Well, i've done it all on two wheels and have been off an ebike for 5 years lately because constant goathead flats defeated my will to ride. I moved to bikes with motorcycle tire compatible wheel sizes ( semi-recumbents ), but found all 3 bikes too difficult to electrify without serious fabrication. One problem after another.
Decided to go back to my roots this time and build something that isn't a motorcycle on a bike frame. Just an ebike for ebiking, until i have the means to build a hot rod recumbent.
So i've decided to take a cheap bike from bikeisland, and throw some parts at it. Except i want to iterate on my recipe from 2011.
Goals for this build:
- Stealthy look like my old build
- Enough power for 28mph continuous, with bursts to 35mph for safety when bike lane disappears and dumps me into traffic ( happens all the time out here )
- Significantly longer range for adventuring
- Substantially quieter
- Higher ride quality ( my main problem with the old hardtail )
- A lot more efficient ( My ol' 0.5mm lam MAC motor peaked at 83% efficiency back in the day )
- Better flat protection - willing to consume watts to move extra sealant/rubber, this is the only part of the efficiency of the bike we're willing to compromise.
Ingredients for the acoustic bike:
Bikeisland Gravity Basecamp: $138 shipped
Suntour NCX seatpost - $100
NOS Rockshox TK Solo Air 100mm - $130
Maxaraya BMX handlebar - $75
Long stem - $20
Comfort grips - already in the bike parts box
Aluminum cranks - already in the bike parts box
em3ev frame bag - already in the bike parts box
Kenda Journey K-shield Plus 26 x 1.75" + 1.95" tires - $80 shipped
Fat butt seat - $50
Total invested so far: $593
With all of the heavier parts of the bike replaced, the acoustic version came out pretty good, just about the same weight as my previous hardtail and does ride better so far.
Electric details forthcoming.
Decided to go back to my roots this time and build something that isn't a motorcycle on a bike frame. Just an ebike for ebiking, until i have the means to build a hot rod recumbent.
So i've decided to take a cheap bike from bikeisland, and throw some parts at it. Except i want to iterate on my recipe from 2011.
Goals for this build:
- Stealthy look like my old build
- Enough power for 28mph continuous, with bursts to 35mph for safety when bike lane disappears and dumps me into traffic ( happens all the time out here )
- Significantly longer range for adventuring
- Substantially quieter
- Higher ride quality ( my main problem with the old hardtail )
- A lot more efficient ( My ol' 0.5mm lam MAC motor peaked at 83% efficiency back in the day )
- Better flat protection - willing to consume watts to move extra sealant/rubber, this is the only part of the efficiency of the bike we're willing to compromise.
Ingredients for the acoustic bike:
Bikeisland Gravity Basecamp: $138 shipped
Suntour NCX seatpost - $100
NOS Rockshox TK Solo Air 100mm - $130
Maxaraya BMX handlebar - $75
Long stem - $20
Comfort grips - already in the bike parts box
Aluminum cranks - already in the bike parts box
em3ev frame bag - already in the bike parts box
Kenda Journey K-shield Plus 26 x 1.75" + 1.95" tires - $80 shipped
Fat butt seat - $50
Total invested so far: $593
With all of the heavier parts of the bike replaced, the acoustic version came out pretty good, just about the same weight as my previous hardtail and does ride better so far.
Electric details forthcoming.
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