GT hardtail 450w geared (5th, 6th build)

[veloman]

36v unite 450w geared bike motor. Only downside is the noise, it mounts really well (using front derailer clamps on the seat tube), and has the proper no-hassle reduction. With this setup the bike has enough torque to pull massive weight up steep hills (if I don't mind going 5mph in the granny gear). Riding on the flats has me using the top gear 42x11.

Battery is my 5 Bosch Fatpacks in for about 11ah. Range with easy pedaling should be 25-30 miles when cruising at 23mph on the flats.

Total weight should be about 52lbs. It handles really nicely with the battery in the center of the frame. I'll be putting a rear rack on for carrying stuff.

Currently this design allows the bike to be pedaled with zero drag while the motor is off. However, I must pedal when the motor is on, so it's more of an assist, "turbo-boost" bike. I must say, the front suspension helps a lot, compared to my previous Giant. With easy/moderate pedaling, I was cruising at 25mph on the flats today.

Once the LBS gets my new longer BB in, I will likely return this setup to the original, right side only setup, where I can coast with the motor on, but I will give up the drag free pedaling when the motor is off. This bike is intended to be a commuter, so that will be fine.

The first pic is what I completed today, but tomorrow I will be putting some more finishing touches on it, such as a noise shield over the gearbox on the motor, an enclosure near the controller and hooking up my watt meter, as well as putting the normal rear wheel back on. (the one with the large sprocket is there bc I first thought of doing a different drive with the scooter motor).

This the best looking ebike I've built too date. Just need to muffle the noise!

[beast775]

very nice,ive always liked those frames.good work.funny seeing the sprocket on the left,i kinda like it.

[veloman]

I'm getting 13 watt-hour / mile with light-moderate pedaling at 25mph (less on hills). I think that's pretty good eh?

With a similar setup on the Giant, I was getting 16 watt-hour / mile at 20mph with no pedaling, except for on hills. Overall, the GT is much faster, due to my constant pedaling.

At 25mph, it still feels non-aero and draggy compared to my road bike, but eh. Good transportation.

Since this design forces me to pedal, I am always helping the motor. A word of advice to anyone who intends to use this motor: at 450w, with efficient gear selection available, it does okay at moving the bike by itself. But if you want to go at nice, quick speeds over 21mph, and up hills at acceptable speeds, you need to assist the bike with at least light pedaling. Even a little pressure, just soft pedaling really helps, as well as some hard strokes during acceleration or hills. With light to moderate pedaling, this setup can achieve 22mph average on less than perfect terrain/conditions. Think of it as a walking pace effort, but instead you are traveling 25mph! Ahh, ebikes...

Oh, and good luck trying to reduce the whine of that gearbox. It has a frequency that seems to cut through any barrier you might create.

[veloman]

I needed the mtn bike for a weekend trip on the trails, so I transferred the electrics to this hybrid. The upright position is really comfortable, but it's hard to output much power and I feel like I am catching a ton of wind. I did 14 miles on it today, at about 20mph because it was really hot and windy. It does the job though. I'd consider selling it as is in the picture with Bosch charger for $600, but I'm afraid the buyer would hurt themselves as they tried to coast with the motor on - the pedals can knock you off the bike if you aren't careful. It's purely an assist, you must pedal. I actually like it that way, because without pedaling, it's just too slow and I hate going slow with a loud, whiny motor. At least if I'm going 25mph, I don't feel like a complete dork with the whine. Although if it's windy, you barely even hear it. On a quiet road on a still day, it is loud however.

Total weight is 51.5lbs, range of 20-30+miles.

[neptronix]

That's gangster! I never thought of mounting a currie that way.