Ok to post here with a possible build discussion?

[ebike4healthandfitness]

Another thing I forgot to mention besides q factor is the distance of each pedal to the mid line of the frame. You want this to be as equal as possible.

On the BBSHD the cranks are almost equidistant from the frame center line only on bikes with 68mm BB. On bikes with 100mm BB you will need one of the crank arms (the non drive side one) to have a 16mm offset (which increases q factor) if you want both pedals to be equidistant from the frame center line.

You can find the distance from frame center line by comparing dimensions E and G (in the diagram below) relative to dimension D which is the BB width. Fat bikes with 4" wide tires usually come with 100mm BB so that means subtract 103mm from 190mm to get a distance of 87mm for the non drive side crank. Subtract 87mm (distance of non drive side crank from center line) from 103mm (distance of drive side crank from center line) to get your needed offset of 16mm for the non drive side crank. Fortunately finding a crank arm with ~16mm offset cranks is easy. Combine this 16mm offset non drive side crank with a straight (0mm offset) crank for the drive side and both pedals will be equidistant from the frame center line.

 

[BrianMH13]

I read the comments on the Reddit post of a BBSHD on a Massimo and apparently the bottom bracket was "shaved" to get a good chain alignment.

There is another way to do a crankset drive not using a commercial motor unit. It's with a free coast crankset and a remote motor.

I have a crankset hub for that type of build.

It's not a White Brand but seems like one of the better that are available.

Using this should allow me to keep the Q factor as narrow as the chain line will allow which if I utilize 2,2.5,3" wheels should be pretty much the same or even better than the average pedal bike.

 

[E-HP]

Another thing I forgot to mention besides q factor is the distance of each pedal to the mid line of the frame. You want this to be as equal as possible.

On the BBSHD the cranks are almost equidistant from the frame center line only on bikes with 68mm BB. On bikes with 100mm BB you will need one of the crank arms (the non drive side one) to have a 16mm offset (which increases q factor) if you want both pedals to be equidistant from the frame center line.

Sorry, I had to capture your post by linking to it in my newb FAQ before it gets buried for eternity (unless the new search engine is really good). It forced me to add a motors section, which I've been avoiding.

 

[offGridDownUnder]

A detail I didn't see mentioned yet - try to size your battery so that you only use the capacity from 20% charge to 80-85% charge. This will affect weight and size, course.

Because that's what the capacity will deteriorate to in 1-3 years depending on how you ride and charge it. Usually, that 'larger battery' at the start costs less than a smaller one plus replacing the smaller one. A friend had to replace his battery after one year as he charged it full (dumb charger) all the time.

If you put a BMS with cell balancing in, it seems most of them (if not all) won't balance the cells unless the charge goes to 100%, so you can accommodate this by charging fully once or twice a month and still increase the lifespan of the battery.

I use a Grin Satiator, but as you are on a budget, I've also used a dumb charger to do this - I just kept an eye on the battery level while it was charging and stopped at 80%. It is unsafe to leave a battery on charge overnight, so monitoring the charge is not unreasonable.

If you regularly use the entire capacity of the battery it will die young. It actually costs less, and is also safer, to keep within those ranges.

 

[BrianMH13]

I'm learning about this. I have a bit of understanding on how to charge and use lipo and NiMH. I have a charger that I got for R.C. Models that I think should work great. It's called an iCharger 206b

iCharger 206B | 20 amp Battery charger

iCharger 206B is the mid range iCharger model. Rated at true 20 amps and outputting 300 watts. This ensures that 20amps is available, no matter how big the battery is that's being charged.iCharger 206B is the smallest 300 watt 20amp battery charger available and its unique design will ensure...

www.icharger.co.nz

There is a link to the same charger I have. The manual is there if anyone wanted to look at it in more detail.

I've used it to revive batteries including PB and have barely even gotten into it's features yet.