Luna Z1 - First impressions

[JRA]

Keep in mind that DengFu is not a battery manufacturer and that the batteries supplied by them come from someone else. The origin and who speced the stock 840wh battery to begin with is not known. Kind of funny that the stock batteries are 30A when with the controller upgrade, at least on the X2, it would benefit from at least 40A?

That info about Dorado batteries above has nothing to do with the conversation as it is not compatible with the Z1/X2/Hydra.

 

[Britton scott]

Congrats @blueskyca. I will be joining you on Wednesday. To be honest I was targeting the X2 but missed the medium there and decided to try the Z1 instead of doing the down graded X2 to DNM and waiting even more. I have been wanting a new bike for over a year without committing to anything and it was time.

The 20ish mile range has me in a bit of state of shock however but without knowing the circumstances completely I am hoping that how I plan on riding it will yield twice that. Most importantly I got, and can still get, my 30mph+ yah yah's out on my e road bikes but don't even do that on them due to range being key. However at those speeds I am burning 30wh/mi whereas you are close to 40? I guess I'll see but I am hoping that running the Ultra motor at lower amperage will result in around 20wh/mi or a bit less.

I'll be checking over the bike pretty well before doing much of a ride and torque values are on my list as most carbon bikes are sensitive to them I know. Some pivot bolts I've seen have the values visible on the head of the bolt. I wouldn't imagine that LUNA or Dengfu might even have them but if they do they should share for sure. Maybe reaching out on the LUNA forum will help with that. Otherwise I don't expect much from all the other components but info is easy to find online. I'm 100 miles from the closest bike shop so I am used to figuring out things on my own.

Upon advice of a friend more familiar with longer travel systems than myself, coming from a XC travel background, I ordered the 170mm left cartridge to start with and going to get with him to dial in the sag and such next weekend.

As far as shifting goes I am pretty good at dialing in that aspect and in fact am switching right away to a grip shift as a 12spd version is readily available and relatively cheap. It is what I have used for quite awhile now and while installing will be able to properly lube the cable and size the housing if necessary. As well as set the b tension screw. I am hoping that there is not the chafing as described with these in the higher gears but beefing up the chainstay protection might be necessary right off.

Otherwise my plan is to set up as tubeless right away, add fenders and strip the ugly LUNA logo off as hopefully they are just vinyl?

As a m620 owner I can tell you that even if your Lance Armstrong you'll get 40 max on 1 battery if PAS. If you rock a spare then double that, but let's be honest you'll have a blast!

 

[JRA]

Received my battery order today. I ended up ordering two batteries as one is for a friend that got a Z1 and needed another also. I couldn't get over the idea of using 21700 cells and was able to work with a manufacturer in China that had the stock case available. Due to the cells larger size however they are less wh's but with my experience with 21700 cell batteries the last 4 yrs. and how they perform I think they should be well on par with the stock 18650 battery that I have found to be not quite up to snuff. Should be fine for a second battery as I am getting 25 miles now with my stock one.

I also wanted to try a 52v battery so I got one of them as well as a 48v. Both are 15ah so the 52v is 780wh and the 48v is 720wh and they have a larger 40A, 30A is stock actually 26A, BMS. That is all that they could fit in the stock case. The whole process took me 2 months with the Chinese New Year in there including design but only 28 days from time of actual payment which isn't too bad I feel in this day and age of uncertainty.

I have the 52v on the bike charging and the display set for 52v and will be trying it out first. Weather is not conducive to testing here however....

 

[PedalUma]

The key Container Port and Tech Region between the mainland and Hong Kong just went into lockdown again. You are lucky to have gotten these. Everyone else will now need to wait months. The window was open for three weeks. Very lucky. Check the fiver.

 

[JES2020]

The key Container Port and Tech Region between the mainland and Hong Kong just went into lockdown again. You are lucky to have gotten these. Everyone else will now need to wait months. The window was open for three weeks. Very lucky. Check the fiver.
View attachment 116727

Man, you better check for radiation where ever you got these !

 

[tomjasz]

The key Container Port and Tech Region between the mainland and Hong Kong just went into lockdown again. You are lucky to have gotten these.

Details? I'm clueless. And my trike is somewhere...

 

[PedalUma]

Details? I'm clueless. And my trike is somewhere...

It is huge. The new Omicron AB2 is 40% more transmissible. I have 26 high end batteries in transit. Effe!

Apple supplier Foxconn halts operations in Shenzhen as China locks down tech hub

Foxconn, one of Apple's biggest suppliers, has suspended operations in Shenzhen as China locks down the technology hub and several other regions to contain the country's worst Covid-19 outbreak in two years.

www.cnn.com

 

[tomjasz]

It is huge. The new Omicron AB2 is 40% more transmissible. I have 26 high end batteries in transit. Effe!

Apple supplier Foxconn halts operations in Shenzhen as China locks down tech hub

Foxconn, one of Apple's biggest suppliers, has suspended operations in Shenzhen as China locks down the technology hub and several other regions to contain the country's worst Covid-19 outbreak in two years.

www.cnn.com

here we go again.... i
i looked at alternative industrial trikePbs and most are out of stock. I’ll whine like a wounded dog if I have to put my Grin kit on a Schwinn trike. FM!

 

[PedalUma]

here we go again.... i
i looked at alternative industrial trikePbs and most are out of stock. I’ll whine like a wounded dog if I have to put my Grin kit on a Schwinn trike. FM!

Correction: It is BA-2. I got one shipment of four yesterday. The other three arrive tomorrow. What a relief. The supply chain, with the major container port and tech zone shut down, will cause delays and problems for months. The first paid job I had to convert a bike was a trike. I saw the guy yesterday. He is a rocket scientist who just had a stroke. It is amazing how well and quickly a person can recover.

 

[tomjasz]

a stroke.

Eeyup. Some of us are just lucky.

 

[PedalUma]

Eeyup. Some of us are just lucky.

Happy St. Paddy's. A couple of years ago I was in a retail bike shop with Covid deniers when we went into lockdown. Then I found my first five-leaf clover. I am not a superstitious person. But at that same time money and opportunities started coming my way. I looked up the mythology. The four-leaf represents luck, the five represents fortune. A person who does not believe they are lucky will step on a five-dollar bill and walk past it. A person who thinks they are lucky will see it and pick it up. Some of us will step on a five-leaf clover, some will spot it. We make our own luck.

“Do you feel lucky?” – The Luck Factor by Dr. Richard Wiseman - MyLinh Shattan

6 Min read 1 Book rec * * Here’s a story I shared with my teen-aged daughter when things weren't going so well in class. Martin and Brenda Martin stopped by the coffee shop one morning before his meeting. On his way in, he noticed a five pound sterling note by the door and he

treehouseletter.com

 

[Jeffr]

Selling like new Z1, Size Medium, no scratches never crashed, under 300 miles.
Too small for me, just acquired a large Apollo and wife says one must go.
Upgraded with 200 mm dropper post, side display and throttle. $4200 includes SPARE BATTERY. Bay Area PM me.

 

[Nebakanezzar]

Selling like new Z1, Size Medium, no scratches never crashed, under 300 miles.
Too small for me, just acquired a large Apollo and wife says one must go.
Upgraded with 200 mm dropper post, side display and throttle. $4200 includes SPARE BATTERY. Bay Area PM me.

Hey Jeffr,

Curious why you feel the Apollo is better?

 

[Jeffr]

Hey Jeffr,

Curious why you feel the Apollo is better?

Because it's a large and I'm 6'1". My Z1 is a Medium and even with a stem extender and 200 mm dropper post it's too small for me.I should have bought a large but Luna encourages riders to go to a smaller size. They ride very similarly. Z1 Paint job is hands down better than anything else.

 

[Nebakanezzar]

Yeah, the Apollo is a sexy beast, I sold mine and got the X2, which suits my needs better than the Apollo…thinking bout building a fat tire version of the Z1.

Do you feel any difference in power between the two? My main gripe with the Apollo is it was too powerful!

 

[JRA]

Finished off my dual battery setup

Total of 1500wh's on board that at a sporty tempo should yield 50 + miles, Ultras are battery hogs I know...... The rides planned for this setup are primarily gravel logging road adventures here in the PNW and so the extra weight is not a big issue. Handling seems fine to me. Daily use is with the onboard internal battery with the 2nd left at home.

 

[bexamous]

Do you just swap two batteries, or are they somehow in parallel? I ordered some ideal diodes from China but order came in incomplete so thinking I might just swap batteries half way through ride. I fipped shock to put valve on top and battery then fits in triangle.. if weight up high become sissue.

 

[JRA]

Do you just swap two batteries, or are they somehow in parallel? I ordered some ideal diodes from China but order came in incomplete so thinking I might just swap batteries half way through ride. I fipped shock to put valve on top and battery then fits in triangle.. if weight up high become sissue.

My plan is to just swap batteries with this setup and keep the stock connections in play just bringing my key. As it turned out one of my batteries is 48v and the other is 52v anyway.I just got done with a ride and hardly knew it was there handling wise and certainly doesn't slow things down. Does decrease standover a bit though but I don't plan on much tech single tracking with it aboard, mainly gravel double track where it is not an issue.

You must have the lg size E22 frame cause it will fit like that but I have a medium and even with that shock knob turned it's a no go....I am not 100% pleased yet though and am noodling another idea that will work but take some skills to put together I don't have. Like 3D printing.

 

[bexamous]

Makes total sense, frame sizes didn't even cross my mind. Yes, mine is large.

 

[PedalUma]

Man, you better check for radiation where ever you got these !

Hey, I just found a new batch of four leavers. My friend picked a seven. Which means some odd mythological thing. Here is a sixer, fiver, and a couple of the fours. Again, the luck part is only the eye and cognitive state that can spot opportunity and not what a person steps on. Maybe I will open a thread on luck theory.