Giant Revive conversions

[Cowardlyduck]

Hi all,

So it seems there are quite a few Giant Revive custom/DIY electric conversions out there, and I figured it would be nice to try and bring everyone together to get some discussion going for converting these awesome bikes.

I have done a mild conversion which turned out fantastic:

This bike was a fairly low budget/simple setup, but it worked so well I really want to make more!

I can see there are also a bunch of threads on ES for other conversions, most of which are old or very short threads:
Giant Revive, planning a mid motor conversion
Giant Revive e-bike project
Giant Revive project
Giant Revive with Bafang BBS01 & cargo racks
Giant Revive projects??
Greenerwheels Giant Revive Ebike build
4 day Giant Revive RC build for my wife.........
Dee Jays Giant Revive projects
Re-viving a Giant revive
There are even more, but I'm not going to list them all.

Part of the reason I am starting this thread is I now have another Giant Revive I plan to convert, but this one is going to be quite different to anything else out there (I think).

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I will discuss further below, but this Revive has a busted rear shock, so I am looking to replace with something longer. I want to make this a 2WD Fat tyre conversion, so will also add front suspension forks. Should be quite the decent adventure bike!

Please add/discuss your Giant Revive build!

Cheers

[SlowCo]

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I have a Gazelle Easy Glider that I would love to add some sort of electric support to. It has front and rear suspension and a 8 speed Shimano rear gear hub. Great bike but I could use some assist on it so I'll follow this thread

[Cowardlyduck]

I have a Gazelle Easy Glider that I would love to add some sort of electric support to. It has front and rear suspension and a 8 speed Shimano rear gear hub. Great bike but I could use some assist on it so I'll follow this thread

That's awesome!
I didn't realise the Gazelle Easy Glider was even a thing! Had a quick look and they don't seem to be a thing in Australia, otherwise I would love to snag one at some point!

Since most of these kind of bikes run a 20" rear, the best combo seems to be a rear hub motor with batteries mounted in or under the frame to lower and push forward the CG.

Although I want more battery than can fit, I think for my next Giant Revive I will still put battery inside the frame, but just have part inside and part outside. Ideally I would end up with 1.5-2Kwh which I've found to be a good amount for longer ventures.

Cheers

[ykuga]

This is interesting topic. I also have a Giant Revive.
First I added disc brakes. Front fork was replaced by Sunlite fork. To add a disc to rear I fabricated a thick Al plate with a disc adapter. Three holes are used for supporting it. Then I added eZee rear hub motor. The battery consists of three 48V 10.5Ah units (from ES Ellectrico) in parallel. Your idea of embedding a battery into the frame is a good thing. My bike with a big battery does not look so good. Currently the controller is in a front bag. I still need to add a torque arm and other items.
One issue of the current setup is that this bike is slow. I get only 20 MPH. I am planning to test a voltage booster (up to 58V) to get higher speed. I hope to get close to 25 MPH. I hope my eZee controller is compatible with 52V battery.

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[99t4]

Could you fabricate a v.2 of your disc brake mounting plate to include TA functionality? (Might have to be steel instead of Al.) Seems like it could extend further down to encase the axle. Possibly extend it even further to include a pinchbolt below the axle for even better axle securing capability?

Are the rear rack vertical struts attached to anything?

How are you charging those paralleled batteries?

[Cowardlyduck]

Thanks for sharing ykuga!

I like the idea of disc brakes, but I've found two alternate solutions that I prefer which is to run a DD hub with Regen, and hydralic rim brakes like the Magura HS11. Combined I have all the stopping power I could need on the rear. For the front a rim brake is usually enough as it doesn't need as much force to lock up. That being said, I recently put a disc brake on my BikeE AT at the front due to running a 16" wheel in a 20" fork so had no other option. Works well!
You might want to be careful attaching Aluminium to the steel frame like that. If it gets wet or damp it could start galvanic corrosion. I would ensure you give it a thick coat of paint at least to help prevent that from happening.

As for the battery, yes it certainly looks better having it inside the frame, but it is limited what can be done with the space. I was only able to fit 10S4P in the one above, so 36V 14AH, which is ok for a low powered geared hub, but definitely not enough for what I have in mind with a 2WD fat bike.

I am thinking I might go with 14S8P for this time around for 52V 28Ah (1450Wh). That way I can stack 2 x 4P cells end to end with wire paralleling them to fill up the frame. I should be able to fit 6S (8P) inside the frame and then will put the remaining 8S (8P) either under the sides of rear rack or on top of the frame (or both). Placing the BMS might be tricky, but I'm sure I'll figure something out.
I need to take another look, but it might also be possible to fit 5 or 6 18650 cells length ways into the frame. If that can work it makes a few other possibilities available like 14S10P or 14S12P for some serious long range capabilities.

I'm curious why you changed the forks? Was it a geometry thing?

Cheers