Intense M3 + Clyte HT3525 + HD video

[dingoEsride]

Those welds look great mate, always top notch, seems you had nothing to worry about, the rest will be a joy to piece together,
I think you should use this frame as a prototype to go into production and get some of your hard work into $, they should sell a like a breeze

[Timma2500]

Those welds look great mate, always top notch, seems you had nothing to worry about, the rest will be a joy to piece together,I think you should use this frame as a prototype to go into production and get some of your hard work into $, they should sell a like a breeze

Cheers Mark. It was the hardest frame to weld so far, it was almost at the point of blowing through many times on both sides but yeah, turned out ok in the end. Nah mate no plans to sell any more now, theres just no money in it eh. Then theres the liability issue i'd like to avoid like the plague... Hey have you ordered your Lipos for your new bike yet?

I would think a test ride would be in order ... of the bike of course. You need to check for "saggy" suspension and "loose" chassis amongst other things

Haha, I aint going near that statement!

Black and red or black and gold looks excellent if you wanted to be more adventurous than white, and if you paint it right you could make some of the big areas disappear, or at least be less prominent. ( you're getting it powder-coated, oh well)

Yeah it'll be powdercoated like the last one but what colour i'm just not sure yet! No doubt i'll decide at the last moment at the powder coaters like last time lol.

In other news, my girlfriend and i did an 800km (round trip) road trip down to Albany today to pickup her ebike to be - a 2002 (i think) Specialized Big Hit Comp we found for a good price. The Marzocchi Dirt Jumper II forks will need rebuilding and the rear shock needs replacing (I've got a spare Fox Vanilla R) but apart from that its ok. I don't know what brand the brakes are (Dice?) but the discs are nice Braking brand items which are big in dirt bike circles for their oversize brake kits.

The frame will be chopped and in a first for me, i'll be shortening the wheelbase instead of normally lengthening them! She's only short so i need to shorten the top tube length by about 25mm which isn't much. It was interesting to see the guy who owned it previously had made his own floating brake calliper assembly for the rear suspension to help with brake jack. I've never seen one retro-fitted before, he did well and i'm sure it did the job however it won't be staying on the bike, too much of a pita to incorporate with a hub motor imo.

26" front and 24" rear wheels.

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I'll start a separate build thread for this one when the time comes to start operating on it.
If my girlfriend's hints are anything to go by, i'd say it'll be sooner than later!


Paul

[dingoEsride]

Cheers Mark. It was the hardest frame to weld so far, it was almost at the point of blowing through many times on both sides but yeah, turned out ok in the end. Nah mate no plans to sell any more now, theres just no money in it eh. Then theres the liability issue i'd like to avoid like the plague... Hey have you ordered your Lipos for your new bike yet?

I know that feeling well but usually on roof racks or construction welds that don't need to look too pretty, a little more weld then a grinder is usually my way,
should be getting lipo's soon just needed to get some outstanding bills out the way,
btw that new specy looks nice
mark

[Timma2500]

I know that feeling well but usually on roof racks or construction welds that don't need to look too pretty, a little more weld then a grinder is usually my way,

Yeah with construction as long as its strong they don't tend to worry as much i guess.

should be getting lipo's soon just needed to get some outstanding bills out the way,

Beer doesn't count as outstanding bills! Just remember to get the long packs, 20c discharge should be enough.

btw that new specy looks nice

Ta mate, my other half is stoked and on my case already to get it finished lol.


Paul

[dingoEsride]

Beer doesn't count as outstanding bills!

Ha Ha! yeah without it I'd be rich or a lot wealthier, but with this heatwave we're having its a nice luxury, thats why I have battery powered bikes is to help with carting cartons,
cheers mate
mark

[Timma2500]

Ha Ha! yeah without it I'd be rich or a lot wealthier, but with this heatwave we're having its a nice luxury, thats why I have battery powered bikes is to help with carting cartons.

Yeeees, keeping our cool during these heat waves ends up costing a fortune! Your lucky you drink beer, i'm a bundy drinker @ $20 a 6 pack...
Sounds like you need a bike trailer, you could fit multiple cartons in the one trip
Speaking of heatwaves, yesterday was a stinker - 41deg c! They had 4 fire fighting helicopters taking water out of the Champion Lake to fight the Gosnells and another fire yesterday arvo:

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The top one was less than 20m away and cooled us and the dog down nicely with it's spray We think that pilot was showing off to the crowd a bit, during a few water pickups he had the chopper's wheels just touching the water surface - no room for error at that height...


I've made some progress with the bike, its now altogether and ridable (pedaling only). As it sits now ready to pedal, it weighs 22kg. After some rough calcs i'm still in the ball park for a final figure of 35.5 - 36kg with 10ah.
I'll be happy with that considering its 200mm/241mm suspension, 203mm brakes and 4kw of hubby.
I'm not too concerned with over exerting the HT as i've decided to get a CroMotor when money allows. It will sit around untill the HT dies or the want for more power gets the better of me, whichever comes first Then i'd be looking for around 7 - 9kw @20s to make it worthwhile.

Anyhow, a few pics of the bike ready to do some trail rides this weekend down at Nannup with my girlfriend:

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The white brakeline doesn't go through the frame yet 'till i get new fittings to short and re-connect the hose to the master cyclinder

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Rear derailiur and throttle cable entry point

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Cut down Magura throttle installed for now to give me a full size grip for normal riding till its powered up and for weight simulation.

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Oh I might have a job lined up starting this Wednesday so that means money coming in again to get this up n running - yeah baby!


Paul

[deecanio]

Another corker

D

[Tinto]

It looks fantastic!
I can't imagine this is the easiest bike to pedal up a trail.
Down on the other hand...

No more shuttle required

[Whiplash]

UGH, once again I am in need of my TIG!!!! Love the build ONE DAY ILL DO IT TOO!!!!

[Timma2500]

Cheers guys.

I can't imagine this is the easiest bike to pedal up a trail. Down on the other hand...No more shuttle required

Up hills - hell no! Dowhills - hell yeah! I'm pretty sure she wants to do another one of those Heritage Railway Trails so i'm assuming it'd be reasonably flat like the one up at Kalamunda. Where abouts in Perth are you Tinto?

UGH, once again I am in need of my TIG!!!! Love the build ONE DAY ILL DO IT TOO!!!!

Pull your finger out and get a TIG Whip!!! I'd love to see what awsome creations you could come up with with a TIG torch in your hands!
Your mid hub drive is looking great by the way, have you managed to finish off the last few bits and pieces yet?


Paul

[Whiplash]

Yeah I rode it to work today! WAAY cooler than an RC in my opinion, nice and quiet, climbs like hell, and still has top speed! best of all three worlds! LOL! I can't wait to bump up the power to the 2500 mark, I have only hit 1200 so far and its great! LOL! Its crazy how quiet it is though, you almost forget to shift!

[Timma2500]

Yeah I rode it to work today! WAAY cooler than an RC in my opinion, nice and quiet, climbs like hell, and still has top speed! best of all three worlds! LOL! I can't wait to bump up the power to the 2500 mark, I have only hit 1200 so far and its great! LOL! Its crazy how quiet it is though, you almost forget to shift!

Sorry Whip, i haven't checked my thread for a while! Thats great mate, now you gotta crank up the power to 2.5kw! Running through the gears is a definate advantage in that respect, you can have your climbing ability and top speed too! Using the Mac would be alot quieter than a Cyclone too. I look forward to seeing what you do with the frame chop, bring it on!

Mel and i went down south a few weeks ago and took the bikes with us. It was my first ride on the Intense and overall it went well. We only rode 8km as it was a 39deg celcious day and we were running late to check in to the chalet we were staying at but it was enjoyable all the same.
The Intense rode really well, the extra long wheelbase helping keep the bike rock solid over rough terrain and its long travel keeping the ride quite plush at the same time.

Nannup leg of Munda Biddi trail

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On the build front, my 18fet controller and 8spd freewheel should arrive later this week or early next week from Cell Man, along with my girlfriend's 8t HP Mac kit.
All that is left now is to buy some spokes and a CA, build the rear wheel, make my torque arms, cut a hole in the frame to see the CA screen, paint or powder coat the frame, wire it up and enjoy the ride. Sounds easy when it rolls of the tongue like that!

Once the Mac kit arrives, i'll start a build thread for Mels' bike. Her BigHit frame will also be chopped to hold 15ah of lipo and have its wheelbase shortened by around 30mm to suit her height and reach a little better. It'll be running a 24" rear wheel and we ordered a matching rim to convert the front from 26" to 24" also.
Power wise i'll start her off on 1000w then bump it up to 1500w and finally 2000w when she's used to the power.



Paul

[Whiplash]

Hey Paul, quick question. How did you calculate the head tube angle without it on the bike? Did you just get it close? That is the only part I am afraid of is getting that wrong...

[Timma2500]

I'm not at home at the moment so i can't post a picture of the drawing i used to work out the new frame work. However if you go back through this thread a few pages you'll see a few pics of my frame drawn on a white cardboard sheet. I've used the same method for 4 frames now - Rodgar's BigHit, Hyena's Diamomdback and my two and its worked a treat. Best thing is its about as simple as you can get!

Firstly, make sure you know what batteries you want to use and what their dimensions are. Add a little more for wiring and slight puffing.
Then carefully measure the frame from the BB to the head tube to see how the batteries will fit, allowing for the frame to bend in towards the head tube. You want the batteries to finish just before it starts bending in at the front (the bend about 60 - 80mm from the head tube).

Next, get some cheap sheets of white cardboard from a news agency or department store. Take some photos of the bike from the side for reference. Strip the bike down to the bare frame and carefully trace out the frame shape onto the cardboard. Use a square if needed to get an accurate trace. If your going to use the same forks, this makes it alot easier as you can just extend the frame at the same head angle on the drawing.

Add in your new section of frame on the drawing, rubbing out the old once you've finished. This will give you the dimensions you need to cut the original frame at while also giving you the new dimensions and angles you'll need to cut and weld the new insert.

I've had a few rums tonight so my explanation may be a little jumbled but hopefully it makes sense lol

Getting it all down on some paper or cardboard is the key to it all coming together as planned. It may not be as flash as a CAD drawing but its simple to do adjustments on paper and get measurements off for when it comes time to make the new insert

Finally, check your finished drawing before cutting anything! Then double check it again and again. Make sure you've allowed for material thickness where needed and how your going to place the panels in the insert for welding (edge to edge or edge to flat etc).

Oh and 1/8" should be fine. I've used 3mm on my last 3 frames and its been ok. If you want a little more strength, you could add some 4, 5 or 6mm (1/4" plate) to the bottom piece. Just bare in mind the weight penalty that comes with it.


Paul

[Whiplash]

Great explanation! Thanks!!

[Whiplash]

Any news in the bike? Anxiously awaiting pics!!

[Timma2500]

Hey Whip,

Nothing to show yet
I just received my 18fet 4110 controller and 3spd throttle from Cell-Man last week and have been in the process of figuring out which orientation to mount it so i don't have wires going everywhere inside the frame.

The CA will be here soon and i'll be ordering spokes from JRH hopefully next week.

I've also started work on my girlfriend's Mac / Bighit build so i'm having to divide what little time i have between the two...

I should have some pics by mid next week at the latest


Paul

[Timma2500]

Side profile

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Controller mounted.

Wiring cover

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Wiring cover sticky taped in position. This will be a bolt on item to keep crud out and wiring hidden.
I'm yet to weld it to the plate that bolts to the frame so the gap at the front of it will be closed up when its welded.

3mm mount

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I welded (rather roughly and quickly) a 3mm plate front and rear for the M5 screws to have 6mm total material to screw into.


The controller will be mounted in reverse to how its shown in the pics. Most of the wiring will exit at the front while i'll be re-routing the phase and hall wires out the rear of the controller to go directly to the back wheel. I'll make another cover for the rear which will be a little taller to protect the bottom of the controller and motor wiring from debris and mostly for protection from bottoming out on log crossings ect.

Slow progress at the moment but getting there!


Paul

[lostrack]

that looks SO GOOD:)

well done!

[Whiplash]

LOOKS GREAT! I have to live vicariously through others at this point until I get my new TIG, hopefuly soon!! I think I am going with one I found on eBay for a reasonable price, the Everlast brand. It looks good, comes with a regulator and all the little bits to get going and is cheap for a pedal upgrade. I can get it all shipped to my door for $850. so not bad at all! Now I just need money! I saw a comparison of the Everlast VS the Miller and it actually did better than the Miller believe it or not on the thinner walled stuff, which is what I need it for mostly so it should be a good welder. I had a Miller Synchrowave 250DX in the past, which is a hell of a lot better welder, but hey this should get the job done...

The best part is its really small since its the Inverter style so its only 40LBS and smaller than a box of paper!

[Timma2500]

Cheers guys.

Whip: $850 shipped is cheap as chips, beg borrow or steal to get it! Mine was relatively cheap too and it has surprised me in the past with the quality of welds it can produce. Not so much on this build as most of these welds were done in a hurry with less than ideal settings but in previous workplaces i've used it, its been a trooper

Miller and Kempi make some nice machines but you pay a high price for them... You might be pleasantly surprised by the cheaper machine

On the build front, i got the front wiring cover installed but i'm not sure i like it I'll mull over it for a while and see if it grows on me, otherwise i'll make another later down the track.

I'm still yet to order spokes from JRH but atleast my CA should be getting posted tomorrow and arriving soon.
Another thing i'd like to try with this bike is an external charging / balancing port. Pulling batteries out for charging gets to be a pain after a while and having a side cover thats bolts on rather than QR is a bit neater too.

Can anyone suggest a 20s Lipo charging / balancing solution?

Paul

[sn0wchyld]

not sure if it'll be news to you but using db connectors is great. personally i'm using a db35 for my 24s setup. it lets me have 1 pin for each cell for balancing, and 5 pins for the overall pack's +/- terminals, so I can bulk charge and balance with 1 plug. (I us battery medics atm...).

this guy
http://endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=37489&start=60#p546887
has what i'd call the perfect setup. 1 plug to switch from series to parallel for charging. and no chance of stuffing up!

[Timma2500]

SnOwy,

Yeah Tench probably has the best charging setup on the site! I'd love to replicate it but wouldn't even know where to start...

I've never seen the DB connectors before, but they might be the way to go. Do you have any pics of your setup? What do you use to charge your 24s pack?
And how do you balance using the battery medics?

I'm an electrical numpty and feel that this side of the build will be the hardest to figure out for me by far...


Paul

EDIT: Ah yes, i've seen those connectors before on pc's etc. Do you have any links on where to buy some?

[Timma2500]

SnOwy,

I can't find any db35s but have found several db37s on ebay:

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Are these the type you were refering to?
Is there much difference or preference between using a male or female on the bike itself?


Paul

[sn0wchyld]

SnOwy,

Yeah Tench probably has the best charging setup on the site! I'd love to replicate it but wouldn't even know where to start...

I've never seen the DB connectors before, but they might be the way to go. Do you have any pics of your setup? What do you use to charge your 24s pack?
And how do you balance using the battery medics?

I'm an electrical numpty and feel that this side of the build will be the hardest to figure out for me by far...


Paul

EDIT: Ah yes, i've seen those connectors before on pc's etc. Do you have any links on where to buy some?

i generally use the female on the bike/battery side. just a safety measure... if you use the male ones for the battery side, there's a small risk of them getting bent and shorting out, where's that risk is non-existant with the female side.

Check out Jaycar, they've got the 37's. Ill try and get some pics up for you later today...

For charging I basically have the top and bottom 5 pins going direct to the +/- terminals for my 24s pack, and I bulk charge via those. The other pins go to a bunch of battery medics for balancing. sadly id doesn't work as well as I'd like, because whenever cell 1 or 6 on one BM is being discharged then it causes the next battery medic to misread the voltage of their 1st or 6th cell by about .2V, so balancing takes a while since I have to balance cells 1-6 and 13-18 separate from 7-12 and 19-24. all in all though not a big problem... If you can build something like tench'es single plug that'd be the best of both worlds!