Hello all! I am a 56yo retired heating and electrical fitter. I live in Swansea, Wales a pretty but hilly city. I returned to cycling about 10 years ago for various reasons, exercise after a heart attack, concern for the planet (and my wallet) and convenience, etc. I also have arthritis and found swimming, the recommended form of exercise, far too boring. Walking is a problem for me and traffic has meant that driving has ceased to be a pleasure, but cycling means freedom. However, these days the hills are proving a little too much on occasion so I decided to look at power assistance. Trawling the web I was amazed at the prices being charged and, when a friend spent the best part of £500 on what turned out to be a poor machine, I thought "I can do better than that".
I found a bike wheel with a 36v hub motor on Ebay, was given an old rusty frame by a neighbour, bought 3 motorbike batteries and began to fit them together. Frame restored, pannier fitted and motor wheel installed I was ready for the test flight. A 12v battery gave 80 rpm unloaded, 24v gave 200 rpm, ready to go!
A Youtube video showed a guy who used a pushbutton as his only control and found it adequate. Bought and fitted, third battery wired in, first test run. Bang! My face an inch from the floor, front forks imbedded in the pavement, front wheel disappearing into the distance. Good, no-one watching, slink back to the drawing board.
The motor rewired and running on two batteries, the wheel refixed, I tried again. Good. A trip to the local dealer for some mudguards and crank bearings went well, so well, in fact, that it was home to fit the third battery and off to the garage for some air in the tyres. Lovely. Almost home and I stop to chat to a friend,
"Show me what it can do then" he said. Bang! Same again but,luckily, this time the motor wiring was ok.
Need a variable control switch. A cordless drill provided the very thing. Wheel fitted again, new switch mounted it was back on the road. All went well for a hundred yards then the peddling became harder. Front wheel was stiff and it seemed as if the motor was fighting the pedals. Tried to start off with motor engaged and guess what? Bang! Wheel off again.
Back to Ebay for a proper throttle and controller. Brilliant seller in Hong Kong. Stuff arrives speedily but without instructions. This brings me to the present. I probably need a new frame but I also need to wire up the controller. It has thirteen wires: battery (2 wires), motor (2 wires) and throttle (3wires) are obvious but what are:
1. indicator (2 wires) 2. power locks (2 wires) 3. brake (2 wires)
Do I need to wire all of these or can I use just the throttle, motor and battery. Also, the controller has various types of connectors, can I get the corresponding wiring loom connectors or will I have to replace them?
I am so close to getting there but I don't want to damage the controller. The three unknowns above look like sensors because the wire guage is small but I would like to be sure first. Can anyone help me.?
Cheers and thanks for listening,
I found a bike wheel with a 36v hub motor on Ebay, was given an old rusty frame by a neighbour, bought 3 motorbike batteries and began to fit them together. Frame restored, pannier fitted and motor wheel installed I was ready for the test flight. A 12v battery gave 80 rpm unloaded, 24v gave 200 rpm, ready to go!
A Youtube video showed a guy who used a pushbutton as his only control and found it adequate. Bought and fitted, third battery wired in, first test run. Bang! My face an inch from the floor, front forks imbedded in the pavement, front wheel disappearing into the distance. Good, no-one watching, slink back to the drawing board.
The motor rewired and running on two batteries, the wheel refixed, I tried again. Good. A trip to the local dealer for some mudguards and crank bearings went well, so well, in fact, that it was home to fit the third battery and off to the garage for some air in the tyres. Lovely. Almost home and I stop to chat to a friend,
"Show me what it can do then" he said. Bang! Same again but,luckily, this time the motor wiring was ok.
Need a variable control switch. A cordless drill provided the very thing. Wheel fitted again, new switch mounted it was back on the road. All went well for a hundred yards then the peddling became harder. Front wheel was stiff and it seemed as if the motor was fighting the pedals. Tried to start off with motor engaged and guess what? Bang! Wheel off again.
Back to Ebay for a proper throttle and controller. Brilliant seller in Hong Kong. Stuff arrives speedily but without instructions. This brings me to the present. I probably need a new frame but I also need to wire up the controller. It has thirteen wires: battery (2 wires), motor (2 wires) and throttle (3wires) are obvious but what are:
1. indicator (2 wires) 2. power locks (2 wires) 3. brake (2 wires)
Do I need to wire all of these or can I use just the throttle, motor and battery. Also, the controller has various types of connectors, can I get the corresponding wiring loom connectors or will I have to replace them?
I am so close to getting there but I don't want to damage the controller. The three unknowns above look like sensors because the wire guage is small but I would like to be sure first. Can anyone help me.?
Cheers and thanks for listening,
