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| Frequently
Asked Questions |
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a Question |
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How
far can my Electric Bike Conversion Kit go?
With the BD36 kit, your bike will go 20 mph for
15 miles, but that is under the following conditions:
26" wheel with thin, slick street tires, 150
lb. rider, flat riding terrain, and no stops or
starts. In the real world, you will probably get
12 miles per battery pack charge with the standard
battery pack, and about 8 miles more (20 miles +)
with the extended range battery pack. |
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How
fast will my bike go with the Electric Bike Conversion
Kit installed?
Using the BD36 kit on a 26' wheel, your bike will
reach a top speed of 25 mph. On a 24" wheel
- 22 mph, and 20" wheel = 20 mph. If you are
thinking about purchasing a bike to install your
Bike Electrified kit on, keep this in mind: different
wheel sizes will give you different speed/torque
performance. So, you should decide what is more
important to you: top speed, or accelleration/hill
climbing ability. If you're going to be climbing
San Francisco type hills every day, then you should
probably get a 20" bike. On the other hand,
if you live in Kansas, a 26" or 700C would
be better since you will cruise along at 22+ mph.
Smaller wheels = torque, larger wheels = high top
end speed. |
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How
can I determine if the Electric Bike Conversion
will fit on my bicycle?
If your bicycle wheels are any of the following
standard wheel sizes: 20", 24", or 26",
the kit should fit! However, make sure that your
bicycle has a minimum of at least 3 ¾"
distance between the front forks - 4" is better,
4 ¼" is pushin' it, and 4 ½"
is too wide. Also, you will need to have 4"
clearance to a minimum of 5" up from the fork
mountings, so if your front bike forks taper in
as you go up, you'd better check the distance where
the forks narrow 5 inches above the fork mountings
to make sure that you still have 4" clearance.
(Our hub motors are not recommend for bikes with
front shock forks, or bikes with front aluminum
forks. Shock forks can flex too much, and aluminum
forks are generally not strong enough to handle
the hub motor torque - breakage can occur.
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How
sturdy is my Electric Bike Conversion and how long
will it last?
We at WE (Wilderness Energy), have gone to great
lengths to perfect our kit as much as possible.
We feel very confidant that our kit is the very
best on the market today. If you treat your Bike
Electrified kit with love and care, it should last
you years and years! Plus, our kit is componentized,
which means if that you happen to abuse, or inadvertently
break one of the components in your Bike Electrified
kit, i.e.: you dump your bike and smash the thumb
throttle to bits - you can order a new part from
us and when it arrives, unplug the bad part and
plug your new one in, and nobody will be the wiser!
This applies to all components in the Bike Electrified
kit: Hub motor/wheel, Throttle, Key switch, Controller
unit, Battery pack, and Smart charger.
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Is
there any way to increase the range of the Electric
Motor?
Yes. The first thing you can do is pedal with your
motor, especially when accelerating from a dead
stop, since this is where the most power is used.
Also, using high pressure tubes (65 psi or above)
and street slick tires can increase your range by
30% or more. Decreasing your "rolling resistance"
will always increase your range.
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How
much drag does the motor create when I am not using
it and pedaling instead?
The motor has magnets inside it, which do create
a slight amount of drag. You probably will not notice
the resistance when you are pedaling on a flat surface.
On a hill you will notice the slight drag, but this
would be a good time to hit the throttle and let
the motor assist you! |
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Can
I buy the Conversion kit without the hub motor mounted
in a rim?
You can purchase our kit without rim and spokes;
however, we do not recommend this. You will incur
many costs trying to get your hub motor mounted
in your custom rim: approximately $20 or more for
a rim, $8 or more for spokes, and most bicycle shops
charge $30 or more in labor to build custom wheels.
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Battery
Rating Overview
Most battery's discharge capabilities are determined
using a C-20 rate. This means the specifications
given for a battery's performance are determined
when the battery is discharged over a 20 hour
period. SLA batteries boast between 300-500 charge
cycles, but this is when they are discharged at
a C-20 rate. Using them in an electric bike kit
discharges them 10 times (or more), faster than
the C-20 rate. So this means you will not get
anywhere near 300-500 charge cycles out of your
batteries. With normal use, never running your
batteries completely dead, and being very vigilant
in charging your batteries back up IMMEDIATELY
after each use, you can realistically expect between
100-200 charge cycles out of them.
The
amount, or depth of discharge also has a lot to
do with the life-expectancy of your batteries
also. SLA batteries should never be run completely
dead; since this will damage them and reduce their
life expectancy. Automobiles use SLA batteries
to start the car's gasoline engine. Why do car
batteries last five years then, you ask? Because
when the car battery is used to power the engine's
starter motor, it is only used for a few seconds,
and it is discharged only 10 % of it's total capacity
(if that); then it is IMMEDIATELY recharged when
the gasoline engine starts. This is why a car
battery can last five or more years. |
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What
kind of batteries does the Electric Bike Conversion
Kit use?
Sealed Lead Acid batteries (SLA), are the standard
batteries that come with your kit, unless you
have upgraded to a Nickel Metal Hydride Battery
Pack (available February 2005.) SLA batteries
have been around for a long time. Some of their
advantages are: they're reliable, easy to charge,
and inexpensive. Disadvantages are: they're heavy,
bulky, and they are very unforgiving when they
are not charged back up immediately after use.
Your
BD36 kit will come with the extended range battery
pack. 3 - 12volt, 12 amp/hr batteries connected
in series. |
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How
long does it take to charge my batteries?
Depending upon the degree of discharge, it will
take up to 4 hours to charge the standard battery
pack, and up to 6 hours to charge the extended range
battery pack. |
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Can
my batteries be overcharged by leaving them plugged
into the charger too long?
No. The charger that comes with your Bike Electrified
kit is a smart charger. It will shut itself off
when your battery pack reaches a full charge, but
it is always a good idea NOT to leave your battery
pack plugged in all the time. Just unplug the charger
when the charger is finished charging them.v |
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How
many charges can my battery pack take?
Your battery pack is built with sealed lead acid
batteries (SLA), which can be charged and discharged
up to about 200 times. But you must do some things
in order to get the maximum life out of your SLA
battery pack: ALWAYS, we repeat - ALWAYS charge
your batteries up IMMEDIATELY after EVERY use! Sealed
lead acid batteries hate to be left discharged,
even for only a few hours, so plug your battery
pack into the smart charger immediately after every
use. Also, try not to run your batteries completely
dead, for this will diminish their life cycle. A
good "rule of thumb" to follow is stop
using your Bike Electrified motor, when the "LOW"
indicator light on your thumb throttle comes on. |
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Where
do I get replacement batteries?
Replacement batteries can be purchased through us
(Wilderness Energy), or you can buy them in your
local area at many retail outlets such as: Radio
Shack, Fry's Electronics, or even Toys R Us. |
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Can
I use other batteries with my Electric Bike Conversion
Kit?
Yes, as long as the battery pack you are using puts
out 36 volts. However, you will have to figure out
how to strap your custom made battery pack to your
bike frame. Our canvas bag might work, as long as
the total dimensions of your battery pack doesn't
exceed 12"L X 2 7/8" H X 6" W or
12"L X 4 ½" H X 6" W.
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How
soon will I have to change the brushes in my BD36
hub motor?
Even with heavy use (riding your Bike Electrified
BD36 two hours a day), you will still get two years
or more use out of your Brushed motor before you
have to change the brushes. A regular BD36 user
can expect five years use before they need to worry
about changing the brushes. When it becomes necessary
for you to change the brushes in your Brushed motor
(you will notice intermittant power - it will not
start sometimes, and shut off for brief periods
of time then restart), you can either send your
motor back to us and we'll change the brushes for
you, or you can do the job yourself. The hardest
part is getting the motor's case open; changing
the brushes is about a 30 second job. We will have
a "Changing Motor Brushes" page on this
website soon, within the next few months.
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