Salsa dos niner frame good for high powered ebike?

[auraslip]

I have the opportunity to buy one of these scandium soft tail frames for cheap. It seems like a great way to give a bike plenty of room in the triangle for batteries, and still provide a bit of suspension for soaking up bumps.

This would be for a very powerful build. I'm worry that doing wheelies on this frame might weaken it or something.

Also it's a 29" wheel. I'd like to run 20" wheels. Probably won't have a working pedal drive chain.

thoughts?

 

[LI-ghtcycle]

Scandium is known for it's light weight, but how about it's strength? Are the drop-outs also scandium, or do they have steel inserts? IIRC Scandium is a pretty lightweight aluminum alloy, and if aluminum isn't light enough, and Scandium is used to make it lighter, I would think strength would be secondary to light weight.

 

[LI-ghtcycle]

Found a general discussion about Scandium framed bikes here that might be of use:

http://www.bikeforums.net/archive/index.php/t-187400.html

 

[dogman dan]

Well, pretty no brainer to scarf up the frame to make a pedaler, that's for sure.

I'd sort of rather have something in a nice cromo frame for the high power bike. No soft tail though.

 

[auraslip]

According to easton "the maker of the tubing used in the salsa dos niner" the alloy used in this frame is twice as strong as normal aluminum

http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=2&ved=0CDAQFjAB&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.eastoncycling.com%2Fbike%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2010%2F04%2Ffab_instructions-sc.pdf&ei=pm9BT4NIxZ7bBai1vKwI&usg=AFQjCNHNZQCcbhK4y33AgT0EYCJ9PvIUSA

 

[Drunkskunk]

Normaly I'd want to run far away from a pivotless rear suspension that relied on the aluminum frame bending for suspension travel, ... But Salsa knows their stuff. If they brought it to market, Its probably very good. MTBR seems to think so. The only semi-negative review I saw was about the frame failing from flexing at the chain stays. http://www.mtbr.com/cat/bikes/29er-hardtail/salsa-cycles/dos-niner/prd_365442_1548crx.aspx

On the down side, its only 1" of suspension travel. On the up side, its a $1000 frame with disk lugs, so you can use it as a 20"

Scandium is used as an aloy in aluminum, usualy less than 1%. Its used in some military aircraft, I think the Russsians use it in their landing gear, and they build their jets to be able to land on dirt runways. Strong stuff.

How cheap is cheap?

 

[MadRhino]

Scandium is about the same as any other stiff grade alu. Lighter weight is not the purpose for its use, it is mostly for its welding properties that manufacturers are using it. With the large amount of welding that are needed to make a DH frame, scandium doesn't offer real advantage and was abandoned, but is still used for road bikes that manufacturers like to make with minimal welding.

The softail is a minimalist suspension, nice for street use but not interesting for mountain riding. The frame might be good to build a road racer E-bike, made to ride nice surfaces where suspension serves mostly to absorb vibration. With a stiff short travel fork, it could make a comfortable light weight ride.

 

[auraslip]

What I read was that the scandium allows 7000 series aluminum to be welded. It's a much stronger alloy than what's normally used, but can't welded. Adding SC allows it to be welded.

The frame is $300 + $50 shipping on ebay. - http://www.ebay.com/itm/170783654295?_trksid=p5197.c0.m619

And it's an XL - so plenty of room for batteries!!

This would be for what would eventually be a 24s 20ah bike + a large hub motor. For a 50 mph commuter build with 20" tires. But I'm worried because the reviews say it's very flexy and noodle like.

Another option is a 2010 hardrock disc that is a 23" frame. FREAKING MASSIVE. TONS OF ROOM FOR BATTERIES. $300 and local.

I just want some suspension so I'm not bouncing around on rough roads. but I also want lots of room in the triangle for batteries. trade off trade offs

 

[dogman dan]

Suitable for pedaler, or a long distance road commuter at 30 mph or less. Flexy is the last thing you want when you get high speed wobble at 50 mph. So not for a racer or hot rod. Really good for a long haul bike though.

 

[MadRhino]

The Hardrock is a good frame, but it is a hard tail. If you want suspension and build for performance, find a DH racing frame and work around its lack of triangle space.

 

[auraslip]

Well, I'm going to check out the 2010 hardrock disc today.

but look what just popped up on ebay: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=150765041478&ssPageName=ADME:B:SS:US:1123

Look at that massive triangle.

I can't find any pictures of a 2010 23" hardrock. I'm sure the triangle is smaller, but it also comes with disc tabs. Also, from the looks of it the wheelbase looks longer - which is a good thing for high speeds. Hopefully the 2010 is beefier too.



Also - this bike looks pretty useful to us:

mongoose teocali

mongoose caanan

You could fit probably 1.5 kwh of lipo mounted sideways in these frames. Kinda pricey though for mongoose.

 

[auraslip]

oops never mind about the mongoose. Half the reviews I can find say the frame cracks too easily.

 

[auraslip]

How many Kwhs do you think I can stuff in there? Yes that is TWO 4s5ah packs in the bottle cage.

And I'm planing on sticking the packs sideways. Should be able to fit 24 of those + dc-dc convertor + charger with no problem.

The down side is that 24" wheels will probably still pose a danger to my lil' dudes. The bike is seriously TALL. And I'm 6'.

There is room for 3" tires... so 20" rims here I come.

 

[neptronix]

20" rims, and 3 in. tires, huh.

Get ready to shave off the vbrake mounts.
Get ready to buy yourself some 130mm cranks that are basically useless.
It won't look like a bike or function like one anymore.
Try that on a 29er and you'd prolly be scraping your bottom bracket on the ground. 26er is much better.
24" is so much more sane too.

you can do 20" on the rear, 24" on the front, that could work, but you'd still have the pedaling problem.