This thread is worthless without wheelie pics!

Kidding, sort of. Don’t flip it over backwards. I like the idea of pedal assist on a 80 pound bike.

What's its top speed?

Fantastic build Stickman! That thing is gonna fly. Especially given your stature, the rigid/ suspension-less frame, and non-fatty tires. Can’t wait to read about your initial “range report”
Lookin good man!

Im going to need a better battery.

I was able to hit 35 mph today. My controller is rated for 45 amps max +\- 2 amps. I’m running a 52V 13Ah battery so there is ALOT more speed to be found on this bike simply by getting a better battery that can crank out more amps.

My rear brake is terrible and my front brake is only ok so I really shouldn’t even be pushing the bike as hard as I did today. They will both be upgraded later this week. It feels more like a motorcycle flying through my neighborhood at around 30+mph without even pedaling.

The 5 power levels work brilliantly. Power level 1 keeps the watts low and tops the speed out at around 17.5 mph. Power level 2 goes up to about 22 mph, 3 goes up to 25, 4 tops at about 28 mph and 5 is unrestricted.

My LCD was indicating well over 1500W under hard acceleration, it was handling north of 2000W which I was surprised to see on the screen. The highest I noticed it go was 2400W.

I frickin love this electric bike.

I’m honestly shocked how good it is at hill climbing. It goes 20 mph up the hills in my neighborhood with ease. Pedaling like I’m on flat land to assist the motor (and increase range) as I climb rather large hills is such a unique feeling.

I ordered a few frame bags to replace ugly and cheap looking controller bag. She isn’t the prettiest e-bike (yet) but I am absolutely loving it so far.

A few pics

My dash




This pic from my garage the night I finished the build. It shows the colors and contrast a little better than the other pic. You can toggle between actual speed, average speed and maximum speed reached.


Ok, this part is going to be looking a LOT better soon. The new frame bag will attach to the seat tube and hide most of those wires.


A pic from the park yesterday

While looking at amp meters I came across an inexpensive and interesting little device.

I pulled the trigger on an inexpensive watt, volt and amp meter/tracker. Not only will it assist in confirming the data on my LCD along with the additional measurement of amps, which my set up doesn’t display but it will also be beneficial when charging my battery. I can hook it up between my charger and battery to make sure I charge the battery to exactly where I want it.



Next up will be fixing the rear brake and upgrading the front brake to a quality 180mm hydraulic set up. I thought about 203mm but that might be overkill.

quote:

Next up will be fixing the rear brake and upgrading the front brake to a quality 180mm hydraulic set up. I thought about 203mm but that might be overkill.

Overkill is under rated..

If you have the go, don't forget the whoa!

^^ that’s an interesting video. It almost reminds me of the import tuners who spend tons of $$$$ on a stand alone fuel management system to augment their already expensive builds.

I think I found a very good solution to my stopping issue. I have a Giant Anthem 29er with a cracked lower D ring on its rear suspension. The part is incredibly difficult to find but since I have two of these bikes and have fixed it before I know a source in Amsterdam that still has the part.

It will take about 2-4 months for my suspension component to arrive. I am going to cannibalize the Giant and use it’s Shimano XTR brakes to add some much needed stopping power to my electric bike.


I figured out a neat mounting point for my phone on the frame of the e-bike so soon I will post up a video of the bike. It actually has pretty decent range and managed a little over 15 miles before the battery dropped to 50%. This was with me riding it like a fool with lots of high speed runs, hill climbs and very little pedaling to assist the motor. If I wanted to I could squeeze out a lot more range from this bike. I am not sure I had it fully charged the first time I rode it. With a proper battery this bike should be incredible.

I’m getting really close to 40mph.

With a full charge and a skinny cyclocross style front tire (off another bike) I managed to hit 38 mph tonight.

It looks goofy eh? That rim is about to get a new Maxxis 29x2.4 shoe.

This is such a cool thread!

I would contact Exro and see if they will have a motor/controller kit you can buy.

The battery I am currently using is rated for 1000W bikes. It’s really too small for my bike and will be a good back up battery. I can use it to cover distance by pedaling and watching my watts but that’s not as fun as going fast.

After a few high speed runs the battery doesn’t provide the same level of top speed and I am witnessing the battery drain pretty quickly. Basically, I need a stronger battery that can provide more amps for a longer time. Something in the 52V 20Ah range should let me get the most out of my set up. It’s close to maxing out my controller but not too close.

I also noticed my rear brake is sticking. Hub motors are known to have a little resistance and do not spin as freely as a regular bicycle wheel. I suspected my brake might be adding to the resistance so I pulled it off and spun the wheel. HUGE difference.

My first priority is to get a better rear brake and a stronger battery. Those two changes should easily get the bike into 40mph territory.

I got a speedo app for my phone to confirm the accuracy of my bike’s speedo and they are both indicating the same mph.

When I was riding a pedal bike, I'd bump up the tire pressures to get a little better roll, just an idea.

WRT additional tweaks, how do you think adding a front wheel motor would help?

A very interesting project, thanks for posting the experience.

The advances in e-bike performance make me think they'll need a license plate before long.

Architect, I’ve thought about a front hub motor but then the bike would be well over 100 lbs. it would really be a motorcycle at that point. But 2wd and some big 2.8 plus size Maxxis tires would be fun in the mud.



This thing is wild. I think I’m going to have to build another one. It’s practically a motorcycle now. For the first time today I reached that glorious speed where the aero (or lack there of) builds negative pressure and pulled up the back of my t-shirt like a motorcycle does around 50 mph. I wasn’t expecting that to happen. Hahahah

I met my son and his friends at the bus stop today and let them take the bike for a very brief test ride on a cul-de-sac on power level 1. I made sure each of them rode it without any power first to get a feel for the bike.

Since it has a dropper seat post the little dudes (middle school) were able to ride it with ease. On power level 1 they were all shocked at the power and acceleration. Now they all want an electric bike and I’m the cool dad on the block for building one.

I think the motor has a bit of a break in period because it’s going faster every time I ride it.

37.9 mph basically 38mph was the previous top speed. This speed was achieved today after a bit of riding around.

You can see the Giant Anthem X29 that is donating parts for this build in the background along with a little bit of big bird (BMW R1150GS).

I’ve put nearly 40 miles on the bike already.

One design flaw I’ve discovered so far is the battery mounts. If you go off-road for even a short time the two screws holding the battery mount try to work loose.

I’ve applied locktite to the screws and used zip ties along with washers to give something extra to hold down the battery mount in an interesting & improvised sort of fix. So far so good.

If I can figure out how to imbed a video I have a short video of my son flying by on the bike. It makes a pretty interesting sound as it zooms by. I am going to film an acceleration video POV style the next time I have to charge up the battery. It really scoots on a full charge.

My improvised zip tie fix.

All you need now is some duct tape and baling wire and along with the zip ties, you’ll have the trifecta of the handy man’s secret weapons.

The two screws are for a water bottle mount, correct? How much does the battery weigh versus a water bottle?

Here’s to 40mph !

The new Marin Pine Mountain 1 & 2 both have a ridiculous amount of mounts on the down tube. That’s what I’ll probably use for my next build.

Once I break 40mph this will be the next goal.

I want to build a few other e bikes and build one with a rear rack to carry foldable solar panels and an inverter so I can go on a road trip. My old boss cycled across the country, I am not that ambitious but a ride across a few states using nothing but pedal power and solar power would be damn cool.

This set up takes about 7 hours to charge up the battery.

Trapper, the battery weights A LOT more than a water bottle. So far the extra zip ties have kept it secure.

It looks and handles much better now that the super skinny cyclocross style front tire has been replaced with a wider and taller 2.2 Maxxis Ardent Race. It’s a slightly softer compound than the rear tire but I already had it (and a spare just like it) so it made sense verses buying a $60-80 new tire.

Front brakes upgraded to Shimano XTR Hydraulic
Rear brakes adjusted and now working pretty good
Front tubeless tire installed

All that’s left now is to get a better battery and find a bag to hold the controller and wires. The two frame bags I bought recently are just a tad too small, well one is the other is too big. Eventually I’ll find the Goldilocks bag for this bike and it’ll look better.

Pics from last nights night ride. The larger tire might have slowed the bike down a bit. The battery was near 50% so I’m not sure yet how much of an impact the new tire has had on the top speed.

I’m already at 45 fun filled miles on this bike.




With rain forecast all day long this is how I’m feeling right now.

Pretend you are riding across Arrakis, ride by night and sleep in Sietch by day. Don't forget to; "ride without rhythm, so you don't attract a worm"

How long does it take to recharge off outlet 115V?
This thread has got me eBike curious. I don't have a lot of free time or specialized bike knowledge so I have been perusing a bunch of reviews of off the shelf ebikes.

quote:

Originally posted by stickman428:
The new Marin Pine Mountain 1 & 2 both have a ridiculous amount of mounts on the down tube. That’s what I’ll probably use for my next build.

Once I break 40mph this will be the next goal.

I want to build a few other e bikes and build one with a rear rack to carry foldable solar panels and an inverter so I can go on a road trip. My old boss cycled across the country, I am not that ambitious but a ride across a few states using nothing but pedal power and solar power would be damn cool.

This set up takes about 7 hours to charge up the battery.

CaptainMike, I’ve only charged my battery twice (52V 13Ah) and it’s a relatively small battery compared to the 52V 20Ah whale I’m about to buy both times it was at a full charge in 2-3 hrs and it was around a 50-60% charge each time I recharged it.

It’s really not that hard to build an ebike. I took my time and agonized over minor details because I’m running close to 3000W under full throttle on a full charge. For a 500-750W kit most people will be thrilled with its performance and range adding capability.

Coming from litre bikes and super sport motorcycles my acceleration and top speed expectations are probably a bit unreasonable.

It is a damn cool sensation flying at over 30 mph completely silent on an ebike.

How far are you from VA-Beach/Chesapeake VA? I’ll be there in April and if you’re not too far away you’re welcome to test ride this build. It’s FUN!

My son has already crashed it at low speed so it’s a fairly robust build.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: stickman428,