Ch00paKabrA Giant DH Comp - Finally Done!

[Ch00paKabrA]

Update time. I removed all of the parts from the Specialized and installed them on another cheap-ass frame I had lying around. I did receive the graphics for the Hardrock from a vendor in the UK and he sent me an additional set for free - Nice, but I don't really have a bike to put them on and I think they are very "year-specific".

View attachment 9

They are made from the highly reflective tape so hopefully I will be seen when the headlights hit me before the rest of the car hits me.

The weather called for thunderstorms today and it looked like it was going to pour. But I went out to work anyway and it cleared up nicely by Lunch time.





a Little later I ventured into Belmar, NJ which is the party town in this area and saw a bunch of motorcycles all parked in a row but right next to them were a bunch of scooters all parked the same way as the M/Cs. The scooters were cooler:





On to bike related stuff. I upgraded the brakes on the hardrock to hydraulic 180mm discs. There is an issue with the rear brake vibrating upon hard braking. I thought it might be the +40 mounting bracket that initially barely allowed the pads to contact the rotor so I had to file it down about 3mm. Since it is now on the crappy spare frame, it is not making the same vibration noise. The HardRock may be kind of fracked, but I am committed to it so we'll have to see how it turns out.

I got it stripped down to bare metal. I dropped it off at the blasters but after a few days, I inquired and he said he was so busy with his larger customers, that it would be at least a month before he could get to it. Good for him, bad for me. He is the only shop in the are that does beadblasting.

I settled for a spray can of airplane stripper from the auto parts store and after a few chemical burns on my hands and legs, the frame was down to bare metal:

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View attachment 2

I was going to smooth out the welds by filling the low spots with jb weld and then body filler but I am not sure I am that motivated. This is supposed to be practice for the DH Comp build so maybe I will work up the gumption to do it.

One thing that I am quite adamant about is that I do not want a single zip tie on either of these bikes. Fortunately after much searching I managed to locate a place that sells those c-clip cable guides and a member of this forum found another seller that sold them for less. Long story long, c-clip cable guide housings purchased, received, and installed.

In the picture below, these are the housing guides for the rear brake and throttle wires. I cut off the guide for the cables as I won't need them any more with hydraulic brakes.



Lastly, two guides were installed under the left side of the rear triangle to route the wires from the motor to the controller.



That's about all for now. Hopefully the next pictures will show the painted frame complete with new graphics.

 

[Emoto]

a Little later I ventured into Belmar, NJ which is the party town in this area and saw a bunch of motorcycles all parked in a row but right next to them were a bunch of scooters all parked the same way as the M/Cs. The scooters were cooler:
View attachment 6.

I worked /lived in a uk seaside town once, and 6000 mods came to town for a weekend rally saw a lot of wild custom work, like the red one with the wide wheels.
Nice to see some scenery with the build.

 

[Ch00paKabrA]

a Little later I ventured into Belmar, NJ which is the party town in this area and saw a bunch of motorcycles all parked in a row but right next to them were a bunch of scooters all parked the same way as the M/Cs. The scooters were cooler:
View attachment 6.

I worked /lived in a uk seaside town once, and 6000 mods came to town for a weekend rally saw a lot of wild custom work, like the red one with the wide wheels.
Nice to see some scenery with the build.

Thanks for noticing. I am just trying to show that the Jersey Shore isn't all about guidos, snooki and J-WOW. :lol:

I liked it better when I lived in Texas but I am here now and making the most of it. After I buy a few more houses, I will probably move to Florida with the rest of the old folks and build a trike ebike with a big basket it the back (no offense meant to any trike with big basket in back ebike owners).

 

[Ch00paKabrA]

Here is a picture of the HardRock frame before the color change:



After stripping and painting:











The color is a Honda color called Electron Blue Pearl. It seemed appropriate. The graphics look good although they are not direct copies of the originals which were painted on. It's not perfect but I like it. Now I have to put everything back on it. After that, I can focus on the DH Comp.

 

[harlemsunny]

Great Work,Your Link, Now Im Glad I Did Not Smart Off To You When You Said "Ride Mine Down Hill For More Speed" I Had To Laugh,Will Watch For The Hard Rock When Done,Stay Cool.

 

[Ch00paKabrA]

I don't remember writing that but I remember reading it on another post recently and thinking it was pretty clever. Here at the beach when the wind is blowing, there is difference of a few miles per hour between going into the wind or riding with it at your back so there may actually be some wisdom to that statement :lol:

 

[Ch00paKabrA]

Man! did it pour yesterday evening and this morning. There was flooding all over the place, the house owned by one of my customers got struck by lightning and I couldn't do much work today because the whole area was soggy. Looks like I will be working on Saturday to get caught up. Sucks.

This afternoon things cleared up pretty nicely though:



While I wait for the paint on the Hardrock to harden, I decided to do a little work on the DH Comp. The spokes came in so I decided to spoke up the front wheel. Lots of stuff involved. Ironically, the front wheel of the DH Comp cost less than the front wheel on the HardRock. The motorcycle stuff is cheaper than the bicycle stuff.



Most people by the special tapered spokes with their included custom big spoke nipples but I just went for regular 13g spokes. It turned out to be a good thing since I had a hard time getting some of them on the hub and the tapered spokes would have required drilling out the holes. As it was though, a number 8 washer had the right size hole but was a little too close in diameter to the hole in the rim and it looked like under stress, it might be able to pull through it. A number 10 washer was had a good diameter, but the hole looked like the nipple might pull through. In the end both were used and I took that into account when ordering the spokes by adding 2 mm to the length and it turned out perfect.

View attachment 1

It probably isn't the best way to do this but it worked. figuring out how to taper the washers was a bit of a dilemma. I don't know what they are called but you know the concave and domed spacers used in rim brake pads so you can adjust the angle? Well, if you take one of the concave parts and put a washer on top of it and hold it steady with a nice fat punch then tap the punch with a hammer, it puts a nice taper on it. It is time consuming since you need 72 for each wheel.

It got late so I'll try to get the tire on tomorrow and take a picture of it. These were listed on ebay for a few bucks so Hopefully getting the tire on won't be too much of a problem.



until next time...

 

[tln]

These bikes are looking great!

Where did you get the batteries?

If the new dropouts on the DH moved, will you have issues with putting a disc brake on the back?

 

[Ch00paKabrA]

These bikes are looking great!

Where did you get the batteries?

If the new dropouts on the DH moved, will you have issues with putting a disc brake on the back?

Hi tln,

Thanks for looking. At the moment I have 100 samsung INR 18650 29E Batteries that I got from Shenzen Victpower on Aliexpress. I noticed that they are no longer on aliexpress but are still on alibaba. I have been in contact with them regarding 25r batteries for the DH Comp. I bought 200 25r batteries from another vendor but after waiting for a long time, with no batteries, I got a refund through paypal. So I am still sans batteries for the DH Comp but its OK, since It isn't done yet.

As far as the disc brakes for the DH Comp, If you notice the dropouts that I am using, they have the IS mounts for the discs. Nothing really changes except that the disc is moved back 2 inches and is 1/2 inch lower. I bought a set of disc brakes for it already and the rear hose length is usually between 1300mm and 1500mm. The 1500mm would be OK but the set I purchased has a hose length of 1700mm. There will be plenty of hose to reach.

On to other matters:

Here is a picture of the front rim with tire on, inflated and bead set:



As it turns out, the M/C wheel is actually a bit thinner than a 24 x 3.00 bicycle tire and there is plenty of room on the fork for it. Here is another pic from the top:



Most members on this board use the Shinko 244 which has a similar tread pattern but is a 4 ply tire and is 3 pounds heavier. One thing that I notice a lot have to do is to trim the knobbies on the side to get them to fit in their forks. With the IRC GP1, this is not necessary. As you can see, the tread does not extend far beyond the sidewalls. I am glad I used this tire for the front but I may not be as enthusiastic with it on the back since the rim is a 19 x 2.15. We will have to wait and see. The only drawback to using the GP1 is that it is a bit more expensive than the Shinko but since it is a 2 ply, tire installation is much easier. Pros and cons...

I can't lace up the rear yet since I have the motor apart to see if I can increase the size of the phase wires but it is not looking good.

Until next time...

 

[tln]

200 25r batteries will make a hell of a pack. WHats your s/p rating? How are you balancing/charging those?

The front tire looks great! When my (new to me) bike comes back from the LBS I'll have to weigh the wheels.
I think the guy I bought it from was a weight weenie, carbon fiber rims, seatpost, handlebars...

It'll almost be a shame to strap that GNG on

 

[Ch00paKabrA]

200 25r batteries will make a hell of a pack. WHats your s/p rating? How are you balancing/charging those?

The front tire looks great! When my (new to me) bike comes back from the LBS I'll have to weigh the wheels.
I think the guy I bought it from was a weight weenie, carbon fiber rims, seatpost, handlebars...

It'll almost be a shame to strap that GNG on

Oh my, that is a light one. I bet the rear wheel will weigh close to what your entire bike weighs. As far as charging the batteries, I have a 72 volt charger and I have a 20s BMS with separate connections for the charger and controller. I am not going to use a Lipo charger that balances them. my experience and experiments with the 29E and some 15P samsungs show that they self balance. I basically ran my bike at 36 volts with half of the pack. I then connected the used pack to a fully cahrged pack and within a few minutes both packs were registering the same voltage. Higher in the pack I had just used, and lower in the pack fresh off the charger. I guess I am assuming the 25R batteries will be similar and that the BMS will handle balancing.

I am sorry, I don't know what an s/p rating is.

The configureation will be to parallel 10 cells first, then connect the pack in series. It is going to be a tetris fit in the triangle, some 10 cell packs will be linear while other will be on different planes 60 cells will have to be on the sides vertically - 30 on each side. If it gets to be too much of a bear, I may just do 140 in the triangle but I really want the range from 10p. a 72 volt 25 ah battery should take me places he he.

My goals for this weekend are to get the HardRock finished and to determine if I can increase the size of the phace wires in the MAC. Please keep in mind that just because it can be done does not mean that I can do it. I am a bit leery of messing with the wires but I think at the voltage I want to run, it would be good to do it.

On a high note though, I received a paypal invoice from Edward Lyen and paid for 2 metal gears for the MAC. If his sales post is correct then these are the last 2 that he has, so, If anyone was wanting one and I greedily took the last two, I will be magnanimous and sell them one for the $25.00 that I paid for it and plus a small processing fee of $100.00. That sounds fair doesn't it?

 

[Ch00paKabrA]

Today sucked.

I slapped together a bike just to have something to ride while I put the other 2 back together and I didn't hook up an on/off switch because I was lazy. If I forget to unplug the battery, the controller slowly drains it. It got drained all the way to 21 volts (36 volt battery). My charger errored and would not charge it so I had to completely disassemble it and reconstruct it with fully charged batteries so that when it self balanced it was above 31v.

After all that bullcrap, I was tired and should have called it a day.

But the MAC was ready and it looked sweet painted pearl white. I just had to see how it looked laced into the blue Pro Wheel rim. I put everything together on the bench to make sure I had everything and turned my back for just a few seconds. and I heard a low rumbling sound. It was the MAC rolling off the work bench. I tried to catch it but FAILED. To add insult to injury or in this case, injury to insult, after it hit the floor in bounced and landed on my flip-flop protected foot. Nothing broken, just a long red line where it hit.

Unfortunately the MAC did not fair as well as my foot:



It really looked nice out in the sun. It actually glowed.

I initially wanted a 10T but made a trade for this one which is a 6T. I am torn as to whether I should buy the housings or just bite the bullet and get the 10T that I wanted.

Too tire to make a decision. I think I'll sleep on. Damn! Pissed does not even begin to describe how I feel right now, but it was absolutely my fault. I don't even have a dog that I can blame.

 

[izeman]

f**k. that's really bad. such things happen all the time.
i would just buy a new housing from em3ev/cellman maybe order a complete new motor if you don't already have all those spare parts. it's always good to have a second freewheel/clutch or gears. they break quite often if you hotrod the mac.

 

[tln]

Yikes!! Replacement cover is cheap. Waiting is the hard part...

 

[izeman]

Yikes!! Replacement cover is cheap. Waiting is the hard part...

it's not the cover that's broken. it's the body.
and yes. waiting, shipping costs and taxes adds up to some bad experience

 

[Ch00paKabrA]

I decided to fix it. The "hub" which what it is called on the em2ev site is $30 bit the shipping is $36.00

I experimented with the shopping cart and adding items did not affect shipping very much. So I decided to get all of the covers since I don't know how the fall affected them. In addition to that, I got the 3 speed switch since my controller has a connection for a "3 speed transmission" which I am hoping is Chinglish for 3 speed switch. If not, then it is only $5. I noticed previously with the motor that if you nailed it from a stand-still it would lurch and fade and lurch and fade until you let off the throttle andand then applied it slowly. It seemed like it might be wear on the clutch so I figured that while I have it open, I may as well change that. I also bought 2 metal gears from Lyen so I have to screw around with the clutch and gears anyway. for the Psychologists out there, I am rationalizing pretty well don't you think. Defense mechanisms are a wonderful thing.

The welt on my foot still smarts though.

I had just ordered the remaining parts need to complete the bike as well so I think I may actually ride it before it gets too cold.

I had a question regarding working with the DP420 so I sent a PM to Dr Bass and he answered very quickly. He is a class act and the forum is lucky to have him.

That's all. gonna have to wait now. It still sucks; the motor looked really good.

 

[Ch00paKabrA]

received the metal gears from the other day. They look good. I'm not going to install them until I get the new clutch - no need to waste time uninstalling and reinstalling twice.



the sales thread stated you only need one but after the mishap with the casings, I think it is a good idea to have a spare.

Nothing is really going on until I get the casings for the motor but I am considering a 2wd Bafang BPMII instead of the MAC. One of the dual crown forks that I have is not a "thru axle" type so it will accommodate it. Still thinking about it. This was my initial plan but when I got the fast wind MAC, I modified it.

 

[emcee]

If you are still without batteries look into fasttech.com
I emailed them and asked about 140 cells. They reduced the price significantly. And shipping was free. So what you see is what you get no hidden cost.

 

[Ch00paKabrA]

If you are still without batteries look into fasttech.com
I emailed them and asked about 140 cells. They reduced the price significantly. And shipping was free. So what you see is what you get no hidden cost.

Thanks for the tip. I am at a stand-still until I get the new casings for the motor. I have been working on the Hardrock - trying to finish it up so I can focus on the DH Comp. The only thing left on the Specialized is to build a compartment for the batteries to go on the fork. I have everything I need, except, perhaps, the time. It is my busy season and I just did what I swore I was not going to do... I just put an offer on another house and I'll be damned if they didn't except it. So now in the off season, I will be rehabbing another rental house. Yikes. This will be number 5 and I will probably retire again after I have 8 fully paid for (depending on the income that they provide).

As far as the batteries for the DH Comp, I will definitely go with the 25R batteries because I have a feeling that I will probably go with a more powerful motor sooner rather than later. Fasttech.com has them advertised for over $7.00 per piece - I was hoping to get them for around $5.00 so I will wait to see what they quote for 200.

Thanks again for the website.

 

[Ch00paKabrA]

At Last! The new covers, the clutch, the disc spacers and the 3 speed switch arrived! I am happy that I can now continue with this build.

Of course, as with every package I receive from China, the box looked like they routed it through the war zones in Iraq.



but.. since it was packed with a lot of padding, everything survived.



The led volt meter also arrived:



unfortunately, the cases are black. I am torn as to whether I should do the pearl white again or maybe just strip them and polish them. I have to get them together anyway to test out the metal gears and new clutch so that decision can wait.

The Niece and Nephew were up for a visit. I managed to score some dumpster finds. 3 20" BMX bikes, and a complete 1977 Schwinn Traveler road bike. I took the nephew out back and supervised as he took apart the 3 BMX bikes and put together 2 good bikes for his sister and himself. It is more rewarding if they have to work for it. He and I then converted the Schwinn from a road bike to a hybrid using some handlebars and brake levers that were kicking around. Once done, we were able to tool around the shore towns.

Here is a nice pic of a mother duck and her ducklings along with some swans that my niece took. It was getting dark.



The carnival was in town so it was obligatory that we attend. Check this picture out:



Aside from the grins, the fact that both the 4 car section that they were sitting in as well as the whole thing all rotates at a fast rate speaks volumes for my photo taking abilities. Even more so because I used my crappy 2 megapixel camera on my crappy cell phone. It took about a dozen tries to get the timing right.

Earlier this week, I made sure not to schedule any projects for Monday so I could take the day off. I planned an "Adventure" for them. they had no idea where we were going. first thing in the morning, we got on a train and arrived in Penn Station NY. Then onto a subway up to 81st and Central Park West. Yup, the day was then spent at the Museum of Natural History. What a great time! Lunch for 3 was $60.00. Next time, we are brown baggin it.



I did see this ebike helmet on display but couldn't find anyone to give me a price for it.



It is great seeing them completely amazed at the massiveness of the buildings. Their little jaws were in a perpetual state of "drop".

That's all for today. I am exhausted and I learned my lesson. No more working on the bike while I am tired.

 

[Ch00paKabrA]

I was working on the bike a little bit today and really questioned my decision to go with 72v with the MAC 6T. So after some research, I came across this thread here on the forum regarding another member who was going to attempt the same thing: http://endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=55797

The general consensus was that doing so was sheer lunacy. I am plenty ignorant but stupid is not how I would describe myself so the MAC 6t will have to run at 48 volts max. if it was a 10T I might be able to get away with 60v. If I don't like it, then I will move it over to the daily beater and go with a direct drive hub. 200 cells (actually 195 - 13s 15p) will give me a 37.5 ah battery if I go with the samsung 25r or 32ah if I go with the 22P batteries. the 22Ps are over $400 less so they are a contender.

I am glad I looked. I don't mind spending money, I just don't like wasting it.

 

[Ch00paKabrA]

25R batteries are ordered. that was a quick g-note gone. I did not paint the hub as stripping the paint off the MAC is a bear. It doesn't bubble up like regular paint for some reason; it just kind of turns into slime and it is difficult getting it off. I may just scuff it up and paint over the black.

I did manage to get the rear wheel put together with the black hub.



This is up on the motorcycle rim thread in the ebike technical section along with a few others.

I am done for the day. time to relax and enjoy.

 

[izeman]

NICE
btw: did you see my build finished (and the cable housing guides you sent me installed - i glued them to the frame, how do you plan to do it?)

 

[Samd]

You seem to be exploring all the options.

Just bought a DH comp frame. Looking forward to making up the torque plates via my laser cutting suppliers. Will keep following your thread..

 

[Ch00paKabrA]

NICE
btw: did you see my build finished (and the cable housing guides you sent me installed - i glued them to the frame, how do you plan to do it?)

izeman, that bike looks sick!!! I am assuming you are talking about the Kona. I simply don't have the metal working skills or machinery. My battery box is going to be made out of PVC.

I used epoxy on the cable guides on the Hardrock and will do the same on the DH Comp.