Full suspension bike

[vodka]

I'm looking for a full suspension bike that can carry my heavy ping batteries on the rear rack panniers so that the batteries are also spring-suspended. this http://www.en.r-m.de/products/productguide/travelexpert/intercontinental/touring/black/ i think would be the perfect bike but it costs a fortune, so it's not really a option at the moment. does anyone know something similar just much cheaper?

 

[John in CR]

Vodka,

I agree, that's the best bike I've seen for converting to electric. If budget is the issue, then just copy the concept or make friends with someone who has the tools and ability to copy it.

 

[Mark_A_W]

Don't do it.

Get a dual suspension bike that allows you to put your batteries in the frame triangle.



A rear motor with rear rack batteries is an absolute shocker to ride.

 

[jag]

I agree with Mark. Heavy batteries are usually best placed near the center. This means the frame triangle.

That said, the original question is very valid: Other than seat post racks, I haven't seen rear racks that keep the load suspended. Eliminating unsuspended weight is good for handling. For those of us who use panniers, it would be nice to have good rack options.

Problem: Seatpost racks pivot the load in one point: the clamp to the seatpost.
Solution: just like a regular rack the support needs to forma triangle with a decent baseline. Some (e.g. Dogman) has taken a seatpost rack and added a brace bar to a lower point.

I don't like the seatpost racks because with my 5" suspension, the rear tire hits the reinforcement bar under the rack. (In addition to them being weak as mentioned above)

I was hoping I can mount one of these Axium Odessey racks: (If anyone can suggest a better candidate rack let me know)

As follows:

I'll will need to replace the lower stay tubing supplied witht he rack with longer and probably better grade tube. Do you think I should go CrMo or aluminium? I was thinking CrMo, so I can hammer the ends flat w/o it cracking.
Where can one get small diam lightewight CrMo? A hobby store??

 

[vodka]

Thanks for the replies fellas. I have to say the main reason why i want to have the batteries in the back panniers, is to keep the bike inconspicuous. My bike is 3kW and allowed is 0.25kW. And also my two ping batteries would be much to big for having them in the triangle. So the panniers are the best option in my opinion, cause with them i can keep the load at a low point.

 

[dogman dan]

Well, it sounds like you are commited to a rear carry, or at least a rear bag just to hide the big ol clyte. I find the handling sucks a LOT less when the hub is mounted in front, but I'm talking about less powerfull ones, not a 3kw clyte. Every time I mount my rear clyte on a bike I just can't belive how bad the handling is compared to lighter front mounted motors. And that was true even when the battery WAS mounted in the frame.

But back to the problem at hand. You'll need a really good FS mountain bike. One with some frame space in the triangle would be nice, but since you are trying to have a rear clyte be steath, you will always have to carry a pannier to hide it. A cheap bike will have a nice looking frame, but the tubes will not be so strong and flex too much when you load up the panniers. The tail of the bike will wag like a dog flexing the frame tubing alarmingly. When I switched to a better mtb on my commuter, carrying 50 pounds on the rear rack got a lot better.

The rack you want is the axxiom pannier rack. It's very strong, with 4 bolts on the clamp instead of just one or two. You have to reinforce the seatpost too, with another piece of tubing, or a broomstick, hardwood dowel, whatever fits right. Then add a few struts to complete a triangle from the bottom of the seatpost to the rack. Now you will be ready to carry 30-50 pounds with confidence. Here is the pic of my setup. I carry two pings and a gallon of water on a long day touring, or one ping and groceries when commuting.

 

[dogman dan]

My struts to support the rack are just electric conduit, with the ends smashed flat. Pretty light compared to steel angle iron or thicker wall steel pipe.

 

[es2150]

the suspension design your looking at is similar to the giant anthem design if that helps. all the batteries you own will probable not fit a triangle if they are rectangular. this is why i have been wondering why someone hasnt come up with box type front triangle that uses outer portion for frame with nutserts for side plates that we could use for mounting gear. seems like a no brainer to me. contacted a custom frame builder at one time and all i heard was crikets. i even approached as custom 1 time project and nothing.
so here i am again with the same problem just thinking about custom type batteries, and waiting for larger battery to die so i can average all commuting data to see how much battery it will take if i charge on both ends. idea: smaller battery on rear = more normal feeling bike. havent gone the lipo route cause i started with lifepo4 but it might be an idea too.

 

[vodka]

have to say, despite the high price i couldn't resist. so this gonna be my new frame:

new motor will be 5302

 

[dogman dan]

If that frame had steel dropouts, it would be just about the ideal frame I was fantasizing about on another thead. Carrying weight on that frame is likey to feel a lot better than any kind of bolted on rack.

 

[7circle]

Did you see the extreme version? Shows a front rack that looks tied to frame not axle for better suspension system.
Its only shown on one out of the 6 model/colour cariants.
I had a look at the model on the site. In fact three versions: Traveller, Rohloff, Extrerme
They have the models in black or sahara (sand) colour. You can see the detail better in the sahara colour.
Diffent rear suspension dampener and different gearing setups, and water bottle layouts (of course)
http://www.en.r-m.de/products/productfinder/travelexpert/intercontinental/extreme/sahara/

How much? Will you buy this online without test riding it?
What size battery pack are you wanting to fit?

Nice bike Vodka, look forward to seeing it completed.

 

[vodka]

Did you see the extreme version? Shows a front rack that looks tied to frame not axle for better suspension system.
Its only shown on one out of the 6 model/colour cariants.
I had a look at the model on the site. In fact three versions: Traveller, Rohloff, Extrerme
They have the models in black or sahara (sand) colour. You can see the detail better in the sahara colour.
Diffent rear suspension dampener and different gearing setups, and water bottle layouts (of course)
http://www.en.r-m.de/products/productfinder/travelexpert/intercontinental/extreme/sahara/

How much? Will you buy this online without test riding it?
What size battery pack are you wanting to fit?

Nice bike Vodka, look forward to seeing it completed.

hi 7circle

I ordered the frame kit only. the other components I get some where else. the batteries I going to use are
two 48V 15Ah from ping which I gonna mount on the rear rack one on each side. I probably gona build two Aluminium
cases for the packs cover them with the panniers. I definitely make some Photos of my build.

cheers

 

[vodka]

I gonna carry on with my build here in this thread:

http://endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=18702

 

[swbluto]

Did you see the extreme version? Shows a front rack that looks tied to frame not axle for better suspension system.
Its only shown on one out of the 6 model/colour cariants.
I had a look at the model on the site. In fact three versions: Traveller, Rohloff, Extrerme
They have the models in black or sahara (sand) colour. You can see the detail better in the sahara colour.
Diffent rear suspension dampener and different gearing setups, and water bottle layouts (of course)
http://www.en.r-m.de/products/productfinder/travelexpert/intercontinental/extreme/sahara/

How much? Will you buy this online without test riding it?
What size battery pack are you wanting to fit?

Nice bike Vodka, look forward to seeing it completed.

How do you buy this online? I was searching "Find a retailer" but apparently they only exist in Europe.

 

[vodka]

How do you buy this online? I was searching "Find a retailer" but apparently they only exist in Europe.

I'm based in Europe, but I bought the frame directly from them.