Next, scratch that. THIS years bike

Hello all, with motor not built and controller nonexistent, but with insurance check in hand next years build begins. Here's some specs and cad pr0n:

Motor: TBA
Controller: also TBA
Batteries: 8 turnigy 8Ah Nanotechs arranged in a 4s2p config for 88v at 16Ah. (oh yeah, entering the 1kwhr club in style )
Tires: also also TBA, but 24x2.1 skinny cats will suffice till then.
Wheels: 24" dx32
Front Hub: DMR revolver, 13ga spokes from JRH.
Brakes: Avid bb7 and 203mm on the back, and front rotor is TBA, but the gatorbrake 6 piston looks like it.
Front fork: 2005 blue Manitou Dorado
Frame: Chromoly, 52" wheelbase, 24" tires and FS, homebrew.

And for the pr0n:

*SuBSCribeD* Best of luck with this build Farfle, if the quality and crafstmanship of
your swing arms are any indication this frame will also be top class!!
LOVinG the suggested mid motor mount position either way though
its still going to be a frock though isn't it LoL
...looks slick anywayz mate will be a nice ride... :wink:

KiM

well AJ, the motor is starting life as a frock. It might not be when im thru winding it. Depends alot on what kind of numbers I can get out of it, and if I can manage liquid cooling or not

The battery location is right if you use a mid-mount motor. For a hub motor it'd better if the battery are down and paralleled with the down tube.

im hoping I can get the motor to be a low-revving mid-drive, but I wont weld in the second top-tube till I know for sure.

Since you are all about the Walmart bikes bikes, I thought the brand was "Next". :lol:

Looks awesome man, those Dorado's are some good lookin forks, better hunt down the stiffest spring you can find for the race, or just stuff some spacers in there to stiffen it up. I REALLY like the clip ons you are providing, might be a market for those in the aftermarket ebike world. And the batteries will be just fine in that position, low CG is not the cat's meow that everybody thinks it is, in fact, i think Luke said it's much better to be forward than low. One criticism, get the cheap scooter front brake that Thud runs, it's a bit heavier and not the prettiest on a bicycle, but for racing, it's the shizz. Is this a race bike, or just for rucking around town on, I just kinda assumed it was a racer...

Will have to shoot him a message, its either that, or a lasercut 12" rotor with the gatorbrake.

Can't wait to see it take shape! You may consider 13/14 butted spokes too, they build and ride well.

johnrobholmes said:

Can't wait to see it take shape! You may consider 13/14 butted spokes too, they build and ride well.

Click to expand...

doh, already ordered the spokes and just found out that I ordered 12ga a bit overkill for the task?

Go one better, and improve the suspension. Copy something like the mongoose blackcomb, or other 4 bar link. Mabye snag the components off the genesis?

Surely if you are building a frame from scratch, you have no reason to use a wallbike primitive suspension setup.

dogman said:

Go one better, and improve the suspension. Copy something like the mongoose blackcomb, or other 4 bar link. Mabye snag the components off the genesis?

Surely if you are building a frame from scratch, you have no reason to use a wallbike primitive suspension setup.

Click to expand...

Nah, the rear suspension will be like any MX or most superbikes, just the simple monoshock, it gets all the moving suspension crap out of the triangle, and its super simple to biuld. And very adjustable if designed right.

Fine if you pull the shock off a motorcycle. Not fine if it's a 20 buck pogo stick. True though, you won't be worried about pedal bob. I'm just a huge fan of 4 bar linkage suspension.

Whether 12ga is a good solution depends on how the wheel is driven. Mid drive is the plan?

The shock I'm using this year is the same as last years, its a manitau metel platform plus coilover. Not the best shock, but it has damping, and lsc and hsc and rebound. Problem was the spring I got was stupidly stiff, so I'm not practically able to do a pivot linkage setup.

johnrobholmes said:

Whether 12ga is a good solution depends on how the wheel is driven. Mid drive is the plan?

Click to expand...

The 12ga was for the front wheel :?

Machined some bits and pieces today, headtube and the extended BB.

I would say that 13/14 or 13ga is a better fit for the front. You won't be able to tension the wheel high enough without rim deformation. On shorter spokes around 150mm or less it isn't a problem, but on longer spokes the wheel stays "loose".

dogman said:

Fine if you pull the shock off a motorcycle. Not fine if it's a 20 buck pogo stick. True though, you won't be worried about pedal bob. I'm just a huge fan of 4 bar linkage suspension.

Click to expand...

Dogman,

I'm finally going to have the time to build a full sus bike next year. I've never ridden this type of bike, but I know pedaling & bobbing is an issue w/poor setups. So, knowing you have a lot of experience, why is the 4 bar linkage your fan base? Can it be done better or less expensive than what Len did or Farfle plans? What if it's a custom build

Have you got any build plans for 2012?

Thanks man! 8)

Farfle, awesome to see you move on to fabricating a CrMo frame, winding motors, work at an eBike shop... 2011-2012 has/will be fantastic for you & eBikes!

Happy New Year & Holiday EV Grins...

deVries said:

Farfle, awesome to see you move on to fabricating a CrMo frame, winding motors, work at an eBike shop... 2011-2012 has/will be fantastic for you & eBikes!

Happy New Year & Holiday EV Grins...

Click to expand...

Thanks mate

Got the batteries ordered, 1.4kw/hr of brand new nano-tech . much better than 850W/hr of beat up mismatched 20C turnigy cells.

woo! more boxes! its like a second Christmas!

woo! she cleans up good!

More progress on the motor end of things, got the two lam stacks connected together, and got the two magnet rings glued together, so I have a motor held together solely by DP-420 . doctorbass would be proud. Waiting on magnet wire, so today will be frame build day .

When glueing the stators together would an axle shaft help maintain the alignment? Perhaps you already removed it.

So, your joining two motors together?? WOW!

Awesome! Do you think you're going to be able to take the cromotor and x54xx in a drag race? I'm rooting for the diy double stack magic pie to win!

Nice...

Would it be best to triangulate/reinforce ALL the joins? My biggest fear is the head stock coming away from the draw section at speed, and having a negative affect on my good-looks.

Also, on the subject of brakes, Shimano m-810 kits aren't that dear, have amazing reviews on performance, reliability, low maintenance and power, and a pair of floating 203mm discs (cryo treated, of course) should be fine? They don't look very "motor bike". Hydraulic scattered 4 pots.

Is there any advantage in increasing front caster? Helps self-centre, and adds a horizontal element to bound, effectively lessening the spring/shock rate, but decreasing the dynamic travel of the front shocks. How would this effect stability under braking? The Stealth looks to have a little more caster than this.

ie- road (motor) bikes have less caster than mx bikes.

Is it possible to have an adjustable seat? (not up/down, but fore/aft) 1/ A seat further back results in an "outstretched" riding position, advantageous at speed from a "frontal area" standpoint, (as your head would be lower) and weight rearwards helps stability (and up-rightedness) during DH riding, but 2/is terrible on long rides on your lower back. Also, if something bad happens, I lean back, and clench my knees together (gripping bike and increasing purchase on the pedals) and the wide part of the seat limits how far back you can shift your weight while you are awaiting impact, with your legs tightly held together. A simple "half scissor" with a retaining clip would be strong enough.

Battery position: I see some commercially available e-bikes with the pack vertically and aft of the seat pole. Minimum advantage is centre of gravity. Does lower CG improve balance at low speeds? Speed control could go under upper horizontal. It may also help protect the pack in the event of a wreck too, like into a tree on an angle I guess. Moving forward, the back of the bike is more likely to hit later and softer....

Also, the longer the frame, the less effect rider mass has on rider discomfort, enabling shock/spring rates to be decreased, further aiding comfort and safety. However this will increase frame stresses at torsion centres and joins, further contributing to the need for triangular reinforcement. 14kW is going to punish the rear wheel!!! Can you use a front motorbike rim to lace to the hub? tyres would be tougher!! Long rear trailing arm may help with weight transfer under heavy acceleration. I would certainly box/triangulate that rear arm too, up close to the tyre.

Also, are you designing around 26in, 28in, or 700c wheels?

I would really like to hear as many ideas as possible, so as to learn more stuff for when I start my custom bike.

Just if you are starting from scratch, the world is your oyster, and it would be nice to design something ourselves that's passively revolutionary, and ahead of it's time.