Beachnik, ebay fat-tire E-cruiser, $2473

Seller is prfginz (645 transactions) 100% Positive feedback.

My interest in this is two reasons. Up till now I havent seen a stretch cruiser frame that would take the trendy 4-inch wide fat tires. If you dont have suspension, I suspect a Thudbuster seat and 4-inch tires can provide adequate cushion up to the popular top speed of 28-MPH (45 km/h).

The second reason is that for snow (in Canada/Europe/Russia) I am convinced that a 2WD fattie is the best possible traction, even if you only need a modest 20-MPH (ie: not a hot rodder, obeys the laws, etc). Upon scanning E-fatbikes, I immediately see that a front conversion is the most popular. Many fat front forks will accept a REAR hub that has been laced to a fattie rim. The problem is the axle shoulders on the rear. Many fat frames are "just" wide enough that the common 135mm E-hub is too short.

If anyone had enough of a sales volume, it is easy to specify a longer axle in the hubmotor order. I don't know which retailers would allow a single-motor order with a longer axle (for a small extra charge, of course).

So, according to my best available information right now, the way to save a lot of money on a 2WD fatbike would be to look for an existing fattie with a rear hubmotor that is already using 48V (or 36V, but significant savings can be had if your desired system voltage is already stock on the model you buy). This model already uses 48V.

This model looks like a generic rear Bafang BPM, known to work very well with temporary peaks of 48V X 20A = 960W. Add a second $300 BPM kit on the front (the relatively "easy" part), and you could have a 2WD fatbike for around $3600, plus adding a battery capable of 40A peaks (cell_man 25R triangle pack?).

I like the low seat and the relaxed rider position, but that is a personal preference. Shipping to US is $150, and shipped from is listed Ventura, California. Aluminum frame, fork is likely to be "walmart" quality mild steel. Dual disc brakes are listed as Shimano hydraulics. So far the colors are black with red trim, and cream/off-white with red trim.

As a side note: with the stock 13-Ah battery removed from the seat-post slot, I suspect there is room for an LR "big block" (5 inches diameter) between the seat-post and rear tire (left side drive?). However, this idea is not yet verified...

If you want to tackle lacing a hubmotor to a 36H fat rim, here is a list I compiled for the available fat rims in 36H (almost all E-hubs are 36H), the list is at the bottom of this article. If you try this, please contact me on how it turned out, and provide any advice you can to help others in the future.

https://www.electricbike.com/2wd-fatbike/

Yes, it is a Bafang motor. I looked at this model from the supplier in China last year. They have 36v and 48v versions and it can be specced with hydraulic brakes too.

If this was available from a brick-and-mortar store with full warranty and customer support (Pedego's example), then I can see enough customers buying at this price to keep them rolling into N. America. However, since I know what a bafang-BPM generic China bike wholesales for, a guy who does drop-shipping from China to you via FedEx/UPS (or ships from his garage) with no real support after the sale...this is too expensive.

I can only guess that they are hoping that by being some of the first retailers of this model (stretch fatbike), that they might snag enough buyers to make it worthwhile. I do think some of them will sell, but I am certain it will be slow enough that the prices will come down and then there will be some competition amongst the drop-shippers.

Here is a link to a comparable generic China-bike (Walmart quality level, of course) for only $650 ($170 shipping to US locations = $820). It is a stretch-cruiser, but no fat tires. Also, the rear hubmotor appears to be the smallish 350W variety, so no hot-rodding potential. Also only 36V, but upgrade those three factors, and you should still be able to get a "Beachnik" for under $1400?...this may not sound like much performance-wise, but add an identical motor on the front to make it a 2WD?...

http://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-E-BIKE-LITHIUM-BATTERY-POWER-ASSISTED-LCD-DISPLAY-20-MPH-DISK-BRAKES/111574007033?_trksid=p2047675.c100005.m1851&_trkparms=aid%3D222007%26algo%3DSIC.MBE%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D28791%26meid%3Df758855f5c8e4984b2bf8fef860255e3%26pid%3D100005%26rk%3D1%26rkt%3D6%26sd%3D111502053882&rt=nc



Here's a Bofeili clone in a cruiser frame with an integrated 36V mid drive, for $1500.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Bofeili-Sport-e-Bike-Lithium-Battery-electric-assisted-suspension-disc-brakes/321181094577?_trksid=p2047675.c100010.m2109&_trkparms=aid%3D555012%26algo%3DPW.MBE%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D28791%26meid%3D14a0926391474369b6adf17736d226fb%26pid%3D100010%26rk%3D1%26rkt%3D24%26mehot%3Dpp%26sd%3D170915182539

Here's a 48V fatbike with a front Bafang-BPM, $2100 (not a stretch-cruiser, but comparable for $300 less)

http://www.ebay.com/itm/2014-Front-Suspension-48v-1000w-Fat-Wheel-Ebike-48V-12Ah-Battery-Electric-Bike/181435490545?_trksid=p2047675.c100005.m1851&_trkparms=aid%3D222007%26algo%3DSIC.MBE%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D28791%26meid%3Deb784fe6e91742ae8acd6923b552a57a%26pid%3D100005%26rk%3D6%26rkt%3D6%26mehot%3Dpp%26sd%3D321181094577&rt=nc

Looks like someone is now importing them and selling them on CL for $2K.

https://ventura.craigslist.org/bid/4849389802.html

The reason I suspect these are drop-shippers...is because if I was importing them, I would want to reassure potential customers that I actually have some of these "in hand" and I can vouch for their functionality. One of the ways to do that is to assemble one, and take fresh pictures to show that it is a real product. I understand wanting to save money when you are a garage business with thin profit margins, but...honestly....how expensive is digital film? take a new pic, dammit...one with a real human on the bike to show scale. If you are not careful, some of these generic China-bikes will be a 24V system with 24-inch tires. Thats not a bad thing, but if it isnt clear, then those types of things seem to be trying to decieve people.

One fatbike advertisement actually supplies the various parts, and in the fine print, tells you to take the motor, spokes, and rim to a bike shop to get them laced. I understand they tell you this ahead of time, but that is not what the picture showed.

edit: Thanks for pointing out the Craigslist ad, Ambrose!

Trust me, I'm not vouching for them. Just pointing out the listing!

Motiv "Stout" fat tire stretch cruiser. $2600 for the 36V version, $3,000 for 48V, motor is a rear Bafang-BPM.

Same bike with 2.3 inch tires (instead of 4.0 inch) is the "Spark" for $1750 for 36V ($2150 for 48V), so...the fat tired version is $850 more?

http://www.alibaba.com/product-detail/electric-beach-cruiser-bike-electric-bicycle_1974209524.html

This appears to be the base model for these? Work them over for a sample and report back.

I wouldn't call the margins "razor thin" considering the wholesale prices on alibaba. Looks like there's plenty of meat on the bone for somebody.

$500 apiece? Dayum! Minimum order of 20 is $10,000. The really nice thing about these is, the system is already at 48V, and since the back wheel is already done, the front tire is the easy one to convert to electric, to make it a 2WD...

spinningmagnets said:

$500 apiece? Dayum! Minimum order of 20 is $10,000. The really nice thing about these is, the system is already at 48V, and since the back wheel is already done, the front tire is the easy one to convert to electric, to make it a 2WD...

Click to expand...

Just don't tell them that you are thinking of doing that. They don't like the idea and didn't want to supply the extra bits.

I agree. Once I'd have a bike "in hand", I could see the top speed unloaded, and then select an appropriate geared hub at 48V to achieve the same approximate speed. I'd measure the width and diameter of the rear hub stator...fairly easy to find a match. If there is no true match, I've read several places where a 2WD system had the front controller de-rated a few Amps so the wheel wouldn't spin out (this is because when accelerating, some weight is shifted to the rear tire, and the front is lightly-loaded), so...a slightly smaller width of stator on the front hub wouldn't hurt.

In fact...A rear Bafang BPM that is mounted in the front (front of fat bike and rear hub are both 135mm drop-outs) is what my first choice would be (stator is 130mm X 17mm)...on the rear, we have the option of using the new wide axle-shouldered MAC from em3ev.com (175mm), so the stator on the MACs is 135mm X 22mm.

I had been thinking that...even though the cheap and common BPM is not hugely impressive by itself (the MAC and BMC are both using 30% wider stator, more copper mass), two BPM's could be suprisingly good performers, and they certainly would be affordable, compared to many of the other options. In a thought exercise, I imagined adding wide clamping drop-outs (similar in size and shape to Doctor Bass'), but placed inside the 205mm drop-outs of the Cheap Walmart Dolomite.

One inch is 24mm, so subtract from 205 = 181mm. The Dolomite has had its rear drop-outs squeezed-in to 190mm with no issues (its steel), so one Doc-style drop-out on the left side (located inside the frame) would hold the 175mm em3ev MAC with wide axle.

Spinningmagnets,

How would you handle splitting the throttle to the Mac controllers? It's straight forward for most other controllers, ebikes.ca even have an off the shelf splitter, but the Mac kit throttle wiring is different.

Maybe use a CAV3?

I'm keen to go 2WD Myself on my Mac bikes but not sure how to approach, I even considered a 2 throttle twist and thumb setup.

Kudos

zombiess sells a small device (throttle tamer) that runs in-line with the throttle wire that has one input for the throttle, and two outputs for the controllers. its main benefit is the adjustability concerning the throttle signal, but unfortunately, I havent gotten to experiemnting with that project yet...hopefully it will be soon, and I can post real data...