It's alive!!
Firstly, many thanks to Kabbage, Kepler, Ben Moore, Dogman, Adrian_sm, Spinningmagnets, Andyshirley and others for all invaluable advice I've received. Here is the finished product:
So the intention was to build a reliable commuter which would pass for a normal pushbike at first glance. The main bits are:
- 2012 Giant Cypress DX hybrid bike (front suspension removed)
- Schwable Marathon Plus 35mm puncture proof (fingers crossed!) rear tyre
- Kool Stop brake pads
- BPM 36V500W rear hub motor
- Ben Moore "little monster" controller, limited to 30A
- Zippy LiPo 44v 4Ah (times 2 packs, the other goes in my backpack for the ride home)
- iCharger 106B (with paraboard to charge all 4 batteries at once)
Thanks to the incredible explosive power of LiPo, unassisted it rides quite similar to pre-conversion. But then twisting the throttle gives it a very nice boost indeed! Personally, I think the conversion is quite discreet, in fact a few friends had no idea until I admitted its "little secret"!
Total cost for the conversion was AU$1200, and it's been worth every cent. E-bikes are an absolute game-changer for urban transportation, and I'm totally stoked with how mine has turned out!
Firstly, many thanks to Kabbage, Kepler, Ben Moore, Dogman, Adrian_sm, Spinningmagnets, Andyshirley and others for all invaluable advice I've received. Here is the finished product:
So the intention was to build a reliable commuter which would pass for a normal pushbike at first glance. The main bits are:
- 2012 Giant Cypress DX hybrid bike (front suspension removed)
- Schwable Marathon Plus 35mm puncture proof (fingers crossed!) rear tyre
- Kool Stop brake pads
- BPM 36V500W rear hub motor
- Ben Moore "little monster" controller, limited to 30A
- Zippy LiPo 44v 4Ah (times 2 packs, the other goes in my backpack for the ride home)
- iCharger 106B (with paraboard to charge all 4 batteries at once)
Thanks to the incredible explosive power of LiPo, unassisted it rides quite similar to pre-conversion. But then twisting the throttle gives it a very nice boost indeed! Personally, I think the conversion is quite discreet, in fact a few friends had no idea until I admitted its "little secret"!
Total cost for the conversion was AU$1200, and it's been worth every cent. E-bikes are an absolute game-changer for urban transportation, and I'm totally stoked with how mine has turned out!