Project log 5: It's working!!!

Ok, I have finally managed to secure my kit from the Custom Office in Ipoh. They detained the package because they wanted to levy a 10% duty on my purchase. The thing is, by procedure they must send me a notice to notify me. None were coming. If I didn't follow up the shipment myself, they would have confiscated the package after one month. And that is exactly what happened to a businessman I met in the Custom Office on Friday, (21st May, 2010).

Anyhow, I got my kit on Friday, proceeded to get myself a Mountain Bike minus the crank. I will up load some photos in due time.

The installation of the kit was anything but easy. There were no instruction menu, and I pretty much have to guess which part goes where and what is connected to what. It took me 5 hours to complete the installation.

First trial run on Saturday (22nd May, 2010), ended with a broken battery connection. What happened was that the battery wire got entangled with the crank shaft and the connection was ripped off from the battery. So, I have to repaired the broken link. Took me two hours to come up with a solution, I basically screw it up (literally!).

With the battery repaired, I had my third run. This time all wires are secured properly so that it won't dangle and got entangled with the crank shaft again. It was run smoothly and I got bolder. I decided to run a small errant with my new e-bike at the shop just outside my residential area. The chain got derailed. Corrected it, it derailed again. After limping the bike back, I did a more thorough inspection and found that the alignment between the motor gear and the crank gear is out. So, I have to adjust the alignment so that they aligned properly. Also the tension-er of the derailleur at the rear wheel is pulling way too much and so I decided to move the free plastic wheeler to a position so that the tension-er do not have to pull too much. After this minor tune up, the bike ride is awesome!!!! I could even chase motorbike without pedaling.

Theoretically, it could reach 50 km/hr without pedaling but I would be guessing. As I do not have a speedometer.

On Sunday, I test run it by cycling from my home in Pusing all the way to Bukit Kledang. It took me less than 15 minutes to arrive at the foot of the hill. Then I made a mistake, by attempting to climb the hill on the bike. The battery went dead at about 2/3 of the way to where I would normally stop. Pushing the bike uphill is a torture. I estimated it weight at least 17 kg. Lugging the bike up Bukit Kledang is no small feat.

Then, it become worse. I have to cycle back. On the journey back, I noticed more tuning is needed for the bike. With the electric motor assist, I would not have noticed this out of tune parts. Mainly the pedal is not align properly hence making pedaling feel, well, not balanced. I would have to fix that tonight.

All in all, it's a great experience and I gained much insight into the working of a bicycle and motor. I would need several more trial runs before I would use this bike as my commuting transport to work, which is my ultimate goal for this bike.