Along with 48v 20 amp side mounted batteries, I chose to get an extra battery in order to be able to cover longer distances. We also went for the option of the mounting plates, leading me to also need to buy another mounting plate to carry the second battery.
The shopping list also included extending the power leads and speed sensors, as the standard ones are not long enough for either trike (kit is perfect for a standard bike!) At the time of writing this we are still waiting for the controller extension leads (something to note is long wait times for Bafang parts as the shipping is from China) but the controller plugs in to the main loom just about without an extension. We just want to tidy the routing.
My daughter, a can-bus expert, warned that can-bus wires that she is familiar with as used in Volvo and on Bucher Road Maintenance vehicles, have a sheath, like coaxial, but it seems the Bafang system uses standard four core. So we used a length to extend the speed sensor cables, both working fine.
The power cable uses standard XT60 connectors, so there was plenty of choices, we bought a couple of meter long extensions- https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B09TT52R7N
We had ordered standard brake sensors, but they come mounted on levers, great if you want two levers to two front brakes, same as both trikes came with. But we had both already linked the two front brakes to single levers, and added in hydraulis rear disk brakes on both trikes. We then ordered add on brake sensors, but these turned out to be more trouble to fit as well. In the end we decided not to fit brake sensors as the motors stop when we stop pedaling anyway.
The motors fitted well into the bottom brackets, just like fitting a standard crank but with the motor attached. What we didn't realise until the first test flight was a flaw in this.
On a standard bike the front down tube of the frame acts as a torque arm. This stops the engine turning. On the Ice trikes there is no front tube, only a derailleur hanger. So when under load, the engine twisted in the bottom bracket. At the time of writing our solution to this is to add doorstops to the derailleur hanger and tilt the engine up a little in order to stop it twisting. We will see if this solves the problem long term.
The batteries are heavy, so we have spent a lot of time making sure they are mounted securely.
We have used some stainless steel P clips and a variety of stainless steel fixings to make sure the batteries are mounted firmly on the racks.
We have different racks on both trikes. Jayne's Adventure is a hard tail, so the rack has a top. But my HD has suspension, so the racks are only sides. This makes a difference to the tubing used.
Giving us different problems to overcome.
I also added in a duel battery connection adaptor so that I can use both batteries simultaneously. This just plugged straight in to the XT60 plugs.
It should be noted that the bottom half of the battery carriers are plastic, so it is advisable to remove the plastic cover and fix the battery carrier onto the support bracket.
Behind the cover we also found the 50 Amp blade fuses to protect the batteries. Leading us to buy some spares just in case.
I did try using a different mounting plate I found that was cheaper (right battery in the image,) but I was not happy with it, so I purchased the longer plate (same as on the left,) as came with the original kit order as that adds more strength and is easier to fix on.
So with batteries and motors installed, all that was left was to turn them on.
But then I noted an issue. Now I am not going to judge, if someone wants to go faster than legal then fine by me. But after investing a load of money in these trikes the last thing we want is for them to be confiscated and crushed for being used illegally. Now I know people who do ride bikes that go over 15.5 MPH, but sods law says we are the ones who are going to get stopped.
So when we plugged the controllers in, finding the max speed set to 37.5mph (Mine) and 60 kmh (Jayne's) it gave us some concern, especially as the settings were locked.
Turns out Bafang Customer service is as useful as a chocolate tea cup. Apparently they only deal with dealers. But Joyce from Lascycle was far more helpful.
The controller manual mentions passwords, but I assumed this was just to lock the controller.
But it seems that it gives access to the "Advanced
setting" page. The password is "1919". This allowed us to set the speed to the legal maximum.
Each to their own what they do with that information.
Last thing I will mention is that we found a couple of really nice engine guards that protect the wires where they come out of the engine. More important with the engines turned slightly upwards.
Update:- Since writing this article we have upgraded the brakes due to issues. Read the follow up blog @ Puttin the Brakes On While the Sturmey Archer drum brakes, that came standard on the Ice Adventure and Adventure HD, are capable of stopping an average person, we are far from average people. So something needed to be changed, to improve the braking performance. You see, Jayne has arthritis in her fingers, a result of her former profession as a climbing, mountaineering and mountain biking instructor and it is getting worse, making her fingers weak and stiff to move. The obvious step is to swap to hydraulics, to improve the brakes, given the mechanical advantage that they offer compared to cable operated drums. But options for this are limited, even with the bizarre and even esoteric systems that Jayne could find on line, some of which included running master cylinders from one company, paired to callipers from another, but with no fluid reservoir! One option which...
This is a follow up to the previous post regarding Brake-up grading on the ICE trikes The Apse Enterprise Ltd, brakes we had fitted turned out to have issues. While we are extremely grateful to the company for sending us samples, the master cylinder was not up to powering two calipers. This meant constant pumping the brakes, and a incident where I lost brakes completely going down hill. Jayne, my partner and bicycle mechanic, wrote a blog post which I share below, with a few pictures of the new replacements:- "Alas my friends, I write this while baring sad news. I have broken the APSE Artek brakes on my trike. They have always felt quite soft in use, the small piston in the master cylinder struggled to push enough fluid to activate the pistons in the calipers. However, when they bit into the disk, they bit hard and braking was generally excellent, until suddenly, it wasn't. The cause of this sudden change was because I did something a little daft, but great fun. I tri...
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