Open-source e-bike frames?

Hello,
I saw many e-bikes made with custom frames. Are there any open-source projects?
Thanks

If you mean custom builds with measurements you can go by, there are some, but most don't have that detailed info because each person is a different size and will need a different size frame.

If you look around the forums at people's custom-built-frame threads you'll see lots of info on how to design and build your own, though.

yeah, everyone is different, but it is much easier to change couple numbers in CAD program then to model frame from scratch, I wonder why no-one shared their designs. Everyone want to patent/money for it?

Cka3 said:

yeah, everyone is different, but it is much easier to change couple numbers in CAD program then to model frame from scratch, I wonder why no-one shared their designs. Everyone want to patent/money for it?

Click to expand...

I think you just answered your own question. Designing and building a frame from scratch requires a large amount of time. I am currently working on building a custom frame that will be similar to bzhwindtalkers new design. I am just getting started and roughing the idea in, I already have easily over 10 hrs and that is just getting the rough 2d design layout down.

After putting that much time into a design it makes sense to me why people dont giveaway their work, espcially when you consider what amberwolf said when considering your needs, planned use, battery size, rider size etc.

If you are thinking of trying to build or design a frame yourself tho I would recommend going and looking at a pedal bike manufacturers website. Most have quite a few geometry measurements listed for there models. That should help you with a base to build from.

Yep, everyone has different size and requirements. Starting from a design ready made and working from there to meet your own spec is the fastest way to go, of course.

I would start with this one: https://grabcad.com/library/freeride-mtb-1
An FS bike frame that has the shock out of the triangle is making it easy to fit a lot of batteries.

Cka3 said:

yeah, everyone is different, but it is much easier to change couple numbers in CAD program then to model frame from scratch, I wonder why no-one shared their designs. Everyone want to patent/money for it?

Click to expand...

Most people probably didn't use computers to design and build them in the first place--they probably did like me and did it either by the "other CAD" (cardboard aided design) or just by-guess-and-by-gosh (which is how most of my stuff gets built, including CrazyBike2, Delta Tripper, and now the SB Cruiser).

If you want to find the ones that did share theirs (cuz there are some) you'll have to read around for them, though, cuz few have the info in the title itself.



FWIW, you can get all the critical proportions simply from photos of bikes, if they are at angles you can calculate things from or directly measure. Since you have to build the bike to your own measurements anyway, it doesn't really matter if they published the actual lengths of anything. All you need is to determine the angles of headtube and other things relative to each other, and approximate proportions of the rest of the frame. You can get good guesstimates of the actual lengths simply by comparing things to the components installed on teh frame (wheels, brake discs, grips, throttles, etc) so you can use those known sizes to determine the others.

it's more work than having them handed to you on a plate, but it's certainly possible.


(I used to build props and models of scifi show stuff, and had to do this sort of thing off the tv screen or still images in magazines, etc...it's a PITA but it can be done well enough to work fine).