StudEbiker's E-Bike-E build- ride vid pg. 7.

[StudEbiker]

It's an Easy Racer idler with one of those things that you use for mounting a bike rack on the back of an upright bike that goes from the rack to the rack mounts on the bike. It took me awhile to come up with the right thing, but this works great. You can adjust the tension just by bending the rack mount thingy until it has just the right amount of spring to it.

View attachment 1

Here is a picture of one of the rack mount thingys that has been cut.

 

[maxplanck]

I thought that bike rack piece looked familiar. Very cool idea. So cool in fact that I may need to steal it.

Thanks.

 

[StudEbiker]

Also just want to add that it took a long time to find something that worked the way I wanted it too in the rear. I finally purchased a Surly Singleator and the rear chain hasn't jumped a tooth or come off since. It's a nice little piece of kit.

 

[Alan B]

I also picked up a Surly Singleator for the Borg. Have to make a mount but it looks like it can be combined with the kickstand adapter. The Surly is spring loaded and adjustable to push either way, and adjust along the mounting bar for 'depth', as well as adjustable for narrow or wide chains. Pretty flexible unit.

 

[Kai]

Good setup StudEbiker!
I have a cheap poor quality LWB recumbent in my carage, and it has a very rare 18" size front wheel. Does your bike has this same wheel size or is it 16"?
Where did you find your tyres?
My bike can take 20" wheel but v-brakes won't work then. I also thought of buying a drum brake, but spending that much money on a bike this cheap is not a good idea.... maybe I do it.

 

[StudEbiker]

Front wheel on a Bike E is 16". People have modified them to take 20" wheels, but I haven't seen any in person.

16" tire selection is limited for sure, but they are available on Amazon and other online retailers. They even have some 18" tires too. This one looks decent:

http://www.amazon.com/Kenda-Kontact-Bicycle-Blackskin-2-0-Inch/dp/B002DWTE0K/ref=sr_1_1?s=sporting-goods&ie=UTF8&qid=1350881624&sr=1-1&keywords=18+inch+bike+tire

An 18" wheel sounds like a good compromise for a LWB recumbent.

You should post some pictures of your recumbent up on a thread so everyone can see what you have to work with.

 

[StudEbiker]

:x

Amazingly enough, it's still holding air.

 

[LI-ghtcycle]

Glad to see you have it up and running!

Looks great man, nice job. 8)

I know the feeling of having a good watt meter right on the handlebars as an improvement, I think you will also be very happy once you install a CA, there just isn't a better piece of equipment out there that every E-Bike should have IMO.

Saw some pretty steep hills in your first video, how steep are they?

Sounds like it goes close to max speed up hill too?

 

[StudEbiker]

Glad to see you have it up and running!

Looks great man, nice job. 8)

I know the feeling of having a good watt meter right on the handlebars as an improvement, I think you will also be very happy once you install a CA, there just isn't a better piece of equipment out there that every E-Bike should have IMO.

Saw some pretty steep hills in your first video, how steep are they?

Sounds like it goes close to max speed up hill too?

That video was before I replaced the planetary housing with the upgraded one from EVDeals. It wasn't anywhere near top speed, it just sounded like it. When I listen to that video now I cringe. It functions so much better after putting in the better housing with the REAL bearing instead of the bronze bushing and sounds MUCH better too.

Here is a picture showing the grade from the steepest portion of that video.

 

[StudEbiker]

Thought I should update this.

The Nuvinci and the mid-drive are both gone. Too heavy, too much efficency loss, too problematic mechanically.

It was interesting to do, but it didn't suit my needs as well as just a nice 6T MAC. I've also replaced the 12AH Headway battery with a 15AH Ping V2.5.

Also Added a Cycle Analyst V 2.25 CA-DPS. 8)

I am MUCH happier with this set up than I was with the Nuvinci/Kollmorgen. Nice low end torque, quick acceleration, and a top speed of 21 mph and climbs very well.

 

[Rassy]

Looks nice too. I think half the fun of this hobby is finding what works best for you. I'm very happy with my NuVinci auto shift behind my mid-drive on my trike. But I would never recommend this set-up for a two wheel bike. Too much weight and too many parts all over the place. Even though it is quite inefficient, I just carry enough battery to do what I want to do.

On the other hand, my sister is very happy with the Bafang crank drive I put together for her on a two wheel bike. Fairly light set up with the ability to climb steep hills, which she needs for the 20% plus grades on her regular ride between her house and work/city.

 

[dwd2010]

So, It appears as as you only have three speeds via front chainring is this correct? Can you tell me your sources for this set up? . I apologize but I've just received this long lost subscribed message after watching it in the past and would like to electrify my two bike-E's still. Did you install and lace that rear wheel yourself or is it ordered that way?


thanks dirk
pe

 

[StudEbiker]

No the front triple only uses one of the gears, I've just been too lazy to take the other two off. :lol: I took that crankset off one of my other bikes because I needed a HUGE ring on my mid-drive set up to match cadence with my motor. I have seven ears in the rear and it works fine. I rarely shift out of the highest gear, only when climbing a really large hill do I shift down. I bought this setup used from Rollando, it is a 6T Mac kit that he got from Paul/Cell_Man/emissions free. I laced it myself, but I think you can order it from Paul laced into a 20" wheel already. One thing I did experience though was this MAC motor did not play well with the Lyen 9fet that I was using on my old controller. Others have experienced this same issue. Even once I was sure I had the best combination of hall/phase wires it still did not run smoothly under load. After I installed the 12fet that came with this kit everything has been golden though.

I have another thread on a Bike E I built for my girlfriend. Exact same setup except it has a 6 fet controller. They are both wonderful bikes to ride.

http://www.endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=46077&hilit=+bike+e

 

[ohzee]

I really like your bike-e. I have been watching the local craigslist for a good deal on one.
Currently there are 2 both 400$. One has a fairing the other is the shock model.
What would you consider a good deal on one of these ? Anyway nice ride.

 

[Cowardlyduck]

Hey,

Like your build, and interesting that you ended up going with a hubby. Makes me feel better about going a similar direction on my Bike-E build.
http://www.endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=57751#p899059

I'm in the process of building my wheel currently. Hard work with a single cross on a 20" rim with a large diameter hub motor.

I noticed you have a hookworm on your front wheel. How did you find the clearance with that tire? I was about to buy one, when I noticed the 16" version is 1.95" wide. Does that really fit the front forks ok? My front forks are just under 2" wide at the top, and look similar to yours.

What are the fenders you bought? I haven't been able to find any that claim to fit the Bike-E so far.

I'm planning to slip my batteries (18650 pack) inside the frame. To do that I will drill out the rear stay's, then re secure them with bolts. Do you think that will be ok?

Cheers

 

[StudEbiker]

I really like your bike-e. I have been watching the local craigslist for a good deal on one.
Currently there are 2 both 400$. One has a fairing the other is the shock model.
What would you consider a good deal on one of these ? Anyway nice ride.

That's seems a little high to me. I would probably go to $300 on an AT (suspension) and $200 on a CT. There are two seat options and two different wheelbase. My girlfriend has the short wheelbase and the short seat, I have the lwb and the tall seat, both of the seats are comfortable, but I definitely prefer the lwb over the swb and I'm not even that tall. It just puts more of the weight between the wheels and gives you more "tail" section on the frame to put stuff on.

Good luck on your search.

 

[StudEbiker]

Hey,

Like your build, and interesting that you ended up going with a hubby. Makes me feel better about going a similar direction on my Bike-E build.
http://www.endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=57751#p899059
I'm in the process of building my wheel currently. Hard work with a single cross on a 20" rim with a large diameter hub motor.

I noticed you have a hookworm on your front wheel. How did you find the clearance with that tire? I was about to buy one, when I noticed the 16" version is 1.95" wide. Does that really fit the front forks ok? My front forks are just under 2" wide at the top, and look similar to yours.

What are the fenders you bought? I haven't been able to find any that claim to fit the Bike-E so far.

I'm planning to slip my batteries (18650 pack) inside the frame. To do that I will drill out the rear stay's, then re secure them with bolts. Do you think that will be ok?

Cheers

When I fully inflate the Hookworm to 110 psi it rubs slightly, but I usually don't inflate them that much because the ride is very harsh at that pressure. I probably run at about 80psi and have no clearance issues.

The fenders are original Bike E fenders I found on Craigslist, but they come up on EBay pretty regularly too. If you are on the Facebook group you might post there you are looking for some.

The idea of putting the batteries in the frame seems like a good idea, but I think it will be a LOT of work for not much gain. You'll be giving up running all your cables and wires through the frame and there's just not too much room in there to begin with so I'm not sure how much battery you'll be able to fit and then you have the issue of if you need to repair your battery getting it back out. What I would like to do is build a box that is mounted to the frame just under the seat that would hold the battery. It would put the weight real low and in between the wheels.

 

[StudEbiker]

I picked up one of CellMan's 16.5Ah batteries from Bigwheel recently and I think think it is going to be a very good option for commuter type Bike Es/ The width is perfect for mounting on top of the frame. the big down side to this battery is the 2.5A max charging rate. I've gotten used to charging at 5A, but I'm pretty sure this is the battery that is going to go on my bike soon. In the picture it is just sitting on top of the frame, it's not wired up yet.

 

[ohzee]

I really do want to get one of these bike e's.

So far looking on cl I have not seen one below 300 or close enough to make the trip worth it.

Still one day. I like the look.

 

[Alan B]

Just catching up with your updates. I'm quite happy with my similar BMC (though I haven't ridden it much lately). But it works very nicely and keeps things simple. I'm planning to do some updates on mine with a sinusoidal controller, but have some other projects to attend to first.

Nice progress!

 

[bonzo]

I scored a Bike E the other day, in great shape. I had plans to electrify it, but don't have the time or energy.
It has the rear suspension, high seat back and longer wheel base, I believe it is the AT, red.

I might let it go for what I paid, $225. I would not be willing to ship it....

 

[StudEbiker]

Great deal. I posted it on the Bike E Facebook page too.

 

[bonzo]

Thanks StudEbiker, appreciate that

Here's my current ride, pictured below..
V2100, 24S 15Ah Headway, CA, C-lyte hub in Alex DM18 rim, Lyen 12fet., hyd disc brakes, rock shox fork. (still need to go a good rear shock.)

Topped off with my E-go lawnmower battery(56V 4Ah) as a reserve pack.
Cut up an Ego Charger, wired it straight through with a deans, and put it on top of the Headways, so the Ego batt can Slot off the bike, and into the mower. (and Ego charger)