Thursday, April 23, 2009

Since completing my ebike I have used it to travel 1364 miles to date, mostly from using it instead of my car for my work commute.  Here is the bike as it stands today.  A couple tweaks I made were to attach the battery permanently to the rack, as the quick release system I had before was too annoying with its rattling.  The battery is now bolted to a piece of aluminium, which is attached to the tubular frame of the rear rack with 8 insulated metal cable holders.  Zoom in on the pic above to see this.  In the dark I used a pair of high power LED flashlights with handlebar mounts, though I am now down to a single light as one fell off and no longer functions correctly.  I also added a convex mirror and Superflash rear light for safety.

My biggest issue for a long time was that of flat tires.  The torque on the rear tire seems to drive any pointy object it comes into contact with right into the tube.  What seems to work for the most part are the kevlar fabric liners from Panasport.  Since installing them I have had only one flat, which came from an a very thin piece of glass which worked its way through the fabric over time.  It looks like I will have to get a new rear time sometime soon though, as it is pretty worn down and full of penetrations (the front is still like new).

The main ebike components appear to be holding up pretty well, though I did experience the common stripping of the axle threads on the Crystalyte motor.  I used a 14mm die to clean up the axles (slightly smaller than original I believe) and added a new pair of big 14mm locking nuts to repair this issue.  I also found my Cycle Anyalyst screen filled up with water during heavy rain, making it hard to read.  Taking the unit apart and resealing the screen with silicone appears to have solved this issue.

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