First Build: Motobecane 29'r

[acorless]

I discovered the ES forum over the Christmas Holidays and was immediatley sucked into the vortex. By Jan1 I had decided I was going to build an all season commuter to replace the agony of a long tram and bus ride to work. On Feb 17th, I made my first commute.



I had serious limitations in space, tools, etc since I am spending this year on assignment in Grenoble, France. (Think 1000 ft apartment shared with my wife, 2 kids, and our dog) I therefore have kept the initial build simple but look forward to getting back home where I can do a little better job of integration.



Originally I had hoped to fit the Battery inside the triangle but I was a little too optimistic / ambitious and in the end bought a battery that was just a little too large and ended up (for now) locating it on a back rack. This was a big disappointment but I will correct this eventually. For the winter months, I also located the controller inside the rear pack. So far this has been acceptable from a heat point of view but I need to either relocate of add some airflow in the next few weeks.

Stealth is fairly important here in France (I am told) so I have tried to keep things looking pretty stock. By my calculations I am about 10X the allowed power output and nearly 3X max allowed speed. To put things in context, I was pulled over and received a ticket on this bike for driving too agressively BEFORE I made it electric. I do love the French though.

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To date I have logged about 350 km on the bike without issue. Basic info:

- 2012 Motobecane Fantom 29 FS with SRAM X9 components (Had this as my everyday bike before)
- Mac 8T 500/1000 hubmotor with upgraded phase wires
- 12 Fet High Voltage Controller
- 63V 12.5 Ahr NMC Battery
- V2.3 CA

I usually limit battery current to 25A (~1500W) which lets me commute comfortably at 40-50 km/hr when I am outside the city core. When the weather is nice (like today)I will tweak the controller to 45 Amps (~2800W) which gets me to about 70km/h (44 mph).

I am looking forward to being a long term member and contributer to this forum.

Adrian

 

[rjoe]

Interesting to hear about the French attitude/laws because they are so into bicycling

 

[tdiggs]

Awesome bike, good components too. Love the hardcore riders that go out rain/snow or shine!

Where did you get your battery? Was that with Paul @ Emissions-free?

Welcome to the forum, I too, like many, were sucked into the E-S vortex.

 

[acorless]

Awesome bike, good components too. Love the hardcore riders that go out rain/snow or shine!

Where did you get your battery? Was that with Paul @ Emissions-free?

Welcome to the forum, I too, like many, were sucked into the E-S vortex.

I purchased the motor, controller, CA, and other misc parts from Paul. The Battery and charger came from Chris at HiPower Cycle. Both Paul and Chris were really helpful and responsive. I had everything delivered direct to France in less than 2 weeks. I would not hesitate to business with either of them again.

 

[Chalo]

If you didn't get professional quality initial setup for that bike, do it before problems arise. Those mail order bikes are a good value, but they arrive in a state that isn't quite ready to ride. I see lots of wheels that break spokes because nobody stress-relieved them, hubs that chew themselves up because the bearings were adjusted too tight, crankarms that fall off because they weren't properly tightened, etc.

 

[tdiggs]

If you didn't get professional quality initial setup for that bike, do it before problems arise. Those mail order bikes are a good value, but they arrive in a state that isn't quite ready to ride. I see lots of wheels that break spokes because nobody stress-relieved them, hubs that chew themselves up because the bearings were adjusted too tight, crankarms that fall off because they weren't properly tightened, etc.

Agreed. I have been a bicycle mechanic for a little over four years now at my local shop, starting as a chump and now the head honcho. I know how those bikes come out of the box and nothing is quite the way it should be. Just have a tune up and tell them its intended purpose and they will check the torque on all the bolts and especially make sure your spokes are tensioned properly (this is usually never the case out-of-the-box unless you bought some very high priced wheels.

*edit, damn spelling!

 

[acorless]

If you didn't get professional quality initial setup for that bike, do it before problems arise. Those mail order bikes are a good value, but they arrive in a state that isn't quite ready to ride. I see lots of wheels that break spokes because nobody stress-relieved them, hubs that chew themselves up because the bearings were adjusted too tight, crankarms that fall off because they weren't properly tightened, etc.

Agreed. I have been a bicycle mechanic for a little over four years now at my local shop, starting as a chump and now the head honcho. I know how those bikes come out of the box and nothing is quite the way it should be. Just have a tune up and tell them its intended purpose and they will check the torque on all the bolts and especially make sure your spokes are tensioned properly (this is usually never the case out-of-the-box unless you bought some very high priced wheels.

*edit, damn spelling!

Appreciate the advice and your experience. I have had generally good experiences with the few bikes I have bought on line but have always relied on my own experience ( bike most every day for many years) and that of my more capable friends to get the bikes into correct form. I have had the Motobecane for close to a year before converting it and had about 1500 km on the bike without any serious issues. I am much more in the dark when it comes to the reliability of the electric components. The 29 inch wheel built up with the MAC 8T definitely could be improved.

In the end, I expect I will break a few things, learn some lessons, and improve the bike as time goes on.