Keyne's DH Comp Build - now with liquid cooled HX35! :)

[keyne]

I've built a few ebikes before but I'm finally building a powerful off-road bike for myself. (Not everyone can afford a Bomber! )

Here it is before I started work on it. It's a 2003 Giant DH Comp.

I never knew quite what a true DH bike was like before I bought this one. Amazing to ride downhill, but not so amazing to ride on the flat and uphill . So perfect for converting to an ebike!

Current bike has:
190mm Front travel (Mazzocchi DC Shivers)
215mm Rear travel (6 way Manitou SPV)
44T front chainring and bash gaurd

Plan is:
15AHrs 24s lipo (mounted in triangle- yes it fits)
Crystalyte 5305 or HT3525
Lyen 18fet controller (80-90Amps)
6 pot Gatorbrakes
Fiberglass/carbonfiber moulded side panels
Custom speedo/display
Custom BMS.
9 speed freewheel
9 speed sram gripshift (on left, throttle on right)

Fresh paint job (blue, black and exposed carbon fiber)

I'll use this thread to document the build and the first two posts to maintain a summary.

[keyne]

Reserving this for overall progress summary.

[keyne]

Task number 1 - Dropouts

I took DoctorBass's DH comp build for inspiration:
http://www.evalbum.com/3406
http://endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=18473&start=75

Infact I did more than that I bought a spare set of his dropouts!

Except I made some mods - I wanted the drop-out to clamp the axle so I found a friendly machinist and enlisted their assistance.

bare_dropouts.jpg

Bare Dropouts

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Left hand side dropout bottom

lhs_droput_bottom.jpg (88.02 KiB) Viewed 5488 times

Right hand side dropout bottom

rhs_dropout_bottom.jpg (77.51 KiB) Viewed 5305 times

One side of the packman part is welded to the main plate and a bolt allows the axle to be clamped.

I also got him to drill and tap three holes on each side for bolts to attach to the swing-arm.

To make them line up right with the axle I had to put a slight bend in them.

[BlackArrow]

Hi,

Nice plan you will out perform a bomber in term of range speed and torque with this set up nice choice

Good day!
Black Arrow

[voicecoils]

Great bike and electrical component choices!

I think an 'H' series motor would be perfect with a high voltage build.

Your photography is fantastic, keep taking photos along the way!

[chroot]

I agree with voicecoils's comment. Go get xlyte HS (high speed) or HT (high torque) hub motor on your pretty DH bike.

Your DH bike is so beautiful!

[keyne]

Thanks for your comments guys, I've already got a 5305 but also have a HT3525 on order (I don't want to go over about 60-65kmhr)

I'm a bit further ahead on the build than the build log so I'll keep posting till I catch up.

Next step
I took to the swingarm with my angle grinder, (there's no going back now!)

Left hand side of swingarm after grinder attack

lh_swingarm.jpg (106.29 KiB) Viewed 5242 times

Right hand side of swingarm after grinder attack

rh_swingarm.jpg (129.12 KiB) Viewed 5242 times

Following DoctorBass's recommendations I picked up some 3M DP460 Epoxy (has crazy shear strength properties) and will use it to back up the bolts for attachment of the new drop-outs to the swingarm. I guess the picture says it all

Attachemnt method

[keyne]

After epoxying the dropouts on everything is amazingly solid.

[Doctorbass]

Keyne, That's a very nice project!

I see the improvement on the dropout, it will allow you to use the regen without any mecanical problem!

After i finished my dropout assembly on the DH comp, i realized that it was a bit OVERKILL.. but i know it will never break!

Any 10mm AXEL would torsion and break before the steel dropout would show any sing of stress!

What was the most difficult was to keep both dropout ( left and right) perfectly aligned with their slit aligned and ensure that the wheel is in the perfect alignement on the swing arm. But i took the time to do that.

I'm looking forward for your project!

Doc

[GCinDC]

Awesome dropout mod. Inspirational.

Love all that room in the triangle! This is gonna be a sick build!

[keyne]

Thanks for the support guys!

DoctorBass - I know what you mean about getting everything perfectly lined up! I spent the best part of 3 hours marking out the mounting holes on the swingarm and on the dropout plates. I also spent ages getting the plates bent to the right angle so the axle would fit just right.

[dbaker]

These are the most secure drop outs /torque arms I have seen. Awesome start to the build

[Mark_A_W]

Yay! Another modded DH Team


Mine is basically as perfect as a conventional frame converted E-bike can be. It's solid as a rock, with room for batteries.

[Drunkskunk]

Nice. Love the dropouts. Welcome to team DH

[torker]

I sure hope you don't mind if I save some pics of those dropouts. Elegantly simple. I love it.

[Doctorbass]

I sure hope you don't mind if I save some pics of those dropouts. Elegantly simple. I love it.

I have some more pics for you right here :http://endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=18473&start=60

Doc

[torker]

Thanks Doc ! Is it just me or are some pics messed up? I know we lost a bunch( I noticed in the Mag max thread) But now I get a lot of yours that are either half missing or looks like mixed pixels on half ?? Just want to see if it is just me? Don't mean to hijack

[keyne]

Next Step : Disc Brake adaptor

So I want to use a 9 Speed freewheel which means there is not a lot of space for the disc brake. So I gained about 6mm by having a disc brake adaptor machined like this:

Modified disc brake adaptor

brake_adaptor_back.jpg (103.35 KiB) Viewed 1376 times

In retrospect I should have used on of the Avid ones as they are much stronger looking, but I'll see how this one holds up.

Shimano rear brake adaptor mod

brake_adaptor.jpg (215.44 KiB) Viewed 1376 times

Here's how it fits on the dropout:

dropout plus brake adaptor

dropout_plus_brake_adaptor.jpg (168.71 KiB) Viewed 1364 times

There is only 3mm of thread left at the back of the brake adaptor (the front of the brake adaptor and the dropout are unthreaded holes) so there is not much there, but it seems to be ok.

[keyne]

I forgot to mention that the reason I've been so careful with making the dropouts is that I have one of the old x5305 motors that have a 12mm diameter axle, not the newer 14mm that most big motors have. As you can imagine 12mm diameter with 10mm between flats doesn't leave much room for error! If I was just using a normal 14mm diameter axle I probably wouldn't have bothered with making them clamp nicely (but now that it's done I'm pretty stoked with them!)

[keyne]

While I had the frame apart, I bought a bearing replacement set of Voicecoils who had it left over from his DH team build.
Suspension runs really smooth now!

Replacement Bearings for Giant DH Comp

replacement_bearings.jpg (143.33 KiB) Viewed 1332 times

[keyne]

Had a chance to do some painting through the week and on the weekend. Swing arm, frame, forks, motor and controller.

Frame and swing arm painted

Painted Forks

painted_forks.jpg (161.24 KiB) Viewed 1305 times

painted motor covers

motor_panels.jpg (244.24 KiB) Viewed 1305 times

painted lyen controller

controller_painted.jpg (146.67 KiB) Viewed 1305 times

lyen_cont_bot.jpg (124.05 KiB) Viewed 1317 times

left hand dropout post painting

lh_dropout_paint.jpg (120.83 KiB) Viewed 1317 times

right hand dropout post painting

rh_dropout_paint.jpg (118.75 KiB) Viewed 1317 times

[voicecoils]

While I had the frame apart, I bought a bearing replacement set of Voicecoils who had it left over from his DH team build.
Suspension runs really smooth now!

Nice!!! I'm stoked to see them getting used

[voicecoils]

Had a chance to do some painting through the week and on the weekend. Swing arm, frame, forks, motor and controller.

frame_spray.jpg

Looking good.

Did you see a serial number anywhere on the frame when you tore it down?

[keyne]

Hmm.. I'm pretty sure there was a serial number under the bottom bracket but I didn't really pay attention. Why do you ask?

[Mark_A_W]

Hey Keyne

Does your frame have a serial number on it? If so, where is it?

I can't find one on mine and the insurance company needs it for me to add it to the household contents insurance ($50 for $2000, insured against theft away from the home).

My bike has the controller and battery box stuck to it, so I can't say for sure that it's missing completely, but I sure can't find the serial number