layzbones
1 mW
Documenting my fist build here, been wanting to get into eBikes for a while now, and finally decided to pull the trigger after weeks of reading and head scratching. The purpose of the bike is mostly for joy riding around the city, having fun and learning the basics of the technology that's out there. I live in San Francisco where very step hills (the kind where they cut steps in the sidewalk) and strong headwinds are no joke, so a powerful rig is required.
We have a Faraday Porteur at work that we can take around the city for errands, which was my first exposure to E-bikes. Really liked the Faraday due to it's simplicity and smooth pedal assist (torque based). I'd like to set mine up with torque-based assist at some point, but going to start with throttle and eventually add a THUN bottom bracket torque sensor.
Hoping to keep the budget at less than $1500.
The Bike - 2012 Marin Muirwoods "29er" - I'm a huge fan of steel frames, big wheels, and this one is super stealthy and not covered in ugly logos. Picked it up on CL for $300 in great shape. Added fenders and replaced the tires with Geax Evolution 29er Tire - 29 x 1.9
The Motor - Magic Pie II 48V - purchased from lighly used from Neptronix in the used section of this forum. No internal controller. Conveniently pre-laced to a 29er rim, upgraded phase wires and and shipped with a 7-speed freewheel. $177 shipped. Thanks Nep!
The Controller - 12fet Lyen - purchased directly from Lyen with a lot of other bits that I needed: throttle, 3-speed switch, torque arm, brake levers
Battery - this is the only item left to figure out. Was originally looking at a "high-discharge" BSMbattery.com li-ion but they don't seem to have the greatest reputation here, so I decided not to go with them. I'm likely going to go the LiPo route, since fun is the goal and then I can really dump some current into it. Looking at 2x HK 16Ahr 6S 10C but still doing research. I'll do a detailed post here once I get my batteries figured out. Thanks Nep for all the help!
The batteries and controller will be stored in a Revelate Tangle frame bag. I've alreayd received this, and while it's slightly too long to fit on the top tube, it fits really well on the down tube. Plus that will get my CG lower too. You can see that there's plenty of room for the 2 lipos, controller and the inevitable rats nest of wires... Plus there's a little port at the top for the wires to go in (probably for a hydration bladder). Really great quality bag.
Motor should get here next week, but I'll be in and out for a few weeks for vacation, so it may be a slow build. But I'll use this area to show progress, results and most importantly ask a bunch of questions!
Current Total: $827
Bike - $300
Tires and Fenders - $115
Motor + rim + freewheel - $177 shipped
Controller, torque arm and other bits - $235 shipped
Left to buy:
Cycle Analyst V3 - $150
Lipos, wiring and chargers - $400?
Projected total: $1377
That's where I'm at now, thanks to everyone here for being so helpful... The info can sometimes be hard to find, but most of it is out there if you do a little digging...
We have a Faraday Porteur at work that we can take around the city for errands, which was my first exposure to E-bikes. Really liked the Faraday due to it's simplicity and smooth pedal assist (torque based). I'd like to set mine up with torque-based assist at some point, but going to start with throttle and eventually add a THUN bottom bracket torque sensor.
Hoping to keep the budget at less than $1500.
The Bike - 2012 Marin Muirwoods "29er" - I'm a huge fan of steel frames, big wheels, and this one is super stealthy and not covered in ugly logos. Picked it up on CL for $300 in great shape. Added fenders and replaced the tires with Geax Evolution 29er Tire - 29 x 1.9
The Motor - Magic Pie II 48V - purchased from lighly used from Neptronix in the used section of this forum. No internal controller. Conveniently pre-laced to a 29er rim, upgraded phase wires and and shipped with a 7-speed freewheel. $177 shipped. Thanks Nep!
The Controller - 12fet Lyen - purchased directly from Lyen with a lot of other bits that I needed: throttle, 3-speed switch, torque arm, brake levers
Battery - this is the only item left to figure out. Was originally looking at a "high-discharge" BSMbattery.com li-ion but they don't seem to have the greatest reputation here, so I decided not to go with them. I'm likely going to go the LiPo route, since fun is the goal and then I can really dump some current into it. Looking at 2x HK 16Ahr 6S 10C but still doing research. I'll do a detailed post here once I get my batteries figured out. Thanks Nep for all the help!
The batteries and controller will be stored in a Revelate Tangle frame bag. I've alreayd received this, and while it's slightly too long to fit on the top tube, it fits really well on the down tube. Plus that will get my CG lower too. You can see that there's plenty of room for the 2 lipos, controller and the inevitable rats nest of wires... Plus there's a little port at the top for the wires to go in (probably for a hydration bladder). Really great quality bag.
Motor should get here next week, but I'll be in and out for a few weeks for vacation, so it may be a slow build. But I'll use this area to show progress, results and most importantly ask a bunch of questions!
Current Total: $827
Bike - $300
Tires and Fenders - $115
Motor + rim + freewheel - $177 shipped
Controller, torque arm and other bits - $235 shipped
Left to buy:
Cycle Analyst V3 - $150
Lipos, wiring and chargers - $400?
Projected total: $1377
That's where I'm at now, thanks to everyone here for being so helpful... The info can sometimes be hard to find, but most of it is out there if you do a little digging...
