Fixing up 2004 Electric Bike - Charger!

[hoboin]

Sorry, I missed that. Yeah, as Harry said, the components in the BMS are probably not rated for higher voltages like 36v or 48v. Most electric wheelchairs used two SLA batteries in series for 24v, so this is the same. These batteries are rated for a maximum 15A output and many modern eBike controllers and motors will exceed that, but probably not this bike.

Those are cantilever brakes in the front. This video will help with that.

I am not sure what kind of brake you have in the back. Maybe the Nexus 7 is the one with the roller brake. You will also need to adjust the shifter cable on the Nexus 7.

Thanks i got the front brakes working based on that video!!! Felt great.
Also i got the tire pumped up and the bubble isnt there, thankfully.
Lastly the battery is now attached, but when i try to push buttons it will not turn on. When the plug is in an extension cord and charging, the number 4 lights up and i cant seem to get it off that. Not sure how i can test it all without buying new batteries which we are about to place the order now.

Only other issue is when i went out for a test drive, it was slow to shift gears. I am guessing maybe because the chain is rusted? Anything i can do to improve shifting? On my test drive i was able to get it from 1 to 4, and prior to that it seemed like it was almost perfectly aligned but i will align that also.

I am now going to try for the back brakes, looks like it is

Nexus Roller Brake BR-IM41-R​

should i worry about the rust on the outside at all?

 

[hoboin]

After fiddling around with the back brakes, i was able to get those working! So now everything is working except for the battery.

Only current problem, besides not knowing if the battery will actually power the motor, is when changing gears, it is very difficult to get the gears to change, as in a lot of turning of the wrists, i have hand eczema and that is not ideal, is there anyway to loosen this? And lastly, the gears aren't changing smoothly. Going up a hill, i try to go from gear 4 to gear 1 and sometimes it takes 30 seconds and seems to randomly change on it's own. Any solutions for that?

 

[indianajo]

External rust isn't a problem, but if the IGH has been under water, slow erratic shifting is not going to go away. You might try squirting penetrating oil from an aerosol can into the shifter hole, but if that doesn't work, I'd write the whole thing off. 20 year old PVC is a problem, like your connector. Replacement is the only repair, & I don't know whether that effort would be worth it on this bike. No, rust on the chain won't cause slow shifting. If rust has penetrated into the rollers, then the chain would be stiff and difficult to bend & straighten. The cheap way to buy "3-in-one" oil is as type A or F ATF, then squirt it out of a pump oiler on your chain. That is what I do. NOT DEXRON, that contains detergent that sucks water out of the air.

 

[hoboin]

Ok i went to a LBS and asked if they had any 3-in-1 oil and they suggested Tri-flow lubricant, it says its formulated with PTFE. I will try it out tomorrow or the next day, we also are ordering batteries and will try putting them in once we get them, wish us luck!

 

[indianajo]

PFTE is a solid. It doesn't penetrate to the pins & rollers that rub against each other under tension. Look at the crevice between the side plates and the shells, to imagine threads of plastic penetrating through there.
Factories use 5 w non-detergent oil for chains that they buy in 55 gallon drums. With costs of up to $800 an hour of downtime if a conveyor drive starts skipping, factories are very serious about using the best lubricant for their chains.

 

[hoboin]

ok got it, i ordered some off of amazon and will try that out. I also bought a cleaning kit off of amazon and will try to clean the chains as well as i can, along with some other areas.

 

[hoboin]

I am having fun restoring this old bike. I have an old schwinn that i had left outside for the last 3 years. I am thinking about trying to get that up and running just for fun, and was looking into buying rust remover (evaporust) and was wondering if i should try to remove the rust on this current bike by soaking with evaporust or to just use my chain cleaning tools that i have bought and waiting for them to be delivered.

 

[RunForTheHills]

I would just replace the chain. Cleaning it won't remove the rust, just grease and grit. You will need a couple of inexpensive tools that you will eventually have to buy for your new electric bike anyway.

This inexpensive kit has everything you need or you can buy better quality of tools like Park or Pedros. You should also be able to buy these items at your LBS.

https://www.amazon.com/Oumers-Break...ords=bicycle+chain+tool&qid=1620659444&sr=8-8

Here is a chain that should work:

https://www.amazon.com/KMC-X8-93-Bi...&keywords=8+speed+chain&qid=1620659596&sr=8-5

 

[harryS]

The chain on my Trek 800 was 28 years old and showing surface rust, but the links still were free. I shot it with WD40, then used a cleaner, and some wax based lube. My fat tire bike also looked like that after one winter ride on a salt covered street.
Try the clean first.

 

[hoboin]

After some luck, we got the new batteries installed and it's all working great!!!! Turns on and operates really well just gotta figure out why the rear breaks are not tight enough and shifting from 1st to 2nd sometimes is erratic and feels like it's going to 4th or 5th, all other shifting seems to work well and all power levels of assistance works. Thanks everyone!!!

 

[hoboin]

i fixed the rear brake issue. It wasn't tight enough on the connecting to the brake end, had to kind of push it towards front of bike and that allowed me to pull the cable and tigthen the brake.

Now i just need to see if i can just make the 2nd shifting smooth and next will be getting some fenders and building a rain jacket for the battery!

 

[hoboin]

Hello all, i tried using 3 in 1 oil on the motor chain to remove some rust, and afterwards when i went out for a spin the motor chain broke off. It seems to be a smaller chain than the regular bike chain, i measured it and it's 1.5mm wide and about 2.5mm long but i'm not sure how to search for a replacement. Thanks if anyone knwos

 

[RunForTheHills]

The 8 speed KMC chain that I linked above should work.

 

[hoboin]

Here is an image of the chain, anyone know the smaller one?

 

[hoboin]

 

[RunForTheHills]

Maybe this will help:

https://bike.bikegremlin.com/1220/1-bicycle-chains-compatibility/

 

[hoboin]

I tried using that but i'm very confused. I believe when i measure it, it should be 1/4" x 1/8" but when i search for that i dont really see any. I tried going with a 1 speed bike chain from amazon because it was the only thing that i could have overnighted, and the chain is too big. It's 1/2" on the pitch, mine should be 1/4" i believe.

Amazon.com : zonkie Bike Chain Single-Speed, Bicycle Chain 1 Speed, 1/2 × 1/8 inch, 116 Links : Sports & Outdoors

Amazon.com : zonkie Bike Chain Single-Speed, Bicycle Chain 1 Speed, 1/2 × 1/8 inch, 116 Links : Sports & Outdoors

www.amazon.com

 

[hoboin]

ok i think i figured it out, i think it's a gokart motor chain. Does this look right?
pitch: .25
roller width: .13

Amazon.com: Jeremywell 25 Roller Chain 10 Feet with 2 Connecting Links fits for Go Karts, Mini Bikes, Scooters, ATV, MTV, Dirt Bike and Other Industrial Machinery : Automotive

Buy Jeremywell 25 Roller Chain 10 Feet with 2 Connecting Links fits for Go Karts, Mini Bikes, Scooters, ATV, MTV, Dirt Bike and Other Industrial Machinery: Chains - Amazon.com ✓ FREE DELIVERY possible on eligible purchases

www.amazon.com

here is a pic of my chain, i'm pretty sure 25 roller chain is what i need now.

 

[RunForTheHills]

By too big, do you mean too long? It is normal to have remove links.

 

[hoboin]

No, that link says all bike chains have a pitch of .5 inch, and the one i need is .25 inch pitch, about half the size of a normal bike chain. .25" pitch chain seems to be used for gocarts, chainsaws, etc.