I am often asked “why did I start to build these things?†You can't just tell people that they are incredibly fun if they have never ridden one. The truth is that I moved to an urban area and wanted a stylish bike to commute on. When I bought my last road bike there was a Giant Stiletto in the bike shop that caught my eye, but I knew it wasn't practical at the time. When I had use for one, they had been discontinued. I was fortunate to find one new in a box on ebay for a reasonable price. After pedaling this beast of a bike around for a couple of weeks I decided to electrify it.
One of the unique things about the stiletto is the potential paint surface area, it cries out for a custom paint job. I also didn't want to cover the rear fender with saddle bags which IMO destroys the look of the bike. I decided to use an e-bikekit.com battery because it has a clean finish and you can have the charge connection on the same side as the key switch which is useful for mounting the battery sideways. I then fabricated a custom battery/controller mounts to place the battery down low and out of the way which gives the bike fantastic handling characteristics. I made it so the battery can be removed too. I have used both the e-bikekit.com and ebikes.ca 9C 20†BLDC motors (which I thought might have different windings and performance characteristics but do not).
After powering the bike up the seat had to be dealt with, the piping on the original seat is painful and it is not ergonomic for people with inseams longer than 30â€Â. This is probably why the Stiletto never made it in the market place. A prototype seat bracket was welded together using the original seat bracket some pipe with a gusset to get the geometry figured out to make it a cyclist’s bike. After using the bike for a about a year and more than 1000 miles it was time to be reborn. I had built my wife a grocery-getter ebike but everywhere we went on the bikes people would ask about my ride and not even take a second look at hers. She wanted to have the same curb appeal, so I found another stiletto for her. They were both red and I didn’t want to have matching bikes-that just isn’t cool. She wanted to keep the motorcycle style seat so I had it reupholstered with more padding and had her bike painted candy purple with candy purple ghost flames. After hers came out so stunning I had to redo mine. So I machined a billet aluminum seat adapter for mine and had it painted too.
The blue marbleized bike has a 9 speed hub in the back with an 11 tooth gear, a 16 T Sturmey Archer sprocket on the crank side of the jackshaft, and a nine speed chain. This coupled with a 48 V LiFePO4 battery and a 25 amp Infineon controller allows a comfortable cadence at 30 mph.
The purple lady lowrider has a 7 speed freewheel with an 11 tooth high gear and a 9 speed chain to allow it shift properly. This is coupled with a 36V LiFePO4 battery and a 22 amp Infineon controller allows a comfortable cadence at 20 mph.
The ebony stallion has the original 7 speed freewheel with a 14 tooth high gear, a 16 T Sturmey Archer sprocket on the crank side of the jackshaft, and the original chain. This coupled with a 36 V LiFePO4 battery and a 25 amp Infineon controller allows a comfortable cadence at 20 mph. I recycled the black bike from a local kid that had scratched the bike up. New longer forks, ape hangers, and slightly longer cranks give this bike a different stance and feel, as well as replaced the scratched parts. This black beast is for sale, and I can change the saddle and the handle bars if that is desired.http://endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=23752
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One of the unique things about the stiletto is the potential paint surface area, it cries out for a custom paint job. I also didn't want to cover the rear fender with saddle bags which IMO destroys the look of the bike. I decided to use an e-bikekit.com battery because it has a clean finish and you can have the charge connection on the same side as the key switch which is useful for mounting the battery sideways. I then fabricated a custom battery/controller mounts to place the battery down low and out of the way which gives the bike fantastic handling characteristics. I made it so the battery can be removed too. I have used both the e-bikekit.com and ebikes.ca 9C 20†BLDC motors (which I thought might have different windings and performance characteristics but do not).
After powering the bike up the seat had to be dealt with, the piping on the original seat is painful and it is not ergonomic for people with inseams longer than 30â€Â. This is probably why the Stiletto never made it in the market place. A prototype seat bracket was welded together using the original seat bracket some pipe with a gusset to get the geometry figured out to make it a cyclist’s bike. After using the bike for a about a year and more than 1000 miles it was time to be reborn. I had built my wife a grocery-getter ebike but everywhere we went on the bikes people would ask about my ride and not even take a second look at hers. She wanted to have the same curb appeal, so I found another stiletto for her. They were both red and I didn’t want to have matching bikes-that just isn’t cool. She wanted to keep the motorcycle style seat so I had it reupholstered with more padding and had her bike painted candy purple with candy purple ghost flames. After hers came out so stunning I had to redo mine. So I machined a billet aluminum seat adapter for mine and had it painted too.
The blue marbleized bike has a 9 speed hub in the back with an 11 tooth gear, a 16 T Sturmey Archer sprocket on the crank side of the jackshaft, and a nine speed chain. This coupled with a 48 V LiFePO4 battery and a 25 amp Infineon controller allows a comfortable cadence at 30 mph.
The purple lady lowrider has a 7 speed freewheel with an 11 tooth high gear and a 9 speed chain to allow it shift properly. This is coupled with a 36V LiFePO4 battery and a 22 amp Infineon controller allows a comfortable cadence at 20 mph.
The ebony stallion has the original 7 speed freewheel with a 14 tooth high gear, a 16 T Sturmey Archer sprocket on the crank side of the jackshaft, and the original chain. This coupled with a 36 V LiFePO4 battery and a 25 amp Infineon controller allows a comfortable cadence at 20 mph. I recycled the black bike from a local kid that had scratched the bike up. New longer forks, ape hangers, and slightly longer cranks give this bike a different stance and feel, as well as replaced the scratched parts. This black beast is for sale, and I can change the saddle and the handle bars if that is desired.http://endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=23752
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