Another Tidalforce bike (#6) joins the family...

Tidalforce bikes are like potato chips. You can't just have one!

I was looking to pick up another M-750 folding bike so that my wife and I can put our Tidalforce bikes in the car so that we can go for rides away from home. I decided to bid on one of the frames that "theboxwon" has been posting on eBay. The one I have now is an 18" which is the right size for me and the recent ones from "theboxwon" have been 20" models. Looking at the specs for both, the only difference between them is a small 2" extension of the seat post column on the 20" model. I have a Thudbuster LT on my 18" now and it's still not too tall for me so I am hoping that the 20" model will be fine as well.

I won the bid! Now I have TF #6 joining the family. I really do need to sell two of the S-750 models I have so that I can make some room for the M-750s.

More later,
Ambrose

Tidalforce bikes and deer...

I went for a quick ride on my red Tidalforce S-750X last night. It was a lovely evening and I rode through Rock Creek Park by my house and ended up going through the Audobon Naturalist Society's Woodend sanctuary. As I was near the mansion, there were 3 deer (mom and 2 fawns) on the grounds. As I approached them within 10 feet on my silent Tidalforce bike, they looked up but were completely unphased by me on my bike! It's really thrilling to get so close to these beautiful animals. I know some folks find them a nuisance but I find them quite charming and elegant.

A thought occurred to me. Does this happen to other folks on other electric bikes? Does the Optibike or other noisier bikes have this ability to approach deer without frightening them away?

Comment or email me at:

ambroseliao at gmail dot com.

"Unboxing" the Tidalforce M-750 Frame

I realized that it has been many months since I bought the M-750 and so decided to finally "unbox" it last night. Here are some shots of it. I'll put on the front battery and motor after I try it as a bike first.

The bike as it came to me. All wrapped up in it's protective paper and foam wrapping.

Here's one end of the handlebar tie wrapped with foam.

Here's the other end of the handlebar.

The rear derailleur and front caliper brakes.

The front crank.

The cushy seat.

The stem.

The M-750 label under cover. You can see the red swirly Wavecrest logo and the cable stays.

The front Tektro brakes.

The messy loose brake and shifter cables.

The bike folded.

The front fork.

All the wrapping after removal.

The REVEAL!

More later,
Ambrose

How safe are the A123 20Ah Prismatics?

Agnius Mikutavicius posted an amazing video of his, uhm, durability testing of the A123 cells. He first shoots it with a shotgun and when that didn't do much besides punch a huge hole through the middle of it, he decides to ram an iron rod through the opening to try and short it out a bit. It smokes a bit and then he decides to put a hatchet through another new cell.

Watch it here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FKTJ-1ZJegw

I can't postage a thumbnail here since Agnius posted it as unlisted.

The results are amazing!

Tidalforce motor joins the ever-growing family

I was communicating with a young lady who lived in Minnesota when she joined the Tidalforce Google Group and was looking to sell her750 watt Tidalforce iO Cruiser. She had used it for many years and as it happens, the front hub was dead. She was looking to sell the bike. I was interested, however, shipping would have been exorbitant and I already had a iO Cruiser so wasn't too enthusiastic. After many weeks, she announced that she had put it on the local Craigslist and had sold it to a local buyer.

I soon got an email from the new owner who had researched fixing the front hub and was looking for help. I pointed him to the page on my blog about replacing the front hub battery with another battery.

He soon was on his way in the middle of a Minnesota winter enjoying his TF bike with a jury-rigged 3 lead acid battery setup.

Many months go by and I get another email from the new owner saying that he had purchased a battery on eBay but it didn't work with the TF. I didn't inquire why because the owner was now interested in selling the motor/controller/throttle. I made a silly offer and the seller accepted. I asked him to ship me the nipples and spokes from both wheels if they weren't needed anymore so now I also have 72 sets of those!

Here are the pics.

The 750 watt motor with console, throttle and brake levers all attached. The 72 spokes are on the carpet!

There's some rust on the torque arm but it should come off fairly easily.

The console has a very neat key switch and has a very positive and short action. You can see one of my Bosch Fat Packs used to test the system. You can see the Turbo LED lit in the photo.

Another Tidalforce S-750X joins the family

I saw a Tidalforce S-750X show up on my local Craigslist this past week and I hesitated for a bit in going to see it... What am I thinking! I called and arranged a time to meet the seller! :-)

The bike has a flat front tire but is original in every way and comes with two cream colored chargers. The seller says that he used to live on the same street as an employee of Wavecrest Labs and saw him riding his bikes in the neighborhood. He eventually broke down and bought one. His new office is only one mile from his home so he doesn't feel the need to ride his bike to work since it's not much of a workout when you're on a Tidalforce..

Here are the CL photos which are kind of blurry but the bike is in excellent shape and yes, it indeed does have the X motor. The battery does not provide the full 9A, perhaps only 2 or 3A at this point, but the price was too good to pass up. Now I just need to sell something to pay for it! :-)

More later,
Ambrose

Most parts have arrived...

I have most, if not all of the parts necessary to start the pack build now. I received the tin sheets that I'll use to make connectors so that I can connect the CellLog 8M battery monitors to the pack. I've also received more JST-XH 7S and 8S leads so that I can wire them in to the system.

More later,
Ambrose