Pictures of my first build

dpe743

10 mW
Joined
Oct 22, 2015
Messages
30
Location
Northern Illinois, USA
So now that I've completed my first build, and tested it for a few miles thought I'd share some pictures.
charge_full.jpg

I started off with a Charge Plug (2015, steel frame, Sora 2x9 groupset). I chose this bike because I wanted a good road bicycle (in general, pre-ebike), and for the price ($600) it included a decent set of components and disc brakes. Also, something about the brand name "Charge Plug" and e-bikes go together.

The bottle battery (from Luna -- Great support guys, thanks) ended up taking more space than I envisioned -- I probably should have gotten the shark pack (I don't think anyone will be fooled into thinking this is an actual water bottle :roll: )
I found a way to solve the issue of where to put the throttle. I found an "accessory mount" -- this one made by Topeak, it is essentially an adjustable T bar that attaches to the handlebars. However, had an issue in that the diameter was too wide for the throttle. So I epoxied a small piece of a 7/8 inch wood doll rod to the end and also wrapped the exposed wood with tape.

drop_throttle.jpg

This puts the throttle in the right position to reach with my ring finger, when I've got my hands on the horns (my normal riding position).
I also moved the headlight to the accessory bar, and put the Cycle Analyst on the main handlebar.
 
parajared said:
Very nice!
How does it feel peddling the thing with the motor and battery strapped to it vs the regular tire and no battery?

When I first hooked the wheel up, I had this sick feeling of "What did I do to this smooth machine?" However, since the battery took about another week to arrive (due to hazmat shipping), I was riding it without power during that time -- and it rode about like it did before. That is once I re-adjusted the disc brake (it was rubbing slightly with the new wheel). So at least that fear was alleviated.

Now with the battery mounted, there is some extra weight but nothing like the extra pounds that I'm carrying around the waistline. So overall I'd say it was worth converting a road bike (although this was no super racer before, but better than any bike I've had in the past).

There's just two thing I've got to figure out yet. I need to finish fabricating the cadence ring (the Sora sprocket screw holes are spaced too far for the one that came with the kit). And I need to figure out how to make an ebrake. For that -- I'm thinking of gluing a couple pieces of thin aluminum at the top of the brake levers, and running wires from them to the ebrake sensor. Once I get that figured out I'll update the pictures above with what I come up with. (I'm assuming that the ebrake sensor should be a normally closed switch that opens when the brake is applied -- if it is the opposite, I'll have to run it through a normally-open relay).
 
Ebrakes are typically normally open. You can buy hall sensors (or reeds) on ebay to do what you want. You just glue a magnet nearby.


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Always good to see other options for people who like using dropbars. How do you like the placement? I put mine on the left hand close to the bar so I can use my thumb to throttle up. Keeps the cockpit clear and keeps the thing stealth from the front.

*edit I personally dont run brake senors. You only need them if you run PAS.

throttle_dropbar.jpg
 
Raged said:
How do you like the placement?

It works out better than I thought -- hitting it with my fingers is about as easy as with a thumb. I do end up using the cruise control function sometimes so I can move my hands to the top bar on longer road stretches. Hence the desire to hook up an e-brake.
 
Nice build. Be sure to install head and tail lights. As you will probably be riding much faster and drivers won't really see you.
 
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