Dengfu M09 Endruo/Freeride build log

Completed the partial strip down of the drive so as to inspect the gears and check the level of lubrication.

The drive came apart quite easily with no special tricks needed.

I can confirm the drive has metal gears throughout. The intermediate gears certainly could have done with more lubrication however it certainly wasn't dry. The final drive gears looked to be lubricated adequately.

This first picture shows the speed controller. A really neat compact unit. Not potted though so water ingress could be an issue. That being said, there is a nice fitting gasket on the cover. Worth noting this drive doesn't look like it uses traditional hall sensors. Instead it has a single magnet on the end of the motor pinion gear which is located behind the shinny circular post just behind the 3 phase plug. This means you will need to take care refitting the speed controller cover as I presume there is a sensor on the speed controller circuit board that picks up a pulse from this magnet.

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Yo can see the final reduction gear in this picture. Looks to be well lubricated. The bearing setup looks to be well engineered.

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On the left is the secondary gear reduction. The gear on the far left is the steel gear that replaced the original nylon gear.

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This picture shows the cavity which the intermediate gear reduction fits into. Looks like you could pack a good amount of grease on the intermediate gears without the issue of grease spilling out. You can also see the magnet on the end of the motor pinion used to sense rotation.

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[youtube]muSNIUXNNaQ[/youtube]
 
Big thank you for this Kepler. This video will be an awesome helper for the M600 users. .......wayne
 
Kepler said:
Instead it has a single magnet on the end of the motor pinion gear which is located behind the shinny circular post just behind the 3 phase plug. This means you will need to take care refitting the speed controller cover as I presume there is a sensor on the speed controller circuit board that picks up a pulse from this magnet.
Cool. A rotary magnetic encoder is hopefully a big improvement in reliability, and wiring simplicity, I didn't expect to see this from Bafang. They've definitely stepped up their game. Looks so much better than the ol' BBS02.
It looks like the axle is a proprietary spline? So only Bafang cranks are compatible?
Thanks for the teardown! Can we see the motor next?
 
Not potted means easier to modify the shunts. More power anyone?

Bafang M600 shunts.jpg

I like the 3 position phase wire connector. Any clues were I can find something like that?
 
PaulD, Bafang spline is not compatible. I had posted some comparison pics here:

https://endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=28&t=100777&p=1499392#p1499392

It’s very close but not exactly, there’s no way to fit an ISIS crank on that M600 spindle.
 
thanks for the teardown Kepler! :) Certainly is a noisy drive and much louder the the ultra.The noise is far less apparent when tagging along behind it than when on the bike though,and is still quieter than some bbsxx's I've heard.


On another note, is there a tool to get the chainring off/on? Since the lockring is recessed the ultras ring spanner tool won't work.
 
Repacked the gears with a liberal amount of molybdenum grease. Used the same grease on all gears since they are all steel.

Test rode the bike. Definitely quieter then it was before the re grease. Maybe 20% better. Its never going to be a silent drive with an all metal gear train but i can definitely live with it.
 
Thanks Kepler, in the tear down video you mentioned the secondary gear compartment was lighter on grease. Being a novice I'm not sure how to judge how much grease to put in there if I were to open mine up.
 
The amount of grease you put in there isn't that critical. The trick is to make sure every tooth is well covered with grease pushed into each of gear tooth valleys.

The existing grease looks to be a plastic compatible grease. Probably a carry over from the drives original spec. As all the gears are now metal, seems logical to use the same grease through out. I used Mobile LMM molybdenum grease not for any reason other then I had this grease in my workshop and have used it on my BBS02 final drives for years.

Just clean off as much of the original grease that you can. I avoided using a solvent because I didn't want to effect the bearings. If you have access to an air compressor, high pressure air is a good way of getting ride of 99% of the grease.
 
So now that you've had a little time in the saddle would you build this again? what might you do different? I've got an X1 w/Ludi upgrade in my shopping cart but I thought I would wait a little 'till all the reports come in. My other option is to buy the E06 F.S carbon frame from Dengfu and build an M620 ultra bike. Thoughts?

Kepler said:
Repacked the gears with a liberal amount of molybdenum grease. Used the same grease on all gears since they are all steel.

Test rode the bike. Definitely quieter then it was before the re grease. Maybe 20% better. Its never going to be a silent drive with an all metal gear train but i can definitely live with it.
 
I think I would do it again. However I did make a few mistakes that have cost me. I should have gone with my gut and gone with a 29er fork from the start. The bike needs a bit more ground clearance and this does help. Also I like the bike with a slacker geometry as I think 66.5 degrees is to conservative for a modern enduro bike. I was worried about the seat tube being angled back too far with the higher front end but this proven not to be an issue at all.

I haven't done a lot of serious off road riding yet but next time I am out, I will be taking a 29 x 2.6" wheel from my Stumpjumper and a 27.5 x 2.8" wheel to compare them back to back on the same loop. So far, I am leaning towards the 29er front wheel but I want to be completely sure before I go and buy another front wheel.

Lots of mixed reports on the M600 motor. Tom has has a bad experience with his and it does seem to be significantly louder then mine although its so hard to really tell through recorded sounds. I too was hoping for a quieter motor but the level of noise my motor makes certainly isn't a deal breaker for me anyway. The repacking helped and I plan to try some insulation under the motor to try and further reduce the noise.

Mixed reports on the torque sensing also. With light pedaling the power can be a bit on and off especially on the higher assist levels. However if you pedal with a bit of effort, I find the torque sensing feels really natural.

In regards to the E06 and M620, all looks good on paper but that's about the only comment i can make.
 
Thank you, that helps a lot. It's a big jump for me to go from a retrofit 1400 watt crank drive kit to a factory bike. I don't want to spend $4,000 and prefer riding my old Frankenstein bike. I'm ok with a little noise and I love so many things about the X1. I imagine as Bafang figures out the programing, owners of that motor can get the updated flash? all the other problems reported seem easy to fix.
 
I think a big problem when comparing this build to a Specialized Levo/Kenevo is the steep 66.5 degree head angle that is more of a old school cross country bike than a fast enduro bike. I would fear falling over the bars if I rode it fast and aggressive. An adjuster like the AngleSet from Cane Creek will give you a more modern geometry with a slacker angle. Is the head tube inside diameter wide enough (needs to be at least 44mm) to fit such a head angle adjuster?
 
MountainJack said:
I think a big problem when comparing this build to a Specialized Levo/Kenevo is the steep 66.5 degree head angle that is more of a old school cross country bike than a fast enduro bike. I would fear falling over the bars if I rode it fast and aggressive. An adjuster like the AngleSet from Cane Creek will give you a more modern geometry with a slacker angle. Is the head tube inside diameter wide enough (needs to be at least 44mm) to fit such a head angle adjuster?

Haha. Just read that this was already commented on. So the question remains. Could you fit a head angle adjuster?
 
Hi, mountain Jack please explain the geo issue to me. I've just checked the spec levo geo 2018 ht angle was 66.5, it is exactly the same as dangfu E09 in 2019 ht angle is 66.04 does it really make a difference ?
 
artyy said:
Hi, mountain Jack please explain the geo issue to me. I've just checked the spec levo geo 2018 ht angle was 66.5, it is exactly the same as dangfu E09 in 2019 ht angle is 66.04 does it really make a difference ?
I think my Kenevo is 65 degrees and that the Dangfu has 66.5 (this is what I remember from the Luna X-1 specs). But I might be misinformed. Maybe I should read up better before posting.

For that it is worth, as a long time motorcycle rider competing in MX, Enduro and Rally (never very good, but anyways), I like to ride aggressively when going to work on a stealthy pedal driven bike (my ride to Stockholm city offers a lot of forest riding). On a regular bike or an e-bike, when having fun you need to go fast and when going fast you are more often than not going downhill. And on a bike, you don't have the momentum and mass of a big bike and you can't just lift the front by turning the throttle. This is scary. So you better ride with your dropper post down, your weight back and your head angle slack to allow you to hit things without going over the bars. I find my Kenevo much more confidence inspiring than my Levo. I think it is due to the slacker angle and, the longer travel and the better suspension. But I agree that half a degree is probably not an issue. Still, I would like my next bike to be as close to 64 degrees as possible. It is sad that you can't sit closer to the fork on pedal bikes when turning (on an MX bike, your ass is way up front of the seat when turning tight) as turning agility seems to be the biggest complaint from customers of bikes that are slacker. I personally don't find slack angles to be a problem when going fast.
 
artyy said:
Hi, mountain Jack please explain the geo issue to me. I've just checked the spec levo geo 2018 ht angle was 66.5, it is exactly the same as dangfu E09 in 2019 ht angle is 66.04 does it really make a difference ?

My Levo is supposed to be 66 degrees. I believe it is a 2019 as it has the stupid battery that I need to flip the bike to remove (unlike my Kenevo where it can be removed with ease).
 
hi Mountain Jack and Kepler. I am wandering if you could use head set adapter changing headtube angle, say, 1,5 degree (https://www.workscomponents.co.uk/15-degree-ec44-zs56-angle-headset---to-suit-tapered-steerer-tube-138-p.asp) with front 27,5/rear 27,5 wheels. This would improve geo: head angle 65, seat tube 74. I think one must thing about uphill as well, so 74 might be important. Kepler, you've got a program to test such configuration - I mean in terms of a fork length needed, what do you think?
 
It looks like that head set adapter would work.

I know the bike specs say 66.5 degree head angle, however as standard, the bike never felt like other bikes i have with 66.5 degree head angle. I have never bothered to actually check if the dimension is true but it would be an interesting exercise to actually measure the bike head angle.

Unless you plan to really bomb this bike down hill, I think the geometry is fine standard. For me though, I really like the extra assurance I now get with the bike in its current setup. Keep in mind, I wanted better ground clearance also. Unfortunately just changing the head angle with a headset adapter is going to make ground clearance worse.

If you want to play around with bike geometry, just go to
https://www.bikecad.ca
Software is free to use.
 
As far as I could find the changes in bb height are around 1-2cm. It is easy to be compensated by longer fork (axle crown length) but you have to keep in mind that playing with slacker frame geo is in danger of stronger forces that can break the frame.
 
What are you guys running for chainrings? I'm in Florida, so everything is flat around here. I've got an X-1, so I'm running the stock 32T and the Eagle 11-50 out back. The 11T is sketchy under load though; it likes to skip. Many of the trails I ride can be taken at 15-18 MPH (25-30 km/h) pretty easily, but there is no elevation to coast down, so I'm pedaling my ass off currently using the 13T in back to avoid skipping.

I'm thinking of going up to a 40T out front so I can get 15 MPH at 75 cadence and still be on the 17T cog in the back. I'm thinking that will extend the life of the cassette. Am I crazy?
 
Here is a quick video (nothing too exciting) of the bike setup with with 27.5+ 2.8" rear and 29er 2.6" front on a 29er ebike specific Fox 36 fork. Really happy with the way the bike rides in this configuration. The level of noise is pretty accurate to what you are really hearing on the bike. Also added a charge plug that doubles as range extender plug and fitted the thumb throttle just to see how it feels.

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[youtube]ma93915ctTw[/youtube]
 
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