Deecanios first build the "DC1"

hello all,

I have pretty much all the kit i need now and so lets start to get this build moving.I'm hoping with Knoxie helping me and you guys adding comments we can get this bike put together pretty quickly and hopefully show that anyone is capable of making their own style of bike within reason.
I'm hoping to drop my full suspension mtb down to 20" wheels and run it at 72v35a with a puma rear motor on lipo's.
anyway enough blah heres a few shots of my kit so far - i will get some full bike shots up soon but i haven't resized all the pics yet..............

Let me know what you think about things i should check on the new wheel guys so i can get it done and on the bike and show you all how its looking as a whole - i really think that with your help i can be ripping single track in a month or so


cheers


D

Ooo this is fun -- helping deecanio build his first ebike!

With 20" wheels front and rear on (I assume) a 26" mtb, can you lean normally without one pedal or the other hitting pavement? Or do you have to have both pedals at mid-level when leaning or turning? I'm considering relacing my 5304/24" wheel into a 20" wheel.

I see you're using Maxxis tires...unless those are kevlar belted, I'd stuff a little kevlar insurance in 'em.

This is what I use inside both tires:
http://www.universalcycles.com/shopping/product_details.php?id=11244&category=

Hi Xyster,

yeh i think the maxxis won't be man enough to be honest - i have slime tubes and liner in them but the rear will probably suffer from slippage like knoxies bmx - i'll see how it goes and beef up the rear a little later on.
What does the kevlar do? is it just for punctures?
I think the clearence on the pedals will be 2" or so but i plan to put in a shorter crank,it's been difficult to judge with one 20 and one 26 so i'll have a better idea once both wheels are on.I had to lose the deraileur but to be honest i think single speed suits my bike better anyway and i've gained a lot of clearence by going single speed - when im hitting the ruff stuff in the forest the chain used to slap about no end so i'm hoping that will be improved too.
If i get chance later today i will get some full bike shots up.

Cheers

D

Hi DC

Nice pictures mate you got that part sorted. It's going to look very nice indeed will be a cool machine. Any problems just ask and don't rush it!! very important to take the time and make it right, I was so tempted to lash things together but went one step at a time. I would run it at 37V first until you get used to it.

If those Maxis have the thin side walls they wont last more than a couple of hours esp off road. The cheaper harder STD BMX tyres are a better bet, the std ones that mine came with are fine and don't spin on the rim either.

Just try it and see.

More pictures please..full bike shots required..

I saw this bike today, very good value and nice looking.

http://www.bonthronebikes.co.uk/15-31346

I haven't got the room for it as I have a C5 coming in for a bit of souping up



Cheers

Knoxie

Aarghhh. No Knoxie, not the C5!!

I really admire the stuff you're doing mate, but that's a step too far. That creation must have set back the electric vehicle movement a couple of decades in the UK. Whenever I mention electric vehicles (possibly more often than the average person) you can almost guarantee that someone will start cracking jokes about the C5. Clive Sinclair is a very clever bloke, but he really lost the plot there.

Even if you add a Perm motor and a half a dozen LiPo packs and turn it in to a Porsche-eater you've still got one hell of an image problem. Do yourself a favour and stick it back on ebay :wink:

Hi Xyster,
yeh i think the maxxis won't be man enough to be honest - i have slime tubes and liner in them but the rear will probably suffer from slippage like knoxies bmx -

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I haven't had any slippage in my 24" wheel but I understand that's a problem usually arising in smaller wheels. I have maxxis hookworms:

http://www.maxxis.com/products/bicycle/product_thumbnails.asp?id=12

that I lined with one of those kevlar belts. The kevlar makes piercing through the tire and into the tube much harder. If you also use slime and a thick downhill tube (I use Salsa's):
http://www.universalcycles.com/shopping/product_details.php?id=1202&category=
you should be good to ride without flats. I've ridden 1500km so far without one (knock on rubber)! I do still try to avoid sharp looking debris, and I keep the tires pumped to near their max so as to minimize risk of slippage and pinch flats (which the kevlar will not help protect from). Seriously, if you're looking to ride any further than you care to walk the bike, it'd be smart to get the wheels and tires setup right!

I think the clearence on the pedals will be 2" or so but i plan to put in a shorter crank,it's been difficult to judge with one 20 and one 26 so i'll have a better idea once both wheels are on.

Click to expand...

A shorter crank -- interesting. I didn't know there were shorter cranks available. I was just thinking about a longer crank so I can get more leverage while pedaling. I noticed my legs only work through a circle perhaps half the diameter of what's possible.

I had to lose the deraileur but to be honest i think single speed suits my bike better anyway and i've gained a lot of clearence by going single speed - when im hitting the ruff stuff in the forest the chain used to slap about no end so i'm hoping that will be improved too.

Click to expand...

Certainly no problem going with a single-speed. At least there's one gear to get you home if the electrical goes kaput. Just starting to get old and a little fat, I like to pedal unpowered for exercise on some rides. I've found my nine gears (3 front 3 rears) to be perfect for me.

If i get chance later today i will get some full bike shots up.

Click to expand...

I noticed you have a bunch of fuse holders -- are you planning to put them on the motor side? I never understood Knoxie's reason for doing it that way...

Good Day Dee !!!!

Great to see you finally got the parts together !!! good stuff !

On a full suspension rig, you may need to keep the rear derailer in place as the chain may snap if you hit a big bump.. depending on the frame geometry. ( I had to keep mine )

Single walled rim.. radial lace.... doh.. double walled would have been better but no huge deal. Go over the spokes and check for any loose buggers for the first few rides.

Before you even try to fine-tune the disk brake.. make it decent and go for a few hard stops to really seat it in there.. then re-adjust your caliper.

I think you should ship me those lithium packs so i can test them to be safe....

hey guys,

all your comments welcome and very helpful as ever !!
where to start, well didn't go to work today with the weather but i had a pc rebuild to do so that took most of my day.However .......... i couldnt resist any longer and just had to see what the DC1 will look like
thanks for all the pointers on checking and getting the wheels right i will use all that info - i just whacked it on so we can how things will look.
ill try to answer the points made along with the pics that way you guys can see how its panning out on clearence and stuff.
i'm liking it ..............

Hi DC

Looking good mate!! no work! you swine!! I went in on the KMX, what a laugh that was in the snow!! Ill post a video later, it was brilliant.

You should be ok with the cranks, my only concern would be as you are riding off road a lot you may clout rocks with your peddles if your suspension dips as you have good travel, pre load them and see what you get.

Washers are fine for spacers, don't over tighten the wheel axle nuts either, nice and firm though mind, I must get a poundage out of Mark for that as nice and tight don't mean anything :lol:

More snow coming and ice tomorrow, KMX will be fun again!! ha ha.

Later

Knoxie

Malcolm said:

Aarghhh. No Knoxie, not the C5!!

I really admire the stuff you're doing mate, but that's a step too far. That creation must have set back the electric vehicle movement a couple of decades in the UK. Whenever I mention electric vehicles (possibly more often than the average person) you can almost guarantee that someone will start cracking jokes about the C5. Clive Sinclair is a very clever bloke, but he really lost the plot there.

Even if you add a Perm motor and a half a dozen LiPo packs and turn it in to a Porsche-eater you've still got one hell of an image problem. Do yourself a favour and stick it back on ebay :wink:

Click to expand...

Hi Malcolm

Noooo I disagree with you there!! the C5 failed for a number of reasons that I cant go in to as there isn't enough board space for it!! ha ha but I really was hooked by them back in school and it is the main reason why I am doing what I do now!! so this is why I agreed to pep this up for a friend.

My friend has 3 of them and uses them for promotional purposes (they are always being used) he runs a gym and uses girlies with his gym logo on the side to distribute Leaflets for the gym in the town, this works really well as people do stop and talk when they see pretty ladies in these strange electric bikes from years ago.

One of the bikes is however a bit tired so I am going to look at it for him and do a few upgrades to get him going quicker.

I think the C5 was a great Idea by a great man, he was poorly advised and didn't listen, I still think they are cool! and I don't care about image at all, I ride a BMX, a 3 wheeler and a crazy electric bike!! I stopped worrying about image years ago :lol:

I'm a tinkerer and I love fixing things and improving them, I was flat out last year and its looking like this year I am going to be very very busy indeed if it all pans out. 8)

Granny bikes like Powabyke and cheapo Chinese things with top boxes are what's setting back things mate, oh and our stupid law which is why I largely ignore it.

Id be pretty sure Malc you will want to try the C5 when I have done the business on it!! he he.

Later

Knoxie

Hi Guys,

I'm really struggling to find any good off road 20" tyres - the maxxis i have on are very thin walled and knoxie advises that they wont hold up for long especially off road so i've been looking for a better solution and so far i am looking at these....


http://www.bikes4trials.com/products.php?plid=m2b0s141p341

must learn to paste links in
these apparently are used on trials bikes and unicycle trials?
when i went to a not so local lbs to see them they seem much thicker walled than the holy rollers and are generally a sturdier better looking off road tyre.the centre of the tyre (which is available in grey stripe rather than the "i hit a dog shit" brown,thank god) is a softer compound for grip whilst their hopping from bench to church roof i guess but the guy said they would hold up well for my purpose.
20" is a difficult size to find for and so far these seem best? i've looked at maxxis creepy crawlies and monty trials tyres also as most of these come in a nice 20x2.50 giving me a beefier wheel front and back.They all take up to 40psi and have a fair amount of bounce to them due to what their made for so i guess what i need is your thoughts or alternatives to look for?

A guy is looking to get them for me so let me know what you think - i'll hear from you guys before i hand over cash on the wrong items again - the shop wants £50 + delivery for 2 but i found another place that do it for £41 delivered with free tubes
I have the two tubes also i bought with the maxxis (slime self healers) but i'm thinking as these are larger tyres in all ways would i be better off getting new thick tubes to match?
HELP ME GUYS!!!!

Whoa !!!!!!
That's one really nice machine.It looks like it'd really dig up the dirt...

Eric

Hi Eric,

yeh thats the plan mate, juice her up with 72v and see what she can do
things should start moving with the bike again soon, just been too damn busy to get anything done!!
Taking it to my lbs on saturday though see what we can do for crank change, im hoping to get a decent single speed with solid crank preferably a known brand but if not i will have some made.
i want to get the bike mechanically sound and then put on the electrics but once the chain and crank are done the project will quicken up i want to be testing it in a few more weeks or so.

Yo

I have messaged you on the tyre front, they look good to me the problem with the Maxis is that the side walls are very thin and they dont grip well on the rim, not a problem for most human power but at peaks of 2KW it is a problem.

37V first then 72V walking and running etc and make sure you get a safety in place as well (just fitted one to the KMX as dont want to go under a lorry if i can help it) also Helmet very very important, I slammed down hard on my bike at xmas and I may not have been sat here had my full face helmet not been strapped on.

I have taken to wearing motorcycle trousers as well as the roads are very slippy and I travel around at over 30mph nearly everywhere, I also have a motorcycle jacket but its a little bulky. You can never be too safe.

You have to think differently when your bike is in the high power league and keep a daily check on the bike, no slinging it in the garage and riding it without maintenance, you really have to keep on top of things to stay safe and reliable, I have never had to do so much bike maintenance in my life as things wear and need adjusting and tightening so much more as a high performance e-bike.

Still I love it and wouldn't have it any other way, there is no other way to travel for me

Cheers

P

Hey Dee !! nice bike !!! i love it ! 8) Get it done.. we want a ride video !

I see plenty of axle left.. great for a torque arm !!!!

I like the look of both 20's on there.. but the front 24 provides a bit more ground clearance !! :wink: every inch counts ! lol..

I just noticed that your cranks are placed pretty much at the pivot point of the swingarm.. that's awsome.. prevents chain tension issues i mentioned earlier... ( My norco has the cranks mounted below the swing.. the chain would snap at the first bump without the extra links. )

Come on man.. get to it... sleep is for wussies...

Hey ypedal (keep wanting to use buzzz )

yeh i can't wait to give her a blast mate !!!!
plenty of axel length which is a good job as im having 2 of those torque arms fitted just to be sure as the puma rips at 72v.
Initially when i dropped to 20's it was quite a shock but i love them now - the bike is going in on saturday to have a new special short length crank fitted, with pedals horizontal i will have a good 6" clearence and with them at the lowest point i will still have 4" - no worries there then!!!
i have a cam to take some video and i promise to get some up as soon as im out on it.I'll be using the lipo's in paralell initially to test the setup (thanks knoxie for keeping my feet on the ground) and then it's the full 72v 35a dirt ripping dc1 setup
loving this ebike lark !!!


D

Hey... What's the hold up ?

We need updates here.. Man.. :wink:

Hey ypedal,

lol, i remember hassling you and knoxie for vids and now it's me not coming up with the goods.
the bike has been in the lbs this week for some crank fitting and wheel adjustment - i'm hoping to get it back on saturday but thus far (13.15pm on thursday) they haven't called maybe they sold it or are desperately trying to get as much info from it so they can start producing more dc1's to sell in their shop!!! lol
i did get a couple of new tyres even though i haven't even ridden on the maxxis ones yet i'll post some pics later this evening.
This weekend i have the both days to myself so i will crack on with putting new connectors on and if i get the bike back i will start to fit it's electrics too - i have a feeling that the lbs won't be able to get a good length crank or devise a way to hold the torque arms so i think a visit to a machine shop is inevitable.
I've asked them to get the best single (changeable) gear crank that will fit and allow me to have the pedals moved in by 2" so we will see what they come up with.
i have to have a practice with the iron too as when it comes to the electrical side i couldn't find my arse with both hands
i still need a good method to secure the controller to the frame also - anyone know of any u bolts that have good anti shock capabilities?
i reckon a while yet until i can get out and actually ride it but bit by bit i'll get it done and get some vids up!!!!!

Get some " Zip ties " .. they are cheap and work very well at securing wires and controllers.. if they are not long enough, you can daisy chain them.. zip one on a 2nd one.. etc.. pull them tight and they stay put and are very strong...

You can also use Hose Clamps.. you know those metal straps with grooves cut into them.. turn the screw and it tightens thru the grooves...

Get'r done man !!!! (my turn to bug you ! lol )

lmao, patience dear ypedal, patience.

the reason it is taking a bit longer than most is i dont want a hose clip anywhere on my bike and the less zip ties the better.no racks,no baskets,no batteries or any other bumf that detracts from it's overall appearence.
I want to build it properly, more stealth than lashout lol.
i didn't get a call today so i reckon i wont even get it back this weekend
if i do get it back then i will have to find a machine shop to get the new crank shortened and devise a torque arm bracket for me - hold on man, another two weeks work and she'll be done.Even if it was ready now the weather is horrible and i want to ride it in the dry first then go about waterproofing if alls well, walk before you run mate walk before you run!!!


D

the reason it is taking a bit longer than most is i dont want a hose clip anywhere on my bike and the less zip ties the better.no racks,no baskets,no batteries or any other bumf that detracts from it's overall appearence.

Click to expand...

Man, that's weird! One of the best parts of building an ebike I thought was finding uses for all the extra plumbing, electrical, and kitchen hardware just sitting around.

xyster said:

I thought

Click to expand...

Click to expand...

That's exactly right ! lol.....

Ohh. the teasing never ends does it.. :wink:

lol, i guess you're right - where are those betterware fuse boxes
i'll be seeing how it's going today as the lbs never called me all week!!!
i'm sure they are taking notes as last time i went i swear they had schwinn choppers outside!!! talking of which hows yours coming along y? it looked a really cool machine.
will update y'all later on with some pics of some very dodgy soldering or as the guy in the vid calls it "soddering" lol.


D

Hi All,

had a little progress at the weekend but not much,had a cold that just wouldn't let go today so just about managed to get the bike back from the lbs on saturday and that was it.I did get to ride it fully setup and i have to say the guy done good the pedaling was as smooth as silk and very quiet.It very much rides like a bmx with gearing of 18 on the rear and 32 on the front, if anything its a little easy but i have to figure in that i will lose a fair amount of leverage once the crank arms are shorter so i'm totally happy with it for now - got some new bits and fixed some old issues,check them out and as ever let me know if you see anything that looks wrong


Cheers


D

Hey D !!! that sucker is a beauty !!!!.... I love it !

Get it done man !!... we want videos ! ( or .. at lest.. i do ! )