Beach Cruiser build

gogreenpower

100 mW
Joined
Dec 11, 2012
Messages
44
Location
Perth, WA, Australia
Hi guys,

Well this is my first attempt at building an ebike. My aim was a beach cruiser, with a 50km range while doing 30kph. its role is just to commute to and from work along bike tracks a few km's of road.
I went with a 36v 350w kit and a 20ah Li-ion battery. I made a few mistakes ordering the various parts and had a few challenges along the way but managed to get past them all so far...

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I managed to get the bike brand new for $162. It has some drawbacks, chrome fenders, single speed, crappy front calliper brake, cheapest bell known to man, but on the plus side the steel frame is pretty decent quality.


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The Conhismotor kit minus the battery which came a few days later. I still don't know what that green strap is for? The quality of the components are fine, the throttle and LCD don't feel like cheap plastic, the controller is solid, some of the wires get a bit warm, so a smaller gauge would have been nice but no problems yet. The brake leavers were better than what was on there. The motor has a high quality finish and feels solid. Very similar to a 200w Bafang my neighbour has. The only complaint I have was with the pannier rack, it arrived all bent and twisted. nothing I couldn't remedy with a hammer, its still noticeable but probably only to me. One poor choice I made is that the throttle and the battery have a key. Just plain old annoying to turn two keys on and off.


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To fit the torque arm some drilling and a visit to the hardware store was required. Some may question my use of a torque arm on a 350w motor and steel forks but I still have my doubts about a $162 bike.


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This is her almost complete. A front hub motor with the battery in a removable slot on the pannier rack, and the controller tucked away nicely in the right hand side, twist throttle, LCD with speed and distance, battery etc. displayed. What you see there cost under $1000 (excluding the helmet and black fenders). You could do it a bit cheaper if you didn't want a pedelec sensor (which I didn't install anyway) and the LCD display.

However, I treated myself to a few accessories like a new front light in black, rear light, black fenders (already fitted), a Kroozer drink holder, a Brooks B67 saddle and a double kick stand. I'm still waiting on a few of them so I'll post another pic when its all blinged up. As winter approaches I plan to get a decent set of waterproof panniers, but I digress. The top speed (wind a slight tail wind) so far was 36.9kph but cruises normally between 31-34kph, its only done about 20km's so far, so i cant comment on the range yet. I'm planning a trial run to work next week.

The only thing I had to make was a bracket to fit from the pannier rack to the back of the seat post.

The biggest mistake I made was forgetting to mention I wanted the silver/alloy colour front wheel, I could have put the motor in the old rim but that just seemed like to much work.

There are a few vibes going though 10-20kph range and a few rattles going over bumps but overall I'm very happy with the end result.

Kane.


P.S. I'm hooked and already planning my next 3 ebikes.....
 
Nice! I did one very similar and use it regularly for shopping, cargo and cruising. Nothing like a coaster brake for power slides.....
 
Looks good and pretty stealthy! Would like to have a retro style or real vintage cruiser one day with the battery housed in a "tank" in the frame. The old Schwinn cruisers are rock solid and would make great (albeit heavy) Ebike candidates. The original tanks however are a bit small for current battery technology to hold a decent amount of AH in a battery. I have this 1962 Corvette that would be a good candidate - just need to add a tank or perhaps front motor and battery on rear rack...
 

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Not the next one I build but the one after that I want to use a 2012 matt black Schwinn Panther and do a very similar build but with some quality parts.
 
The fingers said:
I didn't want to change my old Schwinn so I used the Taiwan copy. :lol: Hand brakes are a +. :wink:
If I did it would not make any permanent changes - thinking a decent front geared hub motor (keeping original wheel) with a battery pack on the rack even. Just would be cool to have the retro cruiser with a nice boost for the hills... Dreaming at this time anyway, I haven't even got my MTB conversion on the road yet and If I do build another Ebike, will certainly be for my wife to join me - have a nice small (14") frame Iron Horse AT80 that would be a great candidate...
 
Welcome to the club gogreen; " hooked already,planning my next 3 ebikes" Nice first build. " controller tucked away in the right hand side" If it is inside of the bag,it would be better off outside in the airflow. Is there enough room under the rack,above the fender? "crappy front brake" is not so bad. Look to replace the front brake pads with Kool Stop brand, salmon colored brake pads.The Kool Stop 1/2 salmon and 1/2 black will work too.The back wheel rim,being a coaster,can be painted black to match the front.I would cover the spoke nipples before spray painting.Never trust a cheap coaster brake to be properly lubricated.Best to clean and relube with good quality wheel bearing grease periodically.
 
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