An interesting thing happened the other day. I was riding down the road when I suddenly lost all power. Normally this happens when my battery comes unplugged or something like that, but not this time. After checking all my power connections I checked my fuse. It seemed ok until I pulled it out. Turns out going up my hill it had gotten so hot that I had melted all the solder that held the fuse together. It happened over time which explains why the fuse didn't break but I was still surprised when half of it just pulled away from the glass. I swapped it for the spare I always carry and was on my way again. The fuse lasted about 9 months so I think I got my $1's worth.
I'll be heading down to industrial liquidators again for a new spare but it still amazes me that my fuse holder got so hot as to melt the solder without the fuze breaking.
Monday, October 11, 2010
Thursday, October 7, 2010
Maintenance and Mechanical Issues
Recently I took the plunge and decided to attempt a mountain trail as a shortcut in my commute. Little did I know that only half the trail was an actual fire road and the rest was a rocky stream bed. The jolts and jars bent my motor mount and did a number on my rear wheel.
Luckily the motor mount is aluminum so I could bend it back just by leaning on it. My wheel was old anyway and I had planned on replacing it so no harm there. My chain on the other hand is another story.
After this jaunt in the canyon I was having an awful time trying to keep my chain on my front cog. It just kept falling off. A closer inspection showed it bent and mangled in three places and one of the links had nearly popped apart. A short ride to the bike shop for a new chain and I was back in business.
While attempting to adjust the chain stay that is mounted to the motor I somehow managed to bend it. Not wanted to have to order another one I decided to try and make due without it. I wasn't really motivated to replace it anyway because that thing has been a pain ever since I installed the motor. The two cogs are so close together that if your chain drops it is all but impossible to reinstall it without breaking the chain.
So far I've had no problems and I actually like it better. One thing I have noticed is that if I go over any larger bumps the chain is more likely to jump off the motor cog but that's no problem now since a simple lift of the chain fixes it. Time to reseat the chain now is around 5 seconds vs. 30 sec to a minute with the chain stay.
Luckily the motor mount is aluminum so I could bend it back just by leaning on it. My wheel was old anyway and I had planned on replacing it so no harm there. My chain on the other hand is another story.
After this jaunt in the canyon I was having an awful time trying to keep my chain on my front cog. It just kept falling off. A closer inspection showed it bent and mangled in three places and one of the links had nearly popped apart. A short ride to the bike shop for a new chain and I was back in business.
While attempting to adjust the chain stay that is mounted to the motor I somehow managed to bend it. Not wanted to have to order another one I decided to try and make due without it. I wasn't really motivated to replace it anyway because that thing has been a pain ever since I installed the motor. The two cogs are so close together that if your chain drops it is all but impossible to reinstall it without breaking the chain.
So far I've had no problems and I actually like it better. One thing I have noticed is that if I go over any larger bumps the chain is more likely to jump off the motor cog but that's no problem now since a simple lift of the chain fixes it. Time to reseat the chain now is around 5 seconds vs. 30 sec to a minute with the chain stay.
Thursday, July 1, 2010
The Power of a Clean Chain
So I posted a while back about my accident. What I didn't mention was how my bike started making this terrible grinding sound. Well I discovered this week that that was caused by the chain catching on the motor cog and then being ripped off. This vibration was being amplified through the bike to make it sound like my freewheel was damaged. I thought about it and realized that I hadn't lubed the chain in a while. So, I broke out the chain lube and proceeded to drench the chain in the stuff. As I went along the chain action got smoother so I decided to lube the motors freewheel and the three tensioning sprockets on the bike. After I thought it had had enough I gave it a bit more for good measure and let it soak in.
Todays ride was incredible. Not only was it easier to pedal, my bike was actually quieter than when I first put it together. The motor makes a slight whirring sound and nothing else. All the horrible sounds that started after my accident went away. In fact the motor seemed more responsive and I could accelerate faster.
I've learned my lesson about chain maintenance. So if any of you put your cyclone bikes together and think the motor is terribly loud, check your chain.
Todays ride was incredible. Not only was it easier to pedal, my bike was actually quieter than when I first put it together. The motor makes a slight whirring sound and nothing else. All the horrible sounds that started after my accident went away. In fact the motor seemed more responsive and I could accelerate faster.
I've learned my lesson about chain maintenance. So if any of you put your cyclone bikes together and think the motor is terribly loud, check your chain.
Monday, April 19, 2010
Wipeout
Well I had my first significant accident today with the e-bike. On my way to school I picked up a thorn that caused my front tire to slowly lose pressure. I didn't notice it and everything seemed fine until I got to the last turn at school. I took it a little fast and didn't have enough pressure to maintain traction. Basically my bike flew out from under me and I went down... hard. The impact was enough to cause deep bruising in my shoulder and I broke my helmet. I was dazed.
Even more amazing is that the 3 or 4 people that were in the immediate area didn't even come over to ask if I was OK. Here I was, lying in the road after a major accident, and no one bothered with me. It was like I was invisible. I could have had a concussion or broken neck but that obviously isn't more important than waiting for your bus. People these days have no decency it seems.
So I got up, brushed myself off and got out of the street. After leaning my bike against a pole I took an inventory of my bodily state and was relieved to find no broken bones. I took of my helmet and thats when everything started going white. I knew that there was the possibility that I either had a minor concussion or was going into shock so I laid down and put my feet up on my backpack. After about a minute or so my vision returned to normal and the roaring in my ears went away. At that point I was able to get up and assess the damage to the bike.
The motor was fine, thankfully, and my handlebars were tweaked. But, probably the worst damage was to the seat. It was bent at an angle on one side so unless I can somehow bend it back I'll have to buy a new one. Still, worst case being out $20 for the seat and $4 for the new tube isn't half bad for that level of accident. I had already purchased an extra helmet when I couldn't find my original one(that I found a day later) so I have a spare and don't factor that into my damages. Another thing that broke was the wooden enclosure I made for my battery. It shattered into four different pieced but did it's job. My battery was unharmed and fully functional.
Here are some pics of the damage:
Even more amazing is that the 3 or 4 people that were in the immediate area didn't even come over to ask if I was OK. Here I was, lying in the road after a major accident, and no one bothered with me. It was like I was invisible. I could have had a concussion or broken neck but that obviously isn't more important than waiting for your bus. People these days have no decency it seems.
So I got up, brushed myself off and got out of the street. After leaning my bike against a pole I took an inventory of my bodily state and was relieved to find no broken bones. I took of my helmet and thats when everything started going white. I knew that there was the possibility that I either had a minor concussion or was going into shock so I laid down and put my feet up on my backpack. After about a minute or so my vision returned to normal and the roaring in my ears went away. At that point I was able to get up and assess the damage to the bike.
The motor was fine, thankfully, and my handlebars were tweaked. But, probably the worst damage was to the seat. It was bent at an angle on one side so unless I can somehow bend it back I'll have to buy a new one. Still, worst case being out $20 for the seat and $4 for the new tube isn't half bad for that level of accident. I had already purchased an extra helmet when I couldn't find my original one(that I found a day later) so I have a spare and don't factor that into my damages. Another thing that broke was the wooden enclosure I made for my battery. It shattered into four different pieced but did it's job. My battery was unharmed and fully functional.
Here are some pics of the damage:
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