Electric Bike Motor Kits Real Letter with Real Questions

The New "Hall Effect Motor" Pegasus Power System Ebike Kit

Electric Bicycle Motor Kits A Real Letter with Real Questions from A Real

Customer

 

Question:

I’m very intrigued by this system. I’m an EE and I’d like to take a look at the detailed specs. Is there a website I can look at? I’m not finding any information online about the Pegasus.

Doug

From: Dalesbest4bikes@aol.com Subject: (no subject) Date: Friday, February 27, 2009, 5:51 PM

Yes, there is some more information and maybe a little better description.　　　I also sell the Wilderness Energy Kit which I have had very good luck with.　　　I would recommend this kit to anyone but I am always looking for upgrades. I have been working on this new system for about 2 years, a lot of trial and a lot of error.　 There are still some things I would have liked to do and maybe will in the future, but right now I feel　this is the best value on the market.　 Thanks for your interest, 　　　　　Dale

Http://www.Pegasuspowersystems.com

Question

 Okay, that is a little better but still kinda short of the hardcore technical details us EE’s like to see. I’ll just ask some questions outright.　

 From: Dalesbest4bikes@aol.com

Subject: (no subject) Date: Friday, February 27, 2009, 6:32 PM

Good, I’ll see if I can get you some answers

1) Brushless or brushed motor? Does it pull from a dead stop or does it require pedaling to get moving? (I’m aware pedaling is highly recommended for either.) (True) If brushed, are the brushes pretty easy to replace? How about the bearings? Brushless and you can start from a dead stop; it has a lot of torque. The bearings are sealed and I haven’t had a problem yet　

2) How many amps is the charger rated for? Most of the components seem pretty reasonably priced but the charger seems rather steep. I’d probably want an extra one to keep at work to charge the battery for the ride home. But I think I could find a perfectly good one (especially for SLA’s) for less than $70. The charger is 1.8 amps; the second　one would cost you $42.00　

3) Is there any option for a LiPo or Li-Ion battery? Any way to package some in that battery case? I don’t have the LiPo, I haven’t been convinced of their value yet.　 I think that they are pretty good but I am waiting for the price to come down a lot. I ‘m still searching.　It’s my impression that they are considerably　smaller and would fit in the case.　

4) How much juice does the headlight draw? Do you know what kind of LED’s it uses? If it’s not really state-of-the-art I might want to go with a stand-alone unit.　 I have never tested the currant draw (Good idea I will soon) I don’t think that they could be　considered state of the art,　 I do like the battery indicator that is built in and the horn with the separate switch for each.　

5) Who manufactures it? Assuming it’s a Chinese factory, is it a reputable one? (I have a lot of experience with Chinese mfrs so I’m not opposed to them, just the lousy ones). Is the build quality decent, and are replacement parts available?　

I have a broker that does all of the buying for me, he is Chinese and has always done a good job for me. We went through 7 different motors before we decided on this one. It was built to my physical specs from 7″ diameter to 10″ dia. 3″ wide, instead 3 1/2″.　I haven’t had a bad one yet out of over 160 sold. There are several different manufacturers for everything, the battery and controller case, the controller the light, brake handles etc. My next go around, probably 6 to 8 months, I will have a reconfigured case, a little wider, a little shorter and the controller housing a little larger. I am still looking for a beefier wheel,　thicker spokes and maybe a double walled rim.　They are out there but so far the pricing is prohibitive.　All replacement parts are available,  if I should have to rob something from a kit, I will, and replace them later.　This is what I have had to do with the Wilderness kit.　 Well, you know all the right questions and I hope I have helped.　

Thanks again, 　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 Dale

Question:

Dale,

It sounds from your answers (particularly to my last question) that this is your design. Is that true? Congratulations if so, it really does look like a winner, clearly better than the WE version that I’ve been looking at. My favorite feature is the quick-removal battery case….I have about a 20-mile commute to work, and I’d have to recharge at work for the ride home, which I could easily do with your system. Pop the battery off, take it inside to charge, pop it back on when I leave. Love that feature! Or, I could just carry a charged second battery with me for the ride home…but then the first one would sit uncharged all day. That’s really my main interest in the LiPo/Li-Ion battery technology. SLA’s just don’t have as long a lifetime, especially if they’re not treated well (recharged immediately after discharge). Deep discharges also reduce their life pretty fast.

I’ve been using lithium batteries, both primary and rechargeable, for some time in my work as an EE and I’ve come to really appreciate their size/capacity ratio and their tolerance for charging and discharging multiple times. As long as you don’t overcharge or over-discharge them they’re fine for a long time.

Nice controller design if it’s a brushless motor but works from a dead stop. I’m guessing it must use Hall effect sensors rather than pickup coils. Good point about the battery meter. I’m assuming it’s just a voltmeter? I was toying with making my own voltmeter/current meter which would monitor current draw/charge as well as voltage. Probably the voltmeter alone would be fine though. Since I’d use mine to commute, I’d need to carry my working clothes.

Is the top of the battery case flat enough to strap stuff onto? Having the rack is nice, it would be nice not to lose it with the battery in place. Are there any bicycles in particular you recommend for outfitting? I have an old Trek 1100 road bike but I’m thinking about getting a more rugged mountain bike/hybrid kind of thing for the electric retrofit. I’m getting a bit too old (and a bit too out of shape!) to be bent over the bars like that for long. Thanks for the patience, but you know us engineers. We want to know every detail before we commit!

Doug

From: Dalesbest4bikes@aol.com

Subject: (no subject) Date: Friday, February 27, 2009, 6:32 PM

Doug,

The battery case is pretty flat and I don’t see any reason for not throwing on some saddle bags or even a back pack over them. You might consider even lacing　or hooking to the battery handles.　If not, it has a pretty strong rack to hook up to.　About the spare battery pack, that would be a little heavy to carry with you.　You could carry the charger in you bag and not have to purchase another one.

 Thanks for all your questions, I do enjoy answering them, when I am able.　 　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　

Dale

From: Dalesbest4bikes@aol.com Subject: (One of your questions I forgot to answer) Date: Sat, 2/28/09 4:30 PM

Doug, One of your questions that I forgot to answer.　 If you decide to buy a new bike, a couple of things that I think are important.　 A good strong frame that is comfortable for you. NO ALUMINUM FORKS　 Get the highest gear ratio available.　 With a single speed, your motor will be taking you faster than you can pedal and the more you pedal the more distance and speed you will get.　 Pedaling with the motor is so much easier even in the highest gear.　 　　　　　　　　

Dale

Question

Dale,

Why no aluminum forks? Is it a clearance problem or are there structural issues? I was looking at Montague’s MX: http://www.montagueco.com/bikes/mx-folding-bike.html which does have an aluminum fork. If it’s a real problem I suppose I’d go with the next model down, the CX. Doug

From: Dalesbest4bikes@aol.com Subject: (no subject) Date: Friday, February 27, 2009, 6:32 PM 　

Doug, I have had a few problems with Aluminum forks breaking. 　Particularly those with a welded on tab　that have the slots for the axle.　The tab breaks off of the fork where it is welded. I have had two break locally and two reports from web sales.

Dale 　 　 　 　 　 　

Pegasus Power System Electric Bike Conversions Vs Wilderness Energy

What is the difference between the New  

Pegasus Power System and the Popular Wilderness Energy

electric bike conversion kit?

I have been a Wilderness Energy dealer for near 5 years and I’m convinced that it is a great quality unit. I came up with the Pegasus so that I could offer some upgrades. Both ebike kits are good just different enough to each of your own liking.

Pegasus wheel will fit a narrower fork opening. In order to accomplish that, I had to increase the diameter of the motor from 7″ dia. to 10″ to maintain the power of the motor. This resulted in shorter spokes making them stronger by also increasing the gage of the spokes, for a very strong wheel.

Also to make sure there wouldn’t be any problem with the forks bending from too much torque which can happen to certain bikes, we added the torque safety lock system. The battery canvas bag is replaced with a molded hard plastic case to supply a water resistant housing for the controller, wiring and battery. Includes a heavy duty chrome rack with battery housing quick connect receivers, you just set the battery pack on the rack, slide it forward and it connects itself to the electronics.  A new security key lock ignition switch and the key is also used to lock the battery case in place by a second lock to the bike.

A neat safety feature is that the Pegasus brake levers are wired to disconnect the motor when either of them is applied. This could help prevent panic mistakes of applying the throttle and brake at the same time, or twisting the throttle while dismounting just by holding a brake lever on. If the brakes are applied while the throttle is engaged, this could case serious damage to the wheel. The motor is trying to pull the wheel forward by the spokes and the brakes are trying to stop the rim, putting a lot of stress on the spokes, hub motor and rim. Problem solved.

Due to the larger diameter of the motor, it has a little more torque that helps with the hills and dead stop starts. The Pegasus also comes with an L.E.D. eight bulb headlight /horn combination. These are actuated by a separate switch located near your thumb so you don’t have to take your hands off of the handlebars to turn on the light or sound the horn. They are tied into the system so you never have to worry about buying new flash light batteries

Overall performance is not that much different. Most of those differences are provided by the battery power. We use, (3) 12 volt-12 amp/hr batteries to supply 36 volts to the system. We use this combination to reach what we think is a good balance of power verses weight You’ll find a few more details at http://www.pegasuspowersystems.com 

Dale

Electric Bike Conversion Kits, The Misconception of Watts

What does it all mean? There is a misconception of what watts do for you. Some people think that the higher the watts, the faster you will go or the farther you will go. Basically, your voltage, amperage and efficiency (quality) determine your speed and distance between charges.  

The wattage rating of your motor really means how much power your motor can handle efficiently without overheating, burning out your motor or overtaxing your battery.

The formula for watts is, Amps X Volts = watts i.e. 36 volts x 12 amps = 432 watts. Your 450 watt motor should handle this very well, considering that only about 60% of the power generated by the amps x volts ever reach or is taken advantage by you motor.

The gage and the quality of the material of the wiring and connectors between the power source and the motor will increase the efficiency of the power generated, (using the power that you paid for).

Now here is the kicker, QUALITY. Generally, the quality of a brushless motor is defined by the characteristics of the casting design, material, the precision and the quality of the bearings and magnets.

High quality bearings reduce friction, vibration and therefore less wear and less resistance. The magnet quality is responsible for power (torque). This is what gets you moving from a dead stop, climbing a hill or facing a headwind. Since there are no moving parts in a brushless motor except the bearings, this is where the quality of the bearings really counts. There are some cheap motors manufactured with low quality bearings and magnets.

You need rare earth magnets or other quality magnets such as neodymium which are relatively expensive, plus quality bearings in the motor that you buy. Don’t be shy about asking your seller questions, check out his reputation and ask other bloggers about their experience with him.

The reality is, you get what you pay for. Buying quality once is usually cheaper than buying inferior products twice … or……. more.

Why would you want a high wattage rating? Due to amperage draw created by the hills or dead stop starts could cause your motor to overheat if it is underrated, and reduce the longevity and productivity of the motor, not to mention stealing the distance from your battery that you could travel. Having a higher rated motor also allows for increasing the voltage and amperage if you decide to do this later.

Our New Conversion System is here, so click Http://Pegasuspowersystems.com   and see something different. I know you’ll be impressed with these new features.

Brenda

Flash in the pan or here to stay?

Wilderness Energy electric bike conversion kits  and  Pegasus Power Systems electric bicycle conversion systems

 Here is what Wilderness Energy has to say;

(The leading online American distributor of electric bike conversion kits and components)

These days, more and more people are beginning to realize that owning an electric vehicle can be more beneficial than using a gas-guzzling SUV for things such as daily trips to the post office, the corner store, or even to work.

For example, you could purchase a Wilderness Energy Electric Bicycle Conversion Kit for about the same price as half a dozen tanks of gas! That’s all! Other electric bikes or conversion kits can cost up to $1500 or more, but why pay that when you can get a product with industry-standard quality for the lowest price around?

We are sure that you and your customers will be satisfied with an electric bike conversion kit from Wilderness Energy, and would like to offer a few more reasons why riding an e-bike can be advantageous:

Quote of the Day:
There is no worse lie than a truth misunderstood by those who hear it.
–William James

Technorati Tags: electric bikes,electric powered bikes

Pegasus says this:

Before we decided to invest in this new product, we felt that we had to explore every possibility of how we might succeed or fail. We set up point system, with a goal of 100 Points Our first question was, is this going to be an ongoing market or is it just a fad.

After analyzing the future expected availability and cost of fossil fuel, the environmental pressures

for clean air, and the political climate for Governmental incentives for promoting alternative fuels. We gave this 40 Points

The fact that the big money was being invested in electricity production i.e.’ Wind and Solar’ led us to believe that no other fuel type would be readily available in the near future due to the delivery infrastructure, storage facilities and the currant technology. . 10 Points

Right now and for the last 18 months, the available consumer spending money is somewhat limited and will be for an undetermined time. The cost of recharging the battery supply for 10 miles equals about 4 cents

apposed to average gasoline cost of $1.90. Plus insurance, wear and tear. and mileage caused depreciation

The gasoline cost savings alone for 12,000 miles per year could exceed $2,500.00, Not that you will ride you bike for 12,000 miles but what ever it is . 30 Points

Today, Government statistics point out that obesity is as harmful as a lifetime of smoking. There is no doubt that lack of exercise is a major cause of this phenomenon. The electric bicycle encourages you get out and ride

so that you can get as much exercise as you feel like, without the commitment of having to pedal after you have reached your personal limit. . 40 Points

While already being a distributor for the most popular, affordable and dependable kit on the market and seeing a corner of this market for an upgrade we decided that this would put us way over the top with the points needed to make our decision. . 20 Points

Well, here we are Http://www.pegasuspowersystems.com you will see for yourself how much upgrade can make a difference.

Hope this information is helpful for you to make the best choice. Good luck!

Electric Bikes are Smart and Fun!

I love to learn about ways to save money and having fun doing it.

When you want to go for it and start riding your bike the easy way. Make sure you research enough to truly know what your getting when you invest in a bike that is electrified. You can learn more than you think about if your new to the subject. As a matter of fact you may still learn some important facts about riding bikes, durability, safety and laws just to mention a few. I try to find answers to common questions I get from my webstore. Click on some links below to find my research.

What is available at my store now?

What do I need to know about electric bikes?

How do I install one?

Battery questions anyone?

I will be publishing more so come back again soon!

Brenda

Http://www.Pegasuspowersystems.com

Electric Bike Facts to Know!

Electric Bicycle Motors and Batteries
Regenerative Braking
These are the facts, just the facts.
This guy has the answers to the most common questions and them some. He doesn’t sell anything, he’s not promoting anything.
A lot of people inquire about regenerative braking. Hybrid car manufacturers often tout the ability to reclaim electrical energy when the car is going downhill. I don’t know how much energy they are getting back in a car, but on a little electric bicycle, it is almost certainly never worth the added trouble, expense, and operational hassles. You would be much better off with a freewheeling setup. Let me explain how I’ve come to this conclusion.
The speed controller I use has regenerative braking available. After trying it out for a while, adjusting it and testing it every which way, I ended up disabling it.
Regenerative braking means that as you brake or coast downhill the controller will use the motor in reverse as a generator to re-charge the batteries. On my route to the market, for instance, I am on flat terrain for a while and then go downhill for about a mile to reach the store. Conceivably this could mean that I arrive at the store with nearly full batteries, which would make the ride back less likely to drain the batteries completely. However, the regenerative braking is a function of the speed controller. If you have the regen set up for maximum regeneration, the throttle can be quite touchy. And if you just suddenly release the throttle, which is fairly normal behavior, the braking effect would be full. It is really not very good to have the throttle set up to brake that hard. I found myself about launching over the handle bars every time I lost forgot and snapped the throttle off. Also, this is a good way to have other people ride you bike and crash it.
Note there is no freewheel on the electric side of my bicycle. A custom freewheel is yet another surprisingly difficult mechanical part to machine or to buy. Of course the pedal-drive freewheel still works, which means that you can motor without the pedals being forced to turn. However, it you pedal the motor will necessarily be turning, which is a drawback if the batteries die. The regenerative braking function requires a solid connection to the wheel. However, after some time with this bike, using the regen function of the special speed controller, I came to a surprising conclusion against using regen. As I say I bought a controller with regenerative braking. With this set-up, I could basically use the thumb-throttle carefully as a fairly powerful rear brake. The amount of braking could be adjusted to make it less grabby, but I never could get it to the point where I liked it at all. It was obtrusive and difficult to control. I suppose if you could hook it up to a pressure sensitive brake lever, it would work better, however, that is a bit beyond the level of sophistication I think is really necessary on a little electric bike. Luckily the regen function can be defeated which is what I finally decided to do.
Realize, all vehicles are “regenerative” going down a hill. Turning the engine off down a long hill in your car and coasting – this is reclaiming the energy spent to climb the hill. Unless the vehicle is very heavy and/or has great aerodynamics, most of the energy going down a hill will just be used to overcome air resistance, with little left over to recharge the batteries. Normally on a bicycle, very little braking is ever necessary, and top speed down most hills is quickly limited by poor aerodynamics. The net result, I felt, is that the regen on my ebike was just slowing me down and creating heavy backloading on the drive train needlessly. It would be better to put the motor on a freewheel and adopt a method of getting up to speed and coasting as often as possible with the motor shut off. This riding technique is apparently very effective at extending your range, probably more so than having regen.

Many people who deal even with larger EVs and hybrids have also formed the opinion that a pure freewheeling function would be better in many instances than regenerative braking. The regenerative braking function of hybrid cars, for instance, is vastly overstated. Hybrids work by generating their electric power onboard using the gas engine; they have a power generation function built-in, it is central to the entire concept. So why not use it for braking as well? Sure, but in reality this produces very little in the way of reclaimed power. The batteries in hybrid cars are charged at least 95% by the using the gas engine as a generator; and the reason they are so efficient in city driving is simply because they can run at slow speeds very efficiently on predominantly electric power. It is only while driving at higher speeds down long steep grades that any decent power is truly regenerated to the batteries. How much of this describes typical driving conditions?

Coasting with minimal drag from the motor is actually much more efficient. While coasting the vehicle uses no juice whatsoever. It is common practice during mileage or efficiency runs with a hybrid like the Honda Insight, to accelerate to speed, then go into neutral and coast for a ways. This actually produces the greatest mileage and efficiency. On an electric bike it is undoubtedly most efficient to pulse the motor on till you get up to speed, and coast on downhills, or pedal on the flat to maintain speed. Having the motor freewheel would be a big advantage. Unfortunately, a decent ready made right-hand drive doesn’t seem to be available, at least for a reasonable price. A minor drawback.

Http://www.Pegasuspowersystems.com

College Students

       How far do you have to walk from the student parking lot to your classes?

         I bet the bike racks are much closer. And that means my idea just may be what you need to get to class on time without getting sweaty, tired and frustrated with so much to carry so far from your car.   Well…. If you ride a bike to school with your books on your back or strapped to the back rack of your bikes rack, you can save on gas, not get too tired from the ride or get sweaty.  Why?  or better said How?   An electric bike of course!  Have you seen many bicyclers riding electric around campus?  What a great idea to tell your fellow students.                  

http://pegasuspowersystems.com

        They already have a bike they don’t ride?  There you have it… Convert the one you have, Go green, save time getting through tracffic while the cars are still stopping at the signals two or more times before they get to pass the intersection. By the time most people in cars get to school and find a parking spot, hopefully not a mile away, you will already be either drinking your coffee reading up on whatever, feeling so healthy and alive ready to express yourself about the money you save on gas by riding an electric bike. What a difference a little idea like this could make in your life!

If you know people who would agree with me about this idea, please do them a favor and mention it to them and tell them to check out options like this one …. Convert any bike easy with an electric bike conversion system.

Http://Pegasuspowersystems.com         (contains Pegasus Premium and Economy Conversion Systems  + more)  

Http://Pegasuspowersystems/dalesbest4bikes.com     (contains Wilderness Electric Conversion Systems  + more).  This website is still in the process of construction but ready for selling what you see there.

Thanks again and please comment my blogs cause I need to hear your opinions!

Brenda  T.

5 man and 7 man bike? Yep!

I just love to do my homework when it comes to researching the internet for innovative ideas to fit into the bike riding fun. Here is a fun for anyone who doesn’t mind riding together with a crowd on the same vehicle.  All 7 can pedal or some don’t have to. I want  you to see this for yourself.  You’ll see there’s a whole lot more to find out about this bikes possibilities.  Here is the website… it’s a must see!   http://www.conferencebike.com/owners/frameset-owners.htm    just be sure to come back and tell me what you think. I don’t know about you, but I absolutely Love it!

Maybe it doesn’t need any electric energy other than the man mad power huh? Yep… can you imagine an electric operated one? I prefer to stick with wild park rides for anything more than this bike.

Oh and back to our reality… if you want some more energy for your one man bicycle or maybe a tandem for two, even a three wheel for shopping etc. It’s wonderful to make the choice for yourself  to either pedal back home even if you pooped out, or just cruise with no effort at all.

Electric bicycle conversions systems       Http://Pegasuspowersystems.com        Http://Pegasuspowersystems/Dalesbest4bikes.com

 

Brenda

Will the Rain Hurt My E-Bike?

Electric Bicycles and Rain

Will The Rain Hurt My E- Bike?

 From my last blog that was listed as, Getting the Most Out of Your E- Bike.  I received several questions asking if the rain will hurt my e-bike.  I guess that should be expected this time of year.

Most systems are pretty good about holding up in the rain.  The hub motors that I know of are sealed and are not affected by just rain.  I suppose if you let them set in a tub of water, it just might get wet inside.

I live in Southern California and not confronted with that problem as much some, but I live near the ocean and the fog rolls in at night, if I leave my bike outside, it will get just as wet as if I left it out in the rain.

Most wire terminals have a plastic insulator and give a certain amount of protection.  On some systems the controller might be affected by the moisture but you don’t want to wrap them in plastic or in any way seal them from getting ventilation.  They can get hot and need to ventilate.  The Pegasus system has a controller that is enclosed, in a ventilated housing that protects the controller, wire connections and on/off switch pretty well.

An old trick to protecting connections under wet conditions is nail polish, clear or colored, what ever you prefer.  Even if the terminals are enclosed in plastic, a certain amount of moisture can enter where the wire enters the terminal insulator.  If this appears to have a large gap, silicone sealer, available in a tube at almost any hardware store is probably your best bet.

Moisture on any exposed connection can cause corrosion and corrosion causes resistance.  The result of this is usually intermittent or permanent loss of power or signal and be difficult to locate. 

In any case, while riding a bike in the rain, electric or not, be especially careful. The roads are slippery and visibility is limited to you and everyone else. 

Http://www.Pegasuspowersystems.com

If you have any questions about electric bikes, comment here or go to the website to see for yourself many answers you may not have thought of.

Brenda

Regenerative Braking Systems good or bad?

Electric Bicycle Motors and Batteries
Regenerative Braking
These are the facts, just the facts.
This guy has the answers to the most common questions and them some. He doesn’t sell anything, he’s not promoting anything.
A lot of people inquire about regenerative braking. Hybrid car manufacturers often tout the ability to reclaim electrical energy when the car is going downhill.

I don’t know how much energy they are getting back in a car, but on a little electric bicycle, it is almost certainly never worth the added trouble, expense, and operational hassles. You would be much better off with a freewheeling setup. Let me explain how I’ve come to this conclusion. The speed controller I use has regenerative braking available. After trying it out for a while, adjusting it and testing it every which way, I ended up disabling it.

Regenerative braking means that as you brake or coast downhill the controller will use the motor in reverse as a generator to re-charge the batteries. On my route to the market, for instance, I am on flat terrain for a while and then go downhill for about a mile to reach the store. Conceivably this could mean that I arrive at the store with nearly full batteries, which would make the ride back less likely to drain the batteries completely.

However, the regenerative braking is a function of the speed controller. If you have the regen set up for maximum regeneration, the throttle can be quite touchy. And if you just suddenly release the throttle, which is fairly normal behavior, the braking effect would be full. It is really not very good to have the throttle set up to brake that hard. I found myself about launching over the handle bars every time I lost forgot and snapped the throttle off. Also, this is a good way to have other people ride you bike and crash it.

Note there is no freewheel on the electric side of my bicycle. A custom freewheel is yet another surprisingly difficult mechanical part to machine or to buy. Of course the pedal-drive freewheel still works, which means that you can motor without the pedals being forced to turn. However, it you pedal the motor will necessarily be turning, which is a drawback if the batteries die. The regenerative braking function requires a solid connection to the wheel. However, after some time with this bike, using the regen function of the special speed controller, I came to a surprising conclusion against using regen. As I say I bought a controller with regenerative braking. With this set-up, I could basically use the thumb-throttle carefully as a fairly powerful rear brake. The amount of braking could be adjusted to make it less grabby, but I never could get it to the point where I liked it at all. It was obtrusive and difficult to control. I suppose if you could hook it up to a pressure sensitive brake lever, it would work better, however, that is a bit beyond the level of sophistication I think is really necessary on a little electric bike. Luckily the regen function can be defeated which is what I finally decided to do.

Realize, all vehicles are “regenerative” going down a hill. Turning the engine off down a long hill in your car and coasting – this is reclaiming the energy spent to climb the hill. Unless the vehicle is very heavy and/or has great aerodynamics, most of the energy going down a hill will just be used to overcome air resistance, with little left over to recharge the batteries. Normally on a bicycle, very little braking is ever necessary, and top speed down most hills is quickly limited by poor aerodynamics. The net result, I felt, is that the regen on my ebike was just slowing me down and creating heavy backloading on the drive train needlessly. It would be better to put the motor on a freewheel and adopt a method of getting up to speed and coasting as often as possible with the motor shut off. This riding technique is apparently very effective at extending your range, probably more so than having regen.

Many people who deal even with larger EVs and hybrids have also formed the opinion that a pure freewheeling function would be better in many instances than regenerative braking. The regenerative braking function of hybrid cars, for instance, is vastly overstated. Hybrids work by generating their electric power onboard using the gas engine; they have a power generation function built-in, it is central to the entire concept. So why not use it for braking as well? Sure, but in reality this produces very little in the way of reclaimed power. The batteries in hybrid cars are charged at least 95% by the using the gas engine as a generator; and the reason they are so efficient in city driving is simply because they can run at slow speeds very efficiently on predominantly electric power. It is only while driving at higher speeds down long steep grades that any decent power is truly regenerated to the batteries. How much of this describes typical driving conditions?

Coasting with minimal drag from the motor is actually much more efficient. While coasting the vehicle uses no juice whatsoever. It is common practice during mileage or efficiency runs with a hybrid like the Honda Insight, to accelerate to speed, then go into neutral and coast for a ways. This actually produces the greatest mileage and efficiency. On an electric bike it is undoubtedly most efficient to pulse the motor on till you get up to speed, and coast on downhills, or pedal on the flat to maintain speed. Having the motor freewheel would be a big advantage. Unfortunately, a decent ready made right-hand drive doesn’t seem to be available, at least for a reasonable price. A minor drawback.

Http://www.Pegasuspowersystems.com

Electric Powered Bicycles- What’s Watts?

 Electric Powered Bicycles

What’s Watts?

250 Watts,  400 Watts,  600 Watt Motors?

What does it all mean? There is a misconception of what watts do for you. Some people think that the higher the watts, the faster you will go or the farther you will go. Basically, your voltage, amperage and efficiency (quality) determine your speed and distance between charges.  

The wattage rating of your motor really means how much power your motor can handle efficiently without overheating, burning out your motor or overtaxing your battery.

The formula for watts is, Amps X Volts = watts i.e. 36 volts x 12 amps= 432 watts. Your 450 watt motor should handle this very well, considering that only about 60% of the power generated by the amps x volts ever reach or is taken advantage by you motor.

The gage and the quality of the material of the wiring and connectors between the power source and the motor will increase the efficiency of the power generated, (using the power that you paid for).

Now here is the kicker, QUALITY. Generally, the quality of a brushless motor is defined by the characteristics of the casting design, material, the precision and the quality of the bearings and magnets.

High quality bearings reduce friction, vibration and therefore less wear and less resistance. The magnet quality is responsible for power (torque). This is what gets you moving from a dead stop, climbing a hill or facing a headwind. Since here are no moving parts in a brushless motor except the bearings, this is where the quality of the bearings really counts. There are some cheap motors manufactured with low quality bearings and magnets.

You need rare earth magnets or other quality magnets such as neodymium which are relatively expensive, plus quality bearings in the motor that you buy. Don’t be shy about asking your seller questions, check out his reputation and ask other bloggers about their experience with him.

The reality is, you get what you pay for. Buying quality once is usually cheaper than buying inferior products twice … or……. more.

Why would you want a high wattage rating? Due to amperage draw created by the hills or dead stop starts could cause your motor to overheat if it is underrated, and reduce the longevity and productivity of the motor, not to mention stealing the distance from your battery that you could travel. Having a higher rated motor also allows for increasing the voltage and amperage if you decide to do this later.

Our New Conversion System is here, so click Http://Pegasuspowersystems.com   and see something different. I know you’ll be impressed with some new features.

Brenda

Electric Bicycles

Electric bicycle Performance

Getting the most out of your E-Bike

There are so many variables to consider when you are trying to get the mileage you are looking for or the speed that you expected.  The total weight, hills, how many starts and stops and headwinds all affect the distance and speed.

LiveJournal Tags: electric bikes,bikes,bicycles

 

Obviously, the voltage and amperage are key to getting the maximum from your system but there are other factors too. It is important that the motor has the capacity (wattage) to handle the power that is sent to it. If the motor is underrated, it could be damaged or overheat and result in less longevity or power loss.

Tires, smooth tires will get more distance and speed. There is less friction on a smooth tire than a knobby. Even if you have smooth tires, it won’t help much if they are underinflated. Have your tires inflated to the maximum that the manufacturer allows and keep you eye on that. It’s amazing how fast the pressure can drop in just a few days.

One of the big advantages of an electric bicycle over an electric scooter is that you can help. I know it feels great to just cruise along without pedaling but every time you pedal just a little bit extends the distance that you will get between charges. Pedaling with the motor assisting is sooo much easier.

With a single speed bike, you might find that you can’t pedal as fast as your bike is traveling and you can’t help at all. But then maybe you are not interested in the speed, you just want to cruise along effortlessly

Multispeed Bicycles: The higher speed that your gears are set, the more you can help, the more you can help…….well, you get it.

Battery, If you want the most out of one of the most expensive components of your system, pay attention to the battery. On a lead acid battery, never, never, ever let it set discharged, even for a little while. There are some rumors out there that claim you need to completely discharge your battery before recharging. WRONG. Try to NOT let your battery ever become completely drained before recharging. There are a couple of reasons for this. One reason is, this can damage your battery and with today’s automatic chargers, your charger won’t even know if it is hooked up. If there is zero voltage in the battery, it won’t start up.

Take a look at our new website to see our new electric bicycle conversion system. I think you will like what you see!

http://www.pegasuspowersystems.com

Thanks for reading my first post. I have so much more to write about and I am excited to be here to answer questions that you may have about electric bicycle conversion systems.