Picking a frame for my new build

[Bigbikebob]

I am retrying my 26' magic pie3 based ride(after more then 10 years of honorable service) and starting to think about my next project. My current ride was based on regular mountain bike for which I created a custom made enclosure to be attached to the frame and hold battery and frame. This time I would like to get a dedicated frame that was designed for ebikes in mind.

I came across two companies with following options::
- TYPHOON FRAME by vector (hub motor)
- VORTEX FRAME by vector( mid drive, more expensive option).
- Q140MD Moto Seat Frame kit by qulbix(mid drive)

And wanted your opinion on the companies and the frames, and of course I am open to hear about other options.

 

[gromike]

Links would be nice. What's your budget? It looks to me, with frame, forks, wheels, motor, battery, and the extra dodads you'll be north of $4,000.
Is this off-road or street? You could probably buy a pre-made bike for less. I bought an 80+mph emoto for $6,000 14 months ago.

 

[neptronix]

From a legal standpoint, i'd be hesitant to recommend an ebike frame that looks more like a motorcycle.
This increases your chances of getting caught up in anti-ebike hysteria.

My answer would be none, but i don't know the intricacies of your legal environment. I'm imagining they are not too different than the ones in some parts of highly populated parts of the USA.

 

[Bigbikebob]

Links would be nice. What's your budget? It looks to me, with frame, forks, wheels, motor, battery, and the extra dodads you'll be north of $4,000.
Is this off-road or street? You could probably buy a pre-made bike for less. I bought an 80+mph emoto for $6,000 14 months ago.

I have updated my original post with direct links. I am flexable when it comes to bodged, I am fine with $4k++ as long as I get what I need. My current build coast about $3k++.

My use is street, with no off road plans. I also don"t see the need to go faster then 40km/h, but I do need the torque as I have very steap train to climb.

 

[Bigbikebob]

From a legal standpoint, i'd be hesitant to recommend an ebike frame that looks more like a motorcycle.
This increases your chances of getting caught up in anti-ebike hysteria.

My answer would be none, but i don't know the intricacies of your legal environment. I'm imagining they are not too different than the ones in some parts of highly populated parts of the USA.

You do have a point, and I myself would also prefer to avoid any attention(although the rules and their reinforcement in my country are very different then major metropolitan in the USA). And I think that TYPHOON FRAME does looks like a mountain bike and you will need to give it a longer look to see it is not.

Having said that, The small 20" ebikes(350W/500W) that do not attract any attention are mostly toys for my city terrain and are out of the question. so I don"t have much choice but to get something more "serious", I just want something more polished then my current build.

 

[neptronix]

Typhoon frame is closer... but consider what you could pull off with a regular bike frame.. here's some of my builds.



This one has 6kw of power and tops out at 100kph / 60mph


This one uses a MAC motor and has 2kw of power

Battery not shown but this is a 1.5kw peak mid drive.. unfortunately this one is a bit loud but there's updated gears that cut the sound..



Could easily fit 2kwhrs or above into one of these 29er hard tail frames with today's tech.. get a nice suspension seat post and a frame bag and you've got a fast, stealth ride.

 

[Bigbikebob]

@neptronix those are some nice builds. And I am aware what can be done with regular bike frame. Here is my current build



I am just looking to take it to the more refined level. As I mentioned I am not looking for pumping my next build so it would do 80kkm/h

 

[neptronix]

What kind of top speed and range are you looking for?
How hilly is your riding?

 

[neptronix]

BTW those treks are great frames, the one unfortunate thing is the fork angle needs to be much slacker when you are riding much faster than human speeds. This fork angle improvement can be accomplished by fitting it with a 24" rear wheel though

 

[A-DamW]

This time I would like to get a dedicated frame that was designed for ebikes in mind.

Ever heard of MarinoBike?

This guy and his team can make you a custom frame for $600-700.

Even if you don't go this route, definitely check out his work.

I have only head good things about their frames.

There is a gentleman from Switzerland who builds custom ebikes, MarionBike frames are the only ones he uses.

 

[Bigbikebob]

What kind of top speed and range are you looking for?
How hilly is your riding?

I prefer not to go over 40-45km/h, with the ability to do hard and long and steep climb. I am not looking to see if I can bring bicycle frame to do motorcycle speed.

The climb is about 8-12% and my commute is about 30 minutes one way.

BTW those treks are great frames, the one unfortunate thing is the fork angle needs to be much slacker when you are riding much faster than human speeds. This fork angle improvement can be accomplished by fitting it with a 24" rear wheel though

That is good to know

Ever heard of MarinoBike?

very interesting, will give it a look.

 

[TPEHAK]

Dengfu E56 frame. That motor can pull over 3500 Watt with custom controller and it is certainly capable to care you at 40-45km/h at that power. That frame has convenient Dorado battery case also you can use to assemble your battery into.