AFT mid drive giant glory 2013

dypsomaniart

100 W
Joined
Apr 11, 2014
Messages
111
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Here's my giant Glory 2013 with an AFT 1680w 48v mid drive conversion. This is my first post on here, I just spent hours writing an epic tale of the entire build, then when I went to upload it i had been logged out and lost the whole thing! frustrating.
So I'll do it in small bits.
 
Wow! Super nice looking bike there. Looking forward to the details.
 
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Jim at AFT was kind enough to come and test fit the system on my bike- as I live not too far away- and the initial fit was ok, but it left everything tilted down due to the s bend frame. Jim now has all the measurements of this one and should have kits to suit most s bend dual suspension frames by mid 2014.
For this kit I cut the bottom point off and made new skid rails underneath, and a raised controller mounting plate so the 6mm alloy motor plate is the only thing that should contact logs and stuff, and should act as a very sturdy bash plate.
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For the battery Jim recommended em3ev.com
I had a look at their site and couldn't find a suitable battery, but I sent them an email and after talking with Paul (who was very helpfull) I decided to get a custom made 50v 19.75ah battery. This battery is made from the latest samsung 29e high density cells, and with a built in BMS and pre-charge plug, only weighs in at 5.1kg. It is very compact and fits into my camelbak m.u.l.e backpack, with a thick layer of hd foam around it, no problem.
I also bought their swithching charger, so i can keep to 90% charge to protect the battery, and a cycle analyst (not fitted as yet, they were out of stock of the remote shunt to wire it up).
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Because of the twist throttle being ideally placed on the right (I've seen some people mounting on the left, but after growing up on motorcycles right was the only option) I had to move my shifter to the left side and place it above the bandlebar. the lower lever on the left is my dropper seat control.
The shifter works excellent on the top left, I use my index finger to downshift and thumb to upshift. I was worried about damaging it though when the bike is upside down for working or changing tires etc, so I used some old barkbuster handguard mounts from my dirtbike which are perfect stands when it's upside down.
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Very Nice! I like the accent colors. I have the AFT kit also. What type of riding you going to be doing? What upgrades did you get? Look forward to hearing more about this.
 
Because the glory only uses 1x9 gearing, and comes standard with an mrp chain guide and bashplate (which is not compatible with the mid drive system) I needed a front chain guide. After searching the forums it seemed that a front derailler was the best option, but I wasn't happy with that idea and wanted one that would sit closer to the chainwheel where the original mrp one sat.
I decided to make my own using alloy plate, stainless spacers, polycarbonate lining and some instamorph moldable plastic to shape the main deflector.
I just used the original mrp guide as a template, so it's basicall the same as that but thin enough to fit between the gears.
Because the giant frame is square section, i was able to make a rock solid mounting plate for it, then use a simple t-bolt clamp to attach it to the frame, so it should be reliable.
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The Kit I chose from AFT was the top of the line 1680w 48v kit, with all the e-maxx upgrades, including ceramic bearings and wet sump gearbox. I also got all the noise suppressing options and it runs very quietly (less then the road noise from the stock bike with muddy mary tires). The quality of the kit and the mounting system Jim has devised makes for an extremely rigid motor mount, which doesn't flex at all as far as I can tell, even under max torque. I think the square section frame on the glory makes for the best possible rigidity.
The power from this system is breathtaking.
It will easily do 60kmh on the flat, and hold 40kmh up hill (5%incline), with a headwind, and that's just with 1x9 gearing and the stock 32t chainwheel.
Belting along singletrack at 40-50kmh it will still easily loft the front wheel to clear obstacles or wheelie through puddles, and in first gear up tight, steep goat tracks it will pull hard from a standing start and accelerate smoothly. There is a track that I can get up at 6-8 kmh on my carbon 29er xc bike, it's steep, washed out, full of tree root step ups and switchbacks; the eGlory did it a 21kmh average, I was laughing the whole way.
The 19.75ah battery seems good for around 50km of hard riding, using power constantly, but it may do more. I've been scared to run it right down until I get the cycle anaylyst hooked up.
The Kelly controller supplied is the kbs48101l, which I downloaded the free software for and bought a cable to program it with my PC. I've set the throttle up/down speed to 1 (quickest), and the start up delay to 0.0s for instant throttle response. I can ride this thing just like my dirtbike, it's awesome.

Overall I am totally in love with this bike. It was already an amazing downhill bike, now it turns everything into one long downhill!
I would highly recommend AFT bikes and em3ev batteries, both Jim at AFT and Paul at em3ev have been extremely helpful and pateintly answered question after question from this newbie.

This build was challenging for me, being the guniea pig for fitting one to a glory, but AFT should have bolt on kits to suit dual suspension s bend frames by mid 2014, which will just mean finding a chain guide (if you have 1x gearing) and soldering a plug to your battery and you're up and running.
Do it, you'll never look back.

I hope this has been informative, I've tried to cover all the important stuff for people looking to make one of these bikes. If you have any specific questions feel free to ask.
Cheers,
Jesse
 
What was your total cost for motor/mount/controller? Battery?

Looks like a great way to put a smile on your face.

Tom
 
Hi Tom,
Total cost of the AFT kit- including every available upgrade option- was $2655 (au) and the battery, charger and cycle analyst was $1200 including shipping. So all up $3855. I got a quote for the ego kit with the bigger battery they now offer and it was $5400au including shipping.
Considering the upgrades and the fact ive ended up with better spec gear i am happy with the price, although it may sound a lot to some people.
My father has a $1000 hub motor setup and its rubbish. Its heavy, gutless, and makes the bike horribly unbalanced and potentailly dangerous to ride. It has also had to be returned faulty three times now, failing within 100km. Im glad i spent the extra to get something good.
 
I went with all the upgrades also. Love the external reservoir and cooling fins. It looks really cool and also functional. I was going to get the em3 battery and also but went with lipo. And have mine in backpack. How is the size and weight of one you bought? Pic of it in backpack?

I had to move my controller from default location because I ride a lot of single track and it was getting layers of mud on it. I moved to downtube.

Thanks for tip on modding the throttle response. Been trying to figure out the delay.
 
dypsomaniart said:
Hi Tom,
Total cost of the AFT kit- including every available upgrade option- was $2655 (au) and the battery, charger and cycle analyst was $1200 including shipping. So all up $3855. I got a quote for the ego kit with the bigger battery they now offer and it was $5400au including shipping.
Considering the upgrades and the fact ive ended up with better spec gear i am happy with the price, although it may sound a lot to some people.
My father has a $1000 hub motor setup and its rubbish. Its heavy, gutless, and makes the bike horribly unbalanced and potentailly dangerous to ride. It has also had to be returned faulty three times now, failing within 100km. Im glad i spent the extra to get something good.

No need to say your happy, its expressed in your words! Glad your happy with it and it looks perfect. I'm still waiting to be one of the first with a left hand drive big block but wondering if I should just get something to start riding now. I have no patience but know good things come to those who wait.

Enjoy your awesome ride!

Tom
 
Hi Drew,
Heres the specs of the em3ev battery:
samsung 29e cells, 40a continuous BMS, 50.4v nominal voltage (58.8v full charge), 19.25ah, pre-charge connector plug (to prevent spark/arc on connection). The dimensions and weight are 138x276x75mm, 5.19kg.
Roughly the size of a couple of hardback novels, or for the younger generation, a little bigger than 4 DVD's.
Heres some pics of the backpack with it in. I wrapped the pack in approx 15mm thick foam padding to make it a snug fit in the backpack and protect it a bit- although em3ev shrink wrapped packs come with a foam layer and then a fibre board layer under the shrink wrap protecting the cells.

*Note to anyone considering this battery and controller, the 50.4v pack can only be charged to 90% 57.4v (using the switching charger from em3ev) or it will trip the over voltage error on the controller, which has a 60v(+~-2%) limit, even though the controller is rated to handle 90v max*

I put my helmet next to it for size reference. There's still enough room for all my tools, water bladder (although not filled more than probably 1l unless ya want a huge backpack) and wallet, phone and some snacks.
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I considered Lipos but decided with the wiring, bms and precharge, and charging issues it was just easier to buy one ready made.
Yeah the controller being open to the elements at the front seems crazy to me, thats why I put the kicked up guard at the front when I made the new controller mount. The mount I made protects it from all the mud and water from the front wheel, but I may still add more guards to it to stop mud accumulating around there and running down the downtube, over the motor, and building up around the wiring loom that's all tucked in under there. Will see how it goes. I've got heaps of scrap alloy floating around from custom building RC cars chassis and stuff over the years, so I'll keep modding it as it needs it. So far though it doesn't seem to be a problem but I've not tackled any serious mud yet. Cheers for the heads up.
 
Hi Tom,
Yeah I started saving and researching eBike kits about two years ago so I decided I'd waited long enough lol. I was saving for the Ego kit as it seemed to be the only reliable and proven mid drive kit out there for a long time, that's why I was rapped when I came across the AFT kits, which seem to be well reseearched and proven in the field. If a left hand big block kit is on the agenda then by all means wait, but I honestly cant see any need for more power than the AFT 1680w kit provides. It's no comparison to a motorbike (well maybe a small one), but if you like being able to ride down footpaths, tear through parks, and race along abandoned railway line trails to get to work (as I do), the power is more than enough. It will lug up any hill you could consider riding up. If I was going any faster I'd have to start wearing the 10kilos of protective gear that I use on my dirtbike, the human body is just not meant to hit things at motorbike speeds. I would be concerned about driveline failures too with much more juice. These chains and gears were never internded for this sort of power. Just my two cents...
 
dypsomaniart said:
Hi Drew,
Heres the specs of the em3ev battery:
samsung 29e cells, 40a continuous BMS, 50.4v nominal voltage (58.8v full charge), 19.25ah, pre-charge connector plug (to prevent spark/arc on connection). The dimensions and weight are 138x276x75mm, 5.19kg.
Roughly the size of a couple of hardback novels, or for the younger generation, a little bigger than 4 DVD's.

Wow, I should've went this route for battery. I didn't realize how light and small it was for that much Ah. Prob next year! I'm still happy with the Lipo though. Good job and thanks for pics! Look forward some videos.
 
Thanks Drew,
I will try to get some footage, but most of my riding is solo these days and I'm limited to my iphone camera. Will see what I can do though.
It's well worth getting the rs232 cable and dropping that response time and throttle speed, it makes it respond instantly, and more importantly, cut off instantly when you let go of the throttle. I found the stock setup from AFT quite disconcerting when it would keep running for a half second after the throttle was released.
Cheers
 
Today i did a 48.5km ride on it, with 435m elevation gain, 16km winds, using the motor only on the uphills and into the headwinds, and riding at normal pushy pace (avg 28.8kmh over the whole ride) and the battery indicator only started dropping off green (full) on the last couple of hills! (It would then go back to full unless i accelerated hard).
This ride was half offroad and half bike trail/on road, with a lap of a sandy motorcross track and a dozen laps of a bmx track thrown in, with many short steep climbs (steepest 26% grade avg, I used to struggle to walk up this one) and tight singletrack bits using only the motor.
This suggests a potential range of 100km easily, using all the power you need, but not riding like a maniac.

Have i mentioned that i LOVE THIS BIKE?
 
That's an awesome mid drive build, one of the best bolt on kit builds i have seen on the sphere. Well done!

The giant glory is an awesome bike and lots of potential as an ebike, also that AFT kit you have chosen seems to be one of the best available now, its so much more compact and clean looking than the GNG. I bet also it will handle offroad dirt a lot better with the chain drive and chain covers compared to the GNG with exposed belt drive. And the battery you have is huge capacity in the new 29e cells for what, only 5kg ? Why would anyone use LIPO instead ??

What is the total weight of the bike now ?
 
Hi Megsy73,

Thanks for the kind words! I am absolutly rapped with this bike, all ive had to do so far is tighten the drive chain after every couple of rides. I've still only done about 300km all up but I expect the chain stretch will settle down now its run in nicely. Its an absolute weapon on the trails and you dont even notice the extra weight because its carried so low. The battery weight in the backpack is not an issue at all, once I'm riding I forget its even there.

As for the total weight i can only guess as i dont have any scales. I think the stock 2013 glory weighs around 17kg, and the motor etc around 4.5kg, so all up a little over 21kg, but it may be more (or less).
Its certainly not too heavy, i can still pick it up and lift it over fences and stuff without having a hernia :) and with the strong power and brakes it feels light and responsive to ride, and jumps like a dream.

I cant say enough good things about this bike, aft mid drives, and em3ev batteries. Its come together to make my ultimate dream bike, and it works brilliantly.
Cheers,
Jesse
 
another great aft thread. Where are you guys in Australia? Any sales to people in Brisbane so I could have a ride on one, see how she pulls..

What is the maximum voltage on the kit? Do you have to use aft controller?

Drew are you using 12s?
 
John, I'm running 12s. It's plenty for me right now on the trails I do. Most of time I'm WOT only for a couple seconds because of tight turns. But might try 18s just to see :) I need to ask Jim if that is ok but he did say these motors can handle 2800 watts.
 
Today I went for a ride with the red hill riders 8am hardcore crew. This ride had some of the tightest, steepest, most intense tracks I have ever experienced. The eGlory performed flawlessly.
We rode everything from fast flowing tracks along the top of the mountain, to downhill jump tracks, and tight vicious rock gardens, and hills that were steep and gnarly and packed with huge tree roots and holes. There were rock ledge drop offs, logs galore, and even a river crossing. It was AWESOME.

The ride was only 28.9km, but had 911 metres (2988ft) of climbing! and the em3ev battery only dropped off full as I hammered off up the last hill!
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Because I was in a group of normal bikes (albeit with some very fit and fast riders) I stuck to slow speeds (with the group) up the hills, and the motor and controller never got past slightly warm.
This motor is incredible. There was one spot where you had to slip and slide down a hill, stright into a river at the bottom, and then straight up the other side. This hill is "impossible" to ride up normally, and I got a few comment like "Don't think ya motor will get you up this one!", but I had a crack anyway, and got up it with only a little wheelspin and some sweet wheelie action! There were several other spots where a few of the riders egged me on to attempt some crazy stuff while we were waiting for the rest of the group to catch up, including a hill with about a metre vertical rock step-up halfway up it (it was clearly meant to be ridden down ). I hit it with some pace and launched it up and over and made it look easy (I spent ten years riding 250cc enduro bikes in the bush, and raced motocross before that). They pretty much shut up after that :)
I managed to smoosh a few of the cooling fins on the motor heatsink on a sharp rock, and the bashplate copped some huge smacks into rocks and logs and held up with only a few scratches. The drive chain needs a slight tighten again, but appears to have stopped stretching pretty much. The gear cover and kicked up controller guard protected the drivetrain and vitals from 99% of the mud.

Overall a 100% successful test of this bike in the hardest conditions I'll ever likely put it through. It truly is awesome.
 
Hey John Bozi,
Im running 13s. Its tons of power and 60kmh top speed with 1x9 gearing (could easily pull more speed with more gears i reckon).
If youve read my above post you'll know this thing would drive straight up a wall if you could ride it, the torque in lower gears is unstoppable. Itll fly up steep hills too in high gears but you'll be putting a lot of strain on the electrics and may get thermal shutdown (search youtube for "E-bike at mt dandy" for a sample of an aft 1680w kit going high speed up big hills), although it's never happened to me yet, but I dailled my controller settings back a little from max output.

AFT is located in melbourne victoria, i live down on the mornington peninsula a half hour away.
Shoot Jim at aft an email, there may be someone in qld he has sold one to that would let you test it.
Otherwise just buy one, it'll get you up any hill.
If you've ever driven a manual car or a motorbike, changing gears to keep the motor in its peak rev range will be second nature.
Cheers,
Jesse
 
Awesome post. Sounds like you rode some gnarly stuff and have pushed the motor beyond anything I have tried and had no issues. Thanks for this info! Keep it comin'
 
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