn't have had I pulled the battery?

After putting things on hold for a death in the family and all the goings-on and then a week of me literally locked out of the garage (long story better saved for the carpentry forum), I pulled the motor, installed new rear and front brake lines to reach the Jones H-bar, and road tested this sucker. I'm pleased as a pickle if that's a thing, the EP8 is SOOO much smoother and more powerful than the E6000 on the previous bike, and I have only a slight shifting adjustment to make in the eTube software.

The rigid fork I installed is about an inch shorter and therefore head angle a degree steeper than I was shooting for, but the only thing that feels "off" is it's a tiny bit twitchy if I'm slow speed maneuvering, i.e. hard U-turn on a narrow street or path. But standover and reach are feeling dialed.

I have a fashion dilemma as I've carried over orange pedals, and orange front hub, and an orange anodized taillight from the old bike (blue frame) to this bike that is gray with red and black decals. At the moment I'm going with "ride it tacky" but I've got my eye on some orange decals to cover the red.

Anyhow next day off I'll install fenders, rack, and lights and take a proper "finished" photo. In the mean time, this super secret spy pic is from around the time of my last update after I completed the programming.

 

[stompandgo]

Another Felt

 

[speedub.nate]

Ok, finished, enough to introduce this bike to my commute.

Wouldn't you know that the B+M headlight I had on the previous bike was a 6 volt unit that worked fine with the previous E6000-based Raleigh Misceo, but was no bueno for the 12 volt output on the EP8 motor. So this is a new B+M IQ-X

The Planet Bike Cascadia front fender bracket held the fender way too high over the front wheel. I found that PDW sells and longer bracket, and what do you know, the holes lined up perfectly. I cut the fender stays too short on the previous bike, and thankfully Planet Bike has a great small parts catalog so I could keep these sturdy aluminum fenders.

Because of all of the delicate electrical wires, I went full tilt with cable management. Up front, the Shimano cable + headlight get wrapped with Uxcell 1.8mm sprial wrap. Demure. Tidy. I've yet to decide how I am going to wrap my handlebars so the two cables coming from the buttons to the head unit are flying free.

At the rear, I have the electrical shifting cable + the rear light running along the chainstay where they can get kicked, stripped, or chain slapped. So I got ahold of Uxcell 6mm (1/4") PVC tube. A short length of Uxcell 8mm sprial cable wrap secures the loose end to the chainstay, where the shifting wire dives down and the light wire heads up.

I used three more sections of the 6mm PVC tube to route the tail light wire up the fender stay, where it would be out of the way of any bags I'm attaching to my rack. (Option #1 was to route it on the rack tubing using the 8mm sprial wrap. This is B+M's basic steady burning tail light and has a built in reflector.

I gave up my anodized orange pedals for these Look Geo City pedals I got for a decent price on eBay. I commute home at 11 pm so want to be as visible as possible, and these pedals are bright and I'm convinced the constant rotational motion is better than any flashing tail ligtht.

I'm enjoying the Jones H bar so far, but not sure about the bag. It's handy, but it gets in the way of alternate hand positions.

Shimano got even more of my money because the Felt came stock with 180mm rotors, whereas the Raleighs were 160. Because I switched wheels (the Felt stock wheels went onto the Misceo), and the stock 160s didn't match my centerlock hubs... well, not much on this build went without hiccups.

 

[speedub.nate]

This is why I was hesitant to pull the motor (again!) to replace the brake line. It's just a rats nest of cables, and one of which can be pinched during reinstallation if care isn't used. In fact, I was just reading through an old post of mine about the previous bike -- the Raleigh Misceo -- and I wrote that one of the shops to work on my bike pinched one cable and neglected to reconnect another. Motor cable management is a thing!

The 55mm / Tall PDW fender bracket was perfect. I was contemplating making my own bracket, 3D printing an extension piece to come out of the bottom of the fork, or using some sort of extension. The original bracket drilled out easily, and I used a couple of Arrow short pop rivets to secure the new bracket. Here's a better view of the rivets.

The Look pedal lights are cool... the light modules hold in place with sprung magnets, and they all four pop out to take to my desk to charge via a USB cable. Comes w/ two cables, so I can keep one at home and one at work and charge a pair at a time (2 hours for a full charge). It's a common micro USB connection. I don't know if $140 is the retail price on these, but found them for a discount on eBay.

 

[stompandgo]

Great looking bike.