Mordy
1 µW
Hi Everyone,
New to the forums and somewhat addicted
I have been trawling forums and surfing youtube looking at the various options and have come to ask the wise ones for some advice.
Below I will give some details as to what I am looking at currently and a few alternatives as well as what the bike will be used for etc.
The main reason I want to do this is because it looks incredibly fun and there are a host of different options to play around with.
I was thinking of a way to get some exercise during the week and happened upon ebikes when I was searching for MTB's and I was instantly hooked! Then I thought wait a gosh darn minute - this can be perfect for commuting to work!
So the idea came to me that hey I can use this for work over some gravel and tar roads and pedal some of it to get a workout in (preferably on the way home) and at the same time save a bit on petrol and general wear and tear on my vehicle. I worked it out and I can roughly pay the cost of the bike back in about a year(thinking about repairs, tyres and so forth on the bike as well).
Please bare with me below, time for my noobness to shine.
What the bike will be used for:
commuting to work, some offroad(some gravel on the way to work), maybe more offroad on the weekends.
My weight, how far, terrain:
I weigh 80kgs/176lbs and my commute is about 8km's/4.9miles one way so a total of about 16km's/10miles a day. There are a few steepish uphills.
So here are my options currently - any advice is appreciated
Bicycle:
1.Trek 4300 2013, Medium frame, 26er - https://archive.trekbikes.com/us/en/2013/Trek/4300_disc#/us/en/2013/Trek/4300_disc/details
I have my eyes on a few others but they are all 29ers.
The Trek is the most enticing as it's a 26" and I also really like the design.
The big thing here is the 29er(excuse the pun), the conversion kit I am getting is a 26" (I can get it locally rather than ordering it online otherwise I would just order the one that fits the bike).
My question is how easy is moving the motor to the 29" wheel? Is that a mission?
Motor :
I live in South Africa - I found someone who bought a motor from aliexpress and never used it.
Here's the link:
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/Bicycle-conversion-kit-include-hub-motor-1500w-48V-brushless-dc-motor-BLDC-sine-wave-controller-bike/1957057560.html?spm=a2g0s.9042311.0.0.27424c4digMO5u
I am really not sure on the quality of the motor or what it is, I tried doing some research but ZLZLMOTOR didn't give me much info.
I am going to try and have a look at it this weekend and check all the parts, maybe get some more info on the controller.
A switch at a later stage to have speed settings, low-mid-sport kinda thing would be nice.
Might be asking a bit too much from that motor but a top speed between 50kmph and 60kmph will be great (also depends on which battery I get/build).
Batteries:
I have a few options here. I can order one from EM3EV but the shipping times are a guess.
My local options are Lipo and self-made li-ion battery packs. Really not too sure on what to use just yet...
LIPO:
For the lipo batteries there are a few hobby shops here that I can source them from. The main one being https://www.rclipo.co.za
I was thinking of 4 x 4S1P 10000mah batteries in series to get 59.2V 10Ah. I am still looking at a few different configs, maybe 2 x 4S1P and 1 x 6S1P.
The controller doesn't seem to mention amp rating, but I am guessing it's 20A.
LI-ION:
I can buy these batteries locally but they are a bit expensive (around 8-10usd for 1 x 3000mah 3.6v).
I would also order the vruzend battery building kit (x2) and would build a 52V 20A battery
BOSCH battery packs:
I can get 18v and 36v battery packs locally, a bit pricey but decent alternative and it seems like a pretty easy set up.
EM3EV:
I think this option would be the best, I have done quite a bit of research and their batteries look great and their options rock.
The big issue is delivery time - having no idea how long it will take to get to South Africa. The motor I mentioned above took 8 months to arrive.
I know this also varies from vendor to vendor, anyone on here from SA and ordered batteries from them?
My battery knowledge is not all there yet and I still get a bit confused when I look at some set ups but I am learning slowly.
I will get a triangle bike bag for the batteries and if I get Lipo batteries I will make sure they are protected/padded to reduce the risk of damaging them.
So I have covered Bicycle, motor+accessories and batteries... Is there anything I missed?
This will be my first ebike project. In future I want to plan and build more of a high-powered enduro ebike similar to sur ron and stealth ebikes. There are lots of AWESOME and inspiring builds on here.
Really appreciate any advice. Thanks for taking the time to read through this long winded post.
New to the forums and somewhat addicted
I have been trawling forums and surfing youtube looking at the various options and have come to ask the wise ones for some advice.
Below I will give some details as to what I am looking at currently and a few alternatives as well as what the bike will be used for etc.
The main reason I want to do this is because it looks incredibly fun and there are a host of different options to play around with.
I was thinking of a way to get some exercise during the week and happened upon ebikes when I was searching for MTB's and I was instantly hooked! Then I thought wait a gosh darn minute - this can be perfect for commuting to work!
So the idea came to me that hey I can use this for work over some gravel and tar roads and pedal some of it to get a workout in (preferably on the way home) and at the same time save a bit on petrol and general wear and tear on my vehicle. I worked it out and I can roughly pay the cost of the bike back in about a year(thinking about repairs, tyres and so forth on the bike as well).
Please bare with me below, time for my noobness to shine.
What the bike will be used for:
commuting to work, some offroad(some gravel on the way to work), maybe more offroad on the weekends.
My weight, how far, terrain:
I weigh 80kgs/176lbs and my commute is about 8km's/4.9miles one way so a total of about 16km's/10miles a day. There are a few steepish uphills.
So here are my options currently - any advice is appreciated
Bicycle:
1.Trek 4300 2013, Medium frame, 26er - https://archive.trekbikes.com/us/en/2013/Trek/4300_disc#/us/en/2013/Trek/4300_disc/details
I have my eyes on a few others but they are all 29ers.
The Trek is the most enticing as it's a 26" and I also really like the design.
The big thing here is the 29er(excuse the pun), the conversion kit I am getting is a 26" (I can get it locally rather than ordering it online otherwise I would just order the one that fits the bike).
My question is how easy is moving the motor to the 29" wheel? Is that a mission?
Motor :
I live in South Africa - I found someone who bought a motor from aliexpress and never used it.
Here's the link:
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/Bicycle-conversion-kit-include-hub-motor-1500w-48V-brushless-dc-motor-BLDC-sine-wave-controller-bike/1957057560.html?spm=a2g0s.9042311.0.0.27424c4digMO5u
I am really not sure on the quality of the motor or what it is, I tried doing some research but ZLZLMOTOR didn't give me much info.
I am going to try and have a look at it this weekend and check all the parts, maybe get some more info on the controller.
A switch at a later stage to have speed settings, low-mid-sport kinda thing would be nice.
Might be asking a bit too much from that motor but a top speed between 50kmph and 60kmph will be great (also depends on which battery I get/build).
Batteries:
I have a few options here. I can order one from EM3EV but the shipping times are a guess.
My local options are Lipo and self-made li-ion battery packs. Really not too sure on what to use just yet...
LIPO:
For the lipo batteries there are a few hobby shops here that I can source them from. The main one being https://www.rclipo.co.za
I was thinking of 4 x 4S1P 10000mah batteries in series to get 59.2V 10Ah. I am still looking at a few different configs, maybe 2 x 4S1P and 1 x 6S1P.
The controller doesn't seem to mention amp rating, but I am guessing it's 20A.
LI-ION:
I can buy these batteries locally but they are a bit expensive (around 8-10usd for 1 x 3000mah 3.6v).
I would also order the vruzend battery building kit (x2) and would build a 52V 20A battery
BOSCH battery packs:
I can get 18v and 36v battery packs locally, a bit pricey but decent alternative and it seems like a pretty easy set up.
EM3EV:
I think this option would be the best, I have done quite a bit of research and their batteries look great and their options rock.
The big issue is delivery time - having no idea how long it will take to get to South Africa. The motor I mentioned above took 8 months to arrive.
I know this also varies from vendor to vendor, anyone on here from SA and ordered batteries from them?
My battery knowledge is not all there yet and I still get a bit confused when I look at some set ups but I am learning slowly.
I will get a triangle bike bag for the batteries and if I get Lipo batteries I will make sure they are protected/padded to reduce the risk of damaging them.
So I have covered Bicycle, motor+accessories and batteries... Is there anything I missed?
This will be my first ebike project. In future I want to plan and build more of a high-powered enduro ebike similar to sur ron and stealth ebikes. There are lots of AWESOME and inspiring builds on here.
Really appreciate any advice. Thanks for taking the time to read through this long winded post.