Ask an ebike technical question get an answer within 30 minutes or so.

[commuter ebikes]

HI! Just was curious what would be the best way to connect the three phase wire from the controller to the motor? THank you!

I use XT150s that can be purchased from Hobby King. You can learn how to solder XT150s on YouTube. You might want to buy a few extra connectors because my success rate is less than 100%.

A really good tip is that if your motor wires are ever making contact with each other, it causes the motor to cog (you will notice this even before electrical power is applied). Once you know this tip, the cogging is an easy problem to diagnose. The problem is even easier to fix: separate the motor wires with insulation (e.g. heat shrink tubing or electrical tape).

[weetard]

so i have always had trouble with chains on my first two bikes. now im doing the fat bike...

i have upgraded to the bbshd from luna, and using a sunrace CSMS2 steel cassette.

what chain do you all recommend, and needed tools to make it work.

first two times i had to bring into bike store and pay $$

thanks!

[commuter ebikes]

For your 10-speed cassette, you should run 10-speed chain. I'm sure that you were asking for a brand name recommendation, though.

FYI I have used 8-speed chain with no problems on: 3-,5- and 7-speed freewheels, single flat chainrings like this https://www.vueltausa.com/components...ings-flat.html and single speed freewheels.

Three of my bikes are single speeds, but they run 8-speed chain. This is because White Industries recommends using an 8-speed chain for their freewheels.

[paxtana]

I wish they made clutched derailers for 8 speed chains. All the best gear is for 10, 11, 12spd with their tiny thin chains that do not handle power as well as 7, 8, 9spd etc.
Sucks because you have to choose this tradeoff between either good gear or a solid chain.

[commuter ebikes]

I had to Google clutched derailleur https://www.reddit.com/r/MTB/comment..._me_like_im_5/

See also http://faqload.com/faqs/bicycle-comp...r-even-8-speed

This nice 8-speed derailleur doesn't seem to have a clutch https://www.worldwidecyclery.com/pro...4aAoclEALw_wcB

[Keisuke]

Hello, the conector of my charger has die, can you tell me the conector type to charge the Dolphin 52v GA 14ah ?

Thanks

[paxtana]

Hello, yes it is this one: https://lunacycle.com/solderless-barrel-connector/

If you are already using a recent Luna adapter then it may already have this connector on the end. If that is the case you can stick the wires back into the terminals and bolt it down. If the wiring is frayed or the wires are broken from fatigue just cut that part out, then stick the wires in and tighten the terminals. Uses a phillips screwdriver.

[joeaverage]

Hello folks! I have the Lunacycle 300W 48V Advanced charger. Months ago the 80/90/100 selector switch failed and the charger would only charge to 100%. Not a disaster but I'd prefer it work the way it was supposed to. I just watched the display and manually stopped the charge.

Today the charger has lost its mind. Two times this morn I reset the charger (unplugged it from the battery and then the wall) in an effort to get it to charge my battery which is currently at ~49V. It would sit there and every few minutes come on for a moment as if it was balance charging the battery. No progress.

After 30 minutes it only shows ~15V when unplugged. Still does the momentary on/off as if it was balancing a battery. The green LED flickers no matter what.

I checked the voltage adjustment. Makes no difference. If I adjust the cutoff I can get the charger LED to show red and flicker towards green. It doesn't start to charge (unplugged).

This charger is two years old so its not a warranty problem. Does anyone repair these chargers?

Also my bike turns on and can be ridden. Not a BMS thing as far as I can tell. The bike's display shows the nearly right voltage compared to my Fluke multimeter.

[bhaaf]

I’ve gone through 3 of the blue chargers. They died just like you explained. I’m looking for a better quality charger. I’m also thinking of buying a 48v charger to charge my 52v batteries to 80% since the blue 52v ones fail and go to 100%

[paxtana]

Sorry to hear that, does not sound repairable to me unfortunately. We could discount a replacement if it helps.

[joeaverage]

I want to find something better too. Maybe adjust whatever that is to stop at 80% charge. I want something that lasts. Any ideas?

[HIGHVOLTAGE]

I've had my 300W charger for 2 years now with no issues. A lot of it depends on how you take care of it, how you use it and the order of which you plug it into the battery & wall. I mean, if you're looking for something built more tough, you can try looking into the Cycle Satiator, but it won't be Plug N Play compatible and it can be a bit overwhelming if you're a newbie to this kind of stuff. It's also insanely expensive (over $200)

[joeaverage]

My 300W charger lasted ~28 months or 2000 miles of riding. I treated it well. Plug into the wall first, wait for it to stabilize, then into the battery. Then the same in reverse when the charge was finished. Kept it dry and room temp. I mostly charge at work these days b/c I mostly ride home and then carry the bike on the car in the mornings (I drive in with my wife and we sometimes have different afternoon schedules).

I'm resistant to buying Satiator. Wish there was a good option in between price wise. I bought another Lunacycle charger. This time a 48V 3AMP mini charger. Maybe I can repair the advance charger I have if I can figure out what went wrong. I have a friend who is a EE and might be able to coach me.

If I figure out the problem I'll post pictures and description of the repair. Something tells me to look at the transistors first.

[paxtana]

We actually are working on a completely new charger design but it's not likely to ready for a long time

[SteveO]

My charger went out last month and while looking for a replacement, I came across this: http://amzn.com/B01GFVI6R6
You provide a DC power source (like a 12v car battery or a PC power supply) and you can adjust the output voltage and amperage to match your pack. So far it's been working great! It's like a sub-$30 Satiator.

[Snapdginger]

Hi,
I live in Victoria BC so I need a bike that can still ride in the rain (for commuting). Will all your bikes still do ok in the rain? Will the Apex?

[HIGHVOLTAGE]

I'm from Surrey B.C so I kinda relate to this. However, this is one of those questions where it's entirely at your own discretion. I know Paxtana here approves of riding in the rain with these units, but I would advise that if you're planning to ride in the rain, you should be very well familiar with your system. Don't just blind ride it thinking "well nothing could ever go wrong" because even though these units are quite water resistant, they are not 100% waterproof and if there's enough water/wind, it might find it's way into the controller or something. Life...finds a way.

Not saying this has ever happened to me but every time I ride in the rain, I make sure to go over all the connectors to make sure they're tight and wrapped with electrical tape. I also make sure the charge port is adequately covered and the motors gaskets are properly aligned. It's also good to grease the motor up before you do this.

Other things like the Throttle and LCD Display can be waterproofed by following this guide here:

https://electricbike.com/forum/forum/knowledge-base/motors-and-kits/bbshd/17133-waterproofing-for-bbshd-and-bbs02

From personal experience though. I don't ride in the rain. I've done so plenty of times in light rain with wet streets without any issues, but it is probably the most miserable experience you can put up with. It's cold, wet and dangerous. You get completely soaked unless you're wearing a raincoat and a patch of wet leaves can be literally no different than a patch of black ice. I nearly wiped out one time going over some wet leaves.

Plus after every ride, you pretty much have to dry the bike off

Oh and never store the bike in the rain.

[rverstee]

I am comfortable riding in a light mist. I recently rode through a deluge - wasn’t planing to do that and wasn’t happy about it but bike was fine. I’ve wrapped connectors with silicone tape on general principle. Make sure charging port on the battery is sealed / plugged. You are doing so at your own discretion and risk finding a leak the hard way. Any more than a light mist and there are so many other basic safety issues that stop me (usually

[joeaverage]

I've ridden my BBSHD (on an old Trek mtn bike in commuter format) in the rain many times. No ebike problems whatsoever over two seasons. Whatever bike you have - look at any non-waterproof electrical connections. On mine that is the base of the battery where it snaps into the bike mount. That also means the big Anderson power connector where the battery connects to the motor hardness. Also try to verify what happens if the system gets TOO wet. I read (unconfirmed) that one of the kits might go full throttle and stay there if it shorts out. I added full commuter fenders to my bike to control the road spray. I still get soaked with the rain and splashes. To do this and be comfortably dry it is a must to go with good gear. I trust cars and trucks even less during wet weather. I take my quietest route across town. No chances. Dry everything when you get home like Highvoltage said.

[LordBinks]

hi. hope someone can help with this.

i purchased a Luna fushion crusher 2 with ludicrous option. my weight is 260lbs so factor that in. the fastest i was able to get on a straight path was 28mph. i've heard of people surpassing 35-40 with a normal bbshd. i always thought it was my weight that held the bike back. so recently i was on a very straight and long (smooth) path going Downhill. and my cruising speed without peddling was 23mph. i put on the throttle to see if i could pass that 28mph threshold on flat paths and found that the bike would not go over 28mph. it just peaks out at that poiint and no way to pedal becuase it's just free spinning at that speed. my question is....is there some cut off that has been applied in the programming/controller? i have the ludicrous option so should it max out at 28?
how can i verify any of this. do i need to buy a programming cable? will that do it or is there some easier way? thanks for reading if you've made it this far.

[paxtana]

Stock is 46t not 52t. But yes 42t would be better. We also have a 36t called the Luna one, might be worth considering if you got 30t on there with the regular build.

Ultimately it is up to you if you want to gear it up for higher speed, none of our business as long as you agree that any broken parts that result is not Luna's responsibility

[LordBinks]

paxtana, thanks. i didn't know about the 36t chainring. that sounds interesting. would it be safe to say lunacycles has never made a bike with the bbshd 36t chainring combo? is that because from your own tests you believe it isn't recommended? let's say if i did decide to give it a try will i know pretty quickly if the load was too much? or would it fail suddenly without warning?

[paxtana]

We have built with every chainring on the market, and vary the chainring depending on the what the build is optimal for. Since this bike is 27.5 a 30t is more ideal for torque as the larger wheel size is already somewhat tilted towards speed, but you could go to 36t from 30t easily enough if original is 30t, 36t even has same offset as does anything lower than 42t.

Just pedal the bike without power on whatever terrain you happen to be on.
If you find you cannot pedal it without power in whatever gear you have it in then you either need to shift down or you need to gear it down.

[Rix Ryds]

I've got a client that has a Luna Giant Roam with that huge 43Ah battery. It seems the BMS has died and needs replacement. Looks pretty well sealed ,so before I attempt to open it while simultaneously trying NOT to tear the case up, Got any tips? Is the BMS accessible once inside? Or is it all potted and such? what is it sealed with?

[HIGHVOLTAGE]

The case cannot be opened. The cells and the BMS are entirely potted inside. What makes you think it's a BMS issue though?

[Rix Ryds]

32.2v on charge port. 2.5v on power out connector. It's a BMS or bad cells or poor welds or who knows? Guess I won't be finding out since it cannot be opened. Bet the clients going to be REAL happy!

[HIGHVOLTAGE]

Have you tried jumpstarting it? If you're getting 2.5v, it could be the BMS that just tripped

https://lunacycle.com/jumping-your-luna-shark-battery-pack/

Although, that begs the question, what tripped it in the first place?

[Rix Ryds]

Already tried the jump start routine, no dice. I don't suppose you guys could give the guy a big discount on a replacement? From what he told me, he has had it about a year. Should I have him contact you guys about it?

[HIGHVOLTAGE]

Sigh, a year? I don't know. It's not really my call. You can try telling him to email us and I'll assign it to Paxtana/Seb for review. The batteries are made 1:1 for each bike/customer. So it's not like we'd be able to just ship you out one instantly. It would have to be re-built from the ground up which typically takes a few months or more.

EDIT: Tell them to be descriptive. We need to know why this happened in the first place. Any details they can provide about the ride before this happened will be helpful.

[paxtana]

Yes we can help out on it. If he needs a pack like right now we have a couple of the 28ah triangle packs left we could discount. We'll need to ask a few more questions on email first but in principle we got no problem helping out on a discount if we can't do anything about the original.

[e-curious]

I have a BBSHD installed on a surly big dummy with ~300 miles on it. It started creaking when I was pedaling, but not under electric power. I looked at the crank and it has play in the bottom bracket axle, very similar to what this post describes:

https://endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=87425

I pulled it out and looked at the thrust bearing and it doesn't look deformed. I'm wondering if there's a solution other than figuring out a spacer as automan25 made or California ebikes seems to be selling.

Thanks for any help!

[HIGHVOLTAGE]

You sure the creaking isn't related to something else? I have play in my bottom bracket axle since I've first purchased my motor and don't have the same issues like that. What kind of creaking is it? Check the crank arm to see if it's loosened out.

[rverstee]

I installed my bbso2 and it worked fine. I had to take it back off soon after for “reasons”. After I reinstalled, I noticed creaking when pedaling under load. Took a couple of tries but what ultimately worked for me...

1. There are small teeth on one of the mating surfaces that dig in to the metal on the bike for better grip. if you take bb off and reinstall, rotate the teeth so that they are mating with fresh metal. If the bb isn’t torqued tight enough to start with or works loose, the teeth don’t seem to grip the original dents as well (wear / compreesion) from loose teeth sliding up /down in their grooves?) I re-used same dents first time I re-installed and still had creak. so i took the bb off again, rotated the teeth and...

2. I applied a few more lbs of torque than listed on the nut/ lock nut - not a lot more just a little.

After a year, starting to he ar the creak again. If nothing else works, try remove the bb and reinstall - rember step 1.

[e-curious]

Yep, I did all the regular checks for a bb creak. I made sure the crank arm bolts were tight, checked & tightened the mounting bracket, checked the pedals, chainring bolts and rubbed some grease on my seatpost. Still creaking unfortunately...

[HIGHVOLTAGE]

I don't think there's any alternative solution as I haven't heard of this issue until now.

[e-curious]

I may either just live with it or try the spacer. Thanks for the help!

[paxtana]

Personally I would start with replacing stock cranks if those are what you are using, maybe with some shimano cranks or lekkie cranks, something with harder metal as the tapered hole can get deformed and make a creak sometimes due to this. As well as tightening up the lockrings.

[fos'l]

My BBS02 does that occasionally with the motor off, but seems when I'm in too high a gear. Has been doing it for awhile, but no problems with the motor in three years. May be a different situation though.