Fantom29

Paladin

100 W
Joined
Dec 20, 2013
Messages
125
Location
Pacific NW
And so it begins again, 3rd time is the charm?

Will have a Mac12t and CA3.
BakPak 16s/10ah LiPo.

Seems like it usually takes me 3 times till i get to the point i was aiming for in the first place.

Wanted a dirt-bike like bike, that i can still pedal.

The Fito i started with is good on-road but not the best off-road.

I then thought i wanted a 'stealthy' bike to ride on local MTB trails.

The speed allways gives away the fact you are going faster than a normal cyclist, somethings not looking right to the hardcore cyclist...some old dude hardly pedaling, going 25-30mph...thats not quite right.

I keep thinking i wanted to do a high power DD style bike but i really like these MAC motors and the MAC10t i have will do over 30mph on 16s, thats allmost to fast for the area i like to ride.
Also i am getting to old to hurt myself any more and its really not fun to break your wrist and such.
Snapped wrist.JPG


New project, Motobecane Fantom29, Bikeisland.com
Thinking i can stuff some 26x3 tires in there. DX32 rims
View attachment 6


Have most of the parts together so i thought it was time to start the build.
Moto cranks.JPG
Origin8 saddle.JPG
controls.JPG
Parts.JPG
Reba 110x15.JPG

Nothing too fancy, i am happy with the eFSX so it will mostly will be a similar machine.
3x8 Shimano shifters, Shimano cable style disc brakes. Good price and work well.

To get the Magura to fit the brake/shifter all tight you have to shave a bit off the bolt. Also have to shave a bit off the inside of the shifter levers, dremel works good.
shave bolt.JPG

Just need the spokes and it will be flying soon.
If I had not just bought this frame set I would most likely be building that Flux Beta, that thing looks almost prefect for me.
/cheers
 
Take a big breath, count to ten...sigh...
Wow this would have been neat if I had bothered to measure anything.
After half a dozen emails I finally received the what I thought was a Reba 110x15mm.../cry.
Sent a Recon QR first...returned.

After I built this nice wheel it turns out the Reba is 100x15.

Not sure why I am even posting this, other that to say I am a DS.
DX32 and Duro 26x3.
Back to the drawing board.
 

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MAC12t on 26x3 tires and 16s@18amps will do 28mph in the dirt/flat, good grief.<--that was for you k007
Larger tires helps, feels more stable in the soft stuff.

That was kind of the point of this build, to expand on the Gravity FSX.
Wanted better suspension, fatter tires and a stronger/stiffer front fork.
I rationalized it as buying the fork and rear shock and gettin the frame for $50...how the human mind works, we will never know.

12t pulls a little harder than the 10t.
Seems like I can hear it clattering some under power (clutch?) tapping sound, didn't notice that with the 10t. ...was the powercord/plug tapping the rear fender, not the MAC.

Used the CA3, Magura throttle and 9fet 4110 off the FSX for now.
Swapped the motor internals, put the 12t in the built rim that the 10t was in.
Had to dish the rear wheel a little more.

Plan to build that 10t into a 26" MTX33 rim or else a 24" Odyssey rim, can't decide
Used the inner-tube trick I saw nutspecial using to hide/protect the wires/plugs.

I wanted to do this bike black and blue. Couple bikes here on E-S I liked like that.
Every thing I bought was a different shade of blue, was the wrong size or just didn't fit...oh well.

That front is rubbing a tad, 27.5" fork may fit these tires better, wish that had been the 110mm fork... and the rear has about a 1/16".
Don't know if this is going to fly like it is, guess I will run it and see.

Just using the CA3 as the 'torque arm' limiting the throttle ramping.
Hope I don't regret that move.

Really fun and playful machine. 47lbs for the bike.
These MAC motors are great.

/cheers
 

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Update; Still flying.

Observations:
1/8" is not enough tire to frame clearance in the rear, had my left pant leg wedge it self in there and it was like hitting the brakes.
May have to use a narrower rim...or different tires.
This thing is on 26" rims now, made for 29".

Came around a corner with a tree shading and blocking my view of a fist sized rock that a horse had just kicked up.
Front end came up handle bars went sideways and when the front end hit the ground it was 90 degrees off center...so I stopped REAL fast.
Ended up on the ground in front of the bike with a handle bar end jabbing me in the right calf muscle (that's how you protect your throttle) ouch... happened so fast.

Any hoo, bike and I are fine. The point of this was that in the fall it stuffed the front wheel to one side and was rubbing the fork. Not the best combo I am running here, needs more leeway kinda like the rear.

Good thing I had some tools/spoke wrench. Couple minutes I had the wheel back in line. no rub...and was back on down the trail.
 
Still looking for my perfect combination of float/clearence.
27.5 rim/3.0 Ground Control.

A little bummbed Holmes Hobbies no longer has custom spokes.
I tried ordering from a suggested site in Cali. but they only had pink or green, so I went back to ProWheelBuilder.

Here we go again.
 

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...and the Ground Control 3.0 is so stuffed it wont even spin. Too wide.
Should have taken a picture but just pulled the tire off instantly, was a bit irritated.

Found a WTB Ranger 2.8, finally no more rub!
This has got to be the worst tire as far as roundness I have ever seen.
It looks like it twists/wobbles back and forth, hard to explain.
Not even the 4.0 Vee fat bike tires I have are this bad and they are not all that great either.
WTB.JPG

I wanted to get a little more room, tire to frame, in the rear too.
Put a Maxis 2.5 on it and it is 2 1/4" wide, would be nice if manufactures would put the REAL/actual size of a tire.
Way to whimpy after the Duro 3.0 so I built a mtx33 on to the other hub, just need to swap the 10t/12t guts around again.
Gives just a tiny bit more space but now its looking a little narrow for that tire...what next.

Wheel building, I was up late half asleep not paying enough attention and mangled a couple nipples.
Make sure you seat the spoke wrench fully on the nipple as you adjust.
I wrecked a couple by only having half of the nipple/wrench contact, not seated all the way onto the nipple.
Had to replace them, no big deal just more time. Colored red to find them.
mashed.JPG
 
Well...swapping the rear DX to the MTX netted me a whole 1/8" total. Pfft
rear.JPG

In the process of switching out the Mac internals I lost a cover screw, pulled them apart again thinking it was probably stuck to the magnets of the Mac.
No screws inside, I wonder...are these screws even magnetic...Nope. Good thinking.
Need to figure out what size they are and get some spares.

Also wanted to say that after I bad mouthed the front tire, WTB Ranger 2.8, its not as bad as I thought,was user error.
Apparently I was either drunk or asleep or both when I finished up the front I didn't get the rim strip centered and it was preventing the tire edge from seating up next to the rim. Never used these, cloth adhesive. I like the thin plastic style myself.
rim strip.JPG

All done again...
650 front.JPG
 
NIce build man, I have the same exact bike with 29 inch tires, and have been really wanting to try some 27.5 plus tires on it. How do you like it so far. great write up.

So you ended up with 27.5 inch 2.8 wheels is that correct? you ditched the 26?? I bet that thing hooks up like crazy, how about at ride report :D
 
Dave M said:
NIce build man, I have the same exact bike with 29 inch tires, and have been really wanting to try some 27.5 plus tires on it. How do you like it so far. great write up.

So you ended up with 27.5 inch 2.8 wheels is that correct? you ditched the 26?? I bet that thing hooks up like crazy, how about at ride report :D

Thanks, its a really fun bike. Its a mutant with 27.5" rim 2.8" tire on the front and 26" rear rim with the 3" tire, just used a slightly narrower rim.
Was mostly one step forward two steps back on this build.
The cranks (175) are almost to long/low ground clearance have to watch for pedal strikes.
The front still looks odd because it doesn't fill out the fork like a 29" would. Works good though.
My rides consist of a rather mundane 12mile figure-8 in rolling hills and loose sandy soil at about 20mph+, the bike just eats it up.
I sometimes feel like I am just riding in circles but I just have to turn left out my driveway and I have almost endless miles of dirt so I really can't complain.
I think I could get away with just a single large front chain ring as I have no real hills.
Was hurt (dislocated knee cap, foot laceration and a broken toe, Three different incidents...grrr) most of this krazy hot summer we had and maybe lucky if I did 200 mile this year... :cry:
Looking at over a foot of snow on the ground right now...almost had enough of that white stuff already.
Have fun!
 
would a 27.5 plus fit on the rear, next week I am going to rent a bike that has 27.5 2.8 and try to switch wheel sets with my fantom to make sure it works before I start ordering stuff. I would love a 3 on the back but thought that would be to tight for sure??

thanks for the update, I am riding it now with 29 inch tires with a 750watt midd drive an its tons of fun, and so silent no one know I have a motor on it.
 
Dave M said:
would a 27.5 plus fit on the rear, next week I am going to rent a bike that has 27.5 2.8 and try to switch wheel sets with my fantom to make sure it works before I start ordering stuff. I would love a 3 on the back but thought that would be to tight for sure??

thanks for the update, I am riding it now with 29 inch tires with a 750watt midd drive an its tons of fun, and so silent no one know I have a motor on it.

I would guess that the 27.5/2.8 will work fine on the rear, I have the small frame and there is maybe 1.25" room between the leading/forward edge of the tire to frame clearance.
I would guess no on the 27.5/3.0 on the rear as the 26"/3.0 barely fits with about 1/8" on the frame swing arm edge. May depend on rim width.
Looked at a Specialized bike at the local bike shop with the 27.5's and 3.0 Ground Controls on it at the end of 2015 and was hooked. Wish I had that frame.
I couldn't find a 36hole 27.5 rim at the time(for the hub motor) and have not looked lately, that's why it has the 26/3.0 rear.
I really just wanted the fatter tires because the soil conditions were so soft and loose, way more stable and planted feeling than the average size tire widths IMO.

Rental sounds like a good idea, may save you some money and grief in the future.
Good luck!
 
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