Things to ponder before building your own electric bike:

[middriveebike]

Things to ponder before building your own electric bike:
- Your bike will be exposed in different weather. Put on a rain jacket and some sun block for it. (Make sure it is waterproof and sun proof.)
- Wires exposed on the frame are subjected to wear and tear. Think about what will happen if the high current battery +ve wire is cut open and shorting to the frame or some other wires. I guess you don’t want to have your balls blow, right?
- Connect the fuse close to the battery on the +ve wire, so whenever there is a short, the chance of having it after the fuse in the circuit is higher.
- Think about grounding the signal ground to the frame of your bike, think again! As I stated earlier, wires exposed on the frame are subject to wear and tear. It is a matter of time before any wire is exposed and touching the frame (especially when it is raining). Sudden engagement of the brake, controller blown, balls on fire, a shock to the heart can be resulted.
- Think about what to do when your motor stops spinning in the middle of a trip. If it is a mid drive solution, you probably can just ride it home like a regular bike, otherwise, have an emergence number ready to call when that happen.
- Think about how to protect your investment from thief. I found out the best way to do this is to use a crappy looking bike to build. The thief won't even waste their time looking at my bike.

I came across some points when building an ebike. I hope this help someone some day. Feel free to add.

 

[Jolly Jumper]

I would ad to this list: :wink:

I take always with me:
little First aid kit [from my selled car ] ( i considering also a tourniquet to buy as i have seen resently in NY a taxy driver cuted a leg from women. some first helper saved her live with this)
exchange tube and patches with all tools to change. and oneway gloves and wetpaper
little multimeter some wires for maybe broken kable repair
duct tape and zipties

And some good psychical strength to ignore the haters

Avaoid high voltage systems >120V DC can be deadly ( electric cars have them)

A action cam on helmet would not be wrong for various situations

 

[middriveebike]

I would ad to this list: :wink:

I take always with me:
little First aid kit [from my selled car ] ( i considering also a tourniquet to buy as i have seen resently in NY a taxy driver cuted a leg from women. some first helper saved her live with this)
exchange tube and patches with all tools to change. and oneway gloves and wetpaper
little multimeter some wires for maybe broken kable repair
duct tape and zipties

And some good psychical strength to ignore the haters

Avaoid high voltage systems >120V DC can be deadly ( electric cars have them)

A action cam on helmet would not be wrong for various situations

Wow. It is a great idea to learn how to apply a tourniquet.
may be bring some cable tie with you too.
when you say avoid high voltage systems, you mean stay away from those cars? To avoid a possible of electric shock induced between the ebike and the electric car?
An action cam would act like a driving recorder in cars. Great idea.

 

[Jolly Jumper]

Wow. It is a great idea to learn how to apply a tourniquet.
may be bring some cable tie with you too.
when you say avoid high voltage systems, you mean stay away from those cars? To avoid a possible of electric shock induced between the ebike and the electric car?
An action cam would act like a driving recorder in cars. Great idea.

Yep [youtube]sjOStXVvsGU[/youtube]
I had must done a 4 hour first aid training for my car driver licens. you can guess what was not included... yep tourniquet useage

I thought zipties are cable ties?

No i mean avoid build e-bikes with it as you mentioned in your 1st post the various possible accidents

Here in Germany cyclists get lesser rights than car drivers in court esspecialy when you can´t proof the fail of the car driver with a video!

 

[borschelrh]

I don't disagree with you. There are several things I keep on me when I ride. The first is a small medical it for emergency use only. You can put this together for emergency use and have just the bare necessities as you shouldn't be that far from civilization. Typically, I ride by myself on rough trails in the deep forest so I always carry my cell phone in case of a real serious problem. I also carry a portable Garmin Oregon GPS as well so I can pinpoint my GPS coordinates if necessary as I ride a lot of trails that aren't marked on any maps. I will not use a smart phone ever so break these functions down into things the NSA can't monitor. For the medical kit I use a sandwich size ziplock bag (waterproofing) and put in half a dozen adhesive bandages, a tube of Superglue (it can act as sutures temporarily but burns like a MF). A roller bandage and a cloth triangular bandage, which you can use for a tourniquet if necessary. Keep this bag small and where you can find it in an emergency. You can make materials for splints and tourniquets from natural materials like sticks so that isn't a big problem. I also carry a pocket knife (multitool), hand mirror and space blanket and all of this packs down easily into a small zippered bag that attaches under the saddle. I also carry an emergency whistle which I put on the neck cord of my pocket camera (for nature photographs)and a liter of water regardless of weather. For the bike I keep a small emergency tool kit in a bag also in the bag under the saddle. I carry a hand air pump mounted to the frame. I would use a CO2 cartidge type but prefer one that won't fail. I have gotten a lot of flats out in the woods due to thorns so this has been a lifesaver. I have tire patches in the tool kit and have slime inside the tubes. If you are riding on a rear hub motor you will need a small crescent wrench to remove the nuts on the axle as they are too big for the typical emergency tool kit.The multitool has pliers which I need to remove the brake cables. I learned that all the hard way once. I have had a lot of wrecks on the e-Bike as now I am usually going a lot faster than I normally would and often get trapped in tire tracks of logging trucks(usually when I am not watching carefully) . I have glued several deep cuts successfully, enough that I didn't need sutures later. I do my own suturing anyway so if I can avoid it I do. I am a trained Special Forces medic and was a ski patroller for over 20 years so medical stuff doesn't bother me. I am also a pilot so have a lot of survival training as well so I have learned it is better to have a few simple things to help you in case of an emergency. Murphy's Law is always in force and I plan for it at all times. One things I usually carry as well is a small backpack that folds down into a tiny package. I often remember to go shopping on the way home so I have something I can carry the groceries with this way. That reminds me, you should always keep money and identification as well. I keep a second ziplock bag with about $100 in it (actually 20,000 Hungarian Forints) and a photocopy of my passport. You never know when you might need either or both. Better to have something you don't need instead of needing something you don't have. But, size and weight are always an issue. The last item is a good stout lock. It won't stop professionals but it discourages amateurs. I have also used the air pump as a bat to hit wild dogs as well. That has actually happened to me now several times. In Hungary we are required to have front and rear lights, wear fluorescent green vests and/or riding clothing, plus the usual safety stuff if you are exceeding 25 kph. The cops here actually check this and it is a crime here to ride a bicycle after consuming any alcohol (the same as for autos). But, if I am mostly on trails I think it isn't a big deal. There are a couple of places along the way that sell beer and wine which makes for a very nice break on a long ride so for this I carry smaller change. The last thing I carry is a pair of reading glasses. I am over 60 and have had cataract surgeries on both eyes so can't see squat up close. For me that is one of the most critical items. I have a tiny pair also in the saddle bag inside a rigid tube. I can't think of anything else. I carry most of the same things when flying except I add a 10 pound bag of dry cat food which you can live a month on if you have water. I also carry most of the same stuff when sailing on my catamaran also in a small bag. Here the whistle is the most important item followed by a pocket flashlight. So, the basic survival equipment is more or less the same no matter what you are doing. I carry a similar small setup when snowboarding as well.