Hello from Washington DC

circuitsmith

Member
Region
USA
City
Washington DC
Greetings,

I've been e-biking for 21 years, commuting to work 20 years, until I retired last April.

First with a Currie USPD kit on a (low end) Cannondale road bike.
After a couple years I upgraded from the massive SLA bricks to NiMH.
First 6V sub-C packs and later Roomba vacuum packs.
Six 14.4V 3.3AH packs arranged 2s3p for 28.8V 9.9AH.
I used 15 pin circular military style connectors to charge the packs all in series (~108V), as nickle batteries don't like parallel charging.

The Cannondale was stolen (outside a night club while I was inside playing sax in a band), so I found a Currie e-bike with no motor on Craigslist.
I built a LiPo pack to fit in the Currie bat box and designed a BMS using an Arduino Nano.
I used that setup for nine years, replacing the (Turnigy) cells every 3 years, out of fear of vibration causing trouble.

I got tired of the Currie's heavy frame after a year, so I bought a Schwinn Frontier MTB with a chrome-moly frame and moved the USPD hardware over to it.
Two years ago I felt the need for more speed, so I bought a Bafang BBS02 and put that on the Schwinn.
Had a lot of fun playing with the parameters.

I pretty much stay on paved roads and trails, with the exception of photographing the C&O canal last fall, a work in progress.
P1020072.jpg
 
Last edited:
Welcome to the Forum @circuitsmith. Sounds like you are an experienced DIYer. That BBS02 is a workhorse. Loudoun County here, the wife and I cruise DC all the time.
 
Welcome to the forum, I ride into work in Foggy Bottom from Arlington on a Breezer Downtown I converted with a BBS01. Interesting to read your journey from your SLA powered Currie kit to a Lithium powered Bafang. 10 miles is about a round trip for me, the range increase must have been welcome.
 
Last edited:
Back