SIMPLE DIY ADVICE

This site would be very helpful if there were a section detailing various plans and where to buy the parts. I assume there are posts like this on this site, but I can't find them via a search or browsing. What would be so helpful is if there was something like this:

1: 250 watt build kit
1: parts (with links to buy the parts
2: wiring diagram
3: Specs
2: 500 watt build kit
1: same as above
3: Etc.

Perhaps each section needs to be built out more, but not too much more. Just enough to give a layman the details they need to build a bike or trike successfully.

Just read through this forum. Then simply ask what you want to know. If you need to be spoon fed you might as well buy a ready made ebike...

Right, what SlowCo said. There are many different choices to accomplish the same thing. Sometimes a hub motor, either direct or geared fits the person's need. Other times a crank drive system works better. One of my favorite trikes, at the time, was created with a mid drive made from a hub motor. I think you get my point, there is no one size fits all for any given power option.

Mid Drives are good for hilly terrain or stop and go, but they are noisy, just like a geared hub motor. Plus more moving parts to possibly break down (stripped gears). Direct Drive is noiseLESS with a Sinewave controller. We can all assume your 250W will be in the UK because that seems to be the norm over there. Are you scared of the Fuzz? Ignore that, I was going to go on a tangent, but I digress. Do you want strictly throttle or do you want pedal assist. Next because I am not formatting this post in anyway for ease of reading, there is www.ebikes.ca where you can view a Google Maps route for a specific motor/controller/battery combo. Click Tools, Trip Simulator BETA, Input Type at the bottom then Google Maps. We all Welcome you to the Forum of Endless Spheres seeing as this is your first post, good stuff. If I were you, I'd buy the Leaf Motor kit with KT Display, go with the 1500W model, but you want 250W so scrap that. Here is the link for 250W - https://www.leafmotor.com/electric-conversion-kit.html - Next up what speed do you want, do you want to go with 36V or 48V, is there a speed limit in the UK (we assume you are in the UK with your 250W statement). Same motors different pile - https://www.leafbike.com/products/diy-bike-conversion-kit/26-inch-electric-hub-motor-kit/c-17/ Is the non formatting of my post getting to you? We welcome you, oh I said that already. Here is a 250W mid drive, its good stuff - https://em3ev.com/shop/bafang-36v-250-500w-bbs02-kit/ edit - Just realized this that you Posts: 1 Joined: Mon Jan 23, 2017 2:51 pm

jnoyes said:

This site would be very helpful if there were a section detailing various plans and where to buy the parts. I assume there are posts like this on this site, but I can't find them via a search or browsing. What would be so helpful is if there was something like this:
1: 250 watt build kit
1: parts (with links to buy the parts
2: wiring diagram
3: Specs
2: 500 watt build kit
1: same as above
3: Etc.
Perhaps each section needs to be built out more, but not too much more. Just enough to give a layman the details they need to build a bike or trike successfully.

Click to expand...

I will second that suggestion from jnoyes.
I would maybe go a small step further, and make it a decision tree:
1. Use this list for hub motors. (the good, the fair, the junk)
2. Use this list for crank drives. (the good, the fair, the junk)
3. Use this list for mid-drive ebikes. (the good, the fair, the junk)
. . . X. Battery sources here. (the good, the fair, the junk)
. . . XX. Controller types here.
. . . XXX. Throttles (Part Numbers and sources) here.
. . . XXXX. Safety gear and accessories (Part Numbers and sources) here.

In my experience, new guys asking the same questions over and over just annoys the long-time residents, and telling a newbie to "Do a Search!" is really not helpful to a rider who does not even know what words to search for, in the older posts.

It is far too easy to get lost in the technical details of this hardware. Few new members will want to know about the latest in overpriced unobtanium products and proposals. There is a place for that information, maybe as a sub-forum or heading, but it should not be dominant on an ebike forum. Even there, it should be accepted policy here that nobody mentions any product unless they include real sources and prices. Ordinary people need to know:
1. What works (specific motors, hardware sources, battery pack sources, and prices).
2. What does not work (e.g. some aluminum or suspended forks, on front wheel drives).
3. What that good stuff needs to work (available controllers, throttles, special chargers, et c.).
4. Where to get that stuff.

I believe that the WIKI would be a fine place to put this information, write once and done. Ideally, anybody can edit a WIKI. If you call this approach spoon-feeding, please remember that nobody came in knowing all the answers here.

If the objective of an ebike forum is to promote ebike building and usage, this simple approach seems to be beneficial.
If there is some other purpose here, please state that purpose, so that people just needing useful ebike information can quickly move on.
My $.02 worth . . .
.

Still sorry to have to disagree X2, but it just isn't that simple. Having been active on this forum for over a decade we've gone from serious discussions concerning the best lead acid batteries to the current lithium, etc. choices now available. Today's discussions concerning batteries will (hopefully) be obsolete within a few years.

Here's another example, based on my experience with Bafang's BBS02 crank drives, (I've installed half a dozen units on my own and friends and relatives bikes), I would have recommended the BBS02 as a good choice for many applications. But one year ago Bafang made a change that rendered the BBS02 unsuitable for many users and at this point in time I can no longer purchase a new BBS02 that meets my expectations.

I think the real issue is that many seem to believe they should be able to select the perfect parts for their DIY project based on others experiences. In reality, most of us understand that even a successful build is just a step in the process to our next build.

I have seen numerous threads on this forum where a new member asks what he should purchase for his needs. As soon as someone answers based on personal experiences, another member will answer with totally different recommendations, and then the discussion continues about front hub motors vs rear hub motors, direct drive hub motors vs geared hub motors, mid drives vs hub motors, DIY battery packs vs plug and play battery packs, BMS vs no BMS, and on and on until the new member somewhat randomly picks a starting point and starts to learn what will be needed on the next build, often before the first build is even completed.

It seems jnoyes and X2flier are looking for cooking recipes. But first the experts (not me unfortunately) on this forum need to know what you want to eat... :wink:

Due to the vast amount of possible combinations of motor, battery, controller and bike, the best approach still is to start a thread stating what you think you want to build and why. A very good thread to read is the advice from Wes Newell:
https://endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=66302 and we can go from there.

To see what others have built you can read this thread for inspiration: https://endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=235&start=1700

FWIW, there have been a few attempts at threads to list vendors, parts, etc., but this information goes out of date pretty quickly, as vendors change what htey sell, or manufacturers stop making some things and start making others.

Also, there are literally thousands (at least) of different motors, controllers, batteries, and all the other various hardware needed to complete a kit for a bike. To make a list of them all would be a herculean task, and requires direct experience with each item that would go on the list, so every single member would need to have access to the post(s) to edit the lists in them (something not possible in the forum AFAIK), unless a single member volunteers to create all the lists, and continually update them. I expect that might be practically a full-time job.


Because each person's needs are unique, it's pretty hard to make a list of "kits" that just anyone can go pick from and build a bike that actually does what they need it to. Unless that person already knows what they'll need the stuff to do and what it'll take to do that, they won't know which kit to pick--and if they do know those things, they'll also know they're generally better off picking and choosing individual items on their own rather than from someone else's list of what they thought was a good compromise for a certain purpose.


The "best" way we've found to do it that ends up with the most satisfied riders is as SlowCo notes above--to use Wesnewell's list of questions to generate us a list of needs and conditions, and then we can suggest various ways to accomplish that--then the original poster of each such thread can decide which of those ways to go with.


It might seem more efficient to just put all the lists up in one thread...but since each new poster still needs to figure out which one would do what they want, they'll still have to ask for help figuring that out...which means a thread where they post their needs and conditions, just like we recommend now anyway.



FWIW, anyone is welcome to start a thread with lists such as the OP of this thread recommends; as long as it isn't one of the sellers of such equipment.