Animalector's 1000W F/S MTB Build

[Animalector]

Good afternoon,

I've been reading through these forums for a few months now, just taking note of other people's builds and information. I jumped in and got a kit to bolt onto my old dual suspension MTB.. I bought a Conhismotor 1000W hub motor kit. So far i have been impressed with what was included, how it was all packed and overall service in general. For the money so far so good.

I only received the battery yesterday so not everything is complete, however i have managed to hook it all up and give it a test throttle twist (no ride yet)

Here's some pics of the build so far.

Look forward to being a bit more of an active member on the forum.

Wheel and controller + extras all well packed and pre-connected

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Current cockpit, not really happy with the layout, I have ordered and will try a thumb throttle. Power mode on the left didn't seem to do much on an unloaded throttle test

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Rear in the air for an unloaded test - nice.

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Battery Trial Fit, clear of shock, need to bracket and bag.

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Caliper bracket provided drilled and used as a torque arm. Should work in my opinion.

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Current Issues:
Warped Disc - possibly even the threaded disc bracket. Also the caliper 'almost' fouls on the motor cover, and therefore I needed to add spacers between hub and disc. Could be an issue under heavy breaking.
Bag and Bracket battery and controller
TODO: Fit pedals, new shifter 7sp shimano altus/acera, matching derailleur, (unable to use largest sprocket, derailleur fouls against motor housing)

Look forward to some comments. Thanks
Andy

[Animalector]

Couple of updates. Received new thumb throttle, and single speed rear chainring. Take a look at the right side controls.. THe new THumb throttle is 'just' narrow enough to be able to reach around and change the gears without too much effort. The original twist supplied (see previous pics) was way too wide / cumbersome to get finger and thumb around to the shifters. I now have an additional pair of wires coming from the throttle box, no idea what they are for.

Chain is now routed, and will probably need another link or two removed. Also pedals are on.

New Handle Bar Throttle side

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Nut outer diameter is too large - need more grinding

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To Single or not to Single.. that is the question..

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Issues remaining:
The Axle Nut on the drive side fouls against the dérailleur. I need to grind it down or find a smaller nut.
Find an adapter for my torque wrench so I can tighten all the right nuts and bolts (crank etc)
Welded Battery box. Thanks to Catalyst82 for suggesting that I can pay him to make one. This is great because I have no welder nor welding skillz

Ta
Andy

[veloman]

The additional 2 wires from the throttle are likely the cruise control ones (red button). Only works if the controller is set up for it.

Those thumb throttles can be hard to regulate power with, but you'll see if it works okay for you. I like my half twist grip, use to have that thumb throttle too.

[rui_fujino]

looking good but from my experience first time is the time where you build it and run for 100miles no problem...then suddenly things go wrong because you didnt check everything...so I would recommend you getting nord lock
also, dont go with single gear...incase something goes wrong...last thing you want to do is to cycle the heavy bike without any lighter gears,,,

[Animalector]

Right thanks for that I had assumed the red button was the ON/OFF switch since the throttle is it replacing had a key ignition for on off...

I shall leave it disconnected rather than plugging it into the available single wire connector from the controller. I may have to find a better / smaller / slimmer twist throttle. anyone got suggestions on where to purchase from? aside from ebay? is there an Endless-Sphere twist throttle preference?

Ta
Andy

[Animalector]

Well it lives. The Battery pack is Duct Taped to a temporary folded Aluminium plate mounted to the drink bottle holes. Got to ride it for about 60 seconds, up and back the short street twice.. all good so far.. but have to catch a plane to Cairns in about 1 hour... need to pack..

Pics to follow..

Remaining Issues...
Buy a Go-Pro or equivalent... for action footage.
Get battery case made up (measurements when I get back)

Andy

[parmenps]

can you give me the link where you bought this hub motor

[Animalector]

Perhaps google conhismotor or try www.conhismotor.com I didn't use their online store but emailed the guy direct. He was quite helpful through the whole process

[Animalector]

Ok I took it out for my first ride today.. 26km all up the last 3 were full pedal - no electric assist. which is ok, it's good to know I can do it

it was about 50/50 split between road, and hill trails, and the ground was very soupy / sticky from a couple of days of solid rain so the bike was working pretty hard I think. In all I am absolutely thrilled with the end result.. it will cruise at 40 - 45 km/h with no pedal assist. my gear ratio doesn't allow much useful input at anything above roughly 37-38 km/h, powering up hills at 35+ is awesome.

On the trails, up inclines at 30+ in the bush adds a whole new dimension to off road MTB trail riding. The factory supplied rear tyre is a bit average for bush use but wasn't too bad overall. It's nice to be able to enjoy the trails without tearing them up like a motorcycle would (even a small pit bike would damage the trails).

Ok so the battery box is next on the cards as well as a Cycle Analyst so I can keep track of things.

The Bush

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Trial Fit CAD..

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CAD Battery Box. Tight fit..

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The camera angle was bad, everything actually does fit inside the battery box outline with a few mm everywhere for box material thickness and rubber protection ..

There is also a Youtube of my mate taking it for a test ride, doing a section of a medium grade climb.. with very little pedal effort (slacker), perhaps that can wait for another day.

Cheers
Andy

[itchynackers]

You may want to consider leaving the controller outside the frame box. You aren't pushing too much heat, but in the future... Also, maybe consider using up that space just in front of the shock as part of your box. Every little bit of room inside the box helps. A great start!

[Animalector]

Hey there,

Yes I first had the box an odd shape and using that space in front of the shock however, given this battery configuration it only fits two ways and either way that space is not used. so for simplicity in making the box.. i simplified the shape and took it out.

Thanks for the tip about the controller, I had considered leaving it outside, however figured the bike would 'look' better with it mounted inside. There is going to be a bit of space and I might actually end up mounting it fixed to the side or something so the box acts as a heatsink. same for the BMS. But I'll see what happens. THe Controller got warm but not too hot yesterday and it was inside the controller bag with no airflow.

Cheers
Andy

[carbonloft]

Where did you get this battery??? And what's the quality of it???Cheers!!

[Animalector]

so far so good I guess. it's part of the Conhismotor kit. Quality is what I expected given the price. I am happy with the overall result.

Here's an updated pic of the new layout in the frame all taped up for my commute until I get the battery box made up (under way). Pedalled this thing 15km the other day with no assist.. and it was not too bad, but definately not as fun as with assist.. I will try very hard not to run out of power that far from home again.

Current (and probably final) layout for battery BMS and Controller

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Current TODO list:
Await arrival of battery box, 2 weeks
Await arrival of Cycle Analyst (under a week)
Take wheel off install kevlar liner.
Ride more

[Ossielocal]

Nice build Animalector ,what size it the battery ? I'm using a ping 10amp 48v on my bike but i don't run a 1000w motor just a little 400w geared from ezee .

[Animalector]

it's a 48V 12AH.. physical size of the battery itself is 137 x 145 x 195mm then add a little bit extra for cables and BMS is now about 100 x 130 x 25mm all connected by the balance wires. there is a seperate charge / discharge port (3 pin kettle plug style.)

Andy

[Ypedal]

single speed is all you need ( got 3 rings in front for emergencies .. lol )

Duct tape is " ok " but for ultimate strenght get a roll of Filament tape
https://www.google.ca/search?hl=en&q=fi ... 6gGT5bXOAQ

stuff is very strong, will not stretch...

[Animalector]

Yeah, I agree single speed would be good - less complication, but the down side is currently I can only add pedal up to about 45km/h with a high cadence. With the single speed that would be even less given the number of teeth on my single speed, so I would have to get a massive crank ring gear or a 11tooth single speed which from reading here are hard to come by.

Or I could go nuts spend heaps and get a HighSpeedDrive 2.65:1 for the high speed work.. but then I might run out of options if I did have to pedal.

Batty box is being constructed. so the duct tape will be retired soon..

[Animalector]

well Cycle Analyst arrived.. and the battery box should be in the mail. So all systems go. It is good to have the CA to tell me how juch juice I've used up so I don't have to worry about whether I will run flat or not.

I've probably done 400 - 450km on the bike so far. and I have to say I am loving it. BUT.... I think I need more speed.. not much more just enough to scoot with the traffic in the 60 zones. 50 is still 'just' too slow to feel as though I am not holding anyone up.. If the Delta - WYE wiring from the other post works well I might consider hooking in a relay and doing the same. I've ordered a 48 tooth to replace my 44 tooth drive sprocket and hopefully that will help with the ability to be of use above 45km/h

Anyways I am getting around 18Wh / km for the commute.. I hope to improve on this with the better gear ratios.

More pics to follow when I get the battery box installed.

Question: If I get a big fat 2.3" road based tyre like the Schwable big apple or Crazy Bob http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=24556 I wonder how that would handle off road.. so I don't have to keep changin tyres if I want a little dirt squirt on the way home from work... or maybe these... http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=78368

Current TODO list:
Receive and fit battery box
New wiring (50A Andersons)
Take Wheel off - Kevlar Liner and new brake rotor
New Tyre (Big fat one to resist punctures) Or knobby..
more speed...

[Animalector]

Ended up buying these http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=12385


2.35" wouldn't fit in the bike (I tested with a knobby I had lying around.) ANyways these are 2.2 and loook like a good combination of road and trail.. just what I was after.

I just added some spacer washers under my rear brake caliper so now it doesn't rub anywhere near as much as it did.. that should be good for a few extra km range. Unfortunately I just Learned that the hole spacing for the disc brake on the Conhismotor kits are different from my spare original disc by a few mm.. I might have to modify the spacer ring I ordered, or leave the washers in there (undesirable)

Latest mod also is to add some weatherproof connectors near the motor so I can easily remove the rear wheel without having to remove the entire length of cable up to the controller.

Updates to follow when I get my batttery box.

Andy

[Animalector]

well the tyres I got for my B-day are quite good. very quiet on the road, and nice and sticky. the treads look pretty deep so should be ok for light trail use.

Just a couple of Video updates


and some late night fun



Guy doing the battery box was too busy to complete the job and has refunded my money.. so I have to start that job again and find someone who can do it.. I am thinking about sending out to a Laser / water jet company and getting some ABS panels cut to assemble my own box. Let me think about that for a day or so.

Andy

[Animalector]

So what are people's thoughts on the following:

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Assembly would be an epoxy / adhesive of some sort. SOmething like a Scotchweld, Araldite, Polyeurothane maybe? suggestions?

Ta
Andy

[Animalector]

Hey all.. a quick update.

Received the battery box back from the routers made out of grey PVC. Had to work each of the internal corners with a dremel to make them square. in the end it was a tight fit, but all pieces pressed together nicely.

Now, the good and bad and kinda good news

Good:
The LiFePO4 battery fits inside the box no problems in it's raw state (unglued)

The Bad:
On assembly I started glueing and couldn't stop (since the glue was going off very quickly. so missed the step of installing the battery inside the box prior to final assembly. Now I cannot get the battery through the opening.

The Kinda Good:
I can still fit the box in the frame, so it will be good for LiPo's when I decide to go that way. (which will be soon)

In the meantime, I have changed jobs and moved from brisbane to Melbourne. Looking to start riding to work again as soon as I get used to the weather

Later
Andy

[sethgl]

Hi
Nice build, I think it should look good. I have a stealth fighter and your battery box is similar. I am about to electrify a Giant Reign. Not sure what size motor I was thinking about a 2000w. May I ask where you purchased all your parts, and did you find fitting all the components all fitted reasonably easy. Kind regards.

[Animalector]

It is a conhis motor kit. I am very pleased with it actually, for a 1kw kit, I see 1400 peaks and 1300w stable up a hill. In retrospect I would customise the kit and not worry about Pedalec, or the oversize twist throttle. But battery capacity is as rated, and price is very competitive.

I replaced all my drive line at the same time, and got alivio shifters to match the 6spd cluster so had no problems with shifter or alignment.

Again in retrospect, I would get a slim thumb throttle and a grip shifter for better handlebar layout.

Hope your new conversion goes well, I would love a stealth fighter but currently out of my budget.. Unless I sold all my other bikes.... Hmmm....

Andy

[Animalector]

Pics of the battery box to come, but here's my latest 'tidy up'.. it's still duct tape under there but at least nobody will know, I don't know what else to use to get the rigidity and stability of the main battery... maybe some material straps (like movers / removalists strapping)

The material is a semi-elastic from Spotlight which stretches in one direction more than another. I saw a lycra and a spandex material there which stretches equally in all directions, however the stuff I got was a bit cheaper at around $15.99 / linear meter. I managed two covers out of that much material. (first failed). Then the velcro is attached using a 'no sew' adhesive which you place between the material and the sew-on velcro strip and then heat with an steam iron. pretty easy in the end.

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Lastly, here's my storage solution (my DH bike is still in the box from the move to Melbourne). Since I wasn't allowed to make holes in the walls, the timber is bracketed to the shelving and is all quite sturdy (I will put one dyna-bolt in the top corner however just for safety's sake, when I get permission of course. So that is all my tools and bikes in one corner of a small single garage.

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Andy