Golden Motor electric owner from Tucson, AZ

[peterarev]

My name is Peter Anton. I bought a 2008 500Watt electric Golden Motor with a 2009 controller and 36Volt 12Amp-Hour Li-Ion battery pack at the end of 2009. Since then I've ridden it 2500 miles since my bicycle is my primary transportation. I did the installation myself onto the front fork my 1998 Schwinn reproduction of a 1956 Cruiser with a 7-speed internal rear hub.

The motor itself seems durable enough, but I'm already on my third battery pack due to internal failure of either the individual cells or the battery management system (BMS). Everything is covered by a 1-year warranty so that's cool, but I'm a bit concerned about ongoing battery life after 1 year. So far, I've gotten replacements and I'm rather expecting a new 1-year warranty on each replacement, but it's too early to tell if that's the case in the long run. Other than that, I'm quite satisfied and thrilled to be roaring around comfortably on a heavy bike sometimes loaded with groceries and other heavy items.

With a new/healthy battery can travel about 20 miles on a single charge if I pedal along and use the throttle conservatively. I also sometimes carry my charger along with me if I'm going to be somewhere for a while to extend my range. My average usage is about 10 miles a day but a 15 mile run is not unusual. I now have a 2nd battery pack and I plan on building a piggy back arrangement to carry both packs if I want to take a particularly long trip. But then I'm getting into concerns about a flat tire so far from home. Mostly I got the other battery so I'd have one if the other needs servicing or replacement. In the future, I hope to learn how to repair them myself but will have to wait for some kind of little seminar with the dealer. I'm just a die-hard do it yourselfer.

See the attached photo of the bike.

Here's to hybrid pedal/electric biking!
Peter

 

[azbill]

welcome from FH

 

[SimpleSimon]

Flat tires are a real drag. You could do what I did with the wheels on my delta trike, which is kind of odd but worked. First thing I did was go 180 degrees around the wheel rim from the inner tube stem hole and drill a second stem hole. Then I used heavy electrical tape to wrap the inside of the rim, twice, to cover the spoke nipples. I put in tire liners, then I put two tubes in each tire, after dusting the tubes and the tire interior with unscented talcum powder.. Inflate to normal pressure on both tubes, and if one gets holed the other almost certainly will still hold air, and all you need do immediately is finish inflating the good tube.

Get home, change the tube/repair it at your leisure. Oh yeah - if you drill that second stem hole, be sure that you carefully de-bur it with a round file or a Dremel tool. Cutting your stems isn't good.