Pico’s Project: eBike Conversion Impressions (Part 2)
Hello, friends! I converted my 9 speed Electra Townie to an eBike! You can read about that adventure in Part 1.
TL;DR Totally worth it.
Does the eBike solve the problem of ‘cycling is no fun’?
The eBike is a ton of fun! After testing, I took the bike out on its maiden voyage and up the steep twisty and turny trails in my area. The power assist worked great and on the flats I got it up 30mph (ya know… just to test it out)! That top speed probably warrants some turn signals and classification as a moped, but I plan I riding it very reasonably as a means to add fun back into biking.
Getting to know the quirks
The handling of the bike was not like my wife’s eBike where you can roll on the throttle to get a boost. The ‘throttle’ is actually a trigger, it is on or off. That makes it difficult to get just the right amount of power to boost your speed or power up a steep section of trail. Initially, I thought the levels on the controller were from 0 (no assist) to 5 (maximum assist), but I was wrong! The controller went up to level 9! They should’ve made it go up to 11, right?
The levels and the amount they assist are based on your speed. There is a sensor that monitors the RPM of your wheel. If you are near the top speed for the level (1–9) the power assist kicks in a little. If you’re under the speed for the level the power assists kicks in quite a bit more. If you are at a stop and start pedaling it feels like “Ludicrous speed! Go!” I believe this is a dangerous aspect of the controller. You usually come to a stop for signs, people, obstacles, or tricky turning. It is not cool to get full assist when you’re trying to go slowly through a tight turn because you are almost stopped. When you come up to those areas you want to be set to level 0.
Another thing I would like to point out is that I have hydraulic brakes and had to put in some sensors to cutoff off the motor power when braking. Those sensors are finicky to get set correctly, but they are absolutely the most important part of the setup in my opinion with regards to safety. You don’t want pedal power when you’re trying to slow down.
The fun is back
I’m so happy with the conversion. There are some notes on the internet on how to reprogram the controller. My desire is to have the trigger actually work as a throttle and to give no assist when starting from a stop unless it is from the throttle. Since, I’ve been riding more I’ve been capturing some videos on my Cycliq camera. Enjoy!
