My Electra Townie/Bafang BPM Cruiser E-Bike

Another E-Bike rises from the ashes. Ok not literally...but this bike did start out as a much neglected Electra Townie that I picked up for $50. The original front suspension fork was completely rusted and seized, the wheels were junk, the saddle was junk, it was missing many small parts...well you get the picture. I ended up tossing everything and was left with just the frame. There are many chips all over the place and could use a re-paint however in my present small apartment there is no way I could take care of that. Besides not having actually ridden a Townie before I didn't know if I was going to keep it. Good news was there were no dents, yea!

The drivetrain is mostly a carryover from my previous Mongoose Hatchet build

http://endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=41305

That bike turned out well however I simply never rode it. I wanted to try a "flat-foot, crank-forward" design for some time but Townies normally sell for a pretty good price even used and I didn't want one that badly. As it were with all the parts I bought new I probably could have bought a complete used bike for the same price. Here are some pics of the completed bike:


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-R

I took the bike out for a long ride today. The thing has lots of torque, but then I’m used to little geared motors. It surprised me too just how fast it could go up hill. Near the end of today’s route I climbed two 8% hills, the first one I took it easy since I didn’t know how much juice was left. On the second I just had to know so up I went at full throttle (w/pedaling of course). For reference I normally hit the top at 14-15 mph with my Jeep bike with its EBK geared motor on 36V/22A. Yesterday riding my flatbar road bike with a Cute Q100 at 36V/15A I hit the top at just 11.5 mph. Today with 47V/26A I screamed up the hill and crested at over 21 mph. This was at the 27 mile mark and I fully expected the low C-rate battery to poop out…but it didn’t. It did start to feel a little weak a few miles later but it got me home without a hiccup.

Today’s stat’s:

Distance: 30.8 mi (49.7 km)
Average speed: 17.9 mph (28.9 kmh)

Battery voltage (start): 54.60V
Battery voltage (end): 46.06V

*Wh used: 394.1

*Wh/mi: 12.8
*Wh/km: 7.9


(*estimated Wh number calculated from Wh returned during charging less 5%)

Things I like about the bike:

• Being able to stay seated at a stop
• Being able to pull on handlebars and push against pedals on hills
• The torque of the BPM means effortless acceleration
• Sitting up straight means no pressure on hands and good view of countryside

Things I don’t like:

• The C-9 comfort saddle is anything but. At 12 miles my butt started to ache…at 23 miles it was a real pain.
• The BPM gets noisy at around 25 mph under power. This is an old problem I had with the motor on the last bike. I replaced the clutch assembly and it was quiet when run on 36V due to top speed of 23 mph. Now its capable of almost 28 mph. Still I don’t ride that fast very often and otherwise it is great.
• More wind resistance with the straight-up riding position
• Don’t know why but I feel a little silly riding it. :?

-R

Clean and sweet looking ride.

Dunno why you might feel silly riding it, looks great !

Well done.

thewmatusmoloki said:

Clean and sweet looking ride.

Dunno why you might feel silly riding it, looks great !

Well done.

Click to expand...

Thanks, the frame does looks better from 6 feet back.

I feel a little silly because I'm used to leaning more forward on a bike, mouth open sucking in air and legs constantly spinning fast. On the Townie I'm sitting bolt-upright, smiling, looking around and just casually pedaling...or not. With my other E-bikes most people never know I'm electrified, on the Townie there's little doubt. I feel like somehow I'm...cheating

-R