New build, need advice

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jhiggy

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Jun 29, 2015
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Hello! I'm looking at converting my bike into an ebike but the amount of information and all the different vendors is a bit overwhelming. Would someone mind giving me a hand? Here is what I have:

- Novara Big Buzz 2009 - 700c tires - Frame: 6061 aluminum Fork: alloy straight blade Crankset: Truvativ Elita Compact (50/34) Drivetrain: SRAM X-7 Highlights: Tektro Aquila disc brakes; Alex TD24 rims; Vittoria Randonneur 700x32c tires with reflective sidewalls.

- I live in Tigard Oregon so rain is a definite problem

- I will only be commuting 3 miles each direction with 150 feet of elevation gain, I will be able to charge the bike every night

-I weigh 180 lbs.

-No desired max speed, just want to make it to work not sweaty but fast is more fun =)

- Budget under $600 if possible


Thank you for any advice you are able to give me!
 
Hmm, there may be some folks that can recommend DIY builds, but this is the only complete kit I know of in that price range: http://www.electric-bike-kit.com/hill-topper.aspx, the $599 kit has a lithium battery.
 
Thank you for that! Looks like it might be a good option. Would a non-complete kit be more cost effective? Or would I end up with better parts? Sounds like you may not know the answer but i'm hoping that someone else can chime in here.
 
Welcome to the forum

The good news is you've listed minimal, easy to attain goals. That's good news because your budget won't support much more. Normally, your budget would be blown by the battery alone, but there is a way to make this work.

In your price range, the best match would be the Q100C. It's a light weight motor that can work with your CST rear end. it's not very powerful, so it won't demand an expensive battery. Its good for ~20mph, and uses most of your existing drive train parts so install will be cheaper.
https://bmsbattery.com/ebike-kit/615-q100c-cst-36v350w-rear-e-bike-kit-with-led-meter-ebike-kit.html

For a battery, any 36 volt 10AH will exceed your needs. You should get 10 miles range at full speed, at the minimum from a 36v 10Ah battery. Much more if you ride slow and/or conservatively Larger batteries will give you more range. BMSbattery.com has plenty of choices on cheap batteries that will work.
 
Ala carte will always be more cost effective as long as you know enough to build for specific purpose/performance. Trouble is, your 1st bike ain’t gonna be ideal no matter how much you read or plan. Gotta get your butt in a saddle to ever know shit from shinola.

I can tell you this, battery pack is the MAJOR item here. But, the whole thing depends on what level performance you’re going for? Begin to see the insanity of this?

Fortunately, you don’t need much range and many people approaching from a “pedal mentality” will be more than happy with smaller, lighter motor setups. This in turn keeps your battery expense and need for suspension & fatter tires in modest budget range.

Any forum member close by? I’ve given demos to people over the years and like to think it helped give them better ideas about what “level” eBike might be best suited by them? There's simply a wide range of performance levels.
 
Drunkskunk said:
Welcome to the forum

The good news is you've listed minimal, easy to attain goals. That's good news because your budget won't support much more. Normally, your budget would be blown by the battery alone, but there is a way to make this work.

In your price range, the best match would be the Q100C. It's a light weight motor that can work with your CST rear end. it's not very powerful, so it won't demand an expensive battery. Its good for ~20mph, and uses most of your existing drive train parts so install will be cheaper.
https://bmsbattery.com/ebike-kit/615-q100c-cst-36v350w-rear-e-bike-kit-with-led-meter-ebike-kit.html

For a battery, any 36 volt 10AH will exceed your needs. You should get 10 miles range at full speed, at the minimum from a 36v 10Ah battery. Much more if you ride slow and/or conservatively Larger batteries will give you more range. BMSbattery.com has plenty of choices on cheap batteries that will work.
Click to expand...


So looking at what you have recommended it would cost about 300 + shipping? This might be the way to start to see if it's something I really enjoy and use. The only thing i'm not understanding is the term CST.
 
Ykick said:
Ala carte will always be more cost effective as long as you know enough to build for specific purpose/performance. Trouble is, your 1st bike ain’t gonna be ideal no matter how much you read or plan. Gotta get your butt in a saddle to ever know shit from shinola.

I can tell you this, battery pack is the MAJOR item here. But, the whole thing depends on what level performance you’re going for? Begin to see the insanity of this?

Fortunately, you don’t need much range and many people approaching from a “pedal mentality” will be more than happy with smaller, lighter motor setups. This in turn keeps your battery expense and need for suspension & fatter tires in modest budget range.

Any forum member close by? I’ve given demos to people over the years and like to think it helped give them better ideas about what “level” eBike might be best suited by them? There's simply a wide range of performance levels.
Click to expand...


Thanks for responding! Totally understand the insanity in all of this, I'm just looking for an inexpensive way to get started to see if this is something I'm really interested in and can justify spending more money on it. I used to ride my bike to work everyday but it started becoming a problem when the temperature heated up because even in the 3 miles I sweat through my clothes. Honestly all I'm trying to do is prevent that while still being able to ride my bike to work. There are 2 decent hills but it's only 200 feet of elevation so I'm hoping that a cheaper setup will still do me solid.
 
Yep! CST is the type of gears you have on the rear of your bike. there are 2 styles of rear gear used. Freewheel, which is what most of the world still uses, and most motors come equipped for, and CST, which is what most North American bikes made in the last 15 years use. They aren't compatible with each other. To fit a freewheel type motor to your 27 speed (9 speed rear), you would need to also buy a new chain, front sprocket set, both derailleurs, and both shifters, as all the spacings would be incompatible. Using a CST motor means you could fit it and still keep all those parts.
 
Drunkskunk said:
Yep! CST is the type of gears you have on the rear of your bike. there are 2 styles of rear gear used. Freewheel, which is what most of the world still uses, and most motors come equipped for, and CST, which is what most North American bikes made in the last 15 years use. They aren't compatible with each other. To fit a freewheel type motor to your 27 speed (9 speed rear), you would need to also buy a new chain, front sprocket set, both derailleurs, and both shifters, as all the spacings would be incompatible. Using a CST motor means you could fit it and still keep all those parts.
Click to expand...

I'm a bike mechanic, and I can tell you CST means nothing to me. The industry standard terms for a non freewheel rear, is either Freehub (the piece mounted to the hub which accepts the cassette, or rear gears, if you will), or Cassette. The two wheel types are Freewheel and Freehub (or Cassette, though that refers specifically to the gear cluster which mounts to the freehub).

Also, 9 speed freewheels do exist, and if one were to buy a freewheel based rear hub, a 9 speed freewheel could be installed and no other parts would be necessary.

OP, your bike has a freehub rear wheel, and the motor discussed here is a freehub rear motor, thus your gear cluster can move from your existing wheel to the motorized rear wheel.
 
You can go as high as 8 speed freewheels on a hub-motor. After that, the off-set of the rim to bring it central is a bit too much. The main problem with the freewheels is the 14T top gear. Only DNP and Sunrace make freewheels with 11T top gear. You don't need to change your derailleurs, but if you want precice changing through all the gears, you might need to get a new 8-speed shifter, though sometimes the 9-speed works OK if you reset your end stops.

Cassette motors are available. There's the 500w Bafang CST, which does about 24 mph with a 700c wheel. There's cheaper clones from MXUS and Xofo, but they're a bit slower. Bafang now make the middle sized CST motor SWX02 140mm dia. and a smaller 120mm one. Theres the MXUs XF08C at about 120mm, then smaller still, the Cute Q100C, plus a load of others that are more expensive.
 
Drunkskunk said:
Freehub is Shimano's trademarked name for a CST.

A 9 speed freewheel would be awesome. Got a link to them?
Click to expand...

I googled CST. This term seems to only be used in reference to electric hubs. Nobody in the bike industry would know what CST means, other than the brand CST, which is short for Cheng Shin Tire. The most common nomenclature is a cassette hub or freewheel hub.

Here's a Sunrace 9 speed engineered specifically for ebike use: http://www.jbi.bike/web/checking_product_description.php?part_number=180024, it can't be bought directly from this link. If you want to search for a retailer, google SUNRACE MFE90 or the Sunrace part # MFE90.9CU0.CS1.BX.
 
goodgnus said:
Drunkskunk said:
Freehub is Shimano's trademarked name for a CST.

A 9 speed freewheel would be awesome. Got a link to them?
Click to expand...

I googled CST. This term seems to only be used in reference to electric hubs. Nobody in the bike industry would know what CST means, other than the brand CST, which is short for Cheng Shin Tire. The most common nomenclature is a cassette hub or freewheel hub.

Here's a Sunrace 9 speed engineered specifically for ebike use: http://www.jbi.bike/web/checking_product_description.php?part_number=180024, it can't be bought directly from this link. If you want to search for a retailer, google SUNRACE MFE90 or the Sunrace part # MFE90.9CU0.CS1.BX.
Click to expand...
Look, we know what a freehub, free wheel, cassette means. You are lecturering several guys that have over 15,000 posts :roll:
Now if you don't mind, we are trying to give the OP a little direction.
 
jhiggy said:
Drunkskunk said:
Welcome to the forum

The good news is you've listed minimal, easy to attain goals. That's good news because your budget won't support much more. Normally, your budget would be blown by the battery alone, but there is a way to make this work.

In your price range, the best match would be the Q100C. It's a light weight motor that can work with your CST rear end. it's not very powerful, so it won't demand an expensive battery. Its good for ~20mph, and uses most of your existing drive train parts so install will be cheaper.
https://bmsbattery.com/ebike-kit/615-q100c-cst-36v350w-rear-e-bike-kit-with-led-meter-ebike-kit.html

For a battery, any 36 volt 10AH will exceed your needs. You should get 10 miles range at full speed, at the minimum from a 36v 10Ah battery. Much more if you ride slow and/or conservatively Larger batteries will give you more range. BMSbattery.com has plenty of choices on cheap batteries that will work.
Click to expand...


So looking at what you have recommended it would cost about 300 + shipping? This might be the way to start to see if it's something I really enjoy and use. The only thing i'm not understanding is the term CST.
Click to expand...
Yes, for your budget, the Cute geared mini-motor from either BMS Battery, Elifebike, or Greenbikekit.
Only GBK sells most everything in a kit, because the other two offer a "build your kit" order process. They have lot's of upgrade options, that you will need to pass on.
http://www.greenbikekit.com/electric-bike-kit-1/front/36v-250w-gbk-100f-front-driving-e-bike-kit-with-samsung-bottle-battery.html
To read more about the Q100 (Cute), search either D8veh or my posts.

FYI, there is a "water-proof" kit that a guy installed about a year ago. He never really came back(he was in Sweden) and he didn't rtell us much about it except that it worked well. He wouldn't give the price, but I'm guessing it was about $800 delivered. You would have to contact the factory directly.
http://www.mxusebikekit.com/shop_show.asp?cid=46
 
motomech said:
goodgnus said:
Drunkskunk said:
Freehub is Shimano's trademarked name for a CST.

A 9 speed freewheel would be awesome. Got a link to them?
Click to expand...

I googled CST. This term seems to only be used in reference to electric hubs. Nobody in the bike industry would know what CST means, other than the brand CST, which is short for Cheng Shin Tire. The most common nomenclature is a cassette hub or freewheel hub.

Here's a Sunrace 9 speed engineered specifically for ebike use: http://www.jbi.bike/web/checking_product_description.php?part_number=180024, it can't be bought directly from this link. If you want to search for a retailer, google SUNRACE MFE90 or the Sunrace part # MFE90.9CU0.CS1.BX.
Click to expand...
Look, we know what a freehub, free wheel, cassette means. You are lecturering several guys that have over 15,000 posts :roll:
Now if you don't mind, we are trying to give the OP a little direction.
Click to expand...

Nobody except [some] electric people know what CST means. Post count aside, let's use standard nomenclature.
 
http://endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=70169&p=1058597#p1058597
 
<<<<<<Nobody except [some] electric people know what CST means. Post count aside, let's use standard nomenclature.>>>>>


Since you haven't noticed, this forum is for the construction of ELECTRIC bicycles by/for "ëlectric people".
The acronym CST is not a like-term to free hub or free wheel, but is a style of rear hub that accepts a free hub cassette. This infomation is on most product webpages and since, most here, except for Trolls, would be looking to purchase a product, one might assume that he/she would learn of the option there, or he/she would soon be directed there.
We really don't need for you to come in here and rewrite rules.
 
CST is the abbreviation for Cassette. I don't know any one who would say CST, but then I don't know anyone who would write out cassette. It is normal nomenclature.

A bike mechanic who sells freehubs needs to make sure he is selling a true Shimano Freehub, or he's going to have problems with false advertising. Like Kleenex and Chapstick, its not actually a generic term. It is a trademarked brand name.
 
Just a FYI, I bought a new Shimano Freewheel the other day at the LBS, it's a 13t-28t:

http://www.amazon.com/Shimano-7-Speed-Tourney-Bicycle-Freewheel/dp/B00OJZPRVO
 
If he needs a 9 speed screw on freewheel they do exist. In his price range, he likely will be getting a hub motor with a screw on.

Best thing he could do for a commute that short, would be a steel beach cruiser with 7 speed rear gears. Keep that nice bike as is, for pure pedal trips.
 
d8veh said:
You can go as high as 8 speed freewheels on a hub-motor. After that, the off-set of the rim to bring it central is a bit too much. The main problem with the freewheels is the 14T top gear. Only DNP and Sunrace make freewheels with 11T top gear. You don't need to change your derailleurs, but if you want precice changing through all the gears, you might need to get a new 8-speed shifter, though sometimes the 9-speed works OK if you reset your end stops.

Cassette motors are available. There's the 500w Bafang CST, which does about 24 mph with a 700c wheel. There's cheaper clones from MXUS and Xofo, but they're a bit slower. Bafang now make the middle sized CST motor SWX02 140mm dia. and a smaller 120mm one. Theres the MXUs XF08C at about 120mm, then smaller still, the Cute Q100C, plus a load of others that are more expensive.
Click to expand...

This is the problem with 9 speed rear freewheels. Many of us eventually realize precise shifting isn't worth the complication and trouble. Indexing and all of that is cool but when you only need to shift a couple times during a ride it becomes a lot of effort/work for not much return. Even mild 800W eBikes rarely need more than 2-3 gear ratios.

One of my recent favorite shifting setups - thumb friction shifters. They can help make almost any chain/gear/derailleur combo work good enough for an eBike.
 
Another possibility in your price range (US supplier as well which can greatly affect shipping costs and delivery times):
http://www.e-bikerig.com/products/PBJ-e-bike-kit-samsung-li-ion-front-wheel.html
This is a very low end front wheel kit ... about as simple as you can get and equally low powered but it hits your target points.

Motor: 250 watts (Bafang 8Fun geared hub)
Battery: 24 volts, 2.6 Ah
Speed: 15 MPH (23 with pedaling)
Range: 4 miles
Weight: 7 pounds
Warranty: 2 years
 
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