GCinDC's Giant DH Comp

[GCinDC]

For those who would like to have some idea of the motor-swing arm installation that Bison_69 have done ( open source), here is two file you might appreciate!

Thanks, Doc. I recall there being a question if that dropout adapter supports the use of calipers?

Maybe it's time to create a DH Comp Ebike Conversion thread for everyone... I'm sure there's more out there to include too. Care to do the honors since you were perhaps the first?

 

[GCinDC]

chatting w/ original owner about fork specs and enjoying the nostaliga:

 

[Doctorbass]

For those who would like to have some idea of the motor-swing arm installation that Bison_69 have done ( open source), here is two file you might appreciate!

Thanks, Doc. I recall there being a question if that dropout adapter supports the use of calipers?

Maybe it's time to create a DH Comp Ebike Conversion thread for everyone... I'm sure there's more out there to include too. Care to do the honors since you were perhaps the first?

Yes they are made to support the calipers.

Yes i think i was the second person. The first is Mark_A_W on the forum to use the Giant DH comp... not sure if i was the first to have the idea but who care... :lol: What is important is that we discovered a great STRONG dh bike that can accept battery in the middle of the frame and still having the rear suspension ( due to the great desing)

These DH comp bike are apparently some of the strongest frame never created.

Also the reason i choosed it is because the swing arm pivot is wider than the standard mtb have and the bearing are larger.

Doc

 

[GCinDC]

i had only 20 minutes last night to play. got the fox dhx 4.0 in the mail, so promptly yanked the manitou. look at the 'sag' of the rear wheel!

a bit oily, no?

i quickly cut the batt frame, but am going to trim it the top section off. thought it might be good to double up there, but no need. it'll be a nicer shape to carry around than the obtuse triangle on the GT. the key is to make it look as much like a lunch box as possible for going thru security... :wink:

as it fits on the bike.


EDIT: oh yeah, and the manitou bushings don't come close to fitting the fox! so much for wishful thinking. and after a half hour of searching, i still i have no clue where to get the right bushings....

 

[kfong]

I had to take a lathe to mine to get it to fit. Pics would help. You could make your own if you have a lathe or find someone local who does. You don't want any slop in this area.

 

[GCinDC]

finding help in this Rear Shock Eyelet Hardware Maintenance.

with an incredible gift of a filterable table of reducer specs per make, model and model year of bike frame (giant excel file)

Unfortunately, it only goes back to '05, but the Giant's w/ 8.750 x 2.750 all take 3 piece pin/sleeves, part: 803-03-083 and shaft: 803-03-078.

not to mention required tools...

Assembed the manitou pin/sleeves are 30.0mm side to side, as are the insides of the mount, top & bottom.

the Fox bottom pin is 41.20mm wide, and the sleeves total 22.36mm.... ah, bike parts...

my xmas gift digital caliper is coming in handy! i brought both shocks in to work w/ me and the manitou left a nice oil stain in the box... i think my instinct was right that it needs it's diaper changed..

 

[kfong]

I had to forgo the steel pin sleeve. That keeps down the wear, but if the pin is smooth, then wear will be minimal as long as you keep it oiled. Aluminum is cheap and easy to machine. I figure I can just make a replacement part if I needed another. Having to press in or remove a pin sleeve is probably what the special tool is for. Sounds like you will need to make the part. If you have a tough time of it pm me. I can try milling it on my CNC. Lathe takes too much of my time.

 

[GCinDC]

shock bushing problem solved (fingers crossed). i just called 1.800.FOX.SHOX and ordered parts...

cost half as much as shock, but...

 

[Hyena]

it'll be a nicer shape to carry around than the obtuse triangle on the GT. the key is to make it look as much like a lunch box as possible for going thru security... :wink:

Yeah nothing says you're on the level when entering the dept of homeland security like a security guard opening your lunch box and finding what looks like enough plastic explosive in to level half the building :lol:

On a serious note, I've often eye off those padded, cooler lunch box bags for stealthy lipo housing.
What about actually buying and sitting your box inside that ? Or cutting hte bag to suit and gluing it to the outside of your box to make it very convincingly look like a lunch box ? The handle would be handy too if you're going to remove it from the bike and carry to your office for charging.
eg.

 

[Duc998]

Looking great GC...

Looking at the pic above I think that's exactly how I want to do my layout so sorry If I steel your ideas . Going to setup my 8 lipos like yours but lay the 9th lipo horizontally as Doctorbass suggested. Then... hopefully cover the housing with the falcon ev bag. Will most likely need to get the falconev reshaped to fit, Need the bag to remain stealth.

Yours is looking great cant wait to start mine

 

[Sacman]

I finally stumbled onto your new thread here Greg. Looking good so far. What model year is that DH Comp? I just got bought a DH bike myself just after Christmas but I got an '05 Kona Stinky Dee-Lux because I always did like the Stinkys. But I won't make it an ebike yet until I finish my brother's Stiletto e-chopper.

Looks like you're gonna make the batts and the folded metal channel removeable for charging right? So how are you gonna securely fasten the whole thing to the bike frame when you ride? What's your mounting system? You mentioned bolts?

 

[GCinDC]

kiwi's adapter arrived.

i had some challenges installing it. had to do some selective filing, but finally got it in tight. the dropouts themselves needed a bit of filing too. i was tempted to force it in, but realized i'd have to remove the wheel a bunch of times so was careful and now it goes in with moderate pressure and is still snug.

it's such an awesome adapter. so well thought out. i'm totally psyched. gotta run.

View attachment 3

 

[knoxie]

Looking really nice there Greg looking forward to seeing some ripping off road riding from ya now, I so want to make one too got a frame just need the rest of the bike...

 

[GCinDC]

thanks. i can't wait to get this thing going!

i've been dilly dallying with the battery case. the garage is an unwholesome mess. i must clean it up. but it's been cold and i've been tired, etc, etc.

i can't explain how good it feels to have confidence in the dropouts! the snug fit plus the bolts. and no messy torque arms!

i put the hs3540 on there. i'd put it together backwards the first time, so it was way offset. so i popped it apart again, measured the bearings for later, and i almost drilled holes in the side cover. i had the drill in my hand and the marks on it, but decided to wait. i want to get that coating first, and possibly try the plug approach?

anyway, the motor will get hot, that's for sure, so i'll have to go easy until i replace the wheel.

the disk fits nicely too, with some spacers. pysched to have 8" hydraulics all around. there is no extra length to the rear. the cable isn't exactly taut, but there's no slack for shaping it anywhere.

the derauilleur's gonna need some help. lowest gear it'll go into is third right now. and i have to flat the tire to get under the derailleur. i'd just unscrew it each time, but it's a bit of a bitch to screw on. i swore i jammed the threads a couple times. but it was other shit in the way. like that small section kiwi drew on it near the bolt head. i cut that off.

anyway, i'm soooo glad i waited.

oh yeah, i forgot to mention that i'd order the shock bushings direct from fox, but two weeks went by and nothing. they f'ed up so are expediting them to me.. and in the meantime, i tossed the manitou back in there. i tightened up all the screws, half-wondering if they'd leaked because they were too loose. and i pumped up the air chamber as well. it was at 75 psi. (or 50!?) i put it up to 150, and the shock is much tighter. and that SPV is much more noticeable. feels like a hardtail! just pushing on it with my hands, i can't get it to depress beyond that point, and when i'm sitting on it, i need to really come down hard on it to make it depress further. who knows, maybe it is ok...

 

[kfong]

Greg, sounds like you are making good progress with the new bike. It's worth getting things right the first time so it remains reliable. Then you only have regular maintenance to do rather than mucking with it all the time. Are you planning to coat the motor with high temp polyurathane? That seems like a good approach to me.

 

[Duc998]

looking real good GC, So rear hydraulics clear ok? My bike came with hayes hydraulics but they are giving me all sorts of issue's with pistons not centering... So I've ordered a new avid code 5 for the front but wondering what to order for the rear.

 

[GCinDC]

rear hydraulics clear ok?

the caliper needs 17mm, and i had to add a spacer on the rotor to have it clear. luckily the caliper sits just below the cover plate screw heads, otherwise it wouldn't clear.

i was going to add another spacer, but there wouldn't be enough room for the hs3540 wire, on the inside! the rotor bolt heads would grind it up!

i did need some washers between caliper and IS adapter too. rather have a better spacer, but seems ok for the moment.

of course i forgot to replace the plastic bits on the axle. no wet ride for her until i sort out those issues. segue:

Are you planning to coat the motor with high temp polyurathane?

you guys take such good care of me. is that what i need? or T-9, as justin writes about on ebikes.ca? i saw the insides painted red somewhere, but can't remember where..

anyway, now with the power train sorted, time to get some power!

i decided not to cannibalize my GT pack, so made cables to parallel and extend the pack leads (soldered join midwire, electrical tape):

and doing individual pack balance charging before closing the hood on the case:

i killed my icharger, so this is a cheap replacement. older balance harnass to the right.

 

[GCinDC]

here's a timelapse of making the parallel cables. i would have preferred crimping a band midwire in order to solder, but couldn't find copper sheet and thought i'd try a thin wire instead. that was a PIA and i found an alligator clip worked better.

maybe not the best method, but considering i used wire nuts to parallel the leads on my last pack, having clipped the original connectors, this is an improvement. i can at least remove them.
[youtube]XrWUqhzrGCE[/youtube]
if you've got a better way, please share a link.

 

[JohnC]

T-9 is a great idea. I use it on my saltwater boat motors under the cowling after freshwater flush. I spray it all over everything that could possible corrode including electrical equipment.

DoctorBass uses the red Rust-Oleum paint.

T-9 pic

 

[Doctorbass]

T-9 is a great idea. I use it on my saltwater boat motors under the cowling after freshwater flush. I spray it all over everything that could possible corrode including electrical equipment.

DoctorBass uses the red Rust-Oleum paint.

T-9 pic

John,
I dont know from where you got this info, but the paint i'm using for the motor is not the cheap canadian tire rust-o-leum paint !

Here is the paint i used.. it's a specialized industrial quality paint for this purpose!

Source: http://www.endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=24830&p=358602&hilit=5305+bearing#p358602

Doc

 

[JohnC]

Sorry DoctorBass, my mistake. I knew it was some sort of anti corrosive paint I saw on one of your old videos.

 

[GCinDC]

I dont know from where you got this info, but the paint i'm using for the motor is not the cheap canadian tire rust-o-leum paint !

come on doc, you can be honest - i've seen your posts over on the crayola forum.

 

[gensem]

+1 on the crayola... way to go Doc!

 

[GCinDC]

i really wanted to keep the controller on the side of the triangle, either in front, or above batt - i'm not sure why - i've always wanted everything in the triangle. i tried this location and found that the ebikes.ca stretchy sleeve covers up the wires nicely.

i mounted the on off switch, added the throttle and 3 speed switch.


i almost had the battery in there before i got yanked away!

i thought i was going to get in a test ride! woohoo.

as you can see there is no play for the rear brake line. gotta get a new one.

i think i should get the large screen CA too, don't you?

 

[Alan B]

Of Course!