This is the latest upgrade to my 2WD e-Bike Conversion System.
I call this creation "Pegasus," for it flies like one!
Pegasus has the following installed:
2 X Disc-brake fitted Hub motor direct-drive 1000 W power handling capacity 26" wheels
2 X Strongest available RC Electronic Speed Controller (ESC) for brushless motors available from CastleCreations
1 X BEC Pro (Battery Eliminator Circuit) to power-up the throttle system
1 X 1.7 Kwh (52v x 33Ah) capacity Lithium-Manganese (Li-Mno) Battery made from Nissan Leaf Batteries
1 X Servo tester adapted Hall effect thumb throttle
In this short video, I show you how the system works and point out its working parts. This is a much older model I used to ride:
Here, I'm riding my 2WD eBike near my job site at moderate speed:
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If you want to contact me to help you with one of these systems, click here, or go to the bottom of this page.
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Story of my old bike, plus listing of its parts:
Model JEB-1.0, eBIKE Custom Conversion System, installed:
Powerful 1000 Watt System, Power On Demand (POD), Front Hub Motor, including a High Quality, Safe, 1.5 KWH 50V Nissan Leaf Lithium Manganese (LiMn2O4) Battery
Story and the Specs:
My experience with an eBike started in Georgia, when I assembled a Chinese conversion kit I ordered through the eBay.
The kit didn't include the battery, of course, so I researched and that was when I first learned about the new Lithium-Manganese Batteries, and fell in love with their characteristics!
Quickly, I designed and assembled my own Battery Pack, complete with its enclosure, using the best possible Lithium battery cells that I could find online. I was very happy when the work on the battery pack was finally done and my first eBike was assembled!...
My happiness, though, was quite short-lived as I fried my eBike's Electronic Speed Controller (ESC), a third of a way on my very first, very enthusiastic e-commute to work, because I treated the bike as if it was a regular moped.
I then spent another $38.00 for a replacement ESC, also a Chinese one, that kept getting hot whenever it was put to task on a bit of an extended hill climb. It was then that I realized unless I employed a much stronger, higher power handling ESC, I wasn't going to get that macho, ego pleasing reliability, agility, and power that I wanted my eBike to have.
That realization became even more compelling, when I relocated to Monterey-Pacific Grove, CA, where going up a nice steady hill is an unavoidable fact of life during daily commute.
So I started googling and youtubing and forum surfing for information on high performance, high power Brushless DC (BLDC) motor controllers, and ended up with one that I also fell in love with, as soon as I read its specs.
It was expensive, but I was passed the point of worrying for expense; I wanted power and reliability, and was willing to pay for it. So, without hesitation, I purchased my new ESC for about $275.00.
There was still a serious obstacle in the way of realizing my design, I soon realized.
I had to figure out how, which I did with more research and channeling my ancient background in Electrical Engineering, to adapt the new ESC to my eBike application, as the ESC is designed for RC devices. It's circuitry required that I buy and modify yet another electronic component, and thereby engineer an adaptor that would enable the ESC to power-up my motor on demand without a radio controller. The ESC, that powers my Bike is designed to be used in high performance, large, Radio Controlled (RC) aircraft and vehicles.
And the dream was finally realized!
Behold a serious eBike that is reliable, fast, and powerful.
One that totally outclasses a moped, and is assembled using high quality, top of the line, equipment.
The Chinese ESC barely allowed 21 mph on a flat surface in its factory kit configuration, and even then I had to be careful not to burn it up. But so far, no one on a bicycle of any kind where I ride my Bike has been able to keep up with me on the road; It kicks ass and takes names, period!
With my 210 Lbs of body weight, it can climb all the way up Forest Avenue in PG, and Private Bolio Road in the Presidio of Monterey.
Its battery pack provides for plenty of miles on a single charge, of course, the exact range of it depends on the terrain, road condition, and how fast the Bike is driven, and whether or not there was any contribution by pedalling.
The ride experience is simply exhilarating!
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Parts used in this conversion kit include:
- A 50v, 33Ah Lithium Manganese (LiMn2O4, Not a Li-Po!) Battery Pack.
Fastened securely in its own compartment, behind the seat above the back wheel, sits a battery pack I made from 12 State-of-the-Art
Nissan Leaf Electric Car Battery Cells in series, providing the capability to store well over 1200 Watt-hours available energy. There is no worry about the battery dying out on you after a few hill climbs!
To be honest, I really haven't found myself having to ride this bike to full discharge of its battery, yet. Nor do I feel a compelling urge to do so!
However, to serve as some measure of reference, and based on an academic and experiential knowledge that is now complemented with substantial amount of field experience, I can state confidently that for a rider who weighs around 200 pounds, or lighter, on flat surface, with moderate application of the throttle, this bike should offer a range of 30 to 60 miles, with minimum pedaling. As a good habit, I don't apply the throttle before I pedal the bike into motion, hence, "minimum pedaling."
This battery not only can hold an amazing amount of power, it is also amazingly safe. Lithium batteries have come a long way!
You see in this video what my eBike's battery cells can go through and still function safely:
- A CASTLE CREATIONS PHOENIX EDGE 160 HV ESC.
This speed controller is made in the USA, not in China. It is intended for powering up BLDC motors in high power competition Radio Controlled Helicopters and
other high-end hobby RC applications! It is also easily programmable through a laptop or PC.
Here are some picture I took just before last time I checked the ESC and re-programmed it:
With research through the internet, my own electronics knowledge, and a little bit of experimentation and
engineering, I succeeded in employing this priceless piece of artfully created American Electronics Hardware in my eBike.
I enabled it for wired control, by utilizing a Hall Effect actuated thumb throttle (rather than a less reliable and short-life electromechanical rheostat type throttle) in conjunction with another control device I modified.
- A CASTLE CREATIONS CC BEC Pro 20Amp regulator.
It works in conjunction with the ESC to provide 5 volts of auxiliary power for the LED lights and anything else for convenience.
For example, a USB power outlet can be added to it for charging cell phones.
- A powerful Direct drive 1000w front-wheel gearless BLDC hub motor.
This motor is worry free, even though it is made in China, because it is simple and needs virtually no maintenance!
- A Torque arm.
Securely fastened to the fork, it prevents damage from front axle spinning due to the motor's high torque .
I learned the need for that, the hard way!
- A Custom made battery protective enclosure, mounted on the rear rack.
- A Custom made 50v charger. Not shown. I top off the battery charge, about once every other night, with it.
- A 26" wheel size mountain bike, bought used off of the Craig's List .
It is a nice quality mountain bike in its own right, with decent parts.
Of course, the Electrical modifications to this bike can easily be transferred to any other 26" wheel size bicycle.
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Forest Ave. and PVT Bolio Rd. Elevation profiles:
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Here, I am showing the eBike before it was upgraded to 50V: