Kudos Build II

kudos

10 kW
Joined
Aug 2, 2011
Messages
629
Location
Guernsey, Channel Islands, UK
After putting together my first ebike and riding it for a couple of months, I learned a hell of a lot. The shortcomings of adding a high power ebike kit to an old hardtail MTB became very obvious very quickly.

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Using the knowledge gleaned, I'm about to start building what will hopefully become my general purpose bike, which I will use to commute a few days a week and also have 'a bit of fun' at the weekend.

My first setup is Crystalyte HS3540 with a 40A 36-48V controller and APM display.
Power has been LiPo 10S and 12S charged with an iCharger 1010b+

10S gets me 25mph top speed on the flat, 12S gets me 30mph.

10S is fine for blipping around in the lanes where I live, however, in traffic 12S is much better being able to get off the line quicker. Also 12S seems to be great for hill climbing with this motor, I've been able to climb the steepest longest hills on my island easily at 12S.

I've been riding motorbikes for nearly 25 years and so I'm used to riding at speed on the road. The maximum speed on my island is only 35mph though, which makes it ideal for an ebike imo.

I want to go full suss. Riding a hardtail on our roads at 30mph plus isn't pleasant, I find myself standing on the pedals and off my seat.
I want plenty of stopping power. My current 5 year old brake pads and knobbly tires are terrible and dangerous at 30mph.
I want to have the ability to hit 35mph when needed, we have a few straights and coast roads where it would be safe to do this.
I want the ability to do 24 miles range with a couple of big hills, this is a lap of my island.

Proposed Kit List:

Crystalyte HS3540 : Got (Also considering HT3525)
Crystalyte 40A 65-89V : Got
20S Lipo : Got

Maxxis Hookwork 26" 2.5 : Got
Velocity Psycho Rim : Yet to Order
Avid bb7 Mechanical Disc Brake 203mm Rotors : Got

Mountain Cycle Fury FS Frame : Got
Marozochhi Bomber 888 Forks : Yet to Order

Here's a pic of this frame built up:

DSC_0945jpgscaled1000.jpg


I'm going to have to fabricate a battery & controller mount for this frame, I'm thinking something similar to Jimbo's big hit setup will suit. I'm hoping I can use that gap between the top and bottom bar to mount the contoller in some way. I'll also probably need to fab some torque arms too, not sure which way I'll be doing this until I have it in my grubby mits.

There's no getting away from it, the one I bought is, well, green !

ScreenClip.jpg


I got it cheap though, so I might have to strip it and get it painted black.

That's all for now, I'll try to add as many pics as possible as I go along.

Any input gratefully received.

Kudos
 
I'll subscribe to this one. Looks fun, especially after I did a Google Earth search on where you live. What a treat to live on such a beautiful island. It's perfect for an e-bike.

Hey, I have a question: Obviously the island starts at sea level. What's your highest elevation?

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Thanks for your interest Mike.

The highest ground-level elevation is 100m.

There are two hills that go from sea level up to 100m in under 1Km, so pretty steep.

I've already been up both of them on 12S. Looking forward to seeing what 20S is like :cool:

Kudos
 
MikeFairbanks said:
I'll subscribe to this one. Looks fun, especially after I did a Google Earth search on where you live. What a treat to live on such a beautiful island. It's perfect for an e-bike.

Hey, I have a question: Obviously the island starts at sea level. What's your highest elevation?

44595232.jpg


+1

Beautiful Island to convert to pure electric.
Get the stinkers off the island.

My grandfathers family, dads side, spent a generation or two in Guernsey.
They did not believe in the Monarchy & tried to escape the oppression
Of 18th century England. Taxes, religion, old world thinking.
Apparently they were on the run for some time, hid in Guernsey for a while,
Then set sail across the Atlantic for the new world.
Landed on another rock, thee rock, Newfoundland.

While I have similar views of Us/Canadian govt. as my ancestors did England.
I sure feel lucky to be here. :wink: rather than 18th century England.

I guess the hatred of corrupt government runs in me blood.

:mrgreen:
 
Well there's hasn't been much progress on this build, not for lack of my effort though.

If you don't want to hear my rant - skip to the *******

After getting into e-bikes at the end of last year, I have never experienced the mind-bogglingly atrocious levels of service from the suppliers I have tried to use.

HobbyKing - Charger blew first time I used it. Sent it back to them jumping through all their hoops. 3 months, 6 live chats, 2 support requests later, they first said they have the charger and are testing it, now they claim to have never received it and have no record of it and close my live chat support sessions.
EPBuddy - Sent me the wrong Paraboard - no apology - sent it back to them - didn't reply to emails for six weeks - now claim to be sending me the correct unit in a few weeks.
EbikesSF - Sent me the wrong throttle despite me going out my way to specify which one I needed, now say they don't have the throttle I need. Takes approx 1-2 weeks to get a repsonse via email.
Crystalyte Europe - Sent me a defective APM unit. To be fair they replaced the unit quickly and efficiently. Intermittent response to emails.

I can see due to the glacial speed of suppliers, it might take me a few months just to get the parts.

********

I'm still on a massive learning curve about bike parts and the different systems brands use. So many proprietary systems. So many tools you need for single jobs - headset insertion tools, headset extraction tool, freewheel removal tool, chainwhip, shimano crank bolt tool, bottom bracket insert tool etc etc...

On a more positive note, chainreactioncycles and ebay have been a good source of standard bike parts. I have purchased:

Kore i-beam seatpost
quick-release seatpost clamp
Shimano hollowtech II Bottom bracket

I'm trying to decide if to go with a 52T single chainring with a 11T rear freewheel. By all accounts you cant get a single-speed 11T rear freewheel so it'll have to be a 7-speed. I think with this ratio I should be able to pedal at 25-30mph.

I've been trying to arrange to get a velocity psycho 26" rim with a 20mm thru-axle hub built for my front wheel from EbikesSF but I'm just not getting any response to my email requests. I also emailed Crystalyte Europe asking if they could build me a front wheel with the same hub but guess what - no response from them either!

I might try EbikesSF once more before I give up on them, I know they have been moving premises recently.

Wish me luck!

Kudos
 
I got a specialist workshop to strip the paint with their blaster.

Before:

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After:

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Trying to decide if to powder coat or spray paint, I'll probably PC though.

Kudos
 
Finally a sunny day so I can do some painting.

Two coats 'o' primer:

IMG_1319.jpg


First coat 'o' satin black:

IMG_1323.jpg


It's the first time I've ever used spray paints. I'll see how it looks after a few days then maybe put another coat on...at least it's not green anymore :shock:

Kudos
 
Nope!

Only a few hours in the hot midday sun.

There's no way I'm waiting two weeks to get going on this bike, I just don't have the time and the weather has been horrendous.

I guess I'll see how it turns out and take it from there. I can always rub it back if it really turns bad but I think it'll be fine...!
 
IMG_1334.jpg


Frame's coming back together now.

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Shimano XTR bottom bracket on, kore t rail seat post .

Kudos
 
Hey guys I have a noob question regarding forks / headsets.

Having never built a bike before, this is all new to me so.....

Headsets come in different sizes such that the distance between the bottom of the bottom cup and the top of the top cup will be different.

Triple clamp forks such as the marzocchi 888's have two crown's top and bottom.

How do you ensure the distance between the the two crowns is correct to fit your headset in????

Are the two crown's a set distance apart and you need to put spacers in on the steerer tube, or do you move the yokes so that they are the correct distance apart for your particular headset???

I just don't want to buy more kit that I find I can't use because I didn't find out first!

Edit: No response so I did some more digging, I think that you can move the crowns to fit the headset distance, as long as the distance is within pre-defined limits usually marked on the stanchions.

Cheers,
Kudos
 
Another noob question:

How do you work out what size rim tape you need?

This is the cross section of my new Halo SAS 26" rim:

rmha-tech-sas.jpg


Should the rim tape just cover the holes and the flat part of the wheel bed, or go up the sides of the wall aswell?

Any help appreciated.

Kudos
 
Just cover the flat part. Certainly keep it away from the rim bead. It is mainly to protect from spoke and rough edge punctures. Duct tape will work in a pinch.
otherDoc
 
Thanks for your reply otherdoc...

After much more searching I see Halo actually make some rim tapes themselves which are 20mm, just the length of the flat part of the wheel you mention.

I am now on my third rim-tape order!!

Cheers,
Kudos
 
Halo SAS 26" rim with 203mm avid rotor:

3d58a687.jpg
 
Thanks smudger, just checked out your build thread, ours will be very similar I can see.

Where did you get your drain pipe from?

Cheers,
Kudos
 
kudos said:
Thanks smudger, just checked out your build thread, ours will be very similar I can see.

Where did you get your drain pipe from?

Cheers,
Kudos

It is ventilation ducting, found it at B&Q, its pretty universal stuff so sourcing should not be too much of a problem.
A link about the product - http://www.tlc-direct.co.uk/Products/FD40100.html

Cheers
Tony
 
DSC_0143.jpg


My first front wheel built!

Halo rim tape, maxxis freeride tube, hookworms.
 
Well, after weeks of looking for the perfect headset I finally found what I was looking for, a crank brothers opium c direct set in black with a red topcap.

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The site i bought it from stated it is sized 1 1/8.

So then imagine my surprise when this turns up:

d20038a8.jpg


The smaller one is the cane creek 1 1/8 I took off my frame originally.

The bigger one is the opium c.

So after much searching and measuring, it turns out this is the reducer version presumably for a tapered steerer which is 1 1/8 at the top and 1.5 inch at the bottom. The straight 1 1/8 is only available in silver, no good.

If this weren't annoying enough, the headset came without any seals, I got on the phone to the supplier who has sent me another one, but I only found out about the sizing issue after the no-seal issue.

So soon I will have two headsets I can't use :?

The never ending failures of bicycle part suppliers, I've never known anything like it......

Kudos
 
Kore comfort saddle turned up today after a two month wait. The t-rail is silver so I sprayed it black.

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Ordered a Chris King headset today, supposed to be the best.......

Kudos
 
OK I have a question for you expert bike builders out there....

I got my Chris King headset and I'm trying to determine the best way to install it on my frame.

I bought a headset press, I've just ordered headset press adapters which are required to install this type of headset.

My question is about reaming and facing the head tube and if I need to have this done.

The frame came to me with a Cane Creek headset installed, which I then removed. It was in pretty tight but it's the first one I've ever removed one so I don't know what's 'normal'.

I have measured the width of the Cane Creek cup and it's 34.05mm, I then measured the Chris King and it's exactly 34.00mm so half a millimetre smaller.

The fitting instructions say the head tube should be reamed and faced to 39.9mm, I would have to have this done at a pro bike shop, but I'm wondering if I actually need to do this seeing as I know a slightly larger headset already fits?

It would be a bit disappointing after having bought all the tools I end up asking a bike shop to fit it for me, however, as they say, if it's worth doing its worth doing right.

Any help/advice much appreciated...

EDIT : I think I answered my own question with my last truism. I gave the bike shop a ring turns out reaming and facing is a quick and easy job. 10 quid and an hour later and my headset is installed.

9c32034e.jpg


Cheers,
Kudos
 
Subscribed! :wink:

This is also going to be a clean build!

about the 888 fork => it indeed has markings on it ;) but there is a maximum distance between the 2 crowns so you might need spacers (depending on witch type of 888 (model, year)) manuals should be available on the marzocchi site

another thing that might be important: don't put a 200mm travel fork on a frame that is made to hold a max of 80mm - 160mm travel fork, (I have no idea if your frame can handle such a fork)
there is a chance that the head tube breaks under stress due to a to large head angle, you better look up the specs of it
just a safetytip :wink:
 
3nslav,

You make a good point, the specs for the frame do say a max of 160mm travel fork, however, I had a look around and it seems many people run beyond the standard tech specs.

I'm not intending on doing an extreme downhill or anything, this will just be used on the road 99% of the time. However, I would be interested in other opinions on this.

I wanted to use a double crown fork like 888, but if it's really not safe to do so I'll have to reluctantly use a standard fork ... :cry:


Kudos
 
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