16s Headway 10 Ah pack with charge balanNew battery pack in rear rack bag
OwnerAlan
Owner's Other EVs1992 Ford Escort LX Wagon
Torker T510 Hybrid
1992 Nissan D21 Pickup
2002 Sol Gato II
Husky Trike
LocationBaton Rouge, Louisiana United States map
Email email image
Vehicle2010 Cruiser
Beefy beach cruiser built to handle a 350 lbs rider.
Motor Brushless DC
Originally 500 W @ 36 V
Upgraded to 650 W @ 48 V
Controllerunknown
Some generic 1500 W @ 48 V Chinese controller from
eBay.
Batteries16 Headway 38120 S, 3.20 Volt, Lithium Iron Phosphate
Originally used a 36 V SLA pack, but that wasn't
much fun so I experimented with LFP packs from
6.6 Ah to 20 Ah. These 10 Ah Headway cells
(manzanitamicro.com) seem to be a good match for
this motor. Using custom charge balance modules
from batteryspace.com
System Voltage51 Volts
Charger CH-LF5126 & CH-LF5123
6A & 3A chargers from batteryspace.com
HeaterLouisiana
DC/DC Converter 090619
18 W 15-55 V input to 12 V output from Amazon.com
(just search the model number). 36 W and 90 W
versions available.
InstrumentationSmartphone
Top Speed30 MPH (48 KPH)
Way faster than a beach cruiser should go.
AccelerationSmokes the tire if you gun it. Very fast if you
assist the motor with pedals.
Range15 Miles (24 Kilometers)
Estimated based on getting 30 mi on a battery pack
with twice the Wh.
Watt Hours/Mile35 Wh/Mile
This is for my hard riding in traffic. In perfect
conditions can probably get under 30 Wh/mi.
EV Miles
Current:2,000 Miles (3,218 Kilometers)
Seating Capacity1 adult. Can also pull trailers.
Curb Weight85 Pounds (38 Kilograms)
A bit of a guess. Original frame was 50 and 35
sounds about right for all the stuff I added.
Conversion TimeInitially just 3 hours or so. All of the additional
upgrades... let's just go with "a lot".
Conversion CostInitially a $300 bike plus $500 kit (with SLA
batteries). Currently I have $450 battery pack, $50
controller upgrade, and about $300 in misc lights and
such.
Additional Features10 W LED headlight, taillight assembly with brake light function, suspension
seat post, front disc brake mod, Topeak quick release bag (TT9631B), Topeak
post mount rack (TA2096A).
Updates
2014-08-01: This has been a fun project bike that I've used for commuting
as well as parades since late 2010. Started with 36 V, 12 Ah SLA
batteries, then tried 51.2 V, 20 Ah LFP pack but both of those were too
heavy. Now I have a 51.2 V, 6.6 Ah LFP pack and it's too small
because it overheats with prolonged high throttle. I am waiting for the
16x 10 Ah Headway cells I bought, but they are back-ordered. That pack
should be just right for weight and power with a 15 mi range.

2014-09-02: New 51.2 V, 10 Ah Headway battery pack works great. Have not
fully range tested yet, but have run the pack very hard for
several miles at a time without any signs of heating up despite being
surrounded by foam padding. Thinking of getting a cycle analyst soon to
learn exactly what the operating parameters are.

2015-01-18: Still running well. Been in a few parades and events plus
several trips to work (8.3 mi one way). I keep a charger at work since
this battery pack won't quite make a round trip and I'm a bit too lazy to
pedal the rest of the way home -even though I need the exercise.

2016-01-29: Still runs great. Haven't ridden it since before Christmas
but will use it for another Mardi Gras parade next Friday -the Southdowns
parade in Baton Rouge. This will be its fourth parade and people still
like to see a bicycle do a burnout.

2016-10-25: Estimate about 1500-2000 mi on this bike now. The motor has
started to grind a little. Not sure if it's just a bearing or something
more serious. Probably not worth repairing either way since I would
rather upgrade to a motor with integrated controller.

2016-11-01: Yep, the bearings were definitely bad. The armature doesn't
look too good either and there is a fair amount of surface oxidation on
the magnets. I already ordered some higher quality bearings, so I will
install them and see if the motor will run smooth again or if I damaged
it during the repair process (always a possibility). It will be very
annoying to solder the connector back on all 8 lead wires.

code by jerry