Morph,

I think you would agree that monitoring discharge and charging is critical, especially for lithium batteries. Yes, most people want automatic monitoring and that's not laziness, it's caution. Fortunately, there are now some more affordable alternatives for automatic monitoring available than just computerized BMS boards. I have a CellLog 8S on my new TS LIFEPO4 pack. I use the audible alarm feature to warn me when the battery is charged as well as when any cell is discharging below 2.7. I don't have electric brakes, if I did, I could actually wire the CellLog 8 to function for LVC. The newer, less expensive CellLog model doesn't log, but it does monitor cells during charging and discharge and it's price is dirt cheap. There's now no excuse not to have automatic monitoring for your LIFEPO4 pack.

Here's how I've attached the CellLog to my pack (I have the Currie conversion kit installed on my bike and the battery case slides into the side rack--I've now got my original SLA and the LIFEPO4 pack for power).