Loving the ebike life but wishing for a full suspension bike...

Anyone happen to know the inner width of the stock rim for the 1000w eBay kits and also the trek 800 sport rims? I'm trying to figure out ow wide of tires I can go and I can find charts all over the place but shoot I don't want to spend a ton of time taking my tire off just to measure it. Anyone have an easier idea? They're decently narrow but I'm not sure how to reference that since it's the only bike I've ever had...im guessing somewhere between 18-22mm???
 
Philaphlous said:
Anyone happen to know the inner width of the stock rim for the 1000w eBay kits and also the trek 800 sport rims? I'm trying to figure out ow wide of tires I can go and I can find charts all over the place but shoot I don't want to spend a ton of time taking my tire off just to measure it. Anyone have an easier idea? They're decently narrow but I'm not sure how to reference that since it's the only bike I've ever had...im guessing somewhere between 18-22mm???

Ha! You could have taken it on n off 100 times since you posted that! Probably no need to even remove the wheel first.
If the outside measurement (rim braking surface) is 25mm, you'd be fine up to 2-inch tyres. Depends a bit on the tyre profile too.
 
Inside rim width is usually 6 to 7mm less than outside width.
 
So I painted my controller black this weekend. Looks 10000% better. It'll also protect it from rust this winter.

I also changed out the awful wiring connector for an ip67 waterproof round screw connector. It looks 1000% better and it's also much smaller. I need to do this for the brake wires too now. Once I get that I just need to open up my throttle and waterproof that so it doesn't short the hall wires and I should be good for this winter!

Can I cut a moderate size hole in my frame and route the wires through the frame???? Im trying to clean up the look of my bike and I have a ton of wires coming down the bottom tube to the controller underneath the sprocket and it's really an awful look having all the wires zip tied to the frame... Im thinking of cutting a small hole in the top near the steerer tube and one in the bottom just above the crank....
 
From what I could find the holes in the downtube need to be in the side of the tubes. If it's underneath it could crack the frame from the constant stress.

Having 2 holes on 1 side and 1 hole in another should be good for the 3 wires that need to go through the frame.
 
drilling holes is fine just stay a inch or two away from the welds. the side of the tube is a little more preferable but if you're just using this to ride as a commuter bike then a hole on top or bottom works too as long as your holes arnt too big. just use a little common sense when sizing them out. Bicycle frames are a lot stronger than some of these guys are giving them credit for. I have broken quite a few frames in my day and they always crack on the weld. ive even got my bike run over by a suv once and it just bent the heck out of it.
( aluminum frame) my body made a huge dent in his door so we just called it even. :lol:
 
Philaphlous said:
Can I cut a moderate size hole in my frame and route the wires through the frame????

Short answer: DON'T do that.

There aren't any spare pieces of a traditional bike frame that don't need to be there or are much stronger than necessary. Punching big holes in a tube changes its stiffness and relocates concentrations of stress. The edges of the holes can be damaging to cable insulation, often in spots that you can't see or easily deburr. Also if you do that, the frame will ingest water and filth through the holes (wicking it along the cables) and there won't be much you can do about it.
 
OK OK... I think shortening up my cables and changing the bike to all black will really help hide them all instead.

I'm changing all my connectors to gx16 type connectors that are ip67-68 waterproof. I had my bike cut out again yesterday from water and turns out it's the 6 pin connector that goes to my throttle that's shorting out from the water getting into the crap computer connector they use. Changing all the connectors to waterproof and using liquid electrical tape on my controller should absolutely and completely waterproof the bike. Oh and the twist throttle too.

I'll be ordering a new set of full fenders so water isn't crashing down on my controller like it current is.

New set of fenders, New wire connectors, a chain stay because my chain keeps falling off randomly when I try to pedal, and new pedals...that should hopefully complete my bike.
 
Not going into too much detail...im hoping to change my commute to all bike on the nice weather days instead of riding 8ish miles on the metro to my place of work. This would increase my total bike commute to around 13miles 1way, 26mi round trip.

Im thinking a mini bag on my bike might be good almost like a little seatpost bag. I'll need to carry an extra inner tube, patch kit and some tools but I think for the fall/winter my best option going forward is doing a bike commute to work. I never thought this would be possible but after considering it more and more, I have a path that takes me through the city almost entirely to my work crossing like 1 road the entire way there... If I can average even 20mph I could make it to work way quicker than metro/bike or driving alone.... According to the ebike motor calculator, I should be able to get upto 25mph and still have enough range for a round trip bike. Maybe a little pedaling assist on launches and I should be good...

Now I just have to convince the [strike]boss[/strike] wife...
 
Philaphlous said:
Now I just have to convince the [strike]boss[/strike] wife...

I turn on location sharing on Google maps for my wife on the way home. I also text her when I'm leaving. That seems to make her less uncomfortable about the commute. Odd that she seems less concerned about my ride in to work.

But the main thing, of course, is to get a good route with minimal interaction with cars and to ride like they cannot see you. I'm now also wearing day-glo shirt colors day and night and a reflective vest or reflective day glo shirt at night ... and I still assume I'm unseen.
 
I think that's the ticket. Be seen. You're going to be carrying a fairly large battery with you, get some lights.

But still assume they can't see you.

And practice panic braking.

As for the wiring/water issues, I've had the best luck with HiGo connectors like they have on the Bafang systems, for the low power stuff. And eliminate as many plugs as possible, goop filled shrink tubing over properly twisted connections seems to be extremely water resistant.
 
i ride my bike as a commuter in the Nova area and I ride in the rain and other weather situations most of my connectors are in my bag with the controller or battery, I've never had a connector shorting issue but one time my thumb throttle did Go full blast it would not stop so I just hit the off button. I believe the weak spot on the throttle is when it gets on the potentiometer and bridges the Gap so there's no resistance therefore wide open throttle but it's only happened to me once and now I just tie a small piece of plastic around it when I'm riding in the rain and I havnt had a problem since. Also if you're going to be riding in cold weather make sure that you bring your bike inside where it's warm or be able to detach your battery so you can bring it inside with you the cold will kill a battery extremely fast. If you're worried about connectors instead of using liquid tape I suggest using RTV silicone which can be obtained at Walmart or any auto parts store. be careful out there man drivers out there just don't pay attention sometimes I have had them try to sideswipe me on purpose! I myself am a very offensive Rider I've been known to kick a few mirrors off but that's me. I try to be respectful and put pedestrians and other vehicles first but sometimes you just got to look out for yourself..
 
it will definitely make your life a lot easier if you just put your controller inside of a bike bag... all of my bikes have the controller inside of some sort of housing. They don't get super hot if you're running a regular setup without hot rodding it, you will be fine..20180801_085844.jpgIMG_20180918_194040_986.jpg
 
My controller sits underneath my rear rack and I have a fender over the rear tire. Even when riding on very wet roads the controller stays pretty dry. Of course, I don't have to ride in the wet often. So that helps. Today looks like a possible exception.
 
Thanks for the advise guys. I'll hopefully be getting my new connectors in the next few weeks, otherwise I've duct tapped the crap out of them to keep them dry. I don't have room in my battery bag for any type of controller. I love the location of my controller because it basically sits on the bottom of the frame with the wires coming through the little opening by the rear tire. It's perfectly secure with some U bolts.

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I do have an issue every once and awhile the chain will fall off toward the crank arm about every other ride. It takes 2 seconds to put the chain back on but its still a pain.. I need a chainring guard but I haven't found a cheap 38T guard...so I might need to DIY one...

I'm thinking Tuesday or Wednesday has a good chance of biking all the way to work...little to no chance of rain in the forecast.
 
You might consider a "narrow-wide" chainring; more expensive, but i haven't had a derailment on my BBS02's. Also many companies (try MRP) have "chain keepers" or just a front derailleur using the limit screws to retain the chain.
 
When it comes to FS MTBs, I think the older stuff is better for e-bike conversion. Back around 2000, the downhill MTB scene was all about hucking long-travel bikes off of cliffs. Some seriously burly bikes were being produced. Since then, "standards" have changed about 20 times, so the older bikes are considered worthless. One can find older DH bikes for peanuts. I am currently converting an old Kona Stab (2001.) The rear swingarm is beastly. The front fork (dual crown) is akin to that of a small dirt bike. The front wheel is 26" while the rear is a 24" (with a 3" tire). Some even have a floating rear brake.

If you want a commuter that can eat potholes at 40 MPH and stop in a flash, look around for an old DH bike (2000-2008 vintage). They can be had for cheap. Of course, you'll still have to spend additional time and money. Just the nature of DIY. SAFELY going fast is never cheap.
 
I would say from a safety standpoint the only major area that needs attention is the rear dropout and adding a steel torque arm..or dual. I'm running about 2200w out of the battery when fully charged and more around 600-800w while cruising... Ive got good steel dropouts and I regularly check them but I know I need them for added security...
So my current commute is roughly 2miles 1 way and I don't even use 1ah of power from my bat which is great considering I've calculated the battery to be around 17ah. Figure 26mi total commute should easily be handled by the battery alone and I shouldn't need to pedal. I've got a bike storage right next to my work so I think it'll work out good.

I'm hoping Wednesday will be my full ride into work this week. Looks like the weather is cooperating and so I should have a good chance.
 
Still havent done the full 13 miles 1 way yet..so who knows

Anywho, had a hallarious moment yesterday. I was riding home and a motorcycle turned on the street I was riding on next to me. We rode almost the entire length of the road till I had to turn...what's so funny is I had absolutely no problem accelerating and keeping up with the motorcycle. Obviously the motorcycle has like 10x the power and top speed but for in the city riding...we were even..and I was like 10x less the weight, 1/10 the cost and basically no legal registration issues. I don't typically ride like that but it was just funny experiencing me riding along with a biker that I could easily keep up with. Heck yea!
 
I find that to be really satisfying riding... I used to be more out in the country, but now that's is lots of heavy city stop and go, that happens a lot! I loan my bike to many moto riders, and they're always blown away by the power delivery, light weight, the effectiveness in traffic, and the just pure fun of thrashing around with some car gridlock without bothering anybody with your noise or pollution.
So, ditto heck yeah!
 
Woohoo! All my waterproofing is here now! Got my brake lever connectors last week and this week I got my 5 pin connector for the throttle. Going to swap out the crap shorting Chinese connectors that came with my kit.

I also have the liquid electrical tape to seal up the grommet on the controller and fix any shorting going on with the twist throttle. Should be an awesome fix and ready for anything winter can throw at me!
 
SO good and sorta bad news...

The good news... I finished wiring the two brake cutoff wires and the now 5 pin throttle...
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The bad news...when I hooked up the motor it sounded awful! Like it was grinding.. then I stopped and then nothing... :kff:

Turns out the deans connectors for phase wires is a very bad idea... I completely destroyed one of the pins in the deans connector...like there was nothing left... i'm amazed I didn't get stranded on my normal commutes.... It took me forever to figure it out but I guess the grinding noise was only 2 of the three phases running at a time...so the wheel would spin but with only 2 phases... So I cut off the deans and for the time being I'll have to solder them directly to the motor before I can get an MT60 connector... The waterproof wires do look great though!
 
Took a week off from riding as I was in the hospital for a migraine this past week... Not good but I'm all good now. Back on the bike! Ended up getting some new planet bike fenders and man are they nice! I've got the rear one on and it fits the tire perfectly! The full coverage will be great for fair weather riding and I shouldn't be splashing wager all over my controller anymore.

I'm considering replacing the cheap Chinese cells and old laptop cells in my battery with the new unused panasonic ncr18650 cells I can get from a supplier. Right now they're going for about $2/cell but I was able to get them for around $1.25/cell a year ago...im hoping the price will drop eventually. I need to replace about 40ish cells and the battery will be freaking awesome. That should also boost the capacity to a 1kw battery!
 
Philaphlous said:
Took a week off from riding as I was in the hospital for a migraine this past week... Not good but I'm all good now. Back on the bike! Ended up getting some new planet bike fenders and man are they nice! I've got the rear one on and it fits the tire perfectly! The full coverage will be great for fair weather riding and I shouldn't be splashing wager all over my controller anymore.

Yep. I purchased a set of Planet Bike fenders as well and am very happy with them. For a commuter, I think fenders are a very good idea. Even for sunny places like the Phoenix area where I live.

I painted mine yellow - finishing them off with a clear coat for some extra shine and durability.

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