willcee wrote: ↑3 Oct 2023, 4:36pm
HI, interested in your issue about beginning to bleed the disc brakes , i note from the contris it nearly a year since you acquired the machine , so while I didnt read everything written here would it not be advisable to see if theres any pad material left before someone who comes over as an innocent around E bikes and hydraulics gets stuck into a safety aspect like brakes.. also I would have avoided the cassette change....so where did you think the extra1 sprocket width was going to go. and perhaps looked at upping the motors power instead... I think you would ,if you looked hard enough on any of the forums find many who have discovered that given a few hills and the silly 250 watt limit dreamed up by someone who didn't understand physics or the effect of colder temps and wind plus the weight of the machine and its user to be just about OK on the flat with a 10st rider no wind and a 20 deg + day.. I have been using, building and cycling on E power steadily since 2016/7 and it was through my interest this section of forum began..no disrespect intended just talking plainly through hard won experience..will
Don't worry, I will look for brake pad wear. The bike is still low mileage so I'm not expecting significant wear. I've done all my own maintenance on bikes so am reluctant to start paying now, particularly when the only cycle shop in town is Halfords.
At one time Wisper sold an 8 speed version of the 705, so i was hoping there would be a spacer on the axle to allow changes between 7 and 8 speed, but apparently not. I've had to spread the stays by maybe 3mm which isn't a lot though its a very solid rear triangle.
I didn't change the gearing to give me more speed. I changed it to get a better workout. 250W is good pedal assistance. More power would just mean less range.
thanks for not taking things personally .OK.. I didnt suggest hopping the power up for speed, i did so from experience in hill climbing, unlike youself looking for a workout too many of our senior users have bought E bikes and and use them like an automatic car yet that technology hasn't dropped down yet so they dont use the gears to help that 250watts get them up the slope and the manufacturer has perhaps fitted a 50 chainring on a heavy 60lb bike when experience and lack of senior muscle would be better with a 46 or 48 or perhaps a 44 outer ring..that would have been my suggestion rather than a sprocket change... I have always built outside the wattage 'cause i'm not 10 stone, my self builds have all been in the high 40lbs region and my average is usually around 16mph, so i'm not hammering the power either, just running in 2 titanium hip joints ....and climbing Ulster's third world hills at same speed be they smooth or not..will
True enough. It does slow down on hills. I have been wondering if a bottom bracket motor would be better than the rear hub motor I have. But I'm interested in efficiency to get a good range rather than simply speed up hills. As I said, I don't mind working to get up hills. It still means I'm getting good exercise.
I've been using the bike on power level 4 of 5 which is actually 200W. If I had a bigger battery I could use power level 5 whilst still having enough range for my commute. So I'm interested in upgrading to the 700WH battery and have advertised the 575WH battery in the "For Sale" forum here.
In an effort to lower the BB (see other thread) I have fitted a 32mm Marathon GG to the front and a 35mm Kojak to the back wheel. The rims are 24mm internal width I think so this is as small as I can go. On the rims the tyres are about the same width but the Kojak is 2mm taller. This has probably reduced the height by 15mm compared to the orginal 50mm Kendas. (45mm tyre height to 30mm height I reckon.) BB height is now 290mm.
I struggled to remove and refit the back wheel because of the wider 8 speed freewheel, so I have restored it to the narrower original 7 speed freewheel and shifter.
I still need to test ride it but changing gears on the stand suggests the 7-speed Tourney thumb shifter is rather unergonomic in comparison to the rapid-fire 8-speed shifter I had previously. You have to raise your thumb above the bars to downshift and the shift lever doesn't return with each click so gets difficult to reach as you get to the lowest gears. Mechanically it's very simple and probably very reliable with an easy way to change the cable. But if it's horrible to use then there's not much point ...
I have a 7-speed Reveoshift twist grip in my spares box which might or might not be preferable.
I agree. I cut a muscle when I was 4 and haven't been able to oppose my right thumb since. I find the Tourney style shifters very awkward, basically I need to take the hand off the handlebar to downshift. The early models with the upshift above the bar and the downshift below the bar were even worse; hands off the bar and twisted round to an awkward angle to downshift. The rapidfire are much much better, they've moved the position of the downshift enough my thumb can fairly easily reach it. For me twist shifters are easily best, as long as they are so stiff they are hard to twist, but not so unstiff they shift by mistake..
UpWrong wrote: ↑17 Oct 2023, 5:37am
I still need to test ride it but changing gears on the stand suggests the 7-speed Tourney thumb shifter is rather unergonomic in comparison to the rapid-fire 8-speed shifter I had previously. You have to raise your thumb above the bars to downshift and the shift lever doesn't return with each click so gets difficult to reach as you get to the lowest gears. Mechanically it's very simple and probably very reliable with an easy way to change the cable. But if it's horrible to use then there's not much point ...
I have a 7-speed Reveoshift twist grip in my spares box which might or might not be preferable.
Well, I take it back with regards to the Tourney shifter. A shakedown ride proved it to be satisfactory after I had got it to the right angle. I was forgetting that I rest my hands on the bars with my thumb on top of the bar most of the time. Also changing from top (gear 7) to bottom (gear 1) only took two thumb pushes and was quick.
I noticed quicker steering with the narrower tyres but didn't notice any change in comfort.
I shall attempt my long commute on it once we get a dry day.
UpWrong wrote: ↑19 Oct 2023, 4:21pm
Well, I take it back with regards to the Tourney shifter. A shakedown ride proved it to be satisfactory after I had got it to the right angle. I was forgetting that I rest my hands on the bars with my thumb on top of the bar most of the time. Also changing from top (gear 7) to bottom (gear 1) only took two thumb pushes and was quick.
I have three bikes. One has combined "EZ Fire" brake shifters, one has Revoshifts and the other had old-style thumb shifters (3 x 7).
As part of fitting an e-bike conversion kit I changed the 7-speed thumb shifter to the Tourney SL-TX30, which I think is the one you have? I find that it is by far the nicest to use, but I had one fail after a very short time. The ratchet stopped holding the cable. After buying another one (they are cheap) I decided to strip down the failed one to find out what had broken. There was no damage, but the grease that Shimano had used was congealed and hard, stopping the pawls from returning to the correct position. After cleaning and regreasing with PTFE grease it worked perfectly and is now in the spares box.
I have flushed out the Shimano grease in the new one with gear cleaner (aerosol with long straw) and after leaving it to dry injected PTFE grease( again aerosol with a straw). It has been in regular use for over a year now with no problems.
UpWrong wrote: ↑19 Oct 2023, 4:21pm
Well, I take it back with regards to the Tourney shifter. A shakedown ride proved it to be satisfactory after I had got it to the right angle. I was forgetting that I rest my hands on the bars with my thumb on top of the bar most of the time. Also changing from top (gear 7) to bottom (gear 1) only took two thumb pushes and was quick.
I have three bikes. One has combined "EZ Fire" brake shifters, one has Revoshifts and the other had old-style thumb shifters (3 x 7).
As part of fitting an e-bike conversion kit I changed the 7-speed thumb shifter to the Tourney SL-TX30, which I think is the one you have? I find that it is by far the nicest to use, but I had one fail after a very short time. The ratchet stopped holding the cable. After buying another one (they are cheap) I decided to strip down the failed one to find out what had broken. There was no damage, but the grease that Shimano had used was congealed and hard, stopping the pawls from returning to the correct position. After cleaning and regreasing with PTFE grease it worked perfectly and is now in the spares box.
I have flushed out the Shimano grease in the new one with gear cleaner (aerosol with long straw) and after leaving it to dry injected PTFE grease( again aerosol with a straw). It has been in regular use for over a year now with no problems.
I had a proper ride yesterday over the South Downs on roads that I could not ride on unassisted bikes because of ramps of up to 14%. I rode 25 miles with 1630 ft of elevation at an average of 11 mph. Most of the time I used PAS level 3 which corresponds to 150 Watts. Each level provides 50 Watts of power. I had to increase that to level 4 or 5 on the steep bits.
I found at level 3 I was contributing much of the time so I feel I had a workout. The 32mm Greenguard on the front and the 35mm Kojak on the rear were fine. I'm sure the front suspension was a big bonus.
The close-ish ratio 7 speed freewheel proved very satisfactory (40"-80"). Bottom gear at 60 rpm is around 7.5 mph. Slower than that and the hub motor efficiency is likely to be poor anyway.
So I have to commend Wisper on their choice of components. As a package the motor, the gearing, the suspension forks and the hydraulic brakes all function admirably. I also should mention just how good the step-thru frame is. It's totally solid, even on descents at more than 30 mph.
I managed the long 47 mile commute yesterday, taking 2 hours each way. I used PAS level 3 virtually throughout and had plenty of juice left. That power level meant I was cruising at 24 km/h in top gear on the flat but slowing down on the hills where I'd change down and make a bigger effort. I always coasted downhill to give me and the battery a rest. One negative comment, the front light is not one to see by, only to be seen. I gather it can't be upgraded without blowing the electronics, so will look into a battery powered additional light.
Have to say I'm anxious about getting a puncture and having to deal with it in the dark. Might have to think about an M+. I think the rims might be slightly undersized which would make fitting easier.
I decided I was too anxious about punctures with the Kojak tyre on the rear. One anxiety being getting the puncture, the other not being able to fit the Gaadi 40-47/559 inner tube as a repair. So I have put a 47-559 Marathon GG on the rear which I had lying around. Whilst I was at it I changed the 7sp 14-28 freewheel for a 13-28 one. Once again I'm considering a 700WH battery. The cost is more than buying a whole conversion kit with 720WH battery from Woosh and I have a suitable donor bike. Have to say I'm not enthusiatic about doing another conversion. You end up with wires everywhere and the end result is not as refined or as waterproof as a purpose built eBike.
So I did a ride with the bigger volume rear tyre installed, a Marathon Greenguard 47-559 inflated to 45 psi. I found I needed to lower the saddle by 5mm in order to get sufficient toe on the ground having moved from the 35-559 Kojak. I need to get the ball of my left foot on the ground to help with pushing off because the motor only kicks in after 60 degrees of rotation or so. I partly compensated for the lower saddle by tilting it to have a degree of nose down. This helps with reaching the ground. I move towards the front of the saddle when stopping/starting and towards the rear of the saddle otherwise. I believe the UCI banned tilting saddles downwards because it was shown a rider could get more power that way.
I've gone ahead and ordered a 700WH battery so will be putting the 575WH battery up for sale. Nothing wrong with it but doing my long commute on the 4th power level requires the bigger battery.
I've done 860Km and am getting some vibration through the cranks when pedalling under load. I probably need a new chain. The KMC "Z" chains are poor quality and from experience I know they don't last. I probably spend a lot of time in the top 2 gears of the eBike so the poor chain alignment probably increases wear. I have the original BB but I changed the crankset. Maybe I should recheck the alignment overall with a view to fitting a wider spindle.
I now have 1050 Km on the clock. The larger battery means I can ride my 46 (ish) mile commute on the 4th of 5 power levels for the 3 hrs 30 mins it takes there and back. Average speed is 13 mph. Changing the freewheel from 14-28 to 13-28 is giving me more speed on descents where I can exceed the 15.5 mph assistance cutoff.
After a rear puncture of the 47-559 Marathon GG I have gone back to using a 42-559 folding Pasela PT. Might be my imagination but it feels both more comfortable and more responsive. I think the front brake needs bleeding again. I had the bike upside down when I change the tyres which isn't good for hydraulic brakes.
I find with the weight of the bike plus the two panniers that I prefer to stop at Give Ways and take a good look before moving off, rather than trickling through and risking having to stop suddenly because of fast approaching traffic from the right.
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