E-S Stealth Electric Bike Owners

[Hyena]

Yeah nice shot abv1. Looks just like the scene where John Connor skids to a stop and looks back to see the truck crashing through the rail

Here's a terminator-esq shot on my fighter from a year or 2 back. I never did get around to editing that footage!

 

[1abv]

COME WITH ME IF YOU WANT TO LIVE!!!!!
a little fun in the LA river

GIVE ME YOUR ADDRESS DHEEIIIR 'Austrian accent'

Whats the deal with that front mudguard dont it hit ur frame on compression?
That looks like fun

They don't hit the frame on compression. I was concerned with that as well but i've beat on them pretty good and haven't hit. By the way good eye on the end caps Brute. It came off a few days ago. New ones in route...

 

[Emmett]

Rix, a big thank you to you my friend, for your advice on the rear wheel setup on my Fighter!

I've had two rides now with the 19x1.6 MC rim and a Vee VMR-021 19x2.75 rear trials tire. Excellent upgrade for my usage.

I must confess my Duro Razorback rear was bald down to the plys, so I had a somewhat warped perspective on handling, but still the MC rear setup is awesome.

No problem with tire clearance. Glowworms laced up my rim to the hub with the rim offset about 4mm to the left (rotor side). Same as the Fighter's MTB rim was setup. This gives 13mm clearance between tire and chain, and maybe 20mm to the swing arm on the left side.

I'm using the Tubliss system, so running 18 PSI in the tire. Just about impossible to damage my new rim or get a flat. I've stopped pulling over to keep checking the tire after sharp rough sections. Lower tire pressure might be better again, but I'll go one step at a time. So much better ride quality and handling than the 35 PSI that I had to run previously in the Duro to avoid pinch flats when the 8KG hub overloads the tire on sharp fast impacts.

With this rear setup I'm having so much fun. I ride trails which are mostly dirt, sand or small gravel, but often sections of loose sandstone rocks, medium sized rocks half embedded in dirt, large sand stone rocks with sharp edges or tree roots. Line choice is now so much less critical now. I can look further ahead and just ride a lot faster maintain momentum and the rear deals with it. My X-Fusion shock helps greatly, but the cushioning effect and grip of the tire is unreal.

I can wheelie over fast bumps and forget about sharp rocks over the blind crest and let the rear just soak it up. My Fighter is now more like a dirt bike in terms of riding options, but super light, and the tire is not destructive to the trails, since it grabs the ground and doesn't dig it.

Without fear of flats, now I use more throttle, go faster so my H4065 is more efficient and I'm getting better range too. Easy to measure doing my usual loops and checking total Wh used. 800 today instead of the usual 900 is very good.

The only downside is that I can comfortably go so much faster now that I must keep an even sharper eye out for other people on the trails.

 

[Rix]

Yeah nice shot abv1. Looks just like the scene where John Connor skids to a stop and looks back to see the truck crashing through the rail

Here's a terminator-esq shot on my fighter from a year or 2 back. I never did get around to editing that footage!

Amigo! I am still waiting on the movie, chompin at the bit for this one. Got an ETA?

 

[Rix]

Rix, a big thank you to you my friend, for your advice on the rear wheel setup on my Fighter!

I've had two rides now with the 19x16 MC rim and a Vee VMR-021 19x2.75 rear trials tire. Excellent upgrade for my usage.

I must confess my Duro Razorback rear was bald down to the plys, so I had a somewhat warped perspective on handling, but still the MC rear setup is awesome.

No problem with tire clearance. Glowworms laced up my rim to the hub with the rim offset about 4mm to the left (rotor side). Same as the Fighter's MTB rim was setup. This gives 13mm clearance between tire and chain, and maybe 20mm to the swing arm on the left side.

I'm using the Tubliss system, so running 18 PSI in the tire. Just about impossible to damage my new rim or get a flat. I've stopped pulling over to keep checking the tire after sharp rough sections. Lower tire pressure might be better again, but I'll go one step at a time. So much better ride quality and handling than the 35 PSI that I had to run previously in the Duro to avoid pinch flats when the 8KG hub overloads the tire on sharp fast impacts.

With this rear setup I'm having so much fun. I ride trails which are mostly dirt, sand or small gravel, but often sections of loose sandstone rocks, medium sized rocks half embedded in dirt, large sand stone rocks with sharp edges or tree roots. Line choice is now so much less critical now. I can look further ahead and just ride a lot faster maintain momentum and the rear deals with it. My X-Fusion shock helps greatly, but the cushioning effect and grip of the tire is unreal.

I can wheelie over fast bumps and forget about sharp rocks over the blind crest and let the rear just soak it up. My Fighter is now more like a dirt bike in terms of riding options, but super light, and the tire is not destructive to the trails, since it grabs the ground and doesn't dig it.

Without fear of flats, now I use more throttle, go faster so my H4065 is more efficient and I'm getting better range too. Easy to measure doing my usual loops and checking total Wh used. 800 today instead of the usual 900 is very good.

The only downside is that I can comfortably go so much faster now that I must keep an even sharper eye out for other people on the trails.

Thanks for comment, and for confirming that the Neutech Tubliss system works on a much smaller tire and rim narrower than the intended 19x 1.85 wide. No doubt with your suspension revalving mods, your machine works and handles very very well. This makes me want to try a Tubliss 18" on my Fighter now. Maybe I will when I get my test motor in, the TC4080 with regular spoke flange. Did you note the actual weight of the tubliss set up on your machine? Wondering if there is any weight savings over a small MC tube? I guess with how much easier it is to mount a MC tire with the Tubliss system vs using a tube, that makes up for it right there, then when you factor in you can run PSI clear down as low as you want with out concern for the tire slipping on the bead, those benefits are hard to argue with. Can I talk you into posting a pic here and on the Stealth Forum?

 

[stevebills]

what are Stealth bomber tire sizes and are they available from most bike shops?

 

[Jimboyr6]

what are Stealth bomber tire sizes and are they available from most bike shops?

24x3inch
Theres not much choice out there for this size but u can go smaller say 24x 2.35 dmr tyre

 

[CJonaBttlrckt]

Hi Folks,
I have considered running a tubliss on the bomber rear, however like yourself Rick I wasn't sure it would work on a smaller rim than intended. It is interesting to note it probably would work.
I am now running a ultra heavy duty tube and rim lock with shinko SR44 equivalent tyre that allows me to run low tyre pressures without the tyre spinning on the rim.
I find I eventually either pinch the tube, though this does take a good hit and I usually damage the tyre side wall at the same time. More often though I seem to wear through the tube at the rim lock from it moving around inside the tyre when riding. A good load of talcum powder in there helps.
I run a Tubliss on my ktm450 and it works really well. However, the relative ease of damaging the side wall of the tyres on the bomber due to the unpsrung heavy wheel weight would probably mean a rim lock and heavy duty tyre would be similarly effective to the tubliss as obviously a damaged sidewall with a tubliss will mean a flat tyre anyway.
Cheers,
Clinton

 

[Archer]

I haven't seen it mentioned here so probably doesn't exist.But I was just curious if there was a motorcycle "road" version tire for the Stealths? You know for riders like TV and the like whom would benefit by having a longer lasting and I assume nicer riding tire vs regular bike tires.

I knows several scooter and motorcycle riders whom have installed rear car tires and are extremely happy with them.They claim no less than 3-4 times the wear vs a motorcycle tire.Also the ride is much improved in all aspects.

Anyway happy E-Biking folks.

Tim

 

[Rix]

I haven't seen it mentioned here so probably doesn't exist.But I was just curious if there was a motorcycle "road" version tire for the Stealths? You know for riders like TV and the like whom would benefit by having a longer lasting and I assume nicer riding tire vs regular bike tires.

I knows several scooter and motorcycle riders whom have installed rear car tires and are extremely happy with them.They claim no less than 3-4 times the wear vs a motorcycle tire.Also the ride is much improved in all aspects.

Anyway happy E-Biking folks.

Tim

Tim, the IRC 2.50-19 or 2.75-19 would probably be one of the best road tires for our ebikes, provided you went to a 19x1.4 or 19x1.6 MC rim. The GP1 are light and are a 85%-15% road/offroad tire.

 

[Rix]

Hi Folks,
I have considered running a tubliss on the bomber rear, however like yourself Rick I wasn't sure it would work on a smaller rim than intended. It is interesting to note it probably would work.
I am now running a ultra heavy duty tube and rim lock with shinko SR44 equivalent tyre that allows me to run low tyre pressures without the tyre spinning on the rim.
I find I eventually either pinch the tube, though this does take a good hit and I usually damage the tyre side wall at the same time. More often though I seem to wear through the tube at the rim lock from it moving around inside the tyre when riding. A good load of talcum powder in there helps.
I run a Tubliss on my ktm450 and it works really well. However, the relative ease of damaging the side wall of the tyres on the bomber due to the unpsrung heavy wheel weight would probably mean a rim lock and heavy duty tyre would be similarly effective to the tubliss as obviously a damaged sidewall with a tubliss will mean a flat tyre anyway.
Cheers,
Clinton

I think if I went to the Tubliss set up, the aluminum plate on the bladder bead spreader would need to cut down to fit 1.4 wide rims. This is why I was surprised, and happy to hear that it work on Emmett's machine.

 

[Emmett]

Thanks for comment, and for confirming that the Neutech Tubliss system works on a much smaller tire and rim narrower than the intended 19x 1.85 wide. No doubt with your suspension revalving mods, your machine works and handles very very well. This makes me want to try a Tubliss 18" on my Fighter now. Maybe I will when I get my test motor in, the TC4080 with regular spoke flange. Did you note the actual weight of the tubliss set up on your machine? Wondering if there is any weight savings over a small MC tube? I guess with how much easier it is to mount a MC tire with the Tubliss system vs using a tube, that makes up for it right there, then when you factor in you can run PSI clear down as low as you want with out concern for the tire slipping on the bead, those benefits are hard to argue with. Can I talk you into posting a pic here and on the Stealth Forum?

Rix, Yes I'll take a post some pics as soon as I can.

Tubliss 19 weighs 0.9kg. Std 19x3 tube is 0.48. A UHD 19x3 tube is 1.0kg. Drop 0.1kg with Tubliss vs UHD.
Stock rim is 0.76kg. My 19x16 rim is 1.40kg. Gain 0.64kg.
Razorback tire is 1.45kg. VMR-021 is 2.8kg. Gain 1.35Kg.

Net difference = 1.89kg additional unsprung weight. I struggled mentally with the thought of this, but the end result is so much better. It is a no brainer huge improvement for riding rough trails. The rear is so much MORE settled and planted. The previous 35 PSI was terrible for handling.

My fighter does handle very well. You know I'm fussy about suspension and chassis setup. I'll often adjust my fork damper clicker when riding, or stop and tweak the rear high speed comp, rear or front spring preload (height and thus steering balance) to match the tightness of a track. No escaping the 8kg hub motor weight, but I like the hub motor advantages very much. Maintaining and replacing chains and sprockets sucks big time. To be frank, my bike is awesome for how I use it. The fun-o-meter is off the dial.

The trick with getting the Tubliss 19 to work in the narrower 1.60 rim, is how much you trim down the rubber block that sits around the 11mm main stem. Because that block is compressed as you tighten the rim lock, and it seals the inner liner to the tire bead on one side at that position. I trimmed mine down by about 6mm, but I think 4mm would have been enough. I have a slow leak there. Losing about 1 PSI in a ride. No problem really. Before inflating the inner liner, tension the rim lock nut to be firm so this rubber block splays out a bit more.

You also need to trim down the rim lock metal piece, and smooth and shape the side bearing surfaces. I trimmed mine about 6mm per side. You need at least that much off it. When reinstalled this part into the liner I used some sikaflex adhesive type. The rim lock does nothing to lock the tire bead. Even if I had a 10000W motor, the torque is nothing compared to the force the Tubliss inner liner pushing the bead out against the narrow 1.6 MC rim.

 

[Emmett]

Here is a list of my mods to my Fighter:

1. My hub is sealed (side plates, bearings and axle groove), but with a smaller breather (1mm hole near sprocket), and filled with 110ml of castor oil. It runs so much cooler than before, so i can ride tight trails to full battery depletion, and not fry my motor to an early death. Huge improvement.

1b. I also replaced the stock M4 fastener bolts on the hub side covers with known quality M4 x 12mm counter sunk phillips head bolts. And reinstalled into clean threads using blue Loctite. I hate torx heads, and I found the stock bolts varied in length between 12 and 6mm.

2. I have sikflex sealed my controller housing and sprayed CRC over the controller inside components. On the low side face of the controller housing, I also drilled two small drain holes at each end and tapped a plug screw in them. So I can be sure no water go inside, and spray more dewatering fluid in and air blow dry the inside before storing.

3. I drilled a small 2.5mm drain hole at the lowest point of the frame, facing the left crank, because water can pool down there and cause rust. If a little water get into the battery compartment somehow, it's not a problem any more. I spray oil inside the hole and lean the bike side to side to spread it around.

4. I use silicone sealant to ensure no water goes down beside the key into the main switch. I oiled inside the main switch too.

So my bike is effectively waterproofed. I can ride through anything and not worry. I carefully hose it down with fresh water (avoiding DC-1 panel, keyswitch and buttons) after riding in muddy conditions. I then air blow the bike, and sometimes I disconnect the plugs in the motor wiring loom to air blow those clean too.

5. My main key is cut down. Because when I get out of shape on trails the tall key is dangerous. I bent one key fully over once luckily with a knee pad.

6. More comfortable seat. A Selle Royal "gel" seat. Still pretty light. Way easier to sit in rough corners and full throttle through them.

7. Replaced my forks. See the stealth forum for the details. Night vs day better. Custom valving.

8. Replaced my shock. X-Fusion Vector coil HLR. With a 500 lbs/in spring (I am 74Kg). Custom valving. I have details if anyone wants it.

9. Plastic cup spacer in the ball joint in the MT2 front brake lever. To get the lever bite point in the right place.

10. Wider twist throttle. About 3/4 width. So much better for rough trail riding and mini MX. I can work throttle and front brake at the same time, using the normal technique for a dirt bike. the stock 1/4 grip throttle drove me nuts, and was replaced immediately.

11. I have some bigger, but lighter pedals than stock. Stock were pretty good, but I wanted something I'm familiar with from my mountain bike.

12. I have some simple mud flaps. Absolutely essential mod. A cheap ($5 ebay) but very good fender attached the the rear shock tower on the swing arm. So my shock and seat post stay very clean. On my seat and under my triple clamps I have some very cheap but effective Mucky Nuts fenders. My controller get very dirty and damp sometimes. Therefore I sealed it.

13. And of course my very recent 19" MC rim and trials tire. Thanks again Rix.

 

[Rix]

Here is a list of my mods to my Fighter:

1. My hub is sealed (side plates, bearings and axle groove), but with a smaller breather (1mm hole near sprocket), and filled with 110ml of castor oil. It runs so much cooler than before, so i can ride tight trails to full battery depletion, and not fry my motor to an early death. Huge improvement.

2. I have sikflex sealed my controller housing and sprayed CRC over the controller inside components. Onthe low side face of the controller housing, I also drilled a small drain hole and tapped a plug screw in there. So I can be sure no water go inside, and spray more dewatering fluid in and allow the inside to dry when stored.

3. I drilled a small 2.5mm drain hole at the lowest point of the frame, facing the left crank, because water can pool down there and cause rust. If a little water get into the battery compartment somehow, it's not a problem any more. I spray oil inside the hole and lean the bike side to side to spread it around.

4. I use silicone sealant to ensure no water goes down beside the key into the main switch. I oiled inside the main switch too.

So my bike is effectively waterproofed. I can ride through anything and not worry. I carefully hose it down with fresh water after riding in muddy conditions. I then air blow the bike, and sometimes I disconnect the plugs in the motor wiring loom to air blow those clean too.

5. My main key is cut down. Because when I get out of shape on trails the tall key is dangerous. I bent on key fully over once luckily with a knee pad.

6. More comfortable seat. A Selle Royal "gel" seat. Still pretty light. Way easier to sit in rough corners and full throttle through them.

7. Replaced my forks. See the stealth forum for the details. Night vs day better.

8. Replaced my shock. X-Fusion Vector coil HLR. With a 500 lbs/in spring (I am 74Kg).

9. plastic cup spacer in the ball joint int he MT2 front brake lever. To get the lever bite point int he right place.

10. Wider twist throttle. About 3/4 width. So much better for rough trail riding and mini MX. I can work throttle and front brake at the same time, using the normal technique for a dirt bike.

11. I have some bigger, but lighter pedals than stock. Stock were pretty good, but I wanted something I'm familiar with from my mountain bike.

12. I have some simple mud flaps. Absolutely essential mod. A cheap ($5 ebay) but very good fender attached the the rear shock tower on the swing arm. So my shock and seat post stay very clean. On my seat and under my triple clamps I have some very cheap but effective Mucky Nuts fenders. My controller get very dirty and damp sometimes. Therefore I sealed it.

13. And of course my very recent 19" MC rim and trials tire. Thanks again Rix.

Damn Emmett, your machine is sick! I recently purchased a full twist throttle, probably going to put it on when my half grip wears out. Good tip on the weep hole in your frame for water to drain out, I am going to punch a whole my frame and do the same.

 

[Emmett]

Rix, do you know where I mean when I described the frame compartment drain hole? I have no time to do a pic. So you have to imagine. It's important to not weaken the weld, although CrMo welding is so damn strong it probably aint an issue anyway. I drilled on the rear left corner/face near the crank. In the arch area. Actually I used 3mm. Now I remember I used a very long drill bit. So no need to remove the crank.

 

[1abv]

Emmett,
Interesting about your tire pressure..before my moto rim switch I ran 25 psi front and back on thge standard duro tires w HD tubes. Now with a vee rubber tire like yours and a standard tube in back (duro w HD tube in front) I run 15lbs front and back w/o a rim lock and ride rocky, sharp edge high speed runs and never had issues with flats etc. You could easily drop down further than 18lbs w tubless for sure. The recommend lowest pressure on tires is more about legal c.y.a. than what you can really run.

 

[Emmett]

Emmett,
You could easily drop down further than 18lbs w tubless for sure.

You're right. Today I ran 12 and it felt better. But I do start to feel it wobble a little over bumps under corner side loads, so I'm close to the ideal tire pressure. I'll play around and monitor it. I never read the side of the tire to check pressure range. I've just been smashing over embedded stones and pulling over to inspect the tire and rims. OK so far.

Just because people might put 6 PSI in it as a trials bike front tire, doesn't mean I should aim for that. In the rear on my Fighter it is working a lot more.

So much smoother. It's also weird to ride because I find I'm used to the rear being jittery and getting out of line. Now I can trust it.

After 3 rides, I'm already wondering about having more tire. There is room. Then I could blitz even more nasty stuff. But it's very good as it is.

I took some pics of the bike. I'll post later.

My next motor will be a H4040. More torque, less heat. Ample speed for what I like to do.

 

[Cowardlyduck]

My next motor will be a H4040. More torque, less heat. Ample speed for what I like to do.

I would be glad to be proven wrong, but I believe there is no such thing. The HS4065 is sometimes sold as a HS4040 if the reference voltage for it is 48V rather than the usual 72V on a 26" wheel I believe.
That is unless you are planning on re-winding one yourself?
If you are, I can hook you up as I have my dead HS4060. The windings are toast, the side covers are drilled (but can easily be plugged) and it's all setup for forced air cooling. It's a good motor, and would come laced into a Stealth rim.
There is an electric motor servicing place near me that I was going to ask if they could do a custom 5 or 6 turn wind on it which would be the equivalent of a HS4045 or HS4035 (on 72V). If your interested I could get that done first, then send to you, costs covered of course.
PM me if your interested.

Cheers

 

[Emmett]

You might be right. I've already got a new H4040 hub motor. That's what it's labeled. Rated at 40km/h at 48V using a 26" MTB wheel. That should be good for roughly 40km/h with my 57V and a tire diam equiv to a 24" MTB. That's what I'm after. 40 is fast enough for my needs. I need the acceleration and efficiency, with my existing controller and battery. To climb short but steep sections, pop up and over fallen tree logs, and to clear jumps with short approaches. If it's the same motor winding as what I already have, then I'm not going to get upset about it.


There is another Fighter mod that I did, but forgot to mention:

14. I cut down my handle bars. Trimmed 12mm off each end. Makes the bike feel a lot more agile through the trees! Plus I thought the vintage MX style wide bar setup didn't make any sense for a bike where the front wheel never has enough force to over power my control of the bars.

 

[Rix]

You might be right. I've already got a new H4040 hub motor. That's what it's labeled. Rated at 40km/h at 48V using a 26" MTB wheel. That should be good for roughly 40km/h with my 57V and a tire diam equiv to a 24" MTB. That's what I'm after. 40 is fast enough for my needs. I need the acceleration and efficiency, with my existing controller and battery. To climb short but steep sections, pop up and over fallen tree logs, and to clear jumps with short approaches. If it's the same motor winding as what I already have, then I'm not going to get upset about it.


There is another Fighter mod that I did, but forgot to mention:

14. I cut down my handle bars. Trimmed 12mm off each end. Makes the bike feel a lot more agile through the trees! Plus I thought the vintage MX style wide bar setup didn't make any sense for a bike where the front wheel never has enough force to over power my control of the bars.

Emmett, that whole 4065, 4080, 4040, 40whatever crap is semantics. Crystalyte likes to screw with us once in a while and changes their values because they change the voltage parameters their motors are tested for cert purposes :lol: . Sometimes they use 36 volts, then 72, and now apparently 48 volts, so we should see some new number identifiers that really aren't new. So the 4040 @ 48v is a 4065@ 72, that means the current 4080 is going to be a 4050 at 48 volts. This is why I liked the way Crysatlyte identified their older motors, by series, width of stator, and number of turns, ie 5404, 5 series, 40mm wide stator, 4 turns, or the 5304, 5 series, 30mm wide stator, 4 turns. I for got to ask in your last post, but you are oil cooling your motor. Any problems with leakage? I am tossing around a geared hubbie build next and really leaning towards oil bathing that hub. Kepler did a while back, and concluded the messy oil leakage on a geared hub wasn't worth the benefits. Also a while back, I contacted Dave Pearce, Phasor cycle ceo, he has been oil cooling geared hubs since he started making Phasors and swears by that. He is running 20s (84V) and 50amp burst through his oil cooled geared hubbie with great results, at the price of some leakage. He, like Kepler said its messy, but the results speak for them selves. Anyway, I see why you like oil cooling, it works.

 

[biknut]

I haven't seen it mentioned here so probably doesn't exist.But I was just curious if there was a motorcycle "road" version tire for the Stealths? You know for riders like TV and the like whom would benefit by having a longer lasting and I assume nicer riding tire vs regular bike tires.

I knows several scooter and motorcycle riders whom have installed rear car tires and are extremely happy with them.They claim no less than 3-4 times the wear vs a motorcycle tire.Also the ride is much improved in all aspects.

Anyway happy E-Biking folks.

Tim

I'm actually very happy with the 24 x 3 Thick Bricks I've been running for about 4 thousand miles as far as wear, and grip. I estimate about a 5000 mile life for a rear. This one has about 2000 miles on it now. The front still looks pretty new, but the rear is starting to show some wear. I've never gotten a flat with them, but I had 2 flats in a thousand miles with another brand of tires I originally started out with when my bike was new.

The main thing I don't like about the Thick Bricks is they're very tall profile, and I'm not wild about their looks. Very soon I'll be moving on the a new set of Hook Worms.

 

[biknut]

I like function obviously, but I'm also big into looks. I prefer the look of a 24" wheels on my bicycles, more than any other size. Partly because I like it, and partly because it says bicycle to prying eyes. That's important when you're breaking the sound barrier on a city street.

 

[1abv]

A little late night Bombing....

 

[Rix]

Oh Yah ABV, nothing like a little night ride, something I will plan on doing later this coming year.

 

[Emmett]

i get my bomber next week and have a choice of a black one with upgraded forks or an army grey with red wheels and handlebars with ugraded forks
the latter one is £800 more what should i buy?

If I was buying, then my choice would probably depend on which bike has the best forks and best battery.