Kona Stinky W/LightningRods Mid drive 92V 1600 Whr Build

[KONAKID]

OK so this is my long promised build thread' of electrifying my old trusted Kona Stinky Primo (2007) with LightningRods Excellent Mid Drive kit.
This project started out as a School project for my engineering degree - and turned into an obsession.
I have been interested in alternative energy for many years and have read about it extensively, but never built an electric bike before.
My idea was to use my Kona downhill bike that has been gathering dust in storage (as my wild downhilling days are over) as it is verry sturdy and was heavilly upgraded - to make a offroad electric bike. capable of geting me to work and back(a 30 KM uphill comute) on one charge, and to be lots of fun offroad keeping as much of its original agility and capabilities as possible.
From my experience and studies - i know how critical it is to keep "unsprung weight" to a minimum - and to what extremes designers will go to to do this, so a heavy hub motor was out of the question for me, and ready made offroad Ebikes - were either too expensive, or not what i was looking for - or both. and i wanted to "revive" my old downhiller....so it was a mid drive kit for me - and that is how i got to Michaels kit - that is a reasonably priced well thought out system (imho) compared to other mid drives.



Me "flying" on my Stinky, in my downhilling days.

 

[KONAKID]

So my requirements from this build were:
1. to justify the expense - it must be useful ! and get me to work and back, in minimum time - as a commuter. (30 km roundtrip) and this means speed! minimum 70-80 km/hr.
2. to be powerful ! capable of climbing like a " scared monkey" on steep trails and singletracks.
3. To keep as much of the original capabilities of the bike( and its a very capable bike!) like agility and air time..
4. long range..to take long offroad trails of up to 25 km. (this not the same as commuting - it takes less speed but more energy).
5. with all of the above in mind - keep the weight as low as possible.
6. keep the price under 2500$ (including batteries)
7. Keep a High "fun factor" ! the bike should be lots of fun to ride and easy to keep.
8. to serve as my final graduation engineering project.

The "obstacles" to be overcome:
1. The biggest problem was knowledge - as i have never done this before, it was a HUGE ! learning curve for me...spent the first few months just reading! and for that i must thank this amazing forum! and Justin for saving it, and all the wonderful members for their input and help! if you are new to this area - expect to spend a lot! of time reading and learning before you start...if you don't want to waste a lot of time and money on mistakes.( there are plenty of stories here - of this)
2. Choosing a mid drive kit - and checking it will physically fit the bike, and compliment its capabilities.
3. Calculating the primary gearing and battery voltage needed to achieve the speed and power goals i set.
4. choosing the battery chemistry and then the exact battery configuration - to supply the needed voltage and watt hours.
5. Choosing a charging system.
6. importing all of the above, and getting it through customs.