Gary Fisher Joshua F3

Sameguy

10 µW
Joined
Feb 4, 2015
Messages
5
Location
Gillette Wyoming
I have a Gary Fisher Joshua F3 that I would like to add a mid drive setup to. As you can see by the pic (not my actual bike but looks just like it)
the frame geometry poses some challenges as far as mounting the motor and where to put the battery. You can see the pivot for the rear suspension where the downtube meets the rear triangle is just above the crank. I'm not even sure where to start with trying to figure out what would fit and where it would go. I am completely new to the whole ebike world but think I have a budget somewhere in the neighborhood of $1k. Maybe this isn't reality but that's a rough starting point. Main use of this bike will be mountain riding, some trails but probably mostly rough forrest service and fire roads. I weigh about 180 and would like enough power to climb tough hills and go 30-50 miles without fear of running out of juice. Any help or pointing me in the right direction would be greatly appreciated. thank you in advance.

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I am not sure that frame is ideal for what you are wanting to do. No disc brake mounts and you will be forced to place a lot of battery weight in poor places if you want the range you want. Some times its best to sell the bike you have and then buy the right frame for your project. You will surely spend a few bucks on the project so make sure the frame is the right one for the job and the weight is in the right places. I am sure you can make it work but figure out ahead of time the cost of your components and best guess of where the weight will go before buying any components I would say.
 
That frame is not suitable for a e bike just because it was free or you pulled it out of the dumpster , you have to put the battery some were and it absolutely must have Hyd Disc brakes . You can buy a 2001 intense tracer frame off E bay makes a great E bike .
 
My first e-build about 6 months ago (July 2014) was a Gary Fisher Joshua XO. I built it as a prototype using an Electric Rider 7240 complete hub motor kit, since I had no experience with EV's, didn't know anyone who had any, and didn't know Endless-sphere.com existed. After 30 years racing everything under the sun (except boats, my worst fear is flailing in the water & getting eaten by some fish, and I KNOW I'd end up in the drink cus I crashed everything else I raced. Some shark would see me and say "Hey, there's the guy that ate my sista, Mergilla, let's killa him!", HA), I figured I was going to F*ck sumting up and this would be my sacrificial virgin to Zeus. Well, I was wrong, I installed the kit with the supplied rear rack system before the batteries were fully charged. Here......

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My first e-bike "grin"... It was a fun bike, light, fast and an AWESOME wheelie machine, but riding more technical stuff ya had to sit on the handlebars to steer it. Also, the 72 volt Li-Mn batt was a bit much for a post mounted rear rack, it moved around a lot and a long heavy lever on that y-frame scared me even though I put a 650 lb. spring on the bike long ago! (If I read ES and knew the supplied rack was inadequately defective, I would have hired a team of NYC lawyers to sue the dogshit out of someone.....JK, HA!). But, my intention was to experiment to find the best weight placement/configuration for a well-balanced, powerful, light street/city hucking weapon and take that set-up to a high-quality frame and components. So, a week later, I reconfigured it here....

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Hey Now! This was a fantastic bike.... Using my VW Buggy, MX, BMX, MTB-DH/ST/Freeride fabrication experience and after a couple month's of testing & tweaking like pictured 29"F/26"R wheel set-up (no good), designing a juice bag with light metal frame inside that secured the split-pack batt and "hang" it on the bike frame independently so it wouldn't affect frame dynamics unlike metal/aluminum square box solid mounts do, it was dialed in! I really liked the juice bag for its light weight, stealthy appearance (and $15 price tag) since the bike was a city hucker! So I dialed more by mounting the controller, APM display(?), lights/cell power supply in/on it and fabbed a super-easy mount system if I need a brewski and some boogerwoofer won't let me drive inside up to the bar........ 3 wing nuts, 3 straps, 3 velcro's, 3 cables (phase, hall, throttle), 3 minutes and I walk away with everything conveniently stored in a fashionable shoulder bag except motor and throttle!!!

Even better, the Gay Fish danced, it was light & balanced! Up/down Princeton University steps, 3' wall drops, 45mph on the hi-way, single track, small whip-it's..... even took it to our enduro club's, Meteor MC, hare scramble track and was sending it on small GROOMED 15-20 foot doubles! Which ultimately proved to be it's demise, after all it only had like 2.5" suspension travel.......went for a dub with shitty tires, spun the wheel in mud, came up short and cased a steep front-side....... broke the front end, frame, helmet and knee...... but the bike served it's purpose and gentlemen we have rebuilt him using modern technology, we have the capability to make him better, stronger faster then it was before........ wwwwwhhhhhrrrrriiiiiilllll here:

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and here's an ES thread: http://endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=65448
It's been a fun ride, I learned a lot and still learning. The Electric Rider kit is a good reliable kit with great support, a controller failed once and they replaced it, fast. They answer the phone, are knowledgeable, will spend time to explain their products and ship fast. A good company with a great business model selling a decent reliable product at a fair price, even though their supplier may or may not have the same ethics..... that said, although they sell some performance products, it seems they protect their brands reputation by selling batteries with BMS and not much info around on their controllers so knuckleheads like me (and half of ES community) can't overclock there products and say it's a POS cus it failed, IMHO.......

I say build it! It would be a challenge to mount a mid-drive on though with the bottom bracket on the swing-arm as another poster said, but can be done! I like the juice bag for the batteries, I can show you details of my set-up if you move forward with the project.
 
I know this is an old post, but I built a 1997 Gary Fisher Z1 a Bafang BBSHD mid-drive. I riveted my battery to an Old Man Mountain Sherpa rack. Perfect for full-suspension bikes. I had to drill holes in the rack and use aluminum rivets. I 3d printed plastic spacers for a perfect fit. I've been commuting on this bike 9 miles each way for about a month. I kept coming back to this post for years as I debated whether or not to upgrade this bike to an ebike. I have no regrets. I don't do much off-roading with it, but I think it could handle it.
 
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