Lightning Thunderbolt Electrical Mods

Doug Goncz

Hello, all. I haven't written here in a few weeks. I ordered a Thunderbolt
through Bikes @ Vienna and went in a month later with my Peugeot mountain bike.
The Peugeot was the one with the odd 24-35-51 / 34-11 gear set. Adam at Bikes @
Vienna swapped my Alivio controls, R443 FD, and LX RD from the Peugeot to the
Thunderbolt, and the cranks from the Thunderbolt to the Peugeot. The
Thunderbolt components including the cranks go on auction on ebay on Monday.

But it didn't work. The Peugot was shifting well, but I asked Adam to swap the
spacers from inboard the outer chainring to the inboard position. He did this,
it wouldn't shift, and he gave up, claiming Lightning had misaligned the FD
mounting tube. I took photos of both and overlaid them with rotation to align
the position of the Peugeot seat tube and Thunderbolt FD mount tube, and found
little difference, so I experimented with spacers and got the Thunderbolt
shifting with some problems remaining.

So I started working on the electricals. The Peugeot used an Ametek servo
motor, 4 inches diameter by 5 inches long, at first low in the bottom bracket
area chained to the cranks, then later, in the center of the frame diamond on a
3/4 inch thick 14 inch diameter board chained to either the rear wheel or the
cranks.

That motor is now on the Thunderbolt, and is aligned and strongly mounted. What
I did was go over to Home Depot and walk home with a ten foot piece of 4 inch
plastic drain pipe on my shoulder. Then I cut off about eight inches of it,
running down the length with a nibbler, marked with a carpenter's pencil and
magnesium level extrusion, then strapping on a hose clamp, marking again, and
cutting the circumference.

I cut into the piece two long strips parallel to the axis, just to the depth
that they could bend up into tabs and rest against the seat stay clamps on the
Thunderbolt. I trimmed and drilled them and suspended the hollow pipe from the
clamps, then bent a hose clamp to suspend it from the seat brace above. Then I
put the motor in.

I cut a notch to clear the exit cable relief on the rear side of the motor. I
cut the pipe so when the motor aligned with the cut, adjacent the stay, the
pinion cog was positioned right between the stay inner surface and fender outer
surface for best chain clearance. Since the tabs weren't perfectly aligned, I
twisted the pipe so the axial cut now had a slow spiral, aligning the axis of
the motor with that of the rear axle. Then I marked the ends and cut the pipe
flush.

I fooled around with a four inch hole saw to match the contour of a 3 inch bit
of 2x4 pressure treated wood with the motor and pipe, but ended up just
relieving the center of each end. One end is full width for the motor. The
other is narrow for the 3/4 inch seat brace. Both reliefs act as v-blocks. I
planed the edges to clear the hose clamp. Then I twisted it again for alignment
and clamped it all in place with the hose clamp, and tightened the seat stay
clamps. It's solid, square, out of the way, and somewhat adjustablle. The rear
hub to drive it hasn't been built yet. It hides nicely under the seat bag.

Then I got on the pedal powered generator. I decided to use a 5 inch diameter,
3 inch wide, 225 rpm ceiling fan motor with advertised 5/8 inch but actually
17mm shaft. I got an adjustable stem with short extension from Nashbar and
removed the clamp bolts. I wedged the clamp open with a chisel, removed the
plastic cap from the open end of the FD mount tube, and bumped it on with a
rubber hammer, without damaging the paint. Then I installed the clamp bolts,
with about 1/8 inch of stemp clamp over the end of the tube, as it ended up
flush with the derailer mounting clamp. I'll mill it a bit narrower later.

I unscrewed the stem angle adjuster and retracted the multisplined insert. I
clamped the stem body in the mill with axis vertical and used a 3/4 inch
diameter 60 degree double angle cutter to mill 30 degree ramps on the stem's
handlbar clamp area, just evening out some roughness in the forging, not
interfering with later use as a stem, so that the motor would sit nicely on a
120 degree v block. Then I strapped the core of the motor to the stem with
another hose clamp and reinstalled the stem body with the adjusted. It ended up
setting at 20 degrees rise. It's graduated on the side in 5 degree
incremements. It may go up or down 5 degrees to adjust the chain for slack.

I'd previously removed the motor core and started machining a 3/16 x 3/32 inch
slot for the integral key in the 8 tooth pinion modified to 2mm width by Jensen
using a go cart pinion for 40 chain as the starting material. I love that
integral key. It sure beats fiddling with a tiny bit of metal, a square 3/16 on
a side and about 1/2 inch long, the usual removable key. So I got into the slot
using a 5/32 inch end mill, 0.005 inch per pass, but something wasn't right and
I realized it was a 17 mm shaft, not 5/8, so I am taking it to Jensen to have
them turn it. Good thing I didn't finish the slot through. It wouldn't center
on Jensen's lathe if I had. It has a 1/2 inch hollow shaft so the slot will
eventuall have to go through. I asked Surplus Center for a credit and
recommended they edit their web site to show the correct shaft size.

You see, an AC motor has its windings on the outside, not the inside like the
DC motor generator. This way, they can use heavier wire with less resistance as
there is more volume to work with. This reduces generator source impedance and
increases the range of operation. The eight inch white LED traffic signal
module donated by Dialite will be powered directly by this AC motor in
generator mode, operating over a range of 80 - 135 VAC. That's a relatively
good range for pedaling, comparable to 40-67 rpm. You have to "hit" the AC
motor with DC from the road powered generator to polarize it each time it
starts. An automatic circuit based on brake lever switches may do this.

I have the book/pamphlet "Alternator Secrets" from Lindsay Publications and may
reorder it, as some of my books are in storage.

Here's an amateur radio operator's induction generator page:

http://www.qsl.net/ns8o/Induction_Generator.html

I had already mounted a Nite Rider Universal Mount to the FD mounting tube
below the FD, and yesterday remounted it with the rubber strip for a solid
mount. The FD cable ends up between the clamp screw and tube, and needs a
ferrule. Bikes @ Vienna provided it without one.

As it turned out, the FD cable stop didn't need to be moved but Lightning may
move it in production if they choose to recommend the Nite Rider gear for their
bike. Frame mounted headlights are less distacting to the rider. I haven't got
the Trail Rat, 7.2 W bulb, or 1 W tail light yet, and won't until I have
integrated the tiny 6 V 1.5 A dc-dc converter supplied by TI as a sample inside
the DC motor/generator, and add the 2.5 x 5.5 mm output jack called "Sure-Loc"
or something like that by Nite Rider.

The eight inch LED module is to be installed into the nose of a Windwrap GX
fairing with rubber windshield molding to be purchased from JC Whitney. I'll
probably build an adjustable router with my Unimat One components and mill the
required hole for a good seal to the rubber, routing six circular slots
separately first, then breaking them out and filing smooth. The six tabs will
keep the router support centered. If you just go round a full circle you have
no support as you near the end.

The DC motor will have an automotive power adapter (cigarette lighter socket)
on an SPT-2 lead through the existing bushing, providing direct connection to
unregulated generated power and the possibility for takeoff drive assist.
Taking off in this recumbent is hard. It's SWB and squirrely at low starting
speeds, but then I am stil learning. Then my inverter can be plugged in, or my
ultracapacitor pack for a "freewheel" effect, extending coasting.

Two Nashbar brake wire operated switches have been received and will be
installed, with the right lever operating the right tail light, and the left
etc., so I can signal stop and turn like I used to on my Jawa moped, by
operating the brake levers together, or just tapping one at a time while
pressing the other one a bit so that from the rear you see one solid light and
the one to the turn side blinking with each tap. The in between wiring will
have to be extended. Nashbar's price for the rear brake designed, seat post
mounted brake light and switch is only ten dollars.

I have a handlbar mounted set of two 20 W dimmable compact fluorescent spiral
bulbs in clamp on desk lamp shades mounted to a pair of Space Bars, but
probably will not add them anytime soon.

Any questions?


Yours,

Doug Goncz ( ftp://users.aol.com/DGoncz/ )

My physics project at NVCC:
http://groups.google.com/groups?q=dgoncz&scoring=d plus
"bicycle", "fluorescent", "inverter", "flywheel", "ultracapacitor", etc.
in the search box