Qulbix Raptor ebike + frame kit

You can also apply the locktite after the wheel is built with good results using a super wick in compound. http://www.gasweld.com.au/29020a-loctite.html. This type of locktite penetrates the assembled thread using a capillary action. My local wheel builder uses this method.
 
Kepler said:
You can also apply the locktite after the wheel is built with good results using a super wick in compound. http://www.gasweld.com.au/29020a-loctite.html. This type of locktite penetrates the assembled thread using a capillary action. My local wheel builder uses this method.

Yes as Kepler said, you'll want a wicking type so you can apply after. DT Swiss makes a dedicated product called Spoke Freeze but it's expensive at $25 for 10ml! I use it with good results (applied after the wheel is built) and if you started with well oiled spoke threads then the Spoke Freeze's locking strength is low enough to allow the wheel to be serviced down the track. If you build the wheel dry then spoke freeze the bond is strong enough to make turning the nipples at all difficult later on. http://www.wheelbuilder.com/dt-swiss-spoke-freeze.html

The traditional choice was boiled linseed oil (mentioned in most wheel building books) which lubricates initially and provides mild locking strength for the finished wheel.

Rix's point about spoke twist is good too. If you lightly grip the spoke with your fingers as you turn the nipple with your tool, you can feel any twist that might be happening. With good lubrication spoke twist during building is also reduced.
 
Posted a couple of videos of driving my Torque Raptor.
One of them is stairs.

Speedometer is in MPH. Stair video is in KM/H
Remember 30MPH = 48 KM/H

Bike is incredible and the motorcycle seat makes it much easier to drive fast off-road and corner at speed. I tend to sit down and get low when traveling fast off-road. It just feels more secure and stable doing that, something that I wouldn't do with a bicycle seat. I of course stand when I drive on very rough terrain or about to hit a curb.

The raptor brings Ebiking to a whole new level. You can do so much more compared to a converted bicycle ebike. I started to climb stairs and drive down them now where ever I find them. I am looking for places to start learning to do drops, I want to be able to do 5 to 10 foot drops with the bike. No place to do jumps in an urban area. Everything is up in the air when you have a bike like this. Plus the bike is built so heavy duty that I am not worried the least about anything breaking. Basically this bike is the ultimate urban assault bike and makes beating it around an urban environment a whole new fun thing to do with an ebike.

It is a dream having the batteries enclosed in the center and not worrying about them or damaging them. The hydraulic breaks makes it so much easier to handle the bike now with a 1 finger brake lever. With my old rim brakes I had to take my hand off of the throttle to brake, now I don't have to do that.

Because of the amount of power I am pushing with this bike, I am very glad that I have room to add in a lot more battery packs. Right now I believe the bike has as much battery capacity as a stealth bomber, around 1600 watt hours. I will eventually want to up it to at least 2600 watt hours. When you drive as hard as I do, you need all the battery capacity you can get.

I am fully comfortable with the bike to the point I don't even feel it beneath me anymore. The bike is perfectly balanced and just tears through anything. The 26" razor back tire and Prowheel 19" shinko 241 dirt bike tire take a beating with how hard I hit curbs and stairs without any issues other than occasion loose spokes on the prowheel, which I'm working on fixing that problem.

At the end of the stair video when I climbed the steep set of stairs about 17 steps in total, towards the end of the stair climb my 4000 watts power was just enough to get me to the top. Seems like you would want a lot more power to climb really long stairs. However, most stairs are not as long as those.

[youtube]s-SlVWw5BjM[/youtube]

[youtube]ldY65kUtiBM[/youtube]
 
Right now I believe the bike has as much battery capacity as a stealth bomber, around 1600 watt hours. I will eventually want to up it to at least 2600 watt hours. When you drive as hard as I do, you need all the battery capacity you can get.

Great vids Offroader, really appreciate the time you took to post. I think your battery compartment on the Raptor is bigger than the Bomber. I have 350mmx120mmx160mm. The pics of the Raptor look larger than that. Maybe not quiet as long but much wider and at least as tall. You got me thinking maybe I need to order the Stealth Hurrican seat for my Bomber the way you talk about the MC seat. And clearly by your vids, you are comfortable and confident with the way your Raptor is working for you. Very nice indeed.
 
Nice videos. I would probably need body armor before trying to cruise down stairwells like you do.
 
snellemin said:
Nice videos. I would probably need body armor before trying to cruise down stairwells like you do.

As I am learning, a good bike setup and suspension makes things that previous seemed difficult much more attainable. It's about committing, knowing your equipments limits and more importantly your own limits. Good equipment lets you push your own limits further because it adds confidence.
 
Driving down steps is fairly easy, its driving up them that is much harder. Easiest thing to do is to practice small and work your way up. Don't go too steep at first. I hit a really steep set of stairs and felt like I nose dived after the last step.

Driving up those long steps looks a lot easier than it is. I was only able to do a couple of those long steps at first before driving into the hand rail. However, with practice it got a lot easier.

Your rear rim will take a beating while practicing steps. You will have to check tension every ride. Those steps are why I broke 11 13 gauge spokes. You get 1 loose spoke and your doomed. 11/12 gauge spokes seem to last though if you get a loose spoke.
I also would not try steps with the raptor with a rear bicycle tire, you will surely pinch flat. You need a dirt bike wheel. In order to get the momentum to climb them you have to really bash that rear rim on the first step.

Having a high bottom bracket is helpful, that is why I commend the builder of the raptor for making it a 13.2" bottom bracket height. Make sure to keep your front tire a 26" on the raptor and bring the rear up (by adjusting shock height) to get high ground clearance.

With all that said doing stairs is probably the most rewarding experience you can have with an ebike.
 
I'm more "careful" as I'm getting older. I use to go down stairs with my regular bikes, but for some reason I'm just thinking twice about doing it with my ebikes. I have no problem with the retention ponds with the steep walls though.
 
Offroader, great videos! I've shared them on our FB, I hope you don't mind :)
sacko said:
What equipment do you have that allows you to show Speed and GPS position on the video?
I was wondering that as well - what app did you use to show speedometer?
Ziva
 
Trying to learn how to do drops on this bike. I am taking them small and working my way up higher. Probably went a bit too high with this one.

I did a 5 foot drop and ran into a little problem.. Wrists hurt a bit afterwards and back still hurts a bit. I have to obviously change how I approach drops. I think I have to land more evenly or pick up more speed.
I must have landed with my front tire first. It didn't help that I was scared right before I did this particular drop.

Lucky I had an allen key with me that I needed to tune my shock to move the throttle and was able to twist the rear brake lever to drive home. Handlebar wouldn't move. Maybe I was lucky the handlebar bent/twisted like that because it must have taken some force off of my wrists, as my wrists really stung form the impact.

[youtube]znPU3vhZWhk[/youtube]
 
Offroader said:
I did a 5 foot drop and ran into a little problem.. Wrists hurt a bit afterwards and back still hurts a bit. I have to obviously change how I approach drops. I think I have to land more evenly or pick up more speed.
I must have landed with my front tire first. It didn't help that I was scared right before I did this particular drop.

I did something similar in my back yard right before I converted my bike to electric. On my first jump I did not have enough speed and did not pull up on the bars at all. I thought I was going over the bars on the first jump.

[youtube]KR30aVMm77A[/youtube]
 
Offroader said:
Trying to learn how to do drops on this bike. I am taking them small and working my way up higher. Probably went a bit too high with this one.

I did a 5 foot drop and ran into a little problem.. Wrists hurt a bit afterwards and back still hurts a bit. I have to obviously change how I approach drops. I think I have to land more evenly or pick up more speed.
I must have landed with my front tire first. It didn't help that I was scared right before I did this particular drop.

Lucky I had an allen key with me that I needed to tune my shock to move the throttle and was able to twist the rear brake lever to drive home. Handlebar wouldn't move. Maybe I was lucky the handlebar bent/twisted like that because it must have taken some force off of my wrists, as my wrists really stung form the impact.

]


"Oh Shit" yep, that was appropriate for the circumstances. At least you didn't crash. :mrgreen:
 
That was a crazy mishap Offroader. I can't imagine would could of happened if the handlebar actually broke during the fall.
So far I have only fallen once with the bike. There was fine sand on the concrete trail and the bike just slid out from under me in a turn. I flew and rolled off the fall. Camelback took a beating, but helmet didn't get a scratch. However, my rear brake adapter got closer to the brake rotor and started rubbing bad. Must of bent the dropout in a bit. So now I have to find me a new adapter and make it work for me.

The TR is so stable at high speed. My bike accelerates really quickly to 40mph and I'm liking the longer wheelbase vs my other bikes. I commuted to work today with Raptor. The ride was more comfortable vs my EVG when I didn't pedal. I'm still getting used to the motos seat. My EVG is stable at high speeds, accelerates well, easier to pedal, but it sure isn't beast like the Raptor.

Anybody else using cruise control feature with their CA V3? I like it better vs the old style cruise control wired into the controller. The CA just seamlessly engages cruise control. I don't feel any speed fluctuations when riding over uneven pavement at speed.
 
Snellemin, when you dropped the raptor did any of the frame get scratched? I want to apply some of that clear paint film to areas that will rub if the bike is dropped. I am not sure if any of the main frame will make contact with the ground.

I wonder if you really bent the dropouts. The dropouts are 10mm thick steel and get pinched together when you tighten the axle down. Everything should line up. I would think you probably bent the brake rotor?

That sucks about sliding out on the sand. I have been lucky so far and have not dropped this bike yet but had a very close call with some wet mud on concrete at the end of some steps, but I was lucky to have slid into an area that had no mud and regained control. I think the reason why I have been lucky so far is that I have knobby tires. I've slid a few times over grass and dirt and the bike just slid a bit but held up nicely. If I had tires like those carzy bobs that you use I would have lost the bike for sure. I know because I used maxxis holly rollers and they don't have very good traction at all, but are better than slicks.

You really should consider upgrading to the prowheel and shinko 241 tire and use a 26" knobby up front. The shinko 241 is really a dream tire which will never pinch flat and you should get a few thousand miles out of it. Plus there may have been a chance you would not have lost that bike on the sand that time.

The raptor is ridiculously stable at speed. Actually, the last few days I have been thinking that I need to use 24s voltage to get a higher top speed. The 38MPH top speed just feels too slow on this bike. I used to feel like I was flying at that speed on my old ebike, but not with the raptor. What prevents me from getting more speed is that I do a lot of stupid stuff with the bike and having the lower speed is a good safety measure.
 
Scott said:
Offroader said:
I did a 5 foot drop and ran into a little problem.. Wrists hurt a bit afterwards and back still hurts a bit. I have to obviously change how I approach drops. I think I have to land more evenly or pick up more speed.
I must have landed with my front tire first. It didn't help that I was scared right before I did this particular drop.

I did something similar in my back yard right before I converted my bike to electric. On my first jump I did not have enough speed and did not pull up on the bars at all. I thought I was going over the bars on the first jump.

Yep, that is probably exactly what I did. I can see how dangerous it can be by landing like that by putting all your weight into the handlebars. I guess key is pulling up on the handlebars.
 
yeah landing front wheel first will definitely damage either you, the bike or both!..
but not all wreaks are avoidable & im guessing the raptor is not especially lightweight to pull the bars???
some of you guys may be interested in these : moto flex bars..
comfortable, strong, & could save your wrists from strain/sprain/fracture..
[youtube]iPOxinddhR8[/youtube]
http://www.fasstco.com/shop/flexx-handlebars-mx?product=flexx-handlebars-mx




Offroader said:
Yep, that is probably exactly what I did. I can see how dangerous it can be by landing like that by putting all your weight into the handlebars. I guess key is pulling up on the handlebars.
 
Offroader, just some sticker on the swing arm came off, scratch up my new pedals and scratched up my axle bolt.
If I went with moto tires on the trails I ride, I would probably be banned from them. The raptor already get some crazy looks from the peeps that work at Bikebarn, who maintain the trails I ride on. Since I'm not planning to build a dragbike out of the Raptor yet, I'm going to stick with 21S and bike 26" bike tires. I think it's easier to swap out bike tires vs moto tires. I think when I do have some money on the side, I could go for moto wheel setup and another cromotor. That would be safer to build a drag bike out of it and beat smart cars :lol: :lol: :lol:

I had 40mph max in my head when I decided to build a Raptor. But was quite surprised that I can hit 50mph on only 21S lipo. It's nice to commute with to work. I have enough power/torque to stay with traffic and avoid road rage.
I'm just waiting on thermistors and switches to arrive, so I can access more features out of the CA. The 3 speed through the controller works good. But I would also like to have access to adjust power on the fly. I would like to have the acceleration of the Magic pie at times and not go ballistic with the cromotor every time I go out.

I mounted the CA onto my frame instead of the handlebar. I have to look down every time I want to check for speed and such, which is hard to do at speed. Good part is that the CA stays put and I don't have to worry about yanking the CA out during a fall. I've done it a few times were I would brake the CA mount and rip out wires.
 
efMX Trials Electric Freeride said:
yeah landing front wheel first will definitely damage either you, the bike or both!..
but not all wreaks are avoidable & im guessing the raptor is not especially lightweight to pull the bars???
some of you guys may be interested in these : moto flex bars..
comfortable, strong, & could save your wrists from strain/sprain/fracture..


Offroader said:
Yep, that is probably exactly what I did. I can see how dangerous it can be by landing like that by putting all your weight into the handlebars. I guess key is pulling up on the handlebars.

I rode my buddy's Husaberg 570 which had flexx bars on them. They worked well, especially in the rocks above 70mph. Being that I don't see speeds off road on my Bomber above 40mph, I couldn't utilize the full advantage of flexx bars.

Rick
 
Those flexbars look cool. I'm with Rix, as I wouldn't use the full potential of the handlebar.
 
certainly not for everyone or every application..
but i personally would rather have a tool & not need it
than need a tool & not have it..
the flex bars are not that heavy when your already on a motored bike ;)
one of my friends w a fractured wrist probably wishes he had been using them..
but yeah i get it.. if its not being used then its just extra weight & expense..

snellemin said:
Those flexbars look cool. I'm with Rix, as I wouldn't use the full potential of the handlebar.
 
Offroader said:
I did a 5 foot drop and ran into a little problem...
[youtube]znPU3vhZWhk[/youtube]
kudos on the drop! it didn't quite look like 5 feet in the vid, but i ran the numbers and 8 risers x 8" (max stair height) = 64" = 5'-4"! awesome!

i do 3 footers all the time but haven't had the nerve to do a 5 footer, and haven't found a good one like that either.

i hope you heal up and feel better. put the camera on the ground next time; would make an amazing shot!

the only bigger drop i've personally seen with an ebike is the phasor guy's 7 footer.

did your shocks bottom out?
 
Lack of fenders is a real nuisance. Mud and water constantly being thrown on me, especially on my goggles and camera lens.

I was hoping someone else would find something that worked and just copy, but after nobody seemed to find anything I decided to try and find something myself.

Finding a suitable front and rear fender has been a problem for me. There seems to be practically no dual crown fork fenders out there. Any that would fit in the steerer tube I think would get crushed if you bottom out the fork by the fork brace.

I found a good solution for a front fender that worked perfectly and did not allow any water to hit my face when testing it. Normally, just the slightest bit of water would have my whole front covered.
A cheap solution that works very good is a muckynutz bender fender XL. http://www.muckynutz.com . This should be all you need for a front fender. Fits easy, has no weight, and you can still see most of your front tire.

Rear fender is more of a problem, especially with a motorcycle seat. I looked at dirt bikes to maybe find a solution. I ordered a rear dirt bike fender for $20 bucks to play around with. I zip tied it temporarily to the motorcycle seat to see how it would work. When testing it today over a really muddy and wet area it was not long enough and the muddy water got around it. It seems I will have to add some kind of extension to the end to get at least 6 more inches of coverage.

I kind of like the dirt bike rear fender as it looks good and if I can modify it and mount it better with screws, it would work really well. I will try and find something to extend the length somehow to get more coverage. Seems like you really need a fender to go past the end of the tire to stop mud from coming over on your back. Even with bicycle seat tube fenders, they all seem not to be long enough.

I also got some hand guards for the bike. The main reason was to keep the wind off of my hands as when the weather gets in the 30's my fingers start to go numb and I have to stop riding.
0f7l.jpg


ohcb.jpg
 
Dang Offroader, that looks like you are good to go for all weather. Your bike looks trick. That front fender, does it work? Can you tell a difference with road water and mud deflection? I ask becuase it looks really neat, its small, and I may consider getting that for my Bomber if it actually helps with deflection.

Rick
 
Rix said:
Dang Offroader, that looks like you are good to go for all weather. Your bike looks trick. That front fender, does it work? Can you tell a difference with road water and mud deflection? I ask becuase it looks really neat, its small, and I may consider getting that for my Bomber if it actually helps with deflection.

Rick

It seems that it stops both water and mud from flying up in your face. I drove over really wet grass and even small puddles on concrete, and normally I would have my whole face and goggles covered with water droplets, but with this fender bender I didn't get a single drop of water. I am actually surprised by how well it works.

It only offers partial coverage so your tire will throw dirt and water under the bike, but who cares as long as its not in your face or on your fork stanchion.

I will test some more right after it rains to see how it holds up to deep puddles.
 
Back
Top