My Stink-E

[Garrick_s]

OK, I've been cruzin this website long enough.
I finally found an old Stinky Dee-Lux.
BMC brushless geared rear hub ~ 1800w motor. Right now it is 48V - 10ah system.
Top speed around 25MPH. Distance I'm guessing around 15 mi.
This is fine for me at this point - I'm looking at doing my rides during my lunch breaks.
So 1 hour of whomp time is perfect.

I am at 90% complete.
Created a battery mount and controller mount, all fitting within the main frame triangle.
I will be making some Plastic frame covers soon.



I will be routing cables this week and should be riding by Thanksgiving.
My main goal with this bike is being stealthy, and being able to blend in with other mountain bikes.
I have SO many local trails that I want to ride on with this bike, and as soon as someone sees that it's electric, the red flags will go up. So Incognito is of most importance.
Even purist Mountain bikers won't like us. I've read on some MTB forums, where they don't like the idea of electric bikes on the trails. They feel it is blasphemy. So Hikers and Bikers will be against this idea.

Anyway, Here it is (Another STINKY :wink: ).
I will post more as she gets finished and will also post my excursions.

Any input would be greatly appreciated as I am a true NOOBY.

Thanks.

G

 

[chroot]

Ohh kickass, Nice and beautiful ebike

-- Just ignore whoever don't like the idea of e-bike on the trails. I would call them dumbass (No offense), E-bike is beautiful green environment and one day they will change their mind the idea of e-bike on the trails - who knows.

I've read on some MTB forums, where they don't like the idea of electric bikes on the trails. They feel it is blasphemy. So Hikers and Bikers will be against this idea.

 

[Garrick_s]

Thanks Chroot!

Still a work in progress (but aren't they all).

Already looking into how I will bump it up to 72v too

 

[SoMoney]

Now that's a sexy e-bike!

Any updates or new pictures? That Battery pack in the picture looks like 4 x 22.2v Lipos.
Hows it on climbing?

 

[Garrick_s]

Thanks SoMoney....

Right now I'm in the middle of a complete re-wire and side cover design.
I am going to put together a photo essay showing a little more detail on the stuff I fabricated and how it all goes together.
The Batteries are 2 - 24v LiPos in series for 48V (my CA reads 51V at a full charge) @ 10Ah.

Steep hills are do-able with a little peddle assist.
At full throttle and in the big chain ring - I can go up a local road which is close to 100% grade (almost 45deg angle) and climb up it at about 7mph.
I have ridden up this hill on a regular bike and had to granny gear it and BARELY made it up without having to push......So 7mph is not bad at all.
Rolling inclines are a breeze when at speed with really good torque.
top speed right now is about 25MPH which is more than enough for the trails around here.

Coming from a Dirt bike back ground but also an avid Mountain biker, I have come to learn to ride this as a Hi-bred of both disciplines.
You still need to peddle in certain areas (off the start, and help on steep inclines).
Once in it's "sweet spot" in RPM's, she really goes.
Picking up the front wheel over dips and holes and rocks with no problem.
While rolling at a good pace, when timed right, great lift-off for jumps.

This bike is for dirt use. Not commuting or street buzzing (although it is fun as an urban assault vehicle).
My biggest problem is staying under the radar.
Maybe it's how fast I'm going by people, or the big black thing in the middle of the bike.....not sure


Here is a ROUGH cardboard side panel design.


Here is what I'm shooting for on the final shape of the side panels with some vents for the controller.
Panels will be made of ABS plastic. A left and Right side. Held in place with Velcro straps at 3 main points.


I'm going to ride it like this for a while, but have plans to bump it up to 72V.
I have some ideas for mounting the controller up in the front forks and add one more 24V LiPo in series (along with a new controller).
Thats gonna cost some coin, so I will wait a bit.

10Ah is OK for me right now.
My plan is to ride this on the local trails on my lunch breaks during the week (weekdays means less hikers and bikers).
Whomp hard for an hour and I'm good.

Thanks again.

G

 

[Barry]

Garric_s

Your build looks great: very masculine chiseled look.

After looking at your pictures I wished my new build had rear suspension.

I am also in the process of building side covers with ABS plastic. I’ll be interested in seeing pictures of your finished product.

I use my e-bikes as my main transportation. In the last year I have ridden 5000 miles around town. I get a lot of positive comments from people and a few negative. Just enjoy the building and the ridding and ignore anything that doesn’t add to the experience.

Barry

 

[kfong]

Nice job. I've been very happy with the BMC motor on mine. Can't wait till spring so I can ride again. Too cold here in Mich. and too much snow. I like how you hid the controller, would of liked a pic of the setup before the battery covers to see how you packed everthing in. I only had room for batteries in my triangle area. My max speed is 20mph at 40 volts, but I have a total of 24 amp/hrs. which allows me to ride all afternoon in the trails. Most people can't tell I'm riding an electric bike, so keeping as stealthy it as possible works out great. I've even rode past park rangers without any issues.

 

[67spyder]

Where I live, ebikes are legally bicycles (you even get a bicycle license for them). This means they are legal on the bike paths. My wife's ebike looks more like an antique Vespa than a bicycle, totally NOT stealth. Both she and I have seen and waved to the cops while riding on the bike path and they just smile and wave back. Out of the hundreds of ppl we have seen only 2 have reacted negativly and both were to my wife who is 5'0" and 95Lbs. I guess it is easier for a closed minded man to spout off to a tiny woman than to me. My point is to agree with the previous comment that you should enjoy the good and ignore the bad! BTW that bike of yours rocks!

 

[Garrick_s]

Sorry for the bad pics.
Here are some close ups of the things I did so far.
I hope to have the side panels done this weekend.

 

[Garrick_s]

Finally got my side panels done.




Maybe the weather will cooperate this weekend and I can go whomping.

 

[nicobie]

Those side covers turned out NICE!

Cool looking bike. I bet it handles well too.

 

[Hyena]

Nice build, those side covers look great. Did you have them professionally made or did you make them yourself ?
The bike will really rock with another lipo pack whacked in series but the BMC might not take it well

 

[SoMoney]

Great Skinz! You're covering your logo though... Get some spray templates from harbor freight and paint E-STINKY on each side

2 x 24v 10AH Lipo's in series = 48V 10AH. Your pictured cells don't look big enough for 10AH....
What Brand of Lipo's did you buy/build? How does it look when your charging?

 

[Garrick_s]

Hyena,
I did them myself. very easy actually. They are held on with velcro (I'll post some detailed pics on how I did that)
I would LOVE to bump it up to 72V but I agree with you on the BMC being at it's limit.
I'm running this motor into the ground. After that, I was looking at the Hadron, you have on your web site.
I like that one (without the regen if possible). Maybe this spring......

SoMoney,
sorry, no stickers on this one to call attention to it. :wink:

First off - I am CLUE-LESS when it comes to batteries.......I need to spend a few nights reading some posts on LiPos.

I got the batteries and motor from a business called Hi-power Cycles here in SoCal.
NO idea what brand the batteries are. The chargers supplied, only have a red light or green light.
So no info on individual cells while charging or anything like that.....very basic.
I have been looking at some of the higher end chargers that give you cell info etc. during charging.
I need to do that soon I think.

Lots of lessons learned with this first build.
SO my attitude with this bike right now is.......RIDE IT LIKE YOU STOLE IT
The bike itself rocks and will handle anything I throw at it. And the current layout of everything makes it handle like a dream. Right now it sits at 63lbs. total weight.
It rips on the local single tracks and fire roads.....just what I wanted.

 

[deecanio]

Nice work garrick_s,

Bike looks awesome and now some video please


So money,

it's stink-E :wink:

D

 

[SoMoney]

lol, Stink-E; I like that (STINK'E, STINK'e, and other variants)...
I can't wait to see how you made that Battery Tray and side skinz. I'm converting a Giant NRS1 and we have similar frame geometry.

On the battery discussion, now that I think about it I bet those 24v packs are actually 2 22.2V 6S1P packs wrapped in a 6S2P configuration (145x52x46mm x2). With a 2 x 6S2P configuration, you would read 50.4V Peak off a charge with 44.4v nominal.

 

[Garrick_s]

I like it !! Stink-E
I updated the Post title even.

 

[deecanio]

Garrick_s,

I feel honoured

SoMoney,

Looking forward to the NRS1 build too,

D

 

[patrickza]

Cool another Kona for the club. You've done well with those covers, how did you make them?

Those frames are really great for packing things inside. I can't think of another full suspension frame with more space. I've got 72v10AH inside the triangle of my frame. Also spent a few days cycling with a cardboard cutout.

 

[Garrick_s]

Here are some better pics from my ride yesterday....







The panels start out as .125" thick ABS plastic sheet.
I created a cardboard template and then cut the ABS sheet to that size.
I went to a local plastic shop and purchased a "strip heater" ( a 2' long rubber strip about an inch wide).
I lay the plastic over the strip heater and clamp it down. Once the plastic is heated up, I bend to the proper angle.

Since all the components are mounted to the frame itself, the panels are holding no weight other than themselves.
So the Velcro strips hold the panels to the frame quite nicely. The ABS is nice and stiff and will take quite an impact without breaking too.

Grant it, it's not too hot out this time of the year.......So how well will the Adhesive Velcro strips adhere to the frame and plastic panels during the summer??? Don't know yet. But I have pulled the panels off and on again quite a few times with no sign of the adhesive letting go.

 

[Kingfish]

That faring looks great! The only thing I worry about is the heat; perhaps you could augment the front portion of your panels with a bezel similar to what water-cooled motocross bikes use to duct more airflow through the radiator. Also, consider applying aluminum tape 2 to 4 inches wide inside of your panels directly opposite of the controller to reflect the IR and save the panel from excessive heat and deformation.

Really snazzy look there; touché! 8)
~KF

 

[briogio]

Hey Garrick_s,
You've done a beautiful job of exactly what I want to do, E-dh-bike out of a Stinky :wink: , I love the covers, I might louvre mine and I might use a shock without reservoir just for a bit more room, but really nice job. Did you get your E-stuff as a kit, or did you put it together yourself? Everything working well?
Brilliant, bloody BRILLIANT!!!

 

[Garrick_s]

Thanks Briogio and Kingfish.....

My original plans for the side panels include cooling vents on the sides to get air flow to the controller.
But on the last few rides, the controller has remained fairly cool.
I can always add them later.

I did purchase the Hub motor/batteries/controller/throttle as a "kit"
and everything is working OK........it has it's limitations.

as usual, I want more power

The problem I will run into (as I am sure everyone will)......
Everything I do to this bike that is based on this particular "kit", will change if I go up to another kit or go up in power (more batteries, different controller etc).
so this is all very "custom" for these components.
So if I go to different batteries and controller, my batter cradle and side panels may be obsolete.
Fortunately, the side panels were relatively easy to make and I have extra material.
SO when I DO make a change, I can redo panels accordingly.
I have ideas for mounting the controller to the front forks too - to make room for more batteries (more power).

Thanks again for the kind words.

G

 

[John in CR]

Garrick,

Outstanding Stink-E ! I'm still kicking myself for passing on the only large triangle used Stinky I've seen for sale down here, and yours really drives it home. LOL. As you go to more power and need more batts, the most commonly overlooked place is along the top of the top tube. It's not a kick stand kind of bike anyway, so a bit of top weight is of little consequence.

Can I ask why you specifically don't want regen braking? You can easily put a switch in the circuit for regen free riding whenever you want, or enable/disable via programming option. As you go for higher speeds brake wear increases dramatically, which is the biggest benefit of regen for me. It also means I can slow from highway speeds, even coming down a mountain, with no brake fade at all.

 

[Garrick_s]

Garrick, Can I ask why you specifically don't want regen braking?

Hello John,

This is my first kit and I wanted to keep it simple and cheap to start.
My other reasoning for "without" is that my riding time is so short. I can only get out for maybe 2 to 2.5 hours MAX on any given day.
That said, The regen to the batteries that I may gain, would be minimal and really pointless. Long, all-day rides on the streets, I can totally see it's benefits.

I agree with you on the reduced wear on the actual brakes too.
But in my particular situation, Single track riding just has so many quick variables in the terrain and my down hills and up hills are so sporadic and quick that I just don't have the time to be switching back and forth (on/off) with the regen for any noticeable gain.

Maybe the next build.