04 Jamis Dakar with BBS02

[Dannydietze]

Ever since my Volton Alation 500 was stolen about a year ago, I have been thinking about how to build my next ebike. I would recommend to anyone using a cable lock to toss it in the trash and replace it with a decent U-lock and set of locking scewers. I knew I wanted a few improvements like full suspension and mid-drive rather than hub-drive. I had a Jamis Dakar that I had built for my GF to MTB with me that not so surprisingly never got used. Here is some additional information http://www.jamisbikes.com/catalog_archive/04_JAMIS_CATALOG.pdf
I picked up a used BBS02 off craigs list along with a Headway 48v 15ah battery. Unfortunately, the battery was too big to fit on pretty much anything except a rear rack and that puts the center of gravity a little too high for my liking. So, I ordered a smaller more compact battery that would be easier to work with from China of course. 48v with 8.8ah should give me about 422 watts to work with and from what others have posted the BBS02 draws 12-25 watts per mile depending on speed, elevation gain and level of assist. This should give me a bike capable of giving me e-assistance for 16-32 miles. Perfect for cruising around downtown and taking me from cold beverage establishment to cold beverage establishment while maintaining more of the bicycle look and not moving too far into the territory of moped or motorcycle look. The battery took 2-3 weeks to arrive and fit nicely into the included bag just as described. The weight was a little lower than stated at 5.9 lbs However the size was a bit larger than the online picture made it look, but was exactly the size of the online measurements. A few hardware store U-bolts made simple work of attaching the battery bag to the down tube and getting the CG a little lower while also making the possibility of a future seat dropper post upgrade possible. I made a few other upgrades like changing the Shimano trigger shifter which was was on the right side of the handle bar to a Sram twist shift that I could relocate to the left side of the handle bar. Scram and Shimano use different pull ratios so I had to purchase a twist shifter with the correct pull ratio so the scram shifter would work with the Shimano derailleur and 9 speed cassette. Here is the link I purchased it from http://www.cheapbikeparts360.com/products/sram-attack-twist-shifters/ It shifts very smoothly I was concerned about needing to cut power while shifting but shifting at full throttle really has not been a problem. I also changed the thumb throttle to a right twist throttle because I like the feel a bit more. I picked up the the twist throttle from empoweredcycles and here is a linkhttp://www.empoweredcycles.com/collections/8fun-bafang-bbs02-accessories I used a hacksaw to cut down the ODI lock-on Rogue grips I wanted to reprogram the BBS02 since the controller limits the throttle input to the PAS selected. Lets say PAS level 1 limits the speed to 10mph and limits output to 10% of the available 750 watts and level 2 limits the speed to 15mph and 20% of available power. Depending on which PAS level you have selected the throttle will also be limited to that level. I want to have 100% power available to me with the throttle without having to adjust the PAS, even at PAS 0 which gives no pedal assistance. Luckily others feel the same way and there is already a thread on this subject located here http://endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=28&t=58780&hilit=bbs02+program All I needed was the adapter cable and program which someone in the thread already shared a link to. I picked up the adapter cable from empoweredcycles and am very happy with the results. Having chain drop is no fun and a great way to ruin a nice pain job so I also added an Origin8 chain guide. I had to modify it a little to ride the sprocket a little further back where the chain and sprocket meet. I used some aluminum L bar that I got from the hardware store to move the guide a little further back.View attachment 5 I also changed the location of the display which by design is mounted on top of the handle bar. It sat so high that if I turned the bike upside down to change a tire, the weight of the bike was supported by the display. Using some aluminum L bar I was able to move the display forward and lower. Now, changing a tire does not scratch up the screen and put potentially damaging pressure on the mount or display.View attachment 2 Aslo, I changed the MTB tires to some smooth road tires since I have no plans of taking this bike to MTB trails. I feel that IMBA and other MTB trail advocates have worked too hard to get trail access and having an electric bike on a trail designed for non-motorized vehicles could potentially reverse some of the progress made. I do really enjoy the bike for riding around town though and the full suspension really soaks up the bumps in the road. Future upgrades include a kick stand and non-removable headlight and taillight. I want to send a big thanks to all who have posted on endless-sphere before me. Without all your posts I would have never had the information needed to build the e-bike I've always wanted. Feel free to post any questions and I'll do my best to answer.