My Ultimate Commuter Update @ 849 miles

[Ayl]

At 849 miles on the odometer, I added the Dual Battery Converter to my Ultimate Commuter.
Before adding the second battery attachment and the Dual Battery Converter I carried one of the batteries in the image in a rear pannier on my last excursion. I went out 23 miles, then stopped for a rest and hydration before swapping out the batteries. I ended riding 46 miles that day and going out that far was a fun adventure.

I installed the Dual Battery Converter earlier this week, and have only given the setup a quick shake down around the neighborhood. Provided the Sahara sand that's now in my locale doesn't stifle me to a coma I'm planning a long ride this Sunday or Monday. With the DBC I have the option of either turning both batteries on so the accessory will alternately draw power from both packs, or turn one battery off for use at a later time. I'll probably use this option on my next ride, and I'll be able to turn on the battery mounted on the downtube without having to stop or get off the ebike if needed.

I feel I've got too much extra wiring displayed, and although what I've got setup is suitable for riding and testing, I'm wanting to make it look a little more streamlined. I've ordered some Anderson Powerpole connectors, as well as heat shrink, to trim down and tidy up connections to the DBC.

Something tells me I may end up hitting 1000 miles sooner than I expected.

 

[mebentz2]

Nice!

What's your maintenance been like over this period? How long did it take you to hit >800 miles?

 

[Ayl]

@mebentz2, My maintenance, and I'm using that term loosely, is checking air pressure about every week, as well as all the major bolts for the rear tire and the Rohloff shifter to check nothing is loose or needs adjusting. Even though I've gone thru some mud and ridden in the rain I haven't had to do any specific cleaning to the Gates belt drive. Probably my first upcoming actual maintenance project will just be replacing the pads on the Magura brakes. They're not squeaking or anything now, but I figure it'll be the first item I need to address.

I received my UC back at the end of October 2019, and went over 800 miles on June 14th of this year. So about 8 months to go over 800 mile marker. Most, if not all my ebiking is done on a Saturday and/or Sunday.

 

[mebentz2]

How fast are you typically riding?

I do about the same mileage, but it's all city for me.... So I go thru 3 sets of brakes over that distance.

You haven't even had a flat tire over all this time??? That's amazing.

Were any of the bolts loose when you checked?

 

[Ayl]

How fast are you typically riding? It varies, but between 13 and 30 mph's. When I'm on a section of road used by a lot of motor vehicles I tend to be on the highest PAS level and usually have at a speed at or above 20 mph. When I'm on a hike/bike trail enjoying the ride I'm generally at or slightly above 13 mph.

I do about the same mileage, but it's all city for me.... So I go thru 3 sets of brakes over that distance. I better go inspect my disc brake pads. What brake and rotor setup are you using?

You haven't even had a flat tire over all this time??? That's amazing. I just knocked on wood, but haven't had a flat tire yet. However, I do have adhesive patches, tire pump, and the tools necessary to remove my front or rear tire to deal with a flat.

Were any of the bolts loose when you checked? The bolts for the tire were loose once after I had changed my front chain ring and applied a larger Gates carbon belt drive. This was my bad since I didn't tighten them down enough the first time. Since then they haven't gotten loose. The last thing I had to tighten were the two bolts for the kick stand.


@mebentz2, How long have you had your ebike, what's the current mileage, and what's the maintenance been like for you?

 

[pushkar]

How fast are you typically riding?

I do about the same mileage, but it's all city for me.... So I go thru 3 sets of brakes over that distance.

You haven't even had a flat tire over all this time??? That's amazing.

Were any of the bolts loose when you checked?

I wanted to answer the "loose bolts" question. We usually tighten them up and app;y blue loctite to keep the bolts secure. However the reality is that bolts do come loose over time. To save our customers from trying to find the right parts, all our bikes (starting earlier this year) ship with the following additional items with the bike

1. Small tube of blue loctite.
2. Small tube of dielectric grease - for waterproofing all electrical connectors.
3. Gates (Krikit) belt tensioner tool (to ensure your belts have the correct tension)

 

[mebentz2]

How fast are you typically riding? It varies, but between 13 and 30 mph's. When I'm on a section of road used by a lot of motor vehicles I tend to be on the highest PAS level and usually have at a speed at or above 20 mph. When I'm on a hike/bike trail enjoying the ride I'm generally at or slightly above 13 mph.

I do about the same mileage, but it's all city for me.... So I go thru 3 sets of brakes over that distance. I better go inspect my disc brake pads. What brake and rotor setup are you using?

You haven't even had a flat tire over all this time??? That's amazing. I just knocked on wood, but haven't had a flat tire yet. However, I do have adhesive patches, tire pump, and the tools necessary to remove my front or rear tire to deal with a flat.

Were any of the bolts loose when you checked? The bolts for the tire were loose once after I had changed my front chain ring and applied a larger Gates carbon belt drive. This was my bad since I didn't tighten them down enough the first time. Since then they haven't gotten loose. The last thing I had to tighten were the two bolts for the kick stand.


@mebentz2, How long have you had your ebike, what's the current mileage, and what's the maintenance been like for you?

I have a Biktrix Juggernaut Ultra fat tire bike with the same Bafang motor.

Early on the free wheel clutch broke inside the crankset, which I fixed myself. I think I have 1500 miles now in 18 months. I've had at least a dozen flat tires, two broken chains, and 3 sets of brakes. I ride really hard though...always sprinting through the city (30+ mph) and stopping often. The rear derailleur has been a real pain to calibrate and the shift lever broke and had to be replaced. And recently the front suspension fork seized.

I also have a Luna Stealth which is only 350W, small battery, and belt drive. I've had that a year and it has around 300 miles. Zero issues the entire time. Oh wait, there was a factory defect with the tire where the rim snapped in half with a huge explosion sound... Right after my first two mile test drive. Thank goodness I was walking the bike when it happened.

The Luna is what got me hooked on belt drive and is the reason I recently discovered Watt Wagons. I see WW as a souped up version. I was actually looking to custom build my own bike, but now I don't need to...

I'm still waffling between which version to get. I love the integrated frame batteries in addition to having a second add on battery. Totally perfect for my type of riding (integrated battery for city riding and then pull out the second battery for the long trips).

Why did you change your chain ring? What's a comfortable top speed in your mind?

 

[Ayl]

Why did you change your chain ring?
I wanted to reach 30 mph on a particular straightaway without too much effort, and I had the larger front chain ring available from my previous home brew ebike. Pushkar was kind enough to donate a smaller rear cog which I installed providing me the gear ratio to reach 30 mph. The UC I ordered was at 750w due to my experience with my home brew ebike.

What's a comfortable top speed in your mind? On my home brew ebike I would have said 25 mph was a comfy top speed. The home brew was originally designed to be a human powered commuter, and a 1000w BBSHD was just too much juice, and I honestly did not feel safe going above 25 mph. This is a far cry from my UC. This bike has instilled me with confidence in regards to, cornering, riding in traffic, as well as an in speed. Because of this I've ended up ordering the Archon-x1 upgrade to the full 2300w capacity. After it's installed and I've put on a few miles I'm guessing my comfy top speed is going to be around 35 mph.