Bikee Bike raggiunge l'obiettivo di raccolta di 150'000 Euro in soli 20 giorni su MamacrowdUn ringraziamento ai nuovi sociSiamo lieti d'accogliere i nuovi soci che hanno sottoscritto l'aumento di capitale, credendo in noi e nel nostro piano industriale. Abbiamo raggiunto il target in soli 20 giorni anzichè nei due mesi previsti. La campagna su Mamacrowd resterà aperta fino al 5 Settembre oppure fino al raggiungimento della quota massima prevista di 600'000 Euro. Ecco il video della campagna: Forte crescita prevista per le bici elettriche Made in Italy. |
| We finally made it: we created a 1500W motor which works at 48V. That means that we can ship the complete 1500W kit. Now the winding process is very slow, we can make just one motor per day and it's hard to keep up with the requests from the people who come in our factory and test it. You can have yours here | BEST ebike kit 1500W 2018  € 2,040.00 Pick the BEST ebike motor you want and check the price. |
More capacity in a smaller package!
The new battery is thinner 90 mm of height instead of 120mm and has more capacity than the biggest current model. In fact the new slim battery can store 640Wh versus the 550Wh of the original one. If you are interested you can just let us know by filling out the below form so that we can place the first order accordingly.
Getting ready for sustainable urban logistics on Cargo ebike
One of our partners will be presenting at Eurobike 2018 the first quadricycle entirely made in Italy, with a Bikee Bike BEST motor. The cargo is capable of transporting 400Kg and it's idea for urban deliveries as it is a EN15194 compliant vehicle, so it can circulate as a pedal assisted bicycle.
It's a great pleasure for us to announce that all the orders have been fulfilled. Just on the 1500W version we have 10 motors left to be completed. That's because the our winding shop is not able to wind a thick wire so now we're winding those manually and that takes a full day to completely wind one motor. So if you order your system now, we'll ship it in two days! Enjoy some of the pictures from our happy Bikeers.
Hi Bikeers,
We've been silent for a month and we have a lot of news to share with you. Following up to the flash update of one month ago, here's the full swing update plus some fresh news.
Shipments going on!
The number of kits shipped and delivered is growing up, we are now at 60 kits shipped and we have in-house other 60 to be shipped in the next week. We are also manufacturing and shipping the motors at a steady pace of 8/10 motors per day. Not too many but the key word here is "steady". There are a lot of things to improve to get the production quicker, but we're giving the priority to accuracy at this point.
The production is running well too: motors and controller boxes are available in every power version, as you can see from the below pictures.
The production is running well too: motors and controller boxes are available in every power version, as you can see from the below pictures.
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Second batch of batteries (for those who ordered the kit after March 2017)
We are now waiting for the second order of batteries from the manufacturer, that is in transit.
One important notice for ExtraEU backers: in recent updates we informed you about the decision to ship the batteries first and than the other components of the kit in a second moment. A new shipping from the manufacturer is started so check your email because Irene is sending you traking number and shipping info. If you are notified to receive a parcel from China: that's probably your battery!
We are now waiting for the second order of batteries from the manufacturer, that is in transit.
One important notice for ExtraEU backers: in recent updates we informed you about the decision to ship the batteries first and than the other components of the kit in a second moment. A new shipping from the manufacturer is started so check your email because Irene is sending you traking number and shipping info. If you are notified to receive a parcel from China: that's probably your battery!
Installation video in Engllish in now Live!
One month ago we released the first Italian version of the installation tutorial for our kit and after lot of requests, also the English version is now available on YouTube. www.youtube.com/watch?v=lh2PKcqJ2_8
Bikeers' best installations
Some backers came to our facility for the installation of the kit. We love to display the most fascinating conversions we see. The Santa Cruz below is simply astounding. It has a 999W BEST kit with backpack battery.
Strange noise on 10% of the motor. Identified the cause and solved.
In the flash update we introduced an anomaly. There was a problem with loose bearing which created a clicking noise after few hours of operation. We recently found out the same noise in other 4 motors in the field: that would make a 10% defect rate in the first production batch. Consequently, we opted to interrupt the shipping process and solve the problem on the motors we had in house. We decided to create calibrated shims so to prevent the loose bearing from moving. We then tested this solutions and it worked just fine. The loose bearing problem took us two weeks to solve in which we stopped the shipments.
The calibrated shims has been created as a precautionary measure for all our motors we had in stock: we already upgraded all the motors with the calibrated shims and we are already shipping those. We're shipping those to Italian backers so we can make sure the solution is working in real life conditions on a larger scale. If we won't have new alerts in a week (it was possible recognize the loose bearing as an abnormal noise after a few miles), we'll proceed with the backers who live abroad.
The calibrated shims has been created as a precautionary measure for all our motors we had in stock: we already upgraded all the motors with the calibrated shims and we are already shipping those. We're shipping those to Italian backers so we can make sure the solution is working in real life conditions on a larger scale. If we won't have new alerts in a week (it was possible recognize the loose bearing as an abnormal noise after a few miles), we'll proceed with the backers who live abroad.
What's in the box?
Here's an overview of what you'll find the your box
Each complete kit includes:
- BEST mid drive Motor, including the chainrings,
- High Efficiency Controller,
- Premium Quality Li-Ion Battery, 48V, with smart BMS
- e-bike smartbox for phone Bluetooth connectivity,
- Battery charger for 110 - 220V
- Motor mounting bracket,
- Two crankarms,
- Two brake cutoffs,
- Throttle,
- Wheel speed sensor
Test days and Show
The test day at Bersntol ring was a great success and we are so thankful for the great participation to this funny event. We took this wonderful opportunuty to film the BEST kits on action. Mirko had a lot of fun in the woods with his fat bike: BEST doesn't fear any climb! If you have an Istagram profile, you may want to share the full video:https://www.instagram.com/p/BZKHSURAGKr/. Alternatively you can see the video below.
Bikee Bike was also at Eurobike in Friedrichshafen (DE).
Luca and Matteo challenged the bad weather to let you try the BEST experience. We took a couple of bikes from Mantua for the trial in the Demo Ring of the fair and the result was extreme and muddy.
Luca and Matteo challenged the bad weather to let you try the BEST experience. We took a couple of bikes from Mantua for the trial in the Demo Ring of the fair and the result was extreme and muddy.
Eurobike is an interesting showcase to make new friends and meet with the old ones! Some Kickstarter guys visited our boot and tested our system with great enthusiam.
Bikee Bike for native ebikes will be available next year
A new concept of the Bikee Bike mid drive motor appeared on an Italian downhill bikes manufacturer’s booth: Pedroni Cycles.
The motor is based on our Bikee Bike technology, preserve the same performances, but requires a custom made frame, for perfect bike integration. The response from the public was so positive and a new and exciting partnership is around the corner.
The motor is based on our Bikee Bike technology, preserve the same performances, but requires a custom made frame, for perfect bike integration. The response from the public was so positive and a new and exciting partnership is around the corner.
Moto Parilla and Alpacargo were Bikee neighbors at Eurobike and as well as Pedroni Cycles they presented a converted model with Bikee system.
We can see the light
Finally all the things are lined up for fulfilling all the orders we have. It's only a matter of days, depending on when you ordered. You might be contacted in the next days by Irene if we don't have your full configuration, if some shipping or invoicing detail is missing or just to let you know that your system is oncoming.
We know we are slow in answering by email because we're receiving lots of emails. If you have urgent matters, please contact us by phone: +39 0376 390846 , AM Italian time and we'll get through that.
Again, we really can't wait to ship your BEST kit. For those who already received it, please make some noise on our Facebook page, as encouragement for those who are still patiently waiting. The message that the product is worth the wait keeps our souls light.
All the Best,
Matteo, Luca, Irene and Bikee Bike team
We know we are slow in answering by email because we're receiving lots of emails. If you have urgent matters, please contact us by phone: +39 0376 390846 , AM Italian time and we'll get through that.
Again, we really can't wait to ship your BEST kit. For those who already received it, please make some noise on our Facebook page, as encouragement for those who are still patiently waiting. The message that the product is worth the wait keeps our souls light.
All the Best,
Matteo, Luca, Irene and Bikee Bike team
Hi Bikeers,
Things are going forward event though it's holiday time in Italy ( we are officially close this week) . I'll give you a quick update, which is now strongly due, waiting for Irene to come back and publish a full update. In bullet points:
Things are going forward event though it's holiday time in Italy ( we are officially close this week) . I'll give you a quick update, which is now strongly due, waiting for Irene to come back and publish a full update. In bullet points:
- We have now all controller versions working properly.
- We started shipping the kits. We shipped 46 kits, shipping firstly to the backers which live close to us. We preferred doing so because in case of problems we could easily fix them and avoid the problems to occur on other backers which live abroad. We are posting some pictures of the backers with their kit on our Facebook page ( https://www.facebook.com/bikeebikefan/ ).
A backer converted all his family's bikes.
- We shipped a only-motor pledge to California to test that packaging was OK for long distances. That worked perfectly.
BEST ebike kit box unopened
BEST ebike kit box
- We got problems on 6 units, 2 were firmware bugs ( so we had to modify the firmware and upload it again. On two bikes we tested a new way to resin-pot the controller, but that wasn't a good way: the resin was too stiff and with the thermal cycle didn't behave well. We had to replace those controllers. On other two kits there was a loose bearing on the housing, making a strange noise.
- We are now making sure those problems won't show up again on the other motors.
- We now have 62 motors ready and we're waiting to get a controller and to be shipped. Production will start again on August, the 28th . 200 controllers are in progress and will be delivered within the end of the month.
- We made a video about the installation. By now is only in Italian and we're going to make the English version as soon as Irene will be back. The link to the video is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aE3YVf88Su0
- We made a test day in Italy, last weekend, pictures are on our Facebook page.
BEST ebike kit test drive in Trentino
- And we made some video of the BEST 749W climbing steep hills. Hope you'll enjoy that.
- At the end of the month we'll be at Eurobike and we're now preparing everything for that.
Matteo.
Hi Bikeers,
First of all, apologies for having been quiet for approx 30 days. We were constantly fighting to overcome the new challenges that production brought. While we already surpassed almost all of them, we have one more to fight with. Good news is that we are at a good point and that production already started. I hope you'll enjoy the giant step forward we made, while we're making the final, last one to bring you what we thing is an excellent product. And we got the confirmation from our testers which have now made 1000+ km on mountain trails with our system.
First of all, apologies for having been quiet for approx 30 days. We were constantly fighting to overcome the new challenges that production brought. While we already surpassed almost all of them, we have one more to fight with. Good news is that we are at a good point and that production already started. I hope you'll enjoy the giant step forward we made, while we're making the final, last one to bring you what we thing is an excellent product. And we got the confirmation from our testers which have now made 1000+ km on mountain trails with our system.
Bikee Bike App available on Google Play Store
We are so excited to present the App Bikee Bike for the Mid-drive motor setting. In the last update, we presented it with a short video: now you have the chance to become familiar with the system downloading the App from Google Play Store on your Android smartphone. The App allows you to interact with the motor and check other parameters like residual battery charge, consumptions and torque value. The full name of the App is "BEST ebike kit Control Pad" and you can get it here.
The iOS version is currently under final testing and debug. The developers said it's a matter of days and that will be available as well.
Validated winding for the 250W version
We approved the winding’s final configuration for the BEST 250W and now 50 windings of this type are ready. We are still waiting for the winding of the 749W and 500W versions that will arrive the next week (50 for the 749W and 50 for the 500W).
Controller box’s design confirmed
That has been a big pain, and finally that's behind us. We made it, tested it and approved it. Last time we presented the brand new tooling for the controller box. The new mould allowed us to improve the IP grade that is now confirmed as IP67. The next week we are going to do the final immersion test in order to ultimately prove their effectiveness. The electronic circuit boards samples have been fully potted so that no moisture can harm the electronics.
The design of the controller box that you can see in the photos below is the final one. The anodizing of the rough controller boxes gave them a matte finish that we greatly appreciated.
And here comes the bump: while testing the controller pilot producton we realized that the electronics made a strange sound and abnormal current consumption, so we had to ship them back to tune them again. In the last two weeks we jointly made testing with the supplier and we finalized the 250W configuration. In this moment we are testing the 500W, 749W and 1000W version to make sure the perfomance will be good. We'll receive the first 40pcs of the 250W controller next week so we'll be able to ship those.
Batteries arrived here in Mantua
These two big pallets contain your batteries. They arrived here by ship from the manufacturer with a special shipping, according to the new (and super strict) laws for the Li-ion Batteries. We received in-house batteries for European customers. We'll send those along with the motors, while extra EU bikeers should already have those. Also the shipping boxes arrived here today.
Production is ongoing!
We hired new collaborators for production, so the team now is bigger, and new ones will join us next week to keep up with the schedule. Our target now is to deliver all the Kickstarter backer motors within July. Everyday we keep on working on motors and every single part of them is meticulously assembled and stored. We also decided to purchase new equipments to bring production to a higher level of efficiency. Right now we are waiting for the controllers to be tuned so we proceeded to go ahed with all the sub-assemblies so to make the final motor assemblying process shorter.
First motor is now shipped!
The first kit is finally shipped. It's for a hero who bought it before the Kickstarter campaign, on our website. This week we'll proceed shipping the Kickstarter motor, firstly the 250W version.
What a journey...
The last four weeks have been incredibly intense for all our team. We know you deserve your system to fully enjoy the summertime and we're fighting each day to make it happen. Problems and bumps are around each and every corner, but, with your amazing support, we made it: we started shipping. That means we overcame all the challenges that we faced. We're exhausted but, at the same time, very satisfied for bringing an awesome product to light. And without you that wouldn't have been possible: again, you should be extremely proud of that.
I'd like to Thank You and all Bikee Bike's team: Luca, Davide, Irene, Fabio, Mattia, Sabrina. I see you working around the clock with all your heart and passion, and I'm sure our product reflects that.
Thank you again,
Matteo, Luca and Bikee Bike's Team
Matteo, Luca and Bikee Bike's Team
Summer is coming and we feel you, you can't wait to have your BEST ebike kit to dominate the mountains, hills and cities all around the world. We know we let you wait more than expected: being the smallest fish in the pond brings its disadvantages. But, as Darwin said, it's not the biggest, not the stronger but those who will evolve quicker who will thrive. We're keeping evolving in the meanwhile, very fast. We are living these very last days before the production in a very hectic way: each days there's something new we'd like to share with you, and that's a part of the reason why it took so long to publish this update. We wanted to cover as much as possible and wait for the following milestone to disclose that with you. There was always a good reason to say: it's better tomorrow because we'll have more exciting news... Well, days passed by and now it's time to share everything with you, that you patiently waited so long, and we thank you once again for that!
Let's go on with the exciting news:
Let's go on with the exciting news:
Batteries arrived to extra UE Bikeers
Our extra UE customers finally received the batteries! The other parts and the chargers will be shipped together with the motor from our headquarters in Mantua, Italy. At the moment we are still waiting for the batteries that have to be shipped to our European Bikeers: those will be here next week.
If you already received the your battery, you should store them in a dry place, between 15°C and 35°C ( 59°F to 95°F) . The battery charger will come with the kit.
If you already received the your battery, you should store them in a dry place, between 15°C and 35°C ( 59°F to 95°F) . The battery charger will come with the kit.
Swag bag shipped!
We just shipped the Swag Bag to the backers who pledged for that. That is what's inside the package: a branded polo shirt, a Cap a high-quality woven patch with our logo.
Introducing Irene
Some of you probably already interacted with Irene either by email or on Facebook messenger. She is the new customer relationship manager. She is an electrical engineer, she's now graduating in marketing and she is fluent in English, German and of course Italian: when we met her we knew we couldn't let her go.
She's now supporting me (Matteo) to answer to all your request and to make sure that you'll receive what you pledged. So please bear with me if it happens that you write me an email and she's the one who replies. That allows me to dedicate more time in pushing the things forward and she's greatly helping me in that.
She's also the one who will translate the updates in Italian.
She's now supporting me (Matteo) to answer to all your request and to make sure that you'll receive what you pledged. So please bear with me if it happens that you write me an email and she's the one who replies. That allows me to dedicate more time in pushing the things forward and she's greatly helping me in that.
She's also the one who will translate the updates in Italian.
Controller box tooling modification is ready (finally!)
Fresh images directly from the foundry.
We had to modify the tooling to improve the IP grade and to correct some minor defects. As you can see from the picture below now we have just one opening instead of two. That is because we had the signal cables going to the box through rubber seals. The raw casting in the below picture are now machined and next Monday we'll ship those to our controller supplier, who will mount the electronics, fully pot them and send them here for the final assembly. We put our fully potted electronics on our endurance test ( see next paragraphs) and successfully covered thousands miles.
First batch of BEST ebike controllers is ready.
The controllers are ready to be assembled with the boxes. You 'll see some pictures of the pick and place machine during the production process. This is the component which required the most time to develop and brought us behind the schedule. In fact the controller box design was planned after the completion of the controller development. The challenge here was to build an extremely compact electronics which could handle 100+ amp ( as phase current) , make it programmable by any smartphone and compliant with ebike's laws all around the world.
The electronics consists in three pieces: one part is handling the high current ( PWM modulation) of the motor phases, one part is adjusting the power exertion accordingly to your inputs, and the third one - aka the Smartbox - is smoothly connecting all the systems ( motor, battery, controller and all the sensors and smartphone) together. So, if for any reason your battery temperature goes too high, or your motor temperature goes above the limit, the Smartbox sense that, command to the controller to reduce the power and sends the information to your smartphone. As you can see, the upper face of the Smartbox ( below picture) is full of copper connection pads: those are the ones which gather the signals from all the sensors.
A bonus feature is the integrated theft-deterrence function: since there's a PIN number to input at the first run, only those who have the PIN number can interact with your BEST system. So if you set the assistance level to zero before leaving the bike unattended, is someone steals your bike, they will never be able to use the motor.
Production windings are coming
Next week we’ll receive the first 50 windings.
Firstly we'll get the windings of the 250W and 500W power versions because we already approved the final configuration and successfully tested it both on endurance test and real life scenario . After that the 749W and 999W will be coming. We're making those as second step in light of the outstanding torque we reached in our tests. That changed our plans a bit and we know we have more room in looking for the best compromise between torque and speed. We will receive the 749W and 999W ( and thus 1500W as well) winding samples next week. Those we'll likely be the ultimate ones, so that we can proceed with those just one week after the first batch.
Firstly we'll get the windings of the 250W and 500W power versions because we already approved the final configuration and successfully tested it both on endurance test and real life scenario . After that the 749W and 999W will be coming. We're making those as second step in light of the outstanding torque we reached in our tests. That changed our plans a bit and we know we have more room in looking for the best compromise between torque and speed. We will receive the 749W and 999W ( and thus 1500W as well) winding samples next week. Those we'll likely be the ultimate ones, so that we can proceed with those just one week after the first batch.
Start of Production countdown!
With all the components coming in, the next week we'll finally start assembling and shipping the kits. The target is to ship all the Kickstarter backers motors by the end of June, and possibly start shipping also the following orders between June and July. Our target is to ramp up to a production of 3 motors per hour in the first 10 days. As soon as the production will start and we'll get a steady production pace, we'll be able to publish a delivery schedule based on the ordering period, so that you can exactly track your delivery day.
App release coming next week.
We're so glad to finally publish our App, so that you can download it. The first version will be android and the following week the iOS should be ready. We'll post the download link in the next update. Some of you asked to have more insights about that: here's a video to let you know better graphics and features.
A bonus feature is the integrated theft-deterrence function: since there's a PIN number to input at the first run, only those who have the PIN number can interact with your BEST system. So if you set the assistance level to zero before leaving the bike unattended, is someone steals your bike, they will never be able to use the motor.
Endurance test keeps going on!
You probably remember that we have an endurance test going on. Well, we stacked additional 7.500 km (4700 miles) on top of the previous distance. We already burned one bike trainer and the other one is about to go. We are now testing the motor at the limit of the higher operating temperature to thermally stress all the components. So the motor is now running continuously at 92° (198 F).
Eurobike
We'll be presenting our system at Eurobike 2017 in Friedrichshafen, Germany. We'll be next to the test area and if you are planning to go there, you're welcome to stop by.
Final note
During these last months we've seen many of you coming to our plant and testing the bike. These visits made us grow, we accepted and implemented countless feedbacks and our system got better and better. It makes us feel good to see your smile and the excitment on your faces when your test the system for the first time. That means we're on track and possibly will make the wait worth. That's our main target and you'll soon tell us whether we accomplished that.
As anticipated there's a surprise for all Kickstarter backers, an additional present to Thank You once again for being such an amazing community.
All the BEST,
Matteo, Luca and Bikee Bike team.
As anticipated there's a surprise for all Kickstarter backers, an additional present to Thank You once again for being such an amazing community.
All the BEST,
Matteo, Luca and Bikee Bike team.
Successfully reached 10'000 km ( 6,250 miles ) in the endurance test!
The BEST ebike system performed really well on the endurance. The cycle was 2 minutes ON-1 minute OFF at full power. To give you an idea about the length of this trip, you can take a look at the map: it's like pedalling from Anchorage to Los Angeles and then to New York.
Although that's impressive, we expect more. We stopped the testing to perform a ride test on bike tracks. We catch the opportunity to do that while visiting the Riva Bike Festival, held in Riva del Garda at the end of April. That's been a great opportunity because real-case scenario stresses the components in different ways than a lab test and we wanted to know early on whether the final design performed good in real life conditions.
Riva del Garda test : the Ponale trail
Rocks, mud, jumps are a perfect challenge for an ebike system. As testing track we picked one of the most breathtaking tracks of our favourite test area, the Ponale trail.
To face the challenge we installed the kit on two full-suspension bikes. One of them is a Giant Anthem 2. We picked this model because the battery can easily fit into the frame, keeping a good excursion on the rear suspension.
Hope you enjoy the little video we made ( track credits: http://www.bensound.com/ )
Both motors performed very good. They had the new sand casting controller box installed, as show in the next paragraph.
Controller box sand casting tooling is ready
We completed the tooling for the controller box. As you can see from the picture an inlet broke so we have to fix that. It's a quick fix which will require approx 7 days.
It's a resin mould: we picked that because it's easy and quick to modifiy. We ran a small pilot production batch with it, for validation purposes, as you can see in the following picture.
Since we have to re-work the mould for fixing the broken part, we want to catch the opportunity to improve the IP grade. From our testing on Ponale, in fact, that part can be improved. Since it's likely that someone is going to use pressure washer to clean the mud out of that area, we need a very reliable coupling of the wires which come out of the motor and go into the controller box. In fact, even thought the controller will be fully potted, the commercially available connectors are either too bulky, with too low amp rating or with low IP grade to be fitted into that position. For that reason we are designing a custom connector to be hot melted onto commercial contacts.
In terms of strength we are very satisfied. We tested the strength under a press by applying 3 metric tons ( 3000 kg or 6,600 lbs ) and just a fin slightly bent. We made a video of that as well. The controller box is rough because it's not machined and we used a scrap part for the potentially destructive test.
In terms of strength we are very satisfied. We tested the strength under a press by applying 3 metric tons ( 3000 kg or 6,600 lbs ) and just a fin slightly bent. We made a video of that as well. The controller box is rough because it's not machined and we used a scrap part for the potentially destructive test.
About the final look: the sand casting mould improved a lot the finishing of the surface comparing to the initial samples. By adding an extra sandblasting to the casting and paint we'll see a very pleasant final effect, so we'll keep this solution for the production.
Battery shipmentBatteries are ready and we'll start shipping them next week. We are shipping them separately because Li-Ion batteries need to shipped as standalone item. You'll receive chargers and brackets along with the motors.
Our collaborator Irene contacted those of you who didn't provide a phone number. That's fundamental to receive the goods from the forwarder. For that purpose, please make sure you don't have Irene emails in your spam box, otherwise we cannot ship your products.
As for the motors, we keep aiming to end of May for the first shipments, but that's tough. June is more likely. For sure we want to ship your BEST systems to let you enjoy the summer and we are fully committed to that. The next newsletter should come in approx 10 days with the right timing for the IP67 box modification and we'll give you a more precise shipping date for the motors as well.
Battery shipmentBatteries are ready and we'll start shipping them next week. We are shipping them separately because Li-Ion batteries need to shipped as standalone item. You'll receive chargers and brackets along with the motors.
Our collaborator Irene contacted those of you who didn't provide a phone number. That's fundamental to receive the goods from the forwarder. For that purpose, please make sure you don't have Irene emails in your spam box, otherwise we cannot ship your products.
As for the motors, we keep aiming to end of May for the first shipments, but that's tough. June is more likely. For sure we want to ship your BEST systems to let you enjoy the summer and we are fully committed to that. The next newsletter should come in approx 10 days with the right timing for the IP67 box modification and we'll give you a more precise shipping date for the motors as well.
Thanks for your support again
Some of you decided to visit us in our factory to bring support and encourage us to keep working hard to make it real. Some offered good insight on how to improve further the product: the IP suggestion came from one of you. Others offered their bikes to test next generations of our motors. What we saw is that all of the people who visited us were amazing people, and we're glad of such a supportive community. Some have very fancy cars. Thank you.
Hey Bikeers,
Since last time we got a very exciting news. We wanted to start the endurance test on the motors before the production kick-off. Before doing that, we needed to accurately test the motor performance to understand whether the 1000-hour test would have impacted on the performance. In order to do that, we needed a test bench. We initially searched for commercially available test bench, but those were either too expensive ( a bench which can brake 120Nm is a fairy large thing), weren't a good fit or had too long lead times ( 5+ months).
So we decided that we had to build a test bench ourselves. The picture here shows a glimpse of it.
Since last time we got a very exciting news. We wanted to start the endurance test on the motors before the production kick-off. Before doing that, we needed to accurately test the motor performance to understand whether the 1000-hour test would have impacted on the performance. In order to do that, we needed a test bench. We initially searched for commercially available test bench, but those were either too expensive ( a bench which can brake 120Nm is a fairy large thing), weren't a good fit or had too long lead times ( 5+ months).
So we decided that we had to build a test bench ourselves. The picture here shows a glimpse of it.
So we took a 13HP electric motor to act as a brake, and we put some moltiplication in the middle, in order to lower the braking torque and increase the RPM, so that the output power of our motor would have been more manageable. The designed the test bench to brake 150Nm in order to allow more margin for the locked rotor torque and we finished the test bench build approx 20 days ago.
What a wonderful torque
During the first test of the motor with the production material we had a very pleasing surprise: at 150Nm of braking torque applied, still the motor didn't stop. And that was the 500W version on test!
Locked rotor torque is the torque that the motor can give you starting from a stop. 150Nm is a very impressive number considering that other mainstream ebike motors range from 70Nm to 90Nm as peak torque.
So we had to modify the test bench to check what was the maximum torque of our system. That modification costed more than two weeks, but at the end we've been able to add an additional mechanical brake to reach higher braking torque.
So we had to modify the test bench to check what was the maximum torque of our system. That modification costed more than two weeks, but at the end we've been able to add an additional mechanical brake to reach higher braking torque.
We repeated the test, anxious to see what was the maximum torque of the BEST motor. We reached 170Nm on the 500W version! Improved magnets, lamination and winding did their job and we surpassed our ambitious target.
This torque is not just a performance figure to brag about, it brings you a real advantage: the optimal efficiency of brushless motors is around 50% of their maximum torque. So if you have a motor with 90Nm as maximum torque, the peak efficiency will be at around 45Nm, so when you're pedalling on a flat road. With 170Nm you can have optimal efficiency at 85Nm, exactly where other motors stop. Higher efficiency means a battery which last longer because energy doesn't get dissipated into heat thus more miles per charge and less stress on electrical components.
Basing upon the endurance test results, we'll decide how much of this torque we'll made available in the production motors, but the efficiency advantage will still be there in any case.
Controller box casting
We launched the sand casting version and the moulds will be ready next week. Some of you asked about the position of the control box, so here's some picture of the box installed on the bike.
This torque is not just a performance figure to brag about, it brings you a real advantage: the optimal efficiency of brushless motors is around 50% of their maximum torque. So if you have a motor with 90Nm as maximum torque, the peak efficiency will be at around 45Nm, so when you're pedalling on a flat road. With 170Nm you can have optimal efficiency at 85Nm, exactly where other motors stop. Higher efficiency means a battery which last longer because energy doesn't get dissipated into heat thus more miles per charge and less stress on electrical components.
Basing upon the endurance test results, we'll decide how much of this torque we'll made available in the production motors, but the efficiency advantage will still be there in any case.
Controller box casting
We launched the sand casting version and the moulds will be ready next week. Some of you asked about the position of the control box, so here's some picture of the box installed on the bike.
As you can see, the design doesn't affect the ground clearance. The color choice of the box will be as the motor, so black motors gets the black controller box. The next 10 days we'll be able to check whether the final look of the casing is acceptable so that we can use them on the production. In the last updated we indicated end of April/ beg of May as a possible shipment, now May is more likely.
Endurance Test is started!
Endurance Test is started!
After the motor performance test, we put the BEST system on the endurance test. That will be 1000 hours on 3+ systems. In order to get the motor running day and night at full power, we used a forklift battery.
We made a quick footage to see the endurance test going. Sorry again for the audio and background noise of the bike roller which is amplified.
We made a quick footage to see the endurance test going. Sorry again for the audio and background noise of the bike roller which is amplified.
The system is now doing approx 800km per day at full power.
Getting the right crankarm
The crankarm supplier finally did it right and we're waiting for the first batch next week.
Getting the right crankarm
The crankarm supplier finally did it right and we're waiting for the first batch next week.
Production line : work in progress
We started gathering all the materials to setup the production line. On the bench there are boxes with the presses and tools, waiting to be put in place.
Production line : work in progress
We started gathering all the materials to setup the production line. On the bench there are boxes with the presses and tools, waiting to be put in place.
We'll keep you posted as we plan to intensify the updates in the last final rush since everything is coming together at a higher pace. So you can expect the next update in 15 days.
All the Best,
Matteo, Luca and Bikee Bike Team.
All the Best,
Matteo, Luca and Bikee Bike Team.
Hi Bikeers,
in the last update we finished designing the motor mounting bracket and we needed to make some prototypes for testing and validation. That's exactly what we did, but it took us a second attempt to get it right.
MOUNTING BRACKET
In order to get some fast and accurate prototypes ( in terms of material and fabrication process) we went for the sand casting. We created prototypes with our 3D printer ( the first ones on the left in the picture below), made the surfaces smooth with metal filler and used those as models for the sand casting. In the middle of the picture you can see the sand casted parts. As you can see we put those on some stressful test and the mounting bracket didn't survive. That brought us behind the original schedule, since we had to re-designed the mounting bracket in stainless steel (AISI 304) so to be coupled with the controller box cover ( see in the below picture, on the right the mounting bracket + controller cover assembly). That proved to be reliable and strong in our first test even though the whole process delayed us of one month.
We made a short video of the making of the prototypes for those who like molten aluminum. Apologies for the audio, but we were not exactly in a studio.
in the last update we finished designing the motor mounting bracket and we needed to make some prototypes for testing and validation. That's exactly what we did, but it took us a second attempt to get it right.
MOUNTING BRACKET
In order to get some fast and accurate prototypes ( in terms of material and fabrication process) we went for the sand casting. We created prototypes with our 3D printer ( the first ones on the left in the picture below), made the surfaces smooth with metal filler and used those as models for the sand casting. In the middle of the picture you can see the sand casted parts. As you can see we put those on some stressful test and the mounting bracket didn't survive. That brought us behind the original schedule, since we had to re-designed the mounting bracket in stainless steel (AISI 304) so to be coupled with the controller box cover ( see in the below picture, on the right the mounting bracket + controller cover assembly). That proved to be reliable and strong in our first test even though the whole process delayed us of one month.
We made a short video of the making of the prototypes for those who like molten aluminum. Apologies for the audio, but we were not exactly in a studio.
We'll have to go through the testing phase ( approx 10 days) before validating this solution. The sand casting prototypes had very rough surfaces and isn't good enough for us. We will probably make a second attemp with the new design to see if we can reach an acceptable level look and feel. We'll make this second attempt just because it can cut the lead time of the kits of approx 20 days.
So here's the new estimated lead time for your kits if plan B doesn't work. By March the 10th, if the test goes well on the new bracket design, we'll kick off the two castings. The casting lead time is approx 30 days, let's keep 40 because there's always something that comes up. That brings us to the end of April/ beginning of May. We really hope plan B will work, we will post the pictures of the second attempt for you to validate and we'll ask you what's your feedback.
In either case, in the meanwhile we'll perform the 1000-hour test for 3 systems on our test bench of the final configuration with the sand casted parts. We want to get this test passed before shipping the product. That will take 14 days if we run the motors 24/7 and if everything goes smooth. More details about than in the next updates.
CARBON FRAME COMPATIBILITY
More time means more refinement. While re-designing the mounting bracket we kept in account of the compatibility with carbon frames. Some of you visited our factory, bringing their bikes with carbon frames demanding for the compatibility. We exploited the re-design need to increase the contact area between the mounting bracket and the frame so to better distribute the load on the frame. To make it clear: we still cannot guarantee full compatibility with any carbon bike frame, but that's a step forward. In the next update we'll give you more details about that.
So here's the new estimated lead time for your kits if plan B doesn't work. By March the 10th, if the test goes well on the new bracket design, we'll kick off the two castings. The casting lead time is approx 30 days, let's keep 40 because there's always something that comes up. That brings us to the end of April/ beginning of May. We really hope plan B will work, we will post the pictures of the second attempt for you to validate and we'll ask you what's your feedback.
In either case, in the meanwhile we'll perform the 1000-hour test for 3 systems on our test bench of the final configuration with the sand casted parts. We want to get this test passed before shipping the product. That will take 14 days if we run the motors 24/7 and if everything goes smooth. More details about than in the next updates.
CARBON FRAME COMPATIBILITY
More time means more refinement. While re-designing the mounting bracket we kept in account of the compatibility with carbon frames. Some of you visited our factory, bringing their bikes with carbon frames demanding for the compatibility. We exploited the re-design need to increase the contact area between the mounting bracket and the frame so to better distribute the load on the frame. To make it clear: we still cannot guarantee full compatibility with any carbon bike frame, but that's a step forward. In the next update we'll give you more details about that.
HALF GRIP THROTTLE
We finally got the sample of the ultimate half grip throttle. It's a one-piece throttle, very compact and stealthy.
We finally got the sample of the ultimate half grip throttle. It's a one-piece throttle, very compact and stealthy.
We plan to send the next update around March, the 20th.
Appreciate your patience, we are working around the clock to bring you the finest product as quickly as possible. We'd also like to add that we are thinking how to sweeten your wait because you deserve all our gratitude for making this real.
All the Best,
Matteo, Luca and Bikee Bike Team.
Appreciate your patience, we are working around the clock to bring you the finest product as quickly as possible. We'd also like to add that we are thinking how to sweeten your wait because you deserve all our gratitude for making this real.
All the Best,
Matteo, Luca and Bikee Bike Team.
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Bikee Bike
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