The e-bike thread.
03-30-2012, 02:40 PM
#162
2 Props,3 Dildos,& 1 Cat
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Join Date: Jun 2005
Location: Fake Virginia
Posts: 19,338
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can we all agree on one thing: the dude is going to die on that bike.
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03-31-2012, 01:51 PM
#171
Cpt. Slow
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Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: Oregon City, OR
Posts: 14,179
Total Cats: 1,129
Would not want to drag race a modern liter bike. Drove one for two block while my friend and I were bored in traffic and it was enough to humble me. I'm used to my 1985 700cc.
Side story: Another friend of mine (I have two) bought a 650r and on our first ride out together, we decided to drag race. Both revved our engine to a safe RPM waiting for the green....and both stalled. Hilarity ensued.
Side story: Another friend of mine (I have two) bought a 650r and on our first ride out together, we decided to drag race. Both revved our engine to a safe RPM waiting for the green....and both stalled. Hilarity ensued.
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04-05-2012, 12:02 PM
#173
Boost Pope
Thread Starter
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Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: Chicago. (The less-murder part.)
Posts: 33,020
Total Cats: 6,588
Heh. Bikes being pushed.
So I finally got off my *** and did some cleaning-up of the system. First order of business to to build a little charging station in the garage near the entrance, so that I don't have to string the chargers across the workbench and take up a bunch of space at the front of the garage. It's a trivial little thing, but it's really cleaned up the garage.
And because I'm a nerd, we had to have a dashboard. It's nothing fancy (no datalogging), just a couple of displays I found on ebay and some mounting bezels I made from a piece of scrap aluminum.
Left side is voltage on the 12v SLA pack, right side is current into the controller.
These displays are pretty neat- they're both backlit and very easy to read, and the voltmeter powers itself from the voltage being measured. I did have to build a little isolated DC-DC converter to drive the ammeter which draws its power from the 12v bus, hence the switch on the voltmeter panel.
So I finally got off my *** and did some cleaning-up of the system. First order of business to to build a little charging station in the garage near the entrance, so that I don't have to string the chargers across the workbench and take up a bunch of space at the front of the garage. It's a trivial little thing, but it's really cleaned up the garage.
And because I'm a nerd, we had to have a dashboard. It's nothing fancy (no datalogging), just a couple of displays I found on ebay and some mounting bezels I made from a piece of scrap aluminum.
Left side is voltage on the 12v SLA pack, right side is current into the controller.
These displays are pretty neat- they're both backlit and very easy to read, and the voltmeter powers itself from the voltage being measured. I did have to build a little isolated DC-DC converter to drive the ammeter which draws its power from the 12v bus, hence the switch on the voltmeter panel.
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04-05-2012, 04:53 PM
#175
Boost Pope
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Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: Chicago. (The less-murder part.)
Posts: 33,020
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Hmmmm. I suppose now that I have a dedicated 12v bus on the vehicle I could install a loud horn...
A Nautilus would be one option.
The Chicago Blackhawks' goal horn would be another.
(I might need to use the 36v battery to power that.)
A Nautilus would be one option.
The Chicago Blackhawks' goal horn would be another.
(I might need to use the 36v battery to power that.)
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04-09-2012, 11:45 AM
#180
Boost Pope
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Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: Chicago. (The less-murder part.)
Posts: 33,020
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The quality of parts used in modern bicycles varies greatly.
It's ironic that just last week I was commenting on the AmpedBikes forum that "the quality of the freewheel included with the rear DD package leaves something to be desired." I must have pissed it off, because yesterday, while I was coasting down a long hill at a high rate of speed, it decided to lock up and turn my bike into an 18-speed fixie. When that happens while you are resting your feet on the stationary pedals, it can be kind of exciting. (Eg, by "lock up" I don't mean that the wheel stopped turning, I mean that it suddenly caused the pedals to start spinning at full speed.)
As it happens, I was coasting down El Camino Real into Encinitas, about a half-mile from two very nice bike shops. And they're both normally open on Sundays. Rode to the first one, sign says open at 11, but closed on Easter.
Down to #2. Opens at 11, no Easter sign at all. Does that mean they're open? Most of the other stores in the plaza have some kind of sign indicating that they're either closed on Easter or will be open on Easter, so I guess this means that the shop is owned by folks who don't even acknolwedge Easter, and thus it'll be open.
It's 9:30 am. Got some time to kill.
The next shop over is a pet store, and kitty was sitting at the front door, staring out into space as though awaiting something. I tried to amuse kitty, but kitty had no interest in me.
Well, let's see... There's a Trader Joe's across the street. I'll head over there and browse around. Kind of need to use the restroom anyway. And that was perhaps the most interesting thing- it turns out that Trader Joe is apparently quite trusting of his customers:
Hmmm.
Wow, seriously? The cash registers, door openers, A/C, deep cooler, phone system (and more) are all switched via an unlocked panel in the public restroom? I find it nearly impossible to believe that no bored teenager has ever decided to flip the breaker on the cash registers.
Ah, 11:00 at last. Back to the shop...
... which is still closed.
(dammit.)
So, on the plus side, as I was headed back home at a leisurely pace, an Armstrong passed by my at a pretty fair clip just before we got to a hill. I then proceeded to pass him at an equally fair clip as he was gunning it up the hill in first gear, and then put about a quarter-mile gap between us before slowing back to a normal pace. It's amazing how you can get the same juvenile thrill on a bicycle as you do when you leave a Boxster S in the dust with a turbo Miata.
It's ironic that just last week I was commenting on the AmpedBikes forum that "the quality of the freewheel included with the rear DD package leaves something to be desired." I must have pissed it off, because yesterday, while I was coasting down a long hill at a high rate of speed, it decided to lock up and turn my bike into an 18-speed fixie. When that happens while you are resting your feet on the stationary pedals, it can be kind of exciting. (Eg, by "lock up" I don't mean that the wheel stopped turning, I mean that it suddenly caused the pedals to start spinning at full speed.)
As it happens, I was coasting down El Camino Real into Encinitas, about a half-mile from two very nice bike shops. And they're both normally open on Sundays. Rode to the first one, sign says open at 11, but closed on Easter.
Down to #2. Opens at 11, no Easter sign at all. Does that mean they're open? Most of the other stores in the plaza have some kind of sign indicating that they're either closed on Easter or will be open on Easter, so I guess this means that the shop is owned by folks who don't even acknolwedge Easter, and thus it'll be open.
It's 9:30 am. Got some time to kill.
The next shop over is a pet store, and kitty was sitting at the front door, staring out into space as though awaiting something. I tried to amuse kitty, but kitty had no interest in me.
Well, let's see... There's a Trader Joe's across the street. I'll head over there and browse around. Kind of need to use the restroom anyway. And that was perhaps the most interesting thing- it turns out that Trader Joe is apparently quite trusting of his customers:
Hmmm.
Wow, seriously? The cash registers, door openers, A/C, deep cooler, phone system (and more) are all switched via an unlocked panel in the public restroom? I find it nearly impossible to believe that no bored teenager has ever decided to flip the breaker on the cash registers.
Ah, 11:00 at last. Back to the shop...
... which is still closed.
(dammit.)
So, on the plus side, as I was headed back home at a leisurely pace, an Armstrong passed by my at a pretty fair clip just before we got to a hill. I then proceeded to pass him at an equally fair clip as he was gunning it up the hill in first gear, and then put about a quarter-mile gap between us before slowing back to a normal pace. It's amazing how you can get the same juvenile thrill on a bicycle as you do when you leave a Boxster S in the dust with a turbo Miata.
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