majornelson
100 W
I've been riding what I have now come to think of as my heavy duty trekking bike for a little over a month and loving it. (Trek DS8.4 with disc brakes, Mac 8T, cell_man 48v triangle battery, CA v3- 60+ range and over 30 mph if I want it). Great fun and highly recommended. I have over 700+ miles on the bike for July.
But, I wanted a more stealthy, light-weight commuter for my five mile round trip commute and finally ordered a Brooklyn Cruiser 7 speed (internal). Sort of like what the Aussie's call a pub bike, I think. It arrived at my LBS this past week and is ready for my pickup. I plan to put a light weight motor on the front (Bafang K5 or Cute 100) with 48v lipo at 5 AH. I really like these dutch style, steel framed bikes for casual biking.
I'm trying to model the bike on the Faraday Porteur which I think is absolutely gorgeous but underpowered (also $3,500 and not available until December- a kickstarter project). The other inspiration was Kepler's Ultimate Commuter bike (which is absolutely fantastic!)
The motor on my bike will be very small and less than 5 lbs. on the front wheel. The rear has an internal Shimano Nexus 7 speed so I can't swap it out. I'll put the 48v 5 AH battery pack in a seat bag off the seat (current thinking). This is a small pack and will weigh in at around 3.5 lbs. Still looking at placement options for the controller...
It won't pack the punch of my trekking (Mac 500W) setup and will be more of an "assist" than twist and go but I think I'll like it. I'd love to eventually get the throttle handled by a PAS sensor that goes on the BB and automatically kicks in when you peddle. That way I can eliminate the thumb throttle all together. I've attached a picture of the bike. (I also have the wooden crate for the rear that I may or may not use.) Note that I will always bike without socks just like George Hahn (pictured in the photo) in NYC. I think I will also dress more natty…
Finally, I have not shared with my wife yet that I have purchased a new bike. My buddy told me that the ideal number of bikes is one less than a divorce… which he has calculated to be 26.
Anyway, I'll post some build pictures as I complete it. Although it's not the high-octance kind of stuff, if I can pull off stealth, around 40 lbs and some decent assist on a practical everyday bike for a short commute all will be good!
Brooklyn Cruiser:
PS In case there is any question, that is *not* me in the photo!
But, I wanted a more stealthy, light-weight commuter for my five mile round trip commute and finally ordered a Brooklyn Cruiser 7 speed (internal). Sort of like what the Aussie's call a pub bike, I think. It arrived at my LBS this past week and is ready for my pickup. I plan to put a light weight motor on the front (Bafang K5 or Cute 100) with 48v lipo at 5 AH. I really like these dutch style, steel framed bikes for casual biking.
I'm trying to model the bike on the Faraday Porteur which I think is absolutely gorgeous but underpowered (also $3,500 and not available until December- a kickstarter project). The other inspiration was Kepler's Ultimate Commuter bike (which is absolutely fantastic!)
The motor on my bike will be very small and less than 5 lbs. on the front wheel. The rear has an internal Shimano Nexus 7 speed so I can't swap it out. I'll put the 48v 5 AH battery pack in a seat bag off the seat (current thinking). This is a small pack and will weigh in at around 3.5 lbs. Still looking at placement options for the controller...
It won't pack the punch of my trekking (Mac 500W) setup and will be more of an "assist" than twist and go but I think I'll like it. I'd love to eventually get the throttle handled by a PAS sensor that goes on the BB and automatically kicks in when you peddle. That way I can eliminate the thumb throttle all together. I've attached a picture of the bike. (I also have the wooden crate for the rear that I may or may not use.) Note that I will always bike without socks just like George Hahn (pictured in the photo) in NYC. I think I will also dress more natty…
Finally, I have not shared with my wife yet that I have purchased a new bike. My buddy told me that the ideal number of bikes is one less than a divorce… which he has calculated to be 26.
Anyway, I'll post some build pictures as I complete it. Although it's not the high-octance kind of stuff, if I can pull off stealth, around 40 lbs and some decent assist on a practical everyday bike for a short commute all will be good!
Brooklyn Cruiser:
PS In case there is any question, that is *not* me in the photo!