eflyersteve
10 W
Yet Another Chinese Electric Enduro Bike Build -
Probably boring to most, but it's my first electric bike assembly (hate to call it a build).
Frame: Steel 'Electric Enduro Bike'
Front wheel: Ebay 26" 20x110mm hub thru axle
Rear Wheel/Motor: Leafbike 1500w, 26"
Controller: Electric Race Technologies 12 FET 3000W Sinewave
Forks: The ever so deadly 'Zoom' double crown
Tires: Maxis Hookworms
Battery: Multistar 12S1P 16Ah (3ea 4s packs)
Brakes: (Front only for now): SHimano M314 hydraulic with 180mm front disc (soon to be move to the rear and replaced with a 203mm front)
Bars, stem, seatpost, seat, crankset, pedals : ebay/amazon
Started purchasing parts back in November and finally got the last pieces together this past week. Was a little nervous about how all the parts would fit together (135mm dropout hub motor in 155mm dropout swingarm). But everything fit and works. I lack a rear freewheel at the moment - a single speed won't line up well with the chainline (100mm bottom bracket) so I'll have to fit a 6 or 7speed in and let the chain find it's best line and use a tensioner).
I had a heck of a time getting the controller to program. After receiving a second unit from the vendor, it was apparent that the programming cable that I had been originally been sent had the tx and rx lines swapped. I had suspected something with the wiring but the vendor would not send a photo of a known good one so I had to play along as he tried various things before finally sending me a new set. Then the controller(s) would not run the motor. The vendor finally sent me a new profile to try that had the LVC set insanely low. Apparently there is an issue with these controllers that mis-read the battery voltage. So for now, I am slowly adjusting the LVC until the battery cuts off at a safe level. I'll replace the controller soon with one from a different vendor. Hopefully one from the U.S. as I really want to support sales here.
I can't say that I would purchase the same fork again unless I knew that the bike would never go off-road. On pavement it is great. On hard pack roads, the fork is too heavily sprung to move so. Even if it did, there are no rebound or compression settings to adjust so it would be a pogo-stick. I took a 7 mile ride on gravel and it about shakes your teeth out. Rear shock is a DNM and has functional rebound adjustment so it really perfromed nicely for such an inexpensive shock ($45 on Amazon).
After tweaking the controller settings (40A battery, 90A phase current, regen turned up), my 7 mile dirt ride last night before sunset was pretty decent. Strava said I averaged 22.9mph with a max speed of 39.1 on a downhill section. Most of the run was full throttle but I made several stops along the way to check things. After the ride, I checked temps and the controller measured about 138F (FLIR camera - I didn't get a pic showing the exact measurement though) with motor being just slightly warm to the touch and the batteries barely warm.
This was a budget build and I think I am sitting around $1700-$1800 right now. I have a Cycle Analyst V3 coming today so I'll be able to better monitor the performance of the batter/motor/controller combo. But overall I am pretty happy. I'll either add 3 more multistar batteries to make it a 12S2P 32ah pack or I'll add 5 more and make it a 16S2P for more 'oomph' off the line. Haven't decided yet.
Photos:
Probably boring to most, but it's my first electric bike assembly (hate to call it a build).
Frame: Steel 'Electric Enduro Bike'
Front wheel: Ebay 26" 20x110mm hub thru axle
Rear Wheel/Motor: Leafbike 1500w, 26"
Controller: Electric Race Technologies 12 FET 3000W Sinewave
Forks: The ever so deadly 'Zoom' double crown
Tires: Maxis Hookworms
Battery: Multistar 12S1P 16Ah (3ea 4s packs)
Brakes: (Front only for now): SHimano M314 hydraulic with 180mm front disc (soon to be move to the rear and replaced with a 203mm front)
Bars, stem, seatpost, seat, crankset, pedals : ebay/amazon
Started purchasing parts back in November and finally got the last pieces together this past week. Was a little nervous about how all the parts would fit together (135mm dropout hub motor in 155mm dropout swingarm). But everything fit and works. I lack a rear freewheel at the moment - a single speed won't line up well with the chainline (100mm bottom bracket) so I'll have to fit a 6 or 7speed in and let the chain find it's best line and use a tensioner).
I had a heck of a time getting the controller to program. After receiving a second unit from the vendor, it was apparent that the programming cable that I had been originally been sent had the tx and rx lines swapped. I had suspected something with the wiring but the vendor would not send a photo of a known good one so I had to play along as he tried various things before finally sending me a new set. Then the controller(s) would not run the motor. The vendor finally sent me a new profile to try that had the LVC set insanely low. Apparently there is an issue with these controllers that mis-read the battery voltage. So for now, I am slowly adjusting the LVC until the battery cuts off at a safe level. I'll replace the controller soon with one from a different vendor. Hopefully one from the U.S. as I really want to support sales here.
I can't say that I would purchase the same fork again unless I knew that the bike would never go off-road. On pavement it is great. On hard pack roads, the fork is too heavily sprung to move so. Even if it did, there are no rebound or compression settings to adjust so it would be a pogo-stick. I took a 7 mile ride on gravel and it about shakes your teeth out. Rear shock is a DNM and has functional rebound adjustment so it really perfromed nicely for such an inexpensive shock ($45 on Amazon).
After tweaking the controller settings (40A battery, 90A phase current, regen turned up), my 7 mile dirt ride last night before sunset was pretty decent. Strava said I averaged 22.9mph with a max speed of 39.1 on a downhill section. Most of the run was full throttle but I made several stops along the way to check things. After the ride, I checked temps and the controller measured about 138F (FLIR camera - I didn't get a pic showing the exact measurement though) with motor being just slightly warm to the touch and the batteries barely warm.
This was a budget build and I think I am sitting around $1700-$1800 right now. I have a Cycle Analyst V3 coming today so I'll be able to better monitor the performance of the batter/motor/controller combo. But overall I am pretty happy. I'll either add 3 more multistar batteries to make it a 12S2P 32ah pack or I'll add 5 more and make it a 16S2P for more 'oomph' off the line. Haven't decided yet.
Photos:
