Monzilla - BURNED IN LIPO FIRE AUGUST 11

Floont

1 kW
Joined
Jul 20, 2010
Messages
439
Location
Tampa, Florida
Rear x5404 on full suspension Mongoose Blackcomb, 125v 30s2p 10aH Turnigy Lipo, Lyen 24FET 100amp controller, CA, TA2.2, 26" Hookworm front, 26" Crazy Bob rear, Doc's torque arms, Airzound horn, twin Blaze 2 watt front lights - >54MPH top speed
Monzilla-20130311-1039_zps29ff2ef9.jpg
 
What made you decide to put two different tires on your bike?

Are you pleased with the Airzound horn?

How did you choose between seat post mounted and rear rack?
 
bowlofsalad said:
What made you decide to put two different tires on your bike?
Where I live in Florida, the roads are either great, or they have potholes, or the shoulder is below the road by over 2 inches, so a front tire that handles well over those differing conditions is a must. Therefore, the Hookworm in front. The back tire is the same diameter and width, but I needed a tire that had good traction to take the full torque of an x5404, such as the Crazy Bob.
FloridaRoads-20130311-1544_zpsa0678a55.jpg


bowlofsalad said:
Are you pleased with the Airzound horn?
The airzound horn is almost too loud, but it gets everyone's attention, even if they are on a cellphone driving with their radio blaring.

bowlofsalad said:
How did you choose between seat post mounted and rear rack?
If I am answering this correctly... I cannot use a rear rack connected to the rear axle due to the large movement that the rear suspension can use on dirt trails. Since I didn't want my controller to be shaken violently, I chose a seatmounted rear rack.

FA
 
I also added this mod to Lyen's controller to keep the heat at a minimum here in Florida...

ForcedCoolingLyenController-20130311-1705_zpse2c79f6b.jpg
 
chvidgov.bc.ca said:
Oh my...I have the same bike - got it at Sears for 200 dollars...won't it wheelie too much with all that weight on the back - especially with all the battery needed to feed THE BEAST?
Scary.
The weight is balanced. The batteries are in the front panniers. Only the controller is in the back pannier.

Thanks for the concern though...

FA

PS It does wheelies, but only if I want it to. :D
 
Stevil_Knevil said:
Looks fun :D Good job, man..

..what kind of brakes? Also, where on the fork did you mount your panniers?
Avid BB5 mechanical brakes with oversize 203mm discs.

I custom fastened the front panniers to the front forks with U-bolts to a custom steel battery rack I purchased from Electric Rider. The top U-bolt is above where the caliper mounts come out of the forks, although these are not used, they make for an excellent battery mounting solution...
FrontPannierMounts-20130312-0603_zps840b3102.jpg


FA
 
Nice nice! I am going for that Airzound horn as well...

I tried 30S, but it is too fast for me. Happy with 20S, which gives me 75kmh max (45mph) on a flat road.
 
hjns said:
Nice nice! I am going for that Airzound horn as well...

I tried 30S, but it is too fast for me. Happy with 20S, which gives me 75kmh max (45mph) on a flat road.
Thanks!

I have my controller 3-way switch programmed to 50%/100%/120%. I leave it in 50% most of the time, which leaves me at a nice legal speed of 20MPH. I switch to the higher settings for fun, or getting out of the way from tailgaters (who I leave in the dust) :mrgreen:
 
With the amount you have spent on your ride Floont, please look through Pinkbike.com for some real shocks. Those RST's are total crap and with that much weight/speed and those large diameter disk brakes I would be worried about them breaking under a hard stop. For under 200 you can find yourself a top of the line pair second hand :). You can ongoingly test your current ones too; if you hold down the front brake and try and rock the bike against that anchor point forward and backward, if there is a lot of slop (ie front wheel remains immobile but bike moves forward and back) then it means the stanchions can twist inside the shocks, and that problem will get worse and worse till something snaps. I've seen the RST shocks have about half a centimeter of slop out of the box.
 
Andje said:
With the amount you have spent on your ride Floont, please look through Pinkbike.com for some real shocks.

That's far from the only problem with that bike. He needs to start over with a real bike instead of a toy. Putting that kind of e-power on a department store dungheap is like strapping jet engines onto a Trabant and taking it to Bonneville. Nothing good can come of it.
 
Andje said:
With the amount you have spent on your ride Floont, please look through Pinkbike.com for some real shocks. Those RST's are total crap and with that much weight/speed and those large diameter disk brakes I would be worried about them breaking under a hard stop. For under 200 you can find yourself a top of the line pair second hand :). You can ongoingly test your current ones too; if you hold down the front brake and try and rock the bike against that anchor point forward and backward, if there is a lot of slop (ie front wheel remains immobile but bike moves forward and back) then it means the stanchions can twist inside the shocks, and that problem will get worse and worse till something snaps. I've seen the RST shocks have about half a centimeter of slop out of the box.
Thanks! I will look into upgrading the front shocks.

FA

PS There's not too much weight. The Lipo batteries in the front balance the motor in the rear and I can pick up the bike with one hand. Still, a better front suspension would be nice...
 
That's far from the only problem with that bike. He needs to start over with a real bike instead of a toy. Putting that kind of e-power on a department store dungheap is like strapping jet engines onto a Trabant and taking it to Bonneville. Nothing good can come of it.

I wasn't going to be that blunt, but yeah... I pointed out the front shocks because they are the first things I think would break in a way that would injure you. But again, comparing the e-cost which must be in the 2000$ range at this point, please spend another 10-20% on a good second hand bike and save your own life. I have spent time building things like that mongoose (walmart/canadian tire bikes) and the most dangerous thing is the lack of QC on these chinese aluminum pieces of crap. That downtube might vary a 1/8th of an inch in thickness along its own length, you don't know till it cracks through while you are riding... The welding is a crapshoot too.
 
I've worked in a bike shop for many years. My patience for department store BSOs (bicycle-shaped objects) is all spent. I understand why folks get caught in that trap, but the repair that really needs to happen is to the buyer's expectations.

If you can't justify the expense of a good new bike, get a good secondhand bike that fits you, and fix it up. Or go get one of the almost-BSOs at Bikesdirect and take it to a capable shop for assembly and setup. The junk from Walmart and Target can't be fixed for less than the cost of the real thing.
 
Thanks for the comments (flames) gents! :D

I am happy with the outcome and that is all that counts.

FA

PS At least I ditched my Huffy. :mrgreen:
 
Well, you have a first class conversion that can live on its host bike until it needs another home, then perhaps move to a better neighborhood. :)
 
Batteries mounted to the lower section of the frt shock?
that's unsprung wieght isn't it?
Not a good thing, gottta be beating the hell ot of those batts.

I don't know how they are padded but would likee to know.

You all can bad mouth the Blackcomb, it's not that bad compared to most of the crap at WallyWorld.

Got mine a a flea market for $175 NEW 3 years ago and it's till doing fine. Not as much power as yours only Mac8t on 15s LiPo. And the bigger tires help a lot.

Dan
 
Floont said:
Thanks for the comments (flames) gents! :D

I am happy with the outcome and that is all that counts.

FA

PS At least I ditched my Huffy. :mrgreen:

I don't think these are flames. I think that there is some honest concern about the capabilities of your bike at the speeds you seem to prefer. As you posted your bike here, those concerns are the things people start commenting on.

Of course, it all depends on how you intend to use your bike. If it is all on good asphalt roads without potholes, you would not even have to worry about a fully. However, most of us do encounter one or more potholes, therefore good suspension can be a life saver.

I would definitely take the comments about the front suspension seriously. Not many bike suspension forks are built to withstand the forces of a pothole at 50mph for more than a couple of times and last. So, yes, you can perfectly drive around at those speeds and hit a pothole, and your front fork will deal with it. However, you are risking that after the 10th or 20th pothole, the stanchions break, and you do a superman over the handlebar. It is up to you to decide whether to take that risk or not. Note also that Andje is one of the people here on ES who has actually built and driven 50mph+ ebikes. Take his comments seriously!

About too much weight... it is not about the static weight on your bike. You need to take into account how the weight moves when you hit that famous pothole. Although the front-rear balance of the weight may be correct, when hitting a pothole, the unsprung weight in front and rear behaves differently as compared to the suspended weight of you + controller on the frame. Your motor can take that hit if laced well (you did have it laced by a pro, right?). The main concern with your lipos attached to the lower stanchions of your front fork is really about the front fork stanchions breaking at high speed and you doing a superman. At 30S2P we are talking about 10kg extra unsprung weight on the front fork. Now, most front wheels are around 2-4kg, depending on the materials used (hub, spokes, rim, tyre). That is what front fork stanchions usually have to deal with in terms of unsprung weight, as the rest is really captured by the suspension. You just multiplied that 5-fold.

You can be happy now (hakuna matata), but the advice is to look just a little bit ahead into the future (supermaaaaannnnn)

I have been there. I started out with a crappy Chinese Ebike frame, modding it with a dual HT3525/9C2810 config + 30S2P. I posted it here on ES and got similar comments as you did. I continued buying second hand Fox shocks, and finally moved everything over to an XC real mountain bike. Now in the progress of building an even stronger bike based on a Stinky. As I commute every day at 40mph+, safety is a high priority for me.
 
I apologize for my "flame" comment. I do appreciate the advice and comments.

I will be keeping the frame, however. It has been through a lot of punishment over the last 250 miles (not a lot yet by anyone's standards). I inspect all connections, connectors, and joints on the frame before each ride (like a pilot inspects his aircraft).

I am going to looking into getting some upgraded front shocks. Any suggestions?

FA
 
I went for second hand Fox (any). Replacing the oil seals with Enduro's will not only ensure that your oil seals won't blow, but also allow for you to get to know the innards of a suspension fork well.
 
hjns said:
...ensure that your oil seals won't blow...
What happens if and when the front seals blow? Does the suspension collapse? What is the danger here?

FA
 
The oil will leak out, and the suspension will be gone. The upper stanchions will just rest directly on the rebound spring and the lower stanchions. No real danger in my opinion. Just loss of front suspension.
 
hjns said:
The oil will leak out, and the suspension will be gone. The upper stanchions will just rest directly on the rebound spring and the lower stanchions. No real danger in my opinion. Just loss of front suspension.
I'll keep them until they fail, then I'll replace them with some good Fox Shocks. Until that inevitable time, I'll line up the exact make & model of Fox Shocks that will fit.

Thanks for the warning!

FA
 
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