Is anyone trying to solve charging on the road?

[Mass Deduction]

What were youriding before and what did you upgraded too ?
42lb for a commuter/mtb. ebike must be either carbon fiber frame or a aluminum one stripped of all add ons(fenders/ rack, etc..)

I started with an iZip E3 Path Plus, a 55 pounds bike including fenders, rack, and lights.

I then got (and still have) a Haibike XDURO Race S 6.0, but didn't include it in the list as it's not really intended for transportation. It's a fun and fitness bike, mostly. But it impressively weighs 41.5 pounds, including front and rear lights.

I replaced the iZip with a Raleigh Tamland iE. It started at only 43 pounds, but by the time I added fenders, rack, lights, and upgraded the tires, it was the 49 pound bike I mentioned in my previous post.

Then I got a Felt Sport-E, which I did have to add fenders and rack to, but it only started at 42.5 pounds (despite coming with some heavy-ish puncture resistant tires). Yes, it's an aluminum frame.

I have my eye on a BMC Alpenchallenge AMP Cross LTD. It's 33 pounds, though it does need a fender and rack added. There is a variant that comes with fenders, rack, and lights, and that model weighs 36.8 pounds, so that's a good guess as to what it'll probably actually weigh when I'm done. It has an elastomer in the rear end of the frame that offers 10mm of vibration dampening. Yes, it's a carbon fibre frame and fork, and it's expensive, but this will be both my primary form of transportation and of recreation and that justifies it for me. A nearly 20 pounds weight savings over my starting point.

So back on topic. Lighter bikes can be argued to be part of the charging solution, by reducing the power needed to propel the bike, and by taking some of the sting out of the extra weight of extra packs.

 

[dblhelix]

Ok...where would I find some help with my multi meter that arrived last night. It's the bayrite multi function View attachment 43536

Is this for some type of solar setup? What did you buy this for?

 

[BBassett]

I live on Vancouver Island which...

I'm sorry man, you have told me that twice I think. You have a unique situation, or at least way different from me.

You can be caught short with one big battery, as easily as you can if you take multiple smaller batteries. Getting caught short is about the amount of battery power you take with you vs. your need, not how big each battery is. - That's true enough (with all the before stated disadvantages of using multiple packs) but I bet it's happened to me (once in over 10K miles now) less than a lot of ebike riders with smaller packs, and I put on a fair amount of mileage on a regular basis. I also don't stress my packs. A single battery on my bike also lets me fill my panniers with the items that should be in them.

Except that it's inherently inefficient. You have to push all that weight around, which will drain the battery faster, which is working at odds with having the extra battery capacity. - You try to mitigate as much rolling resistance as possible, tire tread and pressure, stiffen the suspension if you are on hard smooth surfaces, and then to help with range use leg power to get the mass moving, use the least amount of assist only when necessary to maintain speed. I installed a Giant Green Button, simply a motor cut-out switch and gained practice stretching mileage even when I have no need to do so. It's helped me learn how to optimize the range on my bike. Using the button means I can stand up on the pedals and give everything I have at any time and not use power out of the pack, now it's just second nature.

And my next e-bike may be as lightweight as 33 pounds. - Carrying over 120 lbs. of gear, motor, battery, and BlueTooth speaker alone would either be impossible or tear a 33-pound bike apart. I don't collect bikes... I ride only one. When I decided to do "this". I decided the primary focus of my bike (touring), I researched frames, wheel sizes & widths, both motors and batteries and the logical conclusion is what I'm riding. The best I could build for touring which also covers commuting, bike camping, overnighters and any other term that means touring... long or short, light or heavy. Although not an MTB she is fully suspended. An ebike isn't a badge of honor or of shame to me. It's something to ride, live off for long periods of time, and have fun with. Other than the numerous falls it has been. The only time I ever think of my bike being heavy is when I have to pick it up, or when fully loaded and pulling the trailer.... uber heavy then.

As always, Ride safe.

 

[GypsyTreker]

Xx

Is this for some type of solar setup? What did you buy this for?

Actually you are correct it's for a solar set-up, I should have read the info. I will keep it for my camper and a future application. I will re-order Drok 10v-100v simple voltage meter with positive/negitive connections. All I actually want is to know how much voltage I'm actually starting with and how much I have, real time. My question was going to be...where should I pick up the POS/Neg connection point?

 

[dblhelix]

Xx


Actually you are correct it's for a solar set-up, I should have read the info. I will keep it for my camper and a future application. I will re-order Drok 10v-100v simple voltage meter with positive/negitive connections. All I actually want is to know how much voltage I'm actually starting with and how much I have, real time. My question was going to be...where should I pick up the POS/Neg connection point?

Look under the meter or to the side for four screws or something obvious. Here is the wiring diagram - load side is battery, power is panel.

 

[6zfshdb]

For someone with a bit of DIY skill, battery "seeding" could be done by shipping a quantity of small lithium batteries and connecting them together to make a larger one. According to this hazmat chart, as of March 2019, it is legal to ground ship up to a 300WH lithium battery.

https://hazmateam.com/uploads/2019LITHIUMBATTERYSHIPPINGGUIDEINTERACTIVEMARCH182019.pdf

For example, five 300WH batteries could be shipped to any UPS Store location and assembled into one 1500WH battery. The five depleted batteries on your bike could be return shipped by reusing the packaging at that same UPS Store location.

This could be a cost effective solution considering the expense associated with other seeding methods.

 

[GypsyTreker]

Look under the meter or to the side for four screws or something obvious. Here is the wiring diagram - load side is battery, power is panel.

Thanks dblhelix....I don't need to mount a shunt then a waterproof case for the unit. Where would I get a useable Voltage reading with a small multi tester ? For the riding I'm doing at this juncture that's all I need. If I actually get into long distance I would get a mid-drive something... Trek, Giant whatever. I even have a second battery that so far has never been required and in FL I'm ok with eng off pedaling, which I actually do for the exercise benefits and as a bi-product save on battery consumption.

This unit...the one I purchased will go in our Aliner Scout ....I already have an Mppt controller externally for Boondocking ...this will be nice for inside reference ( right next to my remote temp gauge for the Dometic freezer/fridge we leave plugged into out Goal Zero Yeti 400)

As you and most of the tech guys understand so well on here....you have to know where your @ in real-time when it comes to battery power.

 

[BBassett]

I started with an iZip E3 Path Plus, a 55 pounds bike including fenders, rack, and lights.

I then got (and still have) a Haibike XDURO Race S 6.0, but didn't include it in the list as it's not really intended for transportation. It's a fun and fitness bike, mostly. But it impressively weighs 41.5 pounds, including front and rear lights.

I replaced the iZip with a Raleigh Tamland iE. It started at only 43 pounds, but by the time I added fenders, rack, lights, and upgraded the tires, it was the 49 pound bike I mentioned in my previous post.

Then I got a Felt Sport-E, which I did have to add fenders and rack to, but it only started at 42.5 pounds (despite coming with some heavy-ish puncture resistant tires). Yes, it's an aluminum frame.

I have my eye on a BMC Alpenchallenge AMP Cross LTD. It's 33 pounds, though it does need a fender and rack added. There is a variant that comes with fenders, rack, and lights, and that model weighs 36.8 pounds, so that's a good guess as to what it'll probably actually weigh when I'm done. It has an elastomer in the rear end of the frame that offers 10mm of vibration dampening. Yes, it's a carbon fibre frame and fork, and it's expensive, but this will be both my primary form of transportation and of recreation and that justifies it for me. A nearly 20 pounds weight savings over my starting point.

So back on topic. Lighter bikes can be argued to be part of the charging solution, by reducing the power needed to propel the bike, and by taking some of the sting out of the extra weight of extra packs.

This is what I wanted to avoid at all costs.... pun fully intended. Having to spend tons of money over and over to acquire the bike that I wanted in the 1st place. Also why I suggest people buy a standard bike and simply upgrade (the word "modify" seems to scare people, but everyone loves upgrades.) it to an ebike with a hub-motor. No screwing around with the all various limitations of production ebikes unless those limitations don't matter to you, like the use of a dynamo-hub, why bother if you are only doing short day rides. Buy the right frame to start and you can take it to any level you want, over as much time as necessary depending on your budget. It just keeps getting better with better components. I need to replace a few parts but there isn't much more I can "upgrade" at this point.

 

[GypsyTreker]

This is what I wanted to avoid at all costs.... pun fully intended. Having to spend tons of money over and over to acquire the bike that I wanted in the 1st place. Also why I suggest people buy a standard bike and simply upgrade (the word "modify" seems to scare people, but everyone loves upgrades.) it to an ebike with a hub-motor. No screwing around with the all various limitations of production ebikes unless those limitations don't matter to you, like the use of a dynamo-hub, why bother if you are only doing short day rides. Buy the right frame to start and you can take it to any level you want, over as much time as necessary depending on your budget. It just keeps getting better with better components. I need to replace a few parts but there isn't much more I can "upgrade" at this point.

It might already exist, but it will be interesting to see if a ground up custom market takes off on eBikes...boutique builders is what I'm referring to.

 

[tomjasz]

a ground up custom market takes off on eBikes...boutique builders

There's a few already out there but believe me, a scratch build can get expensive quickly. I've been procrastinating and not finishing my new step through but I could have purchased a nice bike for less. None of the upgraded parts, but still it got spendy quickly.

 

[BBassett]

It might already exist, but it will be interesting to see if a ground up custom market takes off on eBikes...boutique builders is what I'm referring to.

Sure there are... for pampered people with more money than time. They have them built (for the most part) and then let them sit in the garage show off and then gather dust, like cars, boats, motorcycles, trophy wives... they may keep the wives busy enough that they don't build dust. A cute little line of bikes all covered in dust... until a day before the garage sale years later. Screw even the idea of "boutique builders" (if there is such a thing... probably in California) what I want is good old LBSs that aren't afraid of ebikes... or even trying to mount an add on motor to a conventional bike. Someplace that I can get everything services in one place.

 

[GypsyTreker]

Sure there are... for pampered people with more money than time. They have them built (for the most part) and then let them sit in the garage show off and then gather dust, like cars, boats, motorcycles, trophy wives... they may keep the wives busy enough that they don't build dust. A cute little line of bikes all covered in dust... until a day before the garage sale years later. Screw even the idea of "boutique builders" (if there is such a thing... probably in California) what I want is good old LBSs that aren't afraid of ebikes... or even trying to mount an add on motor to a conventional bike. Someplace that I can get everything services in one place.

There will always be folks who build their own bike, that's how a boutique builder usually starts. But often advances come faster in a botique. The cork sniffers will pay for innovation and that's always a good thing. There will always be the "dig my sh*t faction but hey if they fund the better idea, void of corporate think, I'm ok with it.

 

[tomjasz]

Sure there are... for pampered people with more money than time.

Didn't you have a shop build yours?

 

[BBassett]

Didn't you have a shop build yours?

I had my Panamericana frame custom built in Germany and sent to the only Tout Terrain dealer in America at the time, Peter White Cycles (horrible experience). Had the box of parts (several missing) forwarded to California E-bikes for Doug Snyder to install a BBS02 on the frame. Once received I assembled the bike and rode for a few thousand miles before taking it to Rat City Bikes (Arron's Bike Shop) in Seattle to face the head tube and properly set the headset... should have been done by Peter White Cycles upon receipt from Tout Terrain. Apparently assembling the bike was too complex for Peter White. I've had both the trailer and frame modified by Colin at Cyclefab LLC. in Seattle. When the BBS02 started making excess noise and couldn't be rebuilt you directed me to Barent who worked for Westcoast Cycles to mount the BBSHD I bought... again from Doug. Barent showed me how absolutely simple it is to swap motors when you have the right tools and have done it a few times. The controller on the HD I got from Doug was defective, not working at all with any battery charged over 56 volts. Doug sent another (after a few days) and it was bad too. The 3rd one has worked fine now for close to 3 thousand miles, after having to sit on my ass for over 2 bright sunny weeks while dealing with the controller issues. I wouldn't call any of the 4 shops that have touched my bike "Boutiques" in any way, but I guess that could be semantics. I just want LBS to stop hanging onto the past and fully embrace ebike so people stop having to go through the crap that I have. If LBS were pushing upgrade mid-drives people wouldn't have to turn to production ebike and all the limitations they bring with them.

 

[Mr. Coffee]

Sure there are... for pampered people with more money than time. They have them built (for the most part) and then let them sit in the garage show off and then gather dust, like cars, boats, motorcycles, trophy wives... they may keep the wives busy enough that they don't build dust. A cute little line of bikes all covered in dust... until a day before the garage sale years later. Screw even the idea of "boutique builders" (if there is such a thing... probably in California) what I want is good old LBSs that aren't afraid of ebikes... or even trying to mount an add on motor to a conventional bike. Someplace that I can get everything services in one place.

Um, I think that the overgeneralization in that post is something that could win a medal in the World Cup, and I suspect that post tells us more about your own biases and pet peeves than anything that happens in the Real World.

Oh, and here are some boutique bicycle builders that you may or may not have heard from:

• Bike Friday (Eugene, OR)
• Co-Motion Cycles (Corvallis, OR)
• Breadwinner Cycles (Portland, OR)
• Stinner Frame Works (Santa Barbara, CA)
• Sklar Bikes (Bozeman, MT)

All you need to do is just look. And Bike Friday offers e-bike builds.

 

[GypsyTreker]

Um, I think that the overgeneralization in that post is something that could win a medal in the World Cup, and I suspect that post tells us more about your own biases and pet peeves than anything that happens in the Real World.

Oh, and here are some boutique bicycle builders that you may or may not have heard from:

• Bike Friday (Eugene, OR)
• Co-Motion Cycles (Corvallis, OR)
• Breadwinner Cycles (Portland, OR)
• Stinner Frame Works (Santa Barbara, CA)
• Sklar Bikes (Bozeman, MT)

All you need to do is just look. And Bike Friday offers e-bike builds.

Cro Motion bikes are sweet...looked at getting a tandam from them but it would have been unfair to my wife as the stoker lol

 

[BBassett]

Um, I think that the overgeneralization in that post is something that could win a medal in the World Cup, and I suspect that post tells us more about your own biases and pet peeves than anything that happens in the Real World.

Oh, and here are some boutique bicycle builders that you may or may not have heard from:

• Bike Friday (Eugene, OR)
• Co-Motion Cycles (Corvallis, OR)
• Breadwinner Cycles (Portland, OR)
• Stinner Frame Works (Santa Barbara, CA)
• Sklar Bikes (Bozeman, MT)

All you need to do is just look. And Bike Friday offers e-bike builds.

I'm aware. I looked at Co-Motion motors before turning to BaFang. Here's the problem with the term boutique when used with anything...

Boutique Bussiness definition:
Relatively small firm that provides a limited range of (usually) very specialized goods or services, often at premium prices.

I doubt very much that there are any shops available that can provide better work than I have already sought out. A LBS couldn't have performed the trailer upgrades that Cyclefab performed for me but they aren't considered a boutique either. "Suspect" what you want but I say what I think/feel any time I want and don't shy away from supporting the choices I've made even when confronted by people suggesting specific ebikes and/or components for nothing but their own reasons... sell, sell, sell. A good old time LBS could easily have accomplished everything I needed (minus the trailer upgrade) and it would have kept my money and business local which I try to do as much as possible.

Also, there are no medals handed out on the World Cup... it's a Cup, The World Cup.

Ride safe.

 

[dblhelix]

I'm aware. I looked at Co-Motion motors before turning to BaFang. Here's the problem with the term boutique when used with anything...

Boutique Bussiness definition:
Relatively small firm that provides a limited range of (usually) very specialized goods or services, often at premium prices.

I doubt very much that there are any shops available that can provide better work than I have already sought out. A LBS couldn't have performed the trailer upgrades that Cyclefab performed for me but they aren't considered a boutique either. "Suspect" what you want but I say what I think/feel any time I want and don't shy away from supporting the choices I've made even when confronted by people suggesting specific ebikes and/or components for nothing but their own reasons... sell, sell, sell. A good old time LBS could easily have accomplished everything I needed (minus the trailer upgrade) and it would have kept my money and business local which I try to do as much as possible.

Also, there are no medals handed out on the World Cup... it's a Cup, The World Cup.

Ride safe.

I did not know that Co-Motion offers any type of electric option. Are you sure, or are you confusing CM with a different bike builder?

On a different note, you deserve props for taking the risks to put together what you want. Based on my research thus far, it’s not easy unless you follow what somebody else has done.

 

[BBassett]

I did not know that Co-Motion offers any type of electric option. Are you sure, or are you confusing CM with a different bike builder?

On a different note, you deserve props for taking the risks to put together what you want. Based on my research thus far, it’s not easy unless you follow what somebody else has done.

I think it was Co-Motion that makes a glitchy mid-drive (only used throttle) maybe they were the ones I talked to about a Gates Belt Drive (it's been years) regardless... I looked far and wide at the time (3 years ago) I started with mine. After digging in and starting to understand most of the issues the only risk I see is spending a fair amount (a lot) of money on something you won't use or can't live up to what you want it to do and I'm not having that problem yet.

Ride safe.

 

[Mass Deduction]

This is what I wanted to avoid at all costs.... pun fully intended. Having to spend tons of money over and over to acquire the bike that I wanted in the 1st place. Also why I suggest people buy a standard bike and simply upgrade (the word "modify" seems to scare people, but everyone loves upgrades.) it to an ebike with a hub-motor. No screwing around with the all various limitations of production ebikes unless those limitations don't matter to you, like the use of a dynamo-hub, why bother if you are only doing short day rides. Buy the right frame to start and you can take it to any level you want, over as much time as necessary depending on your budget. It just keeps getting better with better components. I need to replace a few parts but there isn't much more I can "upgrade" at this point.

But the bike I've now decided I want isn't the one that I would have bought initially if I'd pulled out all the stops, though. I'm no psychic, how am I to know that in advance of riding them extensively?

Doing a conversion of a muscle bike doesn't appeal to me either. The net weight would be higher than desirable for me at a minimum.

There are limitations to production e-bikes, but also limitations to conversions. They're just different limitations. Even if I pulled out all the stops, I don't think it would be possible to come up with my most desirable e-bike for me via a conversion, so it has to be production e-bike for my application.