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This instructable is intended to help you save time and trouble should you decide to convert your own bike to an electric bike using an electric bike conversion kit.
11/18/2010 updates:
I now double check all suppliers from China now for factory seconds (items of inferior manufacturing quality). Design concerns are becoming somewhat less but the Chinese still tend to design and manufacture in the style of the machining only working surfaces or in some cases the opposite - only for looks. Kelly Controls (http://www.kellycontroller.com/) seems to offer the best choice so far for hub motors, controllers and kits from electric bikes to enclosed vehicles for the dollar but beware that factory seconds kill all expected value. This is why top value is said to remain with the best quality regardless of price..
For this reason I no longer endorse or support Golden Motor. It turns out they are a trading company and not a manufacturer. Outsourcing factory seconds only to foreign markets explains why it is easy for Western customers to find critical defects in all of their exported products, which would be less of a problem if they paid return costs and accepted third party quality assessment. One continuing example is that instead of using machining to correct hub cover and rotors assembly imbalance balance based on inspection they have used machining only to enhance hub cover looks. Hub covers are structural components and machining only to enhance looks of an unbalance hub cover/rotor assembly to attract unwary buyers is the main reason I no longer endorse of support them. .
In addition to reading engineering reviews for new electric bikes and kits out there I suggest monitoring Endless Sphere forum (http://endless-sphere.com/forums/) as the best and most reliable source of accurate electric bike information and visiting ebike.ca (http://ebike.ca/). I also suggest using a rear wheel kit and lithium IRON phosphate batteries (not Magnesium or Cobalt). I still use my old industrial grade SLA batteries but I moved them to a trailer carrier since I use my bike for errands and not for sport.
With this setup I can also mount two 20" front hub motors on the trailer and mount only the controls on a regular bike.
If you live a few miles from a grocery store, school or place of employment and run errands or commute on a bike day after day after day even in sunny Florida, Arizona and LA it can get older than you'll ever hope to be especially if you are already not as young as you used to be. Before getting another Tin Lizzy, however, I wanted to give a sport bike a shot but settled for an electric bike instead.
US Federal law limits the speed of all electric bicycles to 20 MPH (no tail wind and level ground) and power to 750 watts. With a limit of 20 MPH, 750 watts means the power to lift 18.75 lbs, 1760 feet in 1 minute or lift 18.75 lbs, 29.333 ft in 1 second.) To still be classified as a bicycle an electric bike must also have functioning pedals, otherwise you need to have it tagged. Range and speed depend on bicycle mechanical fitness; bicycle weight plus rider plus battery pack plus passenger plus cargo, etc., battery type and rating, terrain and a bunch of other factors. Typically with a 12 amp hour lead acid battery pack, 40-60 lb bicycle including hub motor, 20 lb battery pack, 220 lb rider, stop and go traffic and course with ten 10 to 50 foot rolling hills without wind on a full charge will provide a measured range of five miles.
Ni-Mh batteries weigh a third less than lead acid while LiFePo4 batteries weigh the least at slightly over half the weight of lead acid allowing for higher amp hour capacity and therefore greater range. Five miles on an electric bike is a lot more doable everyday than walking, jogging or peddling especially for older people. Electric bikes in general help reduce fatigue associated with daily commutes and allow lower strain, higher speed exercise that is better for the cardiovascular system than high strain, low speed exercise associated with using a higher gear at a lower speed on a conventional bicycle.
Electric bikes that can carry an adult plus groceries start at around $679 plus tax and/or shipping so I began looking for some good DIY instructions and motor sources. As it turns out the cost in time and money to get up and running within a reasonable amount of time when scrounging, buying or making parts from non-electric bike components can be a lot more expensive than even pricey electric bikes found online. (Maybe one of you Instructables author guys or girls will prove me wrong someday!) Fortunately there is a lower cost alternative (less than $200) in the form of an electric bike conversion kit.
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Signing UpStep 1First things first: On delivery day check the package for damage before the driver leaves!
Notice in the picture the battery charger company did not secure the white box with tape and sometime during shipment the battery charger slipped out of the box. Nothing was damaged but checking the contents in the presence of the delivery driver may save you time if something is actually broken. Ask the driver for the service manager's phone number and a damage claim form if he says he can not wait.
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I understand you to mean, you are adding a battery to your bike that you want to charge with some of the spare energy you use to bike with, to the answer is-
Yes and no:
Charging a battery is partly a chemical reaction that uses energy and discharging one is the reverse chemical process and uses a similar amount of energy. So a battery is not going to transfer energy to another battery without significant loss (greater than 10%). I large capacitor (bank) would transfer the energy more efficiently, but could be more dangerous and complex to put together. Then there is the flywheel method which would be outrageously expensive to implement (and not work well on a bike)
You would probably be better off directly connecting to the battery pack from the bike to the pack that you use for lighting, even if you are only adding 1Ah. Adding is adding, and directly connecting will be the most efficient method.
Lots of other things to factor in, like how the other batteries are charged.
(See Sheldon Brown)
91 mm Low-end front hubs.
96 mm Older front hubs, especially French.
100 mm Modern front hubs.
110 mm Rear older track, coaster brake and other single-speed hubs. Also, front hubs for Downhill bikes with 20 mm axles.
114 mm Rear 3-4-speed .
120 mm Rear 5-speed, Ultra 6, newer track hubs.
126 mm Rear 6- and 7-speed (road).
130 mm Rear 7-speed (MTB) and 8- 9- and 10-speed (road).
135 mm Rear 7- 8- and 9-speed (MTB)
140 mm Rear tandem.
145 mm Rear tandem (newer models.)
150 mm Retro-Choppers, some Downhill and Freeride models.
160 mm Rear tandem (new Santana proposed standard.)
http://www.electricrider.com/parts/motors.htm
I have had no business with them personally, just stumbled across them when I was looking at doing something like this.