Genesis V2100 MTB build

[migueralliart]

I just want to say thank you for all the knowledge I've gathered for the past year. It has helped me get to where I am and to build my bike to my requirements.

The bike is a simple cheap wally world bike called genesis V2100 with front disc brakes and rear v brakes. Since this is my first build I wanted to keep it simple and cheap so I didn't change any components.

Picture of the bike as it shipped ($150 shipped from the walmart online store)

And assembled with a topeak rear rack and bag

Now since I live in Florida I don't really need crazy torque or voltage for now, a simple 36V DD kit is everything I need. I ordered my kit from campsolutions (AOTEMA motor) for 220$. I had to do some truing to the wheel but other than that the kit is really simple to install. It comes with a 18 amp sensorless controller that gets you to 22 mph throttle and cables. Since the wheel I got was silver I took the liberty of painting it black to match my front one.

Some pics of the progress

Aotema DD motor

Disassembled bike

PAinting the wheel

And bike semi-assembled with rear hub and controller

So after all that it was time for batteries, I went the simple way of adding a small pack inside the triangle by using recycled laptop 18650 batteries inspired by this thread http://endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=26383

The batteries I selected are samsung pink cells which have 2.6Ah capacity. The laptop battery packs I got were in a really good condition so after I assembled my pack (10S6P) the capacity test was more than 14 Ah to 3.5V when the first cell reached LVC. I selected cells by an extensive and exhausting cell testing process. Got 5S balance connectors and andersons off ebay. Anyway here are some pictures of the battery pack


6P bricks

And of course I followed the tradition of using gorilla tape to tie the battery to the triangle

And the "almost" done ebike

The bike is currently a Single Speed and still has the derailleur as a chain tensioner. My next step is to remove the derailleurs and shifters and add a dedicated chain tensioner. I need to find a single speed crankset for MTB that'll give me a better acceleration. I do all the accelerations on this bike and only use the motor for cruising which helps the battery a LOT specially with these 1C 18650 cells, but for my application they work pretty well. So far I did a short 2 mile test and by doing accelerations myself and almost no pedaling while cruising I did ~.5 Ah/mile on my watt meter

This is my first build so feel free to add your feedback to help me improve. I am in the process of rearranging the wiring and adding braided sleeves for stealthiness.

Cost summary:


Bike - 150$ with free shipping to store and no tax from Walmart

Topeak rack and bag - ~60$ shipped from amazon

Cheap but functional Cycle computer - 7$ shipped from ebay
Ebike kit - 220$ shipped from ebay

Battery - 115$
Purchased a lot of 28- 5.2Ah as is laptop batteries for 50$ shipped. Each one had 6 cells total 168 cells out of which only ~110 were in really GOOD shape my 36V triangle battery pack uses 60 cells so I still have some more in case I want to make it a 48V
Balancing plugs were purchased on ebay for less than 10 $ shipped
Andersons I purchased a lot of 10 pairs for 14$ shippped
Gorilla tape - 8$ from local autozone
Hard Foam Board for enclosure - 3$ from local walmart
Big tie wrap assortment 10$ from harbor freight
Purchased a bunch of lipo alarms for ~3 each off ebay as well so lets say 20$ for 5

Wiring , fuses , etc
I have 50% discount at the shack so most of this was really cheap I am gonna put 40$ for the total quantity

Charger -
Imax B6 off ebay for 23$ shipped
Radioshack power supply 13.8V 19 amps 40$

Battery Cover -
Velcro tapes and nylon cloth was around 20$ from a local johan fabrics store

To total is 675$ for a 36V 750watt kit running strong. I could've saved some money here and there but I kind of like each of the components so.

I also purchased an icharger 3010b+ but I am not going to put it in the cost as this was extra luxury and my pack is built as two 5S packs that i charge with the Imax.



Stuff I want to upgrade :

Tires to semi-slick tires
Front and rear brakes
Remove deraileurs and shifters



EDIT - Tue Jan 17, 2012


Couple of pics of the bike with more light, upgraded the front disc and used andersons to make a battery harness that connects my 2 packs in series and without it I charge with a 2 - 5s parallel setup which is easy to connect to the charger, will post more pics of the setup later. Also ordered some braided split sleeving which will make the bike so much cleaner.

EDIT - Tue Jan 28, 2012

Got the kenda k838 tires for both front and rear. Also purchased avenir thorn resistant tubes, rear v brakes cool stop mtb shoes, rear fender, 1200 lumen bike LED light and everything is installed. The lbs did a bit of truing on the rear wheel for 15$. Now at 25mph there is no sense of wobbling AT ALL.

BTW I think amazon does a really stupid job at choosing their box sizes I mean they sent these tires in individual boxes when they could've send them in one box.

Comparison with the old cheap tires

EDIT - Tue Feb 22, 2012


Made a 5S2P A123 4.6 Ah Booster Pack for my morning commute. It turns out that during the morning when I commute to work I ride a straight road 7 miles long and the total one way distance is 7.7 miles. I usually leave my apartment @ 6am and at that time there are virtually NO cars on the road. So I think during the morning I can take advantage of this Booster Pack and then remove it at work and charge the main 36V pack in the triangle if there seems to be a need for it. During the afternoon there is much more traffic and I always keep it below 22mph. This pack gets me 30mph steady and the voltage sag on the main pack is not bad at all. For a couple miles I don't hit 3.7V on the li-io pack. I started with a 2.3AH booster pack but that only gave me like 4 miles so I added a second string of A123's and enclosed it in a project box. Now I love my bike even more. I've attached some pics of the pack.

Good thing is I still have more than half the space on my rear topeak bag.

 

[ohzee]

man that looks good - great job making it all blend and putting together that battery pack.
I have a lot of those batteries from old laptops myself , but I'm just using them for flash lights mostly.

Your lucky to be down south so many days when you can go riding tho some of those are pretty damn hot.

I seen someone in the new sales section selling swing arms for that bike so it's nice down the road if you wanted
to upgrade you have those options.

Thanks for sharing

 

[wesnewell]

When I looked at this bike I seem to remember it had aluminum dropouts and I don't see any torque arms on yours. Am I mistaken?

 

[migueralliart]

When I looked at this bike I seem to remember it had aluminum dropouts and I don't see any torque arms on yours. Am I mistaken?

The rear is steel. Another member named cohberg has this frame with a much more powerful setup without torque arms with no problems so far.

 

[cohberg]

Looks like you are well on your way. Another thing you might want to add to your to do list is to replace the pedals. Mine + lots of other peoples' broke under light usage in a couple days.
As for semi-slicks I'd recommend the Kenda K838. They decrease rolling resistance a lot, corner very well, and give very good high speed stability.

 

[migueralliart]

Looks like you are well on your way. Another thing you might want to add to your to do list is to replace the pedals. Mine + lots of other peoples' broke under light usage in a couple days.
As for semi-slicks I'd recommend the Kenda K838. They decrease rolling resistance a lot, corner very well, and give very good high speed stability.

Yep forgot to mention the pedals, thank God I only ride this bike for a couple of miles as a test. Do you have any recommendations for a good pedal set (preferably platform) since I plan on commuting to work (4 miles each way) in a couple of months.

Those Kenda K838 are really good I'm gonna pair that with some thorn resistant tubes. Those tires are 17$ each from amazon , so if I buy 2 I get free shipping.

Thanks for the input.

 

[cohberg]

Do you have any recommendations for a good pedal set (preferably platform) since I plan on commuting to work (4 miles each way) in a couple of months.

Sorry i don't, I just cannonballized my other bike for them. But if you are going to pedal, get either something you can clip into or has toe clips (due to the higher speeds you will be going). But definitely something made of metal, its just a safety thing.

I'm gonna pair that with some thorn resistant tubes.

Thats good. Also make sure they are high psi rated as well.

 

[miro13car]

I commend you for taking time, effort and knowlwdge NOT to mount battery on rear rack like others, much lower COG much better handling, getting on bike, etc.
However it is cheap, cheap build which will not last very long.This kind of bicycles don't last long unless you constantly patch them up, and upgrate components one after another.

 

[migueralliart]

I commend you for taking time, effort and knowlwdge NOT to mount battery on rear rack like others, much lower COG much better handling, getting on bike, etc.
However it is cheap, cheap build which will not last very long.This kind of bicycles don't last long unless you constantly patch them up, and upgrate components one after another.

I somewhat doubt it will not last. This is a mountain bike that I am using as a ROAD bike so it is not really being punished everysingle day. To me safety comes first and that is why I plan on upgrading the brakes and tires.

 

[GITech]

When I looked at this bike I seem to remember it had aluminum dropouts and I don't see any torque arms on yours. Am I mistaken?

The rear is steel. Another member named cohberg has this frame with a much more powerful setup without torque arms with no problems so far.

A magnet doesn't stick to the dropouts or any part of the rear suspension, so it must be alu.

Nice simple build!

Thanks for sharing,
Jay

 

[migueralliart]

When I looked at this bike I seem to remember it had aluminum dropouts and I don't see any torque arms on yours. Am I mistaken?

The rear is steel. Another member named cohberg has this frame with a much more powerful setup without torque arms with no problems so far.

A magnet doesn't stick to the dropouts or any part of the rear suspension, so it must be alu.

Nice simple build!

Thanks for sharing,
Jay

I'll try to confirm this later, right now for the power I'm putting it is not a concern.

 

[richirich1113]

I have to chime in because i disagree with those Kenda 838, i have a set of those and they are not really a good tire. They are an extremly thin tire. they might be ok if you only drove in a staight line. They have a sharp corner where the tread and the side wall start. Look closely at the amazon pics since now you know what to look at and you will see what i mean. I thought the same thing at first , a good price , tread looks good. but when you have them in your hand you will wish you didnt waste the money on them tires.
Just thought id give you a heads up on that tire.

 

[migueralliart]

I have to chime in because i disagree with those Kenda 838, i have a set of those and they are not really a good tire. They are an extremly thin tire. they might be ok if you only drove in a staight line. They have a sharp corner where the tread and the side wall start. Look closely at the amazon pics since now you know what to look at and you will see what i mean. I thought the same thing at first , a good price , tread looks good. but when you have them in your hand you will wish you didnt waste the money on them tires.
Just thought id give you a heads up on that tire.

What did u end up using instead? I am looking to ride this tire close to 10 miles daily when I have the bike tested and ready. So far I've gone close to 7 non continuous miles and all the cells on the battery are 3.9V or more. I am expecting when it gets to 3.7 that's where the most capacity can be pulled from it so I am expecting 20 miles out of a pack the way I am riding it.

 

[richirich1113]

Since i believe you said its going to be a road bike, What i would recomend is the - Schwalbe Marathon, performance line green gaurd 26x 1.75 E-bike rated tires. Of course they are going to cost more than thoose kenda's but you are getting what you pay for, they have top rate puncture protection and are e-bike rated For maintaining a little hugher speed and wear longivity. Ive attached the picture of my bike so you can see that i actually have them on my bike and not just talking. They perform very well for me and i ride usally always over 30 mph, And 15 mile roud trip rides to my college.

 

[migueralliart]

Since i believe you said its going to be a road bike, What i would recomend is the - Schwalbe Marathon, performance line green gaurd 26x 1.75 E-bike rated tires. Of course they are going to cost more than thoose kenda's but you are getting what you pay for, they have top rate puncture protection and are e-bike rated For maintaining a little hugher speed and wear longivity. Ive attached the picture of my bike so you can see that i actually have them on my bike and not just talking. They perform very well for me and i ride usally always over 30 mph, And 15 mile roud trip rides to my college.

That tire is 37$ , I think I'll stick to the kenda's and probably add a good puncture resistance tire tape and normal tubes.

 

[richirich1113]

it was just a suggestion, but really if your gonna find a cheaper tire dont get those kenda's they are paper thin and like i said that sharp ridge on the sidewall is not good. I have those tires on another bike and i really wish i didnt waste the money on them. At least look for something different. IMHO
Also with the cost of a good rim tape, i believe to be aroud $20 so the good tires are only going to be maby $20-25 more wouldnt that be worth the piece of mind? And the schwalbe will last you thru 2 or 3 sets of the kendas so in the long run a better tire is a good investment. Im just hating to see someone waste their money on those kendas.

P.S. Just a thought..when i bought those tires off amazon they didnt have those extra pictures of the tires on a bike. I think now it is just an attemp to sell those crappy tires by tring to make them look good.

 

[migueralliart]

I looked around some websites but besides those 2 options the rest of the brands are too expensive with the exception of the sunlite kwest (which is a cheap brand). I agree with you that the Schwalbe Marathon is a premium tire and it is probably one of the best with the exception of the armadillo. I just need a tire that's cheap to replace and can withstand abuse being used as a MTB road tire. I just hate to spend close to 80$ on tires when I know the bike costs 150$ brand new. If this was a trek or a more expensive bike I'd probably buy em.

 

[richirich1113]

i can understand the point of putting $80 tires on a $150 bike. Your life rides on your tires no matter what the bike cost. Those kenda are the thinnest tire i have ever seen, They will not take any abuse. You have to relise also that your ebike weighs more and goes faster than a regular bike. Its kinda like this, why would you want to worry about tire failures , and having to change them often cuz of being worn out fast. I think in the long run buying a quality tire will more than pay for itself. Even still your bike is quite nice ,why would you have it run on junk tires?


And by the way , why are you thinking of changing the tires you have on it now?

 

[migueralliart]

i can understand the point of putting $80 tires on a $150 bike. Your life rides on your tires no matter what the bike cost. Those kenda are the thinnest tire i have ever seen, They will not take any abuse. You have to relise also that your ebike weighs more and goes faster than a regular bike. Its kinda like this, why would you want to worry about tire failures , and having to change them often cuz of being worn out fast. I think in the long run buying a quality tire will more than pay for itself. Even still your bike is quite nice ,why would you have it run on junk tires?


And by the way , why are you thinking of changing the tires you have on it now?

You can't expect a 150$ mountain bike to come with good tires. Besides the tires are for off roading I want semi slicks for street use. Which is the whole point of buying a cheap bike. I bought this thing "knowing" already that I was going to ditch the deraileurs both front and rear and shifters making it a single speed. So that leaves me to the other important component, suspension. I know a 150$ MTB is good enough for normal hardtrails but not for downhilling so the cheap suspension components don't bother me since I am going to be street riding. The next component are brakes, front mechanical disc brakes when adjusted performed to my needs and rear V brakes are doing fine. Stopping from 22mph is not hard. Then comes the rims, I have not heard of a rim failure on a street mild use build here on the forums so my take is that the oem front rim is good enough and the rear I got it trued and is well balanced. So that leaves me to the tires.. which is my whole argument here , do I need 80$ tires NO. I'd probably buy something harder/better than the kendas but buying 80$ tires is a no go on this build. Is like upgrading the front brake to an avid Elixir , kind of overkill.

 

[richirich1113]

Okay cool, point taken. My whole deal was really to just inform you of the crappyness of the kendas and being disapointed like i was with them.

 

[wesnewell]

That tire is 37$ , I think I'll stick to the kenda's and probably add a good puncture resistance tire tape and normal tubes.

I went through about 6 models before I found these.
http://www.amazon.com/CST-Cyclops-Tire-2-4-BLK/dp/B002SG53RE

 

[migueralliart]

That tire is 37$ , I think I'll stick to the kenda's and probably add a good puncture resistance tire tape and normal tubes.

I went through about 6 models before I found these.
http://www.amazon.com/CST-Cyclops-Tire-2-4-BLK/dp/B002SG53RE

THANKS for that !!!

Here's their selection of city/urban tires
http://www.csttires.com/Bicycle/CityCommuter.aspx

Nice find man... Now I am confused on which one to pick

 

[cohberg]

I'd have to disagree with the Kenda 838 assessments.

Let me preface this my saying that they definatly are not premium tires, nor are they the very best on the market. However, I like to state that the statement about them being razor thin and the sharp jut on the sidewall is categorically false.

The tires are more of a triangular profile rather than the almost square sounding tire described. Its broadly similar to the profile of a Dunlop TT100 motorcycle tire. When riding straight, the narrow "point" of the triangle contacts the road, giving a lower resistance. As the bike banks over for turns, the broad "flank" of the triangle gradually spreads across the road, giving a broader contact area and better grip. Unless you are riding the bike unloaded and at a 45 degree angle i don't see how the edge would be even close to the ground.

I ride stupid. I ride fast. I also ride stupid fast while cornering. Go look at my helmet vids. I have over 600 miles on them and the tread and the tires are in good shape.

All in all they are a good tire. Cheap price wise, yes. "Crappy tires" defenitly not. Not saying you have to buy them, just if you need a good commuting set for a low price i would recommend.

 

[migueralliart]

I'd have to disagree with the Kenda 838 assessments.

Let me preface this my saying that they definatly are not premium tires, nor are they the very best on the market. However, I like to state that the statement about them being razor thin and the sharp jut on the sidewall is categorically false.

The tires are more of a triangular profile rather than the almost square sounding tire described. Its broadly similar to the profile of a Dunlop TT100 motorcycle tire. When riding straight, the narrow "point" of the triangle contacts the road, giving a lower resistance. As the bike banks over for turns, the broad "flank" of the triangle gradually spreads across the road, giving a broader contact area and better grip. Unless you are riding the bike unloaded and at a 45 degree angle i don't see how the edge would be even close to the ground.

I ride stupid. I ride fast. I also ride stupid fast while cornering. Go look at my helmet vids. I have over 600 miles on them and the tread and the tires are in good shape.

All in all they are a good tire. Cheap price wise, yes. "Crappy tires" defenitly not. Not saying you have to buy them, just if you need a good commuting set for a low price i would recommend.

I just pulled the trigger on amazon for the kendas I think they'll do just fine after all if you are running them at crazy speeds and they work well I don't see why they shouldn't for commuting @ 22mph

 

[cohberg]

Lol, i'm confused. You have the Aotema. edit:Thats sensorless. I also remember reading somewhere that you also have a yescomusa kit and that you are planning to run it with the Hua Tong? Did you end up getting two hubs?