Successful ebike builds.

X2flier

10 W
Joined
Jun 25, 2018
Messages
79
I am not one for great complexity and the tiniest (costliest) improvements in efficiency. I want a decent ebike, but do not like what is offered commercially, at those rich-kid prices. I'm a DIY guy. We have here a great pool of knowledge, but sad to say, most new riders here will have a tough time finding what works (and what does not work). What would really help the new riders (from my viewpoint) would be a simple display thread of finished projects by the members, with some basic info, and one picture (here). If there is a complete build thread posted elsewhere, a link to that thread would be good, also. Too many good builds are just lost in the endless :wink: archives. I believe these basic facts would be the most useful for any build, but a few more slots can be added if needed:

BASIC DESIGN: (26" wheels, diamond frame, tadpole, folding, mid-drive, hub-motor, Model/Brand of the base bike, et c.)
BATTERY COST: (with BMS)
TOTAL COST: (everything but labor)
MOTOR: (brushless, geared, Part Number, specs, sources, et c.)
CONTROLLER: (brand, Part Number, Amps, sources, et c.)
BATTERIES USED: (type, number of cells, maker if commercially purchased, Voltage, Amp-hours, sources)
BMS/CHARGER: (Part Number, Amps, Voltage, prices, sources, et c.)
CRUISING RANGE: (minutes and distance)
CRUISING SPEED: (continuous)
TOP SPEED: (one minute or more)
WELDING NEEDED: (Yes/No)
MACHINE SHOP WORK NEEDED: (Yes/No)
BUILD THREAD: (link here)
ONE GOOD PICTURE: (builder's choice)

I believe the builders should brag a bit, and this could be a good thread to display their successes.
Knowledgeable and honest reviews of commercial ebike conversion kits would be welcome here, too;
please include the above facts in the review. Thanks in advance.
.
 
What is a success for one fella may not be for the next. My ebike requirements are different then yours. You may have steep and long hills and burn out a wimpy 250W in no time, then be all angry. While that feller next door to your brother in the salt flat desert land may have a 5000W beast. But I understand what you are saying. A few notes to add is under battery, CHEMISTRY (LiPo, Li-Ion) and FORMAT (18650, 26650, Prismatics) also was it built or bought. Brand - well there is so many generics out there, as well as the Kelly's, Adaptto's, Sabvoton's, then there are the Xie-Changs that people like to call Infineon whom Lyen modifies and sells so he created his own brand of trapezoidal controllers.

X2flier said:
 
Go spend a bit of time in the ebike build / photos subforum.
There are way too many builds on here to even begin to catalog them.
evalbum.com tries to do this with a nice custom format.. not so easy to do within a forum format.

A good policy is to keep your best build threads in your sig.
 
neptronix said:
Go spend a bit of time in the ebike build / photos subforum.
There are way too many builds on here to even begin to catalog them.
evalbum.com tries to do this with a nice custom format.. not so easy to do within a forum format.
neptronix,

Yeah, THAT's what the new guys need here: obstructionism. "way too many builds on here to even begin to catalog them," of course I just did the format for one, and the builder only need to fill in the blanks. This is NOT difficult. It may need to be a new topic on the forum, and certainly any blather can be moderated there.

Looking at "ebike builds/photos" gives me a 3d printing project, a body for a Rhoads car, and long threads that do not answer even the most basic questions about any build. That kind of stuff can all be linked from the "catalog" postings (in the BUILD THREAD link I proposed in my first post in this thread). A new builder needs the costs, and sources.

evalbum.com has lots of cars and motorcycles, but for the bikes, details are very sketchy, and almost no sources are listed. I saw few entries there that would enable a noob like me to build the machines listed.

I mean, hey, would you want everybody building and riding ebikes!?! Forgive me, but I thought that building ebikes was what this forum was all about. The technical aspects have somewhat overwhelmed this forum. I would just like to find an easy listing of ideas and images from which to shop, with real costs and sources from the real builders of each vehicle.
 
TBH with ya'll

I prefer lots and lots of pictures. So to be on topic here, under your One Good Photo policy, why not say "As many good photo's as you can do, or want to do"

Gotta agree with Neptronix's though, BTW thanks for that website link Nep!
 
markz said:
TBH with ya'll
I prefer lots and lots of pictures. So to be on topic here, under your One Good Photo policy, why not say "As many good photo's as you can do, or want to do"
Markz,

I was just trying to keep the Projects posts short, with one simple link to the builder's entire build thread. If you like the One Good Photo that you see, then follow the Builders Thread link to all of the photos for that Project.
 
Ah.. time for an expectation adjustment :mrgreen:

This site operates on a zero dollar budget and what you are looking for is custom web development or adaptation of someone else's code to make your life easier.

Most users are content to keep up on new posts and watch the build threads.
That's how a forum is designed to be used.
That's how we've been using this forum since 2007.


Now i'll admit that the idea is not a bad one. But i don't have mine, or anyone else's hard work to riff off of.

If you reaaaaaalllly want this feature, do a little footwork and show me a few examples of other forums integrating something like this and i will follow up on implementation if there is agreement that it's a good idea. If we have a workable idea, we can rally others to participate and start building the mountain of content.

I'm not being obstructionist. You are a new member and you are asking people to do a lot of work for you. Meanwhile, we have 11 years of successful build threads and motor tests for you to peruse with the google search option.
 
Side note..

There are a few huge hurdles to clear with this:
1) This probably requires a crapton of custom code. I doubt you will find anything like this that integrates with phpbb already. But if you do, my mind is open.

2) It would have to be so good that people would use it and maintain their data properly.

3) Even if you find someone with the custom code to do it, it's likely not up to our standards so it's going to require a half-crapton of work by me. Unless you want to donate some PHP + JS + CSS + HTML + SQL skills or know someone who is willing.
 
Here's another option.

You crowdfund the idea and hire a programmer ( or me ) and i will work with him/her.
Idea specifics are subject to the site owner's wishes. But i suspect your idea will be appreciated.
 
neptronix said:
Ah.. time for an expectation adjustment
This site operates on a zero dollar budget and what you are looking for is custom web development or adaptation of someone else's code to make your life easier.
Neptronix,

No. This idea does not require one single line of code to be written by anybody. It is simply a new topic, which can be located in an appropriate heading, nothing more. Sure, people would use this new topic as an index of sorts, to see recent (modern) projects that are complete and proven, but none of that requires any coding.

As things are now, people would have to Search here on terms that they have never heard. They may end up on dead-end threads that only show somebody once tried something and they failed. That result is really not helpful to anybody, because one failure does not negate a concept; a better inventor might make it work nicely. Lots of "airplanes" failed in the past, before two guys got it right. Nobody wants to search through years and years of such failures, when they want to build an airplane. They would want to see a picture of the Wright Flyer, and a link to the WF build page. That's all. Of course, in that very same topic, then they may also see stunt planes, cargo haulers and other useful aircraft, and all of the most recent (proven) progress in the science of flight, as flying examples.

Nobody wants to Search here today and find the most successful lead-acid batteries or starter-motor conversions. A valid listing of recent ebike accomplishments would show what is available to succeed presently, not years ago. The One-Picture topic can be that good listing.

The owner-builder of an ebike project would only need to post a picture and a link to their build page, and only if they wished to do that. Moderators may wish to move posts which are more than that (and therefore Off Topic) out of the One-Picture thread, but that would be the most that I can imagine needing to be done here, and even that is not required.
 
I see. But that requires a ton of manual labor on the part of 1 person instead of automation.
You will need a mile long spreadsheet or some kind of custom database system to track what's been cataloged and what hasn't, or the memory of a savant..

There are 2,500 build threads over time here and someone needs to read them all and ask the poster a lot of questions to get the data you want.

I don't think you will get any hand raisers for this job because once you start, it is the perpetual burden of one person.
If you feel inspired to do it yourself, you have my backing.

Currently, to find a recent accomplishment, click the ebike photos and build thread section and look over something interesting to you. Go to end of thread, check the current status within the last page, and scroll back if you wanna know more history.
 
neptronix said:
I see. But that requires a ton of manual labor on the part of 1 person instead of automation. You will need a mile long spreadsheet or some kind of custom database system to track what's been cataloged and what hasn't, or the memory of a savant.. There are 2,500 build threads over time here and someone needs to read them all and ask the poster a lot of questions to get the data you want.
I don't think you will get any hand raisers for this job because once you start, it is the perpetual burden of one person.
If you feel inspired to do it yourself, you have my backing.
Neptronix,

Nothing concerning data needs to be done by anybody running the forum, to implement this idea. A builder will probably want their best work to be seen by new people, and the builders will make the one post they need for that to happen. It really doesn't matter if the same thing gets "catalogued" twice in this thread, and I doubt that any two installations of an ebike kit would be identical,anyway. Even if so, the builder would probably recognize that fact, OR people would realize how popular that design may be with other builders. Today, even the best new projects are soon swept off the forum front pages and buried under a pile of high-tech subjects that do not relate to any finished ebike.

Ideally, this would be a continuing new topic under
Home Board index/ Electric Bicycles/ E-Bike Build Threads / Photos & Video
one which should not get bogged down in technical and detailed discussions. I post this idea because I can not insert a new Topic there, or insert a "sticky" note to guide the progress of that Topic.

Many of those 2500 build threads are hopelessly dated now, citing bankrupt sources and ancient (worthless) tech. Their builders will have moved on, or forgotten those early attempts. Those builders would not be flocking to clutter up the "One-Picture Thread" with old stuff they don't even want to claim now.

I do appreciate your offer of "backing." I can't easily start this proposed simple thread, as I have no project to show now. An earlier attempt toward this end only got a lot of useless discussion, which was no part of my intent. Discussions would be held only in the builder's threads. A brief "sticky" note from the management lining out what is appropriate in the "One-Picture Thread" posts would be plenty, IMHO. Moving the inappropriate posts to better locations may be welcome on occasion, but that effort should not be needed on any regular basis. Reducing such "clutter" around the exposition of good recent projects is the main intent, which is to show people what works best, lately. This "One-Picture Thread" would be a continuing collection of the best in complete and finished ebikes, always advancing. New builders could simply start at the latest projects, and work backward into the older projects, to find the design they like, using the more contemporary sources and tech.

If you like this idea, I can propose a reasonable text for the "sticky" note, which you can fine-tune as you see fit.
 
My fav build! Easy to carry on
moosshiqk1.jpg
 
skeetab5780 said:
My fav build! Easy to carry on
http://www.coolthings.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/moosshiqk1.jpg
Skeetab,

Your avatar ebike looks interesting.
 
X2flier said:
skeetab5780 said:
My fav build! Easy to carry on
http://www.coolthings.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/moosshiqk1.jpg
Skeetab,

Your avatar ebike looks interesting.

It was a fun project but I never kept it around long due to not being able to fit batteries in the Genesis frame easy enough. Switched to easier alternatives now. The motor was the old BHT 48v 1000w tons of power with a 18fet at 20s

link herehttps://endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=28&t=59122
 
Idea noted.

There is already a thread like this stickied in the build threads section.
As you can see, it fell from it's original intent rather quickly and got cluttered up with discussion.

In your idea, we require a moderator to heavily moderate a thread.. as some quirky folks will come in and throw it off the rails regularly. Someone will ask for more details ( a legitimate move ) and derail it as well.
OK, so you try to solve that by micromanaging every post and delete those who do not have a link to the build thread so that discussion can happen there.

Now the thread is full of you, the moderator, yelling at people in the midst of an otherwise orderly thread. Now you have to scroll through the thread and delete your own autistic screeches to keep the thread orderly.
People ignore you sometimes and you end up deleting incomplete / incorrect posts.

This is the manual plow option and will also eventually get neglected. :lowbatt:


That being said, let me float this idea to you.

1) I make a custom form where you get to upload up to 4 pics of your build.
2) The form has a variety of fields and some are optional and some are required. There is an URL validator for your build thread link.
3) The form grabs your currently logged in user name, so you don't have to enter that. ( i have code to do this already )
3) The result is uploaded to a moderator queue so we can filter spam or request the user resubmit the build.
4) A chronological order ( newest first ) of all these posts with links to build threads is available in one post, and a BuildBot is responsible for updating this thread in chronological order as new build posts come through.

Advantages: I have very little code to write and maintain because the form, admin/moderator side, and the posting bot only loosely integrate into the forum. Also, our system will have track of build threads and images, which could result in a cool automated photo gallery down the line.

Disadvantages: Users will have to use a non-standard interface.... but i can make it look very close to PhpBB.

We'll call this idea 'poor man's evAlbum'. Or maybe 'less ugly evAlbum' :lol:
What do you think?

ps - these sort of ideas are subject to the site owner's approval, so if we hash this out here, it has to get hashed out elsewhere before it becomes a reality.
 
neptronix said:
That being said, let me float this idea to you.
1) I make a custom form where you get to upload up to 4 pics of your build.
2) The form has a variety of fields and some are optional and some are required. There is an URL validator for your build thread link.
Advantages: I have very little code to write and maintain because the form, admin/moderator side, and the posting bot only loosely integrate into the forum. Also, our system will have track of build threads and images, which could result in a cool automated photo gallery down the line.
Disadvantages: Users will have to use a non-standard interface.... but i can make it look very close to PhpBB.
We'll call this idea 'poor man's evAlbum'. Or maybe 'less ugly evAlbum' :lol:
What do you think?
ps - these sort of ideas are subject to the site owner's approval, so if we hash this out here, it has to get hashed out elsewhere before it becomes a reality.
Neptronix,

No problems here. Sounds good.
 
I like this. A super long page with an array of just one image of the build as the link to each build would be optimal for me. I'd like it if there wasn't a page break after the usual 20 or so posts. Each pic to be medium size so you can actually see it.

It would be very easy to like the look of a build and go to the thread.
 
I also like this! People just post one medium-sized image of their build, and a link to it. Simple, and image-driven so easy to skim through. Maybe to few different threads such as "Hub Motors" "Non-Hub Motors" "Scooters" ...etc....
 
Whats the matter, you don't want to spend the next 3 years reading ES spew? Oh well, we did. :lol: Lots of build threads in here, but they are put almost randomly where the author put them. Anywhere in the E bike section, but the longest most detailed older build threads tend to be in E bike technical, rather than the build threads. Battery info best found in the battery section, separately.

Easiest home brew e bike is pretty standard. Start with a 7 speed beach cruiser with two rim brakes, or your choice of similar MTB with 21 speeds. Equally good choice is a good commuter bike, but if you need fenders thats why the first choice is the cruiser. Weight don't matter, so heavy steel bikes is fine. 26 inch wheels in all cases. 7 rear gears, but you can fudge it and go 8 rear gears.

Picking the right bike makes it easier for sure. Any bike can be converted, but some are best left alone. Again weight don't matter, so don't lean towards a high dollar carbon frame road bike.

Slap pretty much any kit on it you like, but if you are heavy, like over 100 kilos, go for the larger direct drive motors and 48v. Rear hubmotors generally best. ( the cruiser can do well with a front though) Up to you how much to spend, the cheapest kits usually work fine, and if not ES can help you choose a better controller after your puchase. The more expensive kits can be worth it, simply because they do come with customer service that doesn;t suck.


Battery is the tricky part, but till you choose a kit, hard to point you to which one. Battery will be 3/4 of the budget.


If you want off road riding, the particulars get different, I'm just talking about a bike to get to work, school, the store, and long fun rides on weekends.
 
@dogman dan:
who said anyone wanted advice how to build? Are you drunk or under psychosis? your comment was as useful as saying that water has a watery taste. If the other 34000 (!) of your posts was as blatantly missing the point then maybe it's time to retire from ES.

We want readily available inspiration (and ebike porn :D ) and your post leads to neither.
 
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