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Are Polygon bikes any good? I’m looking for a base for an e-bike build Login/Join 
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The battery I’m going to use will cost between $350-450. There are of course more powerful/expensive options but decent batteries can be found in that price range.

There is the kind of battery that uses the water bottle holder mounts on the down tube of the frame to secure the battery. On those types the battery just sits where the water bottle would. The other kind is shaped like a triangle and has straps and it fits inside the triangle of the frame. This is the kind I am leaning towards since many of them have a built in battery life indicator and usb plug for phones. The only benefit I can find to using the water bottle mounted down tube type battery is that it leaves room for the battery controller inside the triangle of the frame.


It took about 15 minutes to assemble the Polygon Xtrada last night. The derailleur is going to need a bit of fine tuning for a few gears but overall I am quite impressed with the bike.

This is my first 27.5 inch tire bike and so far I am LOVING IT! It definitely feels more like a 29er than my 26 while still feeling somewhat agile like my 26.


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The price of liberty and even of common humanity is eternal vigilance
 
Posts: 21074 | Location: San Dimas CA, the Old Dominion or the Tar Heel State…flip a coin  | Registered: April 16, 2007Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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I think this bike will work pretty well as an e-bike, the chainstays are thicker than I was expecting and overall the frame feels quite robust. The pics online of the Polygon Xtrada 6 (the few that there are) all hide the size of the down tube it’s frickin huge!

I watched a video discussing acceleration and power delivery that someone posted on YouTube. The person built a 48v 1500w rear hub bike similar to the one I’m going to build and he said it only takes about 3 seconds to get going over 20 mph. Their top speed was 34 mph and it cruised with ease at 20 mph.


Quick question. What do you guys like to do to bed in new brakes on a mountain bike? The Polygon Xtrada’s brakes feel a bit weak but it is a brand new bike so maybe it will improve a bit as the brakes wear in?


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The price of liberty and even of common humanity is eternal vigilance
 
Posts: 21074 | Location: San Dimas CA, the Old Dominion or the Tar Heel State…flip a coin  | Registered: April 16, 2007Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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I just get going fast and brake hard (about as hard as you can without locking up the wheels) a dozen or two times to bed the brakes in. Brand new pads and rotors can feel pretty weak.

As long as you can't make the levers touch the handlebars, you should be able to get plenty of caliper pressure.

If you get any oil or grease at all on the rotors or pads, that'll absolutely kill your braking power.
 
Posts: 6319 | Location: CA | Registered: January 24, 2011Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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maladat, thanks man! You were right! The brakes felt weak only because they were so new. Now the front brakes will clamp down hard enough to do an endo/stoppie and lift that rear wheel with ease. Cool The rear brake is also performing MUCH better than before now that it’s had time to break in.

This bike has been a pleasant surprise. Assembly was beyond simple. The derailleur was difficult to tune and I couldn’t get it perfect so I took it to my local bike shop. I felt better about my mechanic abilities when I learned today that they struggled a bit to fine tune the bike as well. After liberally oiling the chain and fiddling with the derailleur for two days they finally got it pretty much perfect. When I asked the guy how they got it dialed in and fixed the dude let out a long sigh and began to explain how frustrating the process was. Big Grin

Coming from a BMX background I cannot bring myself to adjust to these wide as hell handle bars. They just don’t feel right. Wide bars seem to be all the rage right now but I’m tempted to cut these bars down to around 25.5-27 inches so it feels closer to my Specialized Stumpjumper, which has absolutely amazing ergonomics.

My new two wheel machine is a blast. We just need some warmer weather and a bit less rain so I can thrash the hell out of it on the trails.



Look at those beefy chain stays! This is a solid & well built bike!


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The price of liberty and even of common humanity is eternal vigilance
 
Posts: 21074 | Location: San Dimas CA, the Old Dominion or the Tar Heel State…flip a coin  | Registered: April 16, 2007Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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That's a nice looking bike! I'm glad the brakes bedded in and improved.

If, after a while, you decide you need more braking power, it is easy to put bigger rotors on - you just put on the bigger rotors and add standard-size spacers between the calipers and mounts.

I wonder if the derailleur hanger (the little plate that bolts to the frame and that the derailleur bolts to) was a bit bent.

The couple of Shimano 1x drivetrains I have installed and set up have been pretty much set the limit screws, set the B-tension so the line on the derailleur lines up with the edge of the largest cog, turn the shifter barrel adjuster until nothing clicks, and you're done.

With that said, modern 1x drivetrains have the cogs so close together that the misalignment from even a very slightly tweaked (so slightly you can't tell looking at it) derailleur hanger can cause problems.

It's enough of an issue that there are special tools for checking hanger alignment and tweaking them back straight.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: maladat,
 
Posts: 6319 | Location: CA | Registered: January 24, 2011Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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