Who has bought EM3EV's bicycle frames and how do you like it

markz said:
I am liking the Giant DH Comp bike more and more as an alternative.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/34052411@N07/3916293679/in/album-72157622359244408/
I just cant find any bare frames, or frames with shocks on them for a decent price.
I found a great website pinkbike.com that has tons of bikes, I also use Kijiji.com.

Markz,
Pinkbike is a great resource. Great deals to be had. In fact I recently purchased a 2015 Fox Van RC rear shock in fantastic condition for $125 shipped! :)

The DH Comp is fairly hard to find, especially for a large one. I've seen a few small frames on eBay recently though.
 
What exactly do you want to know about the frame? Please be specific and if you are asking for something quite difficult to measure, please provide a link or something, so I can see the procedure on how to make the measurement.

I'd just like to say something about the frame we offer. Firstly, I wouldn't sell it if I thought it was second rate and we've sold quite a few (maybe 40 plus) and there have been no serious problems reported, almost nothing really, they go out and we don't hear much (no news is good news, they say). I am a little surprised that it isn't selling better as I do believe it is a nice product and for the cost (and assuming the style of bike works for you), it seems a bit of a no-brainer (IMPO) for a fairly high power, big battery hub motor ebike, compared to buying a new (mid-range or above) regular bike, to convert into an ebike. There is huge space for a battery, if you really wanted to. 2KWhr is absolutely nothing in this frame, I reckon we could squeeze 4 or even 5KWhr in there, if we tried.

I don't claim to be a suspension expert and I don't ride up or down mountains, but i do know the bike rides very well (on the road, or over rough ground) and is very plush with the DNM rear shock (standard 650lb spring is a bit soft if you're a bit heavy, the 750lb stiffens it up nicely). It feels very stable at speed (had mine up to, close to 50mph) and the dropouts still look like new (despite running 6KW and at 1 stage closer to 10KW into a Big DD Motor). The bike feels absolutely solid. To be calling this out as if it will fall apart when it hits the first pot-hole, when people are going round on 200USD frames with big batteries strapped to them and several KW of large DD motor on the back of a spindly hard back alloy frame.

I'm sorry, but I think people should get a little perspective. The frame is a substantial lump of steel and the full suspension reduces the impacts/shock experienced by the frame when it hits hard. The weight figures are very comparable to other, similar frames out there, it isn't a weight weenie, but it's no heavier than other frames and frankly, by the time you've added everything to the bike, and put a few KW through the back wheel, I don't think many would notice a couple or 3kg of extra weight. The bike is more of a MTX bike with pedals, than an Ebike you'd use as a pedal assist. IMPO, the seat position that feels stable for a high power bike like this (low as possible), is not great for pedaling and if you set the seat higher, to suit pedaling, it doesn't feel stable.

The style of suspension used on the frame, looks remarkably similar to pretty much everything out there (of a similar ilk). So, yes it isn't a top of the range design, but it doesn't cost several K USD either (before you add the electrical bits). I've no doubt, that with the right skills and the time to do it, you could convert a second hand full suspension frame and buy good, used suspension parts that would be lighter and better, but is that really a fair comparison? We could fit out 1 of these frames with a very powerful setup, bigger, more powerful and lighter battery (custom and with fusible links on every cell in the pack) than what you could find on a complete bike. Hell you could spring for an Adappto Controller and still come in WAY under what you'd need to pay for a finished bike with not as good electrical parts used. If I'm not mistaken the same DNM parts we offer are used in much more expensive, finished bikes.

It is unfortunate that the factory wants to plaster them all over Alibaba, and I did advise my friends that were involved in the design and realization of the frame, that it was a very bad idea and that it seriously affected the image, but it is what it is. The factory are hungry for the scraps, rather than taking the time to develop dealers in a slower and smarter way. A big name US ebike brand are manufactured in a factory in Ningbo China, and Iphones are made in China too. Just saying.

I do not believe the frames (single piece samples) can be purchased cheaper from the factory (that was the agreement between us), rather than from EM3ev and for info, we supply the factory with a few of our controllers (18 fet 4110), throttles and V2 CAs which they sell onto their customers (which is why they show a V2 CA in some pics). We also build our own batteries and can do a custom battery, for these (we do not provide any batteries to the factory, I think they get some LiFePO4 packs from somewhere).

If you'd rather buy from the frame factory rather than us, and discuss the finer details of motors, batteries etc. with them, go for it. The factory may be quite happy to field lots of questions on a complete bike, but I don't think they are particularly keen on selling single frames, as they are a factory, not a retail outlet, plus their depth of engineering knowledge and English skills may not be up to the high standards, of some of the more picky ES aficionados.

We are also happy to supply dealers and can offer some discount for quantity purchases. The reality, is that by the time, the finished bike with a decent and high power battery, kit, and all the components, the frame is a pretty small proportion of the total cost. If you think in 2 years time, that you want to use a different frame, then you should be able to transfer most of the parts over to it (but you'd have to be careful with the battery, as most other frames out there, have nowhere near as big a battery compartment, as this frame). I'm happy to hear constructive thoughts or recommendations, so fire them over :)

Cheers
Paul, AKA Cell_Man
 
The information people wanted is a reliable source of geometry information, steel grade and weld strength.

All of which were covered in another thread, linked to this one earlier on.

Inconsistent information has been received from Evelbike and Changzhou Leili Vehicle Parts Co.,Ltd. When I couldn't get a straight answer, I wasn't sure who to believe. Complicating this picture is the discussion between Artur and Evelbike.

In any case, I was totally for the idea of a budget but well made from China. Just could work out what exactly I was buying so I went with another option.
 
I bought mine from Paul, absolutely recommend buying through him vs the ali-bandits. I have bought quite a few kits off him and he is probably the best guy I have bought any component from. Just need to figure out what to do with all the room inside the frame :mrgreen:
 
Quokka said:
I bought mine from Paul, absolutely recommend buying through him vs the ali-bandits. I have bought quite a few kits off him and he is probably the best guy I have bought any component from. Just need to figure out what to do with all the room inside the frame :mrgreen:

Thanks Quokka for the kind words :D We've also done several packs for these frames and I'm hoping to make a hard case pack and also some sorting of solid mounting system for the battery into the frame as well. Anyway, drop me a line and I'll see what we can do. BTW, I didn't say Evel or the factory are bad in any way, I'm just saying that I don't think buyers will find a huge saving, no matter where they buy their 1 frame. In fact I am very friendly with my Ukrainian friends who were involved in the frame and the factory too.

Lurkin said:
The information people wanted is a reliable source of geometry information, steel grade and weld strength.

All of which were covered in another thread, linked to this one earlier on.

Inconsistent information has been received from Evelbike and Changzhou Leili Vehicle Parts Co.,Ltd. When I couldn't get a straight answer, I wasn't sure who to believe. Complicating this picture is the discussion between Artur and Evelbike.

In any case, I was totally for the idea of a budget but well made from China. Just could work out what exactly I was buying so I went with another option.

Thanks for the kind words, I'm so happy that you could even consider the frame. It is a big commitment, so of course it is reasonable to have to dig deep and leave no stone unturned :)

You'll find a drawing with various geometry info in the product listing (in additional images in the listing on my site), here is a link:
http://em3ev.com/store/image/cache/data/New%20Pics/Frame%20Geometry-500x500.JPG

The above drawing seems like more info than i could find on any other frame kit, when i had a quick scan of a couple of likely sites. I think I did mention that if anyone had to know some particular geometric value of the frame, that if the methodology to measure it, could be forwarded, I'd try my best to do so.

I didn't notice any mention of precise material types or any discussion of the welds on any other similar products out there, but regardless, I'll speak to my friend in the factory and see if i can get some specifics regarding the steel used in the frame. I found the below link on weld analysis. What exactly are you expecting, an analysis of the shear and tensile strength, or actual measurements, on particular welds, or what exactly are you expecting?
http://www.gowelding.com/calcs/

Cheers
Paul
 
Paul,

Tried to PM you but it says "requested users don't exist"?
 
cell_man said:
I didn't notice any mention of precise material types or any discussion of the welds on any other similar products out there, but regardless, I'll speak to my friend in the factory and see if i can get some specifics regarding the steel used in the frame. I found the below link on weld analysis. What exactly are you expecting, an analysis of the shear and tensile strength, or actual measurements, on particular welds, or what exactly are you expecting?
http://www.gowelding.com/calcs/

Bear in mind I was intending to deal directly with the factory, hence why you have never heard from me previously directly about this frame.

Given it is very, very similar to a number of other frames out there, and the discussion between Arthur and Evelbike explaining the history of how it came to be produced in China was not present at that time, I considered it had been a reverse engineered/designed copy of a Vector frame. The concern was whether any real R&D testing had been done to ensure the frame did not disintegrate at high speed (as this has happened to me before with very unpleasant results).

It's totally fair to point out that no one else has offered the following level of detail. But then, the other frame manufacturers I have dealt with have not popped up overnight and have a reputation to trade with.

Initially I was just interested to find out the steel grade in a meaningful (western) measurement so I can appreciate what strength it has, then some photos and discussion of what method of welding and photos of the pre painted welds. Jason advised the steel grade is Q285A, but I've struggled to work out what this really means. This was about as far as I got with Jason, particularly when the others I thought would be interested in buying frames as well pushed back on quality concerns and demanded lower prices.

If we wanted to really go to town, discussion about what testing has been done, pre sale is of interest. Impact, Drop, Strength tests of any design have value.

I started to actually draft a thread (externally of ES) to try and compare ALL the aftermarket frames out - NYX, Stealth, Vector and so forth, even with just basic geometry. It fell on its face for the exact reason you have stated- there's no standard information. Could not even locate Stealths geometry....

Criticisms of the suspension design have revolved around it being a simple pivot design rather than the more complex multilink designs DH bikes are seeing these days. Its an interesting comment, because most of the leading ebike 'battery box' frame designers are following this suspension design - Stealth, Raptor, Vector, EEB, NYX and so forth. Given that seems to be the guts of the "this frames just for commuting" argument, then the others mentioned are also assumed to be "just commuting"... (which is pretty funny actually) :lol:
 
Re the single pivot vs the type found on a specialized FSR, I have an old FSR, and not having any experience with a "real" MTB, I was quite blown away by how great the rear end felt when riding it. Before I got sick, I did most of my off road riding on that bike, with NO intention of ruining it with a heavy hub motor. Now it has one, and I ride it low power, off road.

But, if you want to put together an affordable bike for hooning around in the dirt, I'd say it's a no brainer to buy the frame, put a cheap muxus on it, stuff the box with some cheap lipo, and let er rip.

I'd wager, that for 95% of us out there, our level of riding skill would not know the difference, and would be perfectly happy with the primitive shock. Bear in mind, most off road motorcycles have that kind of shock setup, or at least used to for decades.

But,,if you are in the 5% that would know the difference, you would feel like the frame was quite a step down from what you are used to. It just depends on where in the performance envelope you ride. If you ride in the middle of the box, you'd never know any difference. But if you ride the edge, you'd start crashing right away with the primitive suspension. For me, I was in the top 1% with skis, and nothing but the best would do for me. I skied where a crash could easily be fatal. So my ski gear had to be the best possible, or go dork around with the herd, inside the ski are boundaries. Unthinkable after 25 years building my ski skills to that level.

I ride dirt pretty good, but even I'm no where near in that 5%. Maybe I'm in the 10%. I'd know the difference. But I would just adjust my ride to the middle of the box and still have a big ol shit eating grin on my face riding the EM3ev bike. Wouldn't bother me any. I don't ride dirt where a crash would be fatal. But on a day I felt realllllly good, top of my form, I might prefer to ride that specialized that day.

Hell, to me, even the worst of this stuff is such a huge step up from the dirt bikes I rode in my youth.
 
Lurkin said:
Jason advised the steel grade is Q285A, but I've struggled to work out what this really means.

Best guess, he means Q275A, which from some Googling appears to be a steel grade specified by the Chinese standard GB/T 700, which appears to be a rip-off of ISO 630. Regardless, in similarity to other structural steel standards, like EN 10025, the middle numbers refer to the yield strength in N/mm^2. The three main categories are 235 (low strength) 275 (general purpose) S355 (high strength).

In other words, his reply would be best interpreted as "bog-standard hot-rolled mild steel" ;)
 
Agreed. In any case, there is still an element of doubt as we are making educated guesses when the point is to have actual knowledge confirmed by the manufacturer.
 
I think you're worrying a little too much. The frame is steel, which is very easy to work with and it's not designed to be light-weight, so unless the fabrication is completely incompetent (which would likely be known by now) it should be OK. If you do manage to get photos of welds you know they will be of a cherry-picked good example if the factory has problems with weld consistency. As long as the welds are complete and not obviously pigeon-shit, which should be obvious from even half-decent photos of a finished, painted frame, I would not worry :)
 
I have had a serious accident before courtesy of a frame failure. Unpredictable, ugly and you definitely cannot tell from a few photos. Product testing is the only real answer, especially given the source.
 
And you are quite right to worry about it Lurkin, as well as the type of suspension linkage, if you push your riding to the max. If that is the case, you'd need better suspension, and cromo steel to survive.

But for the rest of us, who would stay in the center of the performance limits, mild steel will do fine. It may fail, but it will fail slow most likely unless a weld is defective. In any case, a huge improvement over taking one of those cheap ass genesis frames, and putting a 5000w motor on it after spending some dough on a custom swing arm.
 
Lurkin said:
I have had a serious accident before courtesy of a frame failure. Unpredictable, ugly and you definitely cannot tell from a few photos. Product testing is the only real answer, especially given the source.

What frame failed on you and how?
 
Sorry guys, I'm not ignoring this thread, i've just been quite busy today. I'll take some pics of the welds and post them up. I've got a few frames in stock, I'll try to have a look and more than 1. They are stock, it's not like i can make a special effort to build it right, as i don't build them, we just sell them, plus bits to go with them, support etc.
Better still, isn't there anyone that bought 1, that could take some weld pics? Then it's pretty damn sure to be representative.
The critism that I'm hearing is that the design is quite basic, but you can still put a descent shock on the back if you want to and the typical stuff that are supplied in this frame are very much the same as what others are using, and also in a very similar style of frame.
The dnm rear shock might not be the finest shock on the planet, but it isn't all that bad, in fact I'd say the bike rides really nice. When people are criticising the suspension components, it would be interesting to hear the new price of the part they are comparing them to, so people that aren't so up on the tech, can get a grip on what we're talking. No point comparing a ferrari with a VW, then complaining the golf is somewhat lacking, when you could buy a fleet of golfs for the price of 1 Ferrari.
The dnm fork and shock we offer is the same as the standard equipment on some stealth bikes (check yourself, don't take my word for it) and the frame design doesn't look that different. I didn't see many youtube videos where people got off a stealth bike and were ripping into the suspension, how it needed a few more links, or the unsprung weight was a bit much.
Is it the last word in sophistication and the very best you can buy? No, i wouldn't say it is, but it ain't that bad either. A finished bike looks pretty impressive in the flesh, the proportions look right to me, with some nice wheels and a few nice bits, it's a nice looking piece of kit.
I am not saying this is as good or better than a stealth. The stealth bikes look to be very well finished and they seem to be a very professional company and i wish them luck. At the same time, the electrical parts in the stealth, aren't super special (not intended as a dig, i think people that know the tech, would say it's a fair comment).
Not everyone has got the money, or could justify the price of a stealth. For a whole lot less you can have something that isn't so far removed from that experience.
BTW, thanks for the positive comments. It's right to be cautious, but there is no need to get carried away with concerns that the frame is going to split in 2 at the first bump. I've played with these a fair bit and there are quite a few out there and i have heard a single thing to suggest structural issues. I might be wrong, as i don't the forums as much as some, but are there any reported structural safety issues on any frame, of this ilk?
Cheers
Paul
 
Lurkin said:
I have had a serious accident before courtesy of a frame failure. Unpredictable, ugly and you definitely cannot tell from a few photos. Product testing is the only real answer, especially given the source.

It's easy to make generic statements about testing, but spcifically, what exactly would be tested and how? AFAIK a visual inspection is how most welds would be tested.
We are not talking thin, lightweight and spindly. We are talking substantial sections of steel with solid welds along the entire joint. On top of that, they are long travel, full suspension, which soaks up the vast majority of the shocks when you hit a bump or jump, so the frame isn't receiving the impacts a hardtail would.
 
I agree with Dogman Dan for the most part you can't tell the difference between high end dh frames with multi link suspensions compared to this frame. I know from experience. My previous frame was a Turner dhr. This frame was no joke but wasn't ideal for an ebike (because of difficulties mounting a lot of batteries).

12688193_861056120684420_4661502847536323586_n.jpg


For what it is and the cost i am more than satisfied with my purchase and consider it an upgrade over my multi thousand dollar old dh frame. The battery placement alone has effected (for the better) the ride quality and handling more than the suspension - that is for sure.

As far as the quality goes I am no welding expert but don't have any qualms and am not worried about it "falling apart" while riding. Of course i won't be doing huge jumps with it but then again it's not properly setup for that. (frame geometry and quality aside)

Here is one last picture I will leave for now - with the moto seat option newly installed. I will get some pictures of the welds later today.

12743697_862789547177744_6790409391870685148_n.jpg
 
Suspension: There is a few people on the forum convinced that a multi link rear suspension pivot is superior. However, it's arguable that their main benefits are for a regular bicycle, reliant on pedaling and with an entirely different weight distribution and power delivery. I've lost the thread in mind, but it discussed the effect of power delivery without pedal Bob on a single pivot design, more or less forcing the suspension in the opposite way. In contrast to powering a regular bike, without power would experience pedal Bob, depressing the shock rather than expanding it. I'm no engineer and this could be total rubbish, but it made sense at the time.

Similarly, DNM is usually considered the better totally budget suspension. If people want better, there's plenty of options out there and they may perform better - but they come at a higher price and may not be required depending on the use.

Testing: Again, I am not an engineer. However, there must be ways of testing the strength of the finished product.

Whilst it's made from steel, it's meaningless to say that's sufficient strength because the verdicts out on what steel grade it actually it. Junk steel had minimal strength and this design makes no attempt to use curves as strength areas to help compensate.

Similarly, a poor bond between two surfaces can lead to the separation of two strong surfaces. The head tube to frame connection is where the frame failed for for me, the force here can be very, very high.

At a minimum ordinary bicycles are tested and raced by pro riders and motorcycles have regulations to meet, providing a low level of comfort. These frames, from what I have seen are subject to neither.

I would be interested in some for of drop testing as this is where head tubes frequently snap off. Similarly it would be interesting to see how suspension pivots respond during the same test.

Similarly fatigue testing to see how long the frame could be used for under ordinary conditions, but loaded with ebike weight would prove whether these frames will actually last.

It's really where a scientist and engineer come together to design properly controlled testing to provide meaningful information. This would be expensive and unlikely a Chinese supplier would foot the bill which is precisely why I went another way.
 
To be fair, ebike frame producers have used their clients as guinea pigs and eeb is no different. It's just because they are pretty new that there very little of that data available as of yet. Over time, if the product is good it will come to be appreciated.

Or alternatively the failures will kill it off, which I think would be a damn shame.
 
One problem with this style of frame is that it looks too much like a motoX/ mopedX bike.
If you are intending to ride the pub lick roads it is going to attract more attention ( I know some buy it for exactly that reason :roll: )...and some of that will be the law.
Ask yourself if you really want that hassle or restriction to private roads !
 
Lurkin, your expectations for test basically amount to type approval and are unrealistic for an inexpensive frame built in low volumes. Mild steel might be relatively cheap and heavy but it's an excellent choice if you want a safe, conservative product as it has excellent fatigue strength and doesn't suffer from brittle failure under normal circumstances. It's also difficult to weld it badly in a non-obvious way. Even with a poor design, a regular, quick visual inspection of the joints for signs of cracking should identify any problems well before catastrophic structural failure.

I'm not aware of any bike frame manufacturer that conducts any kind of strength test on each frame produced. If individual frame testing is done (besides alignment) it's probably limited to crack testing of welds in frames made of exotic materials.
 
In the absence of actual knowledge or information, this discussion returns to devolving to assumptions and opinions.

Your assuming its low volume, low margin and such testing hasn't been done or is unaffordable to conduct. I don't base my judgements on assumptions or agree with you - I base it on the actual information available and I don't consider basic product testing to be oneous on a frame manufacturer.

In the absence of adequate testing information available, I consider it hasn't been conducted and I'll either await user testing (other forum members accounts) or purchase a different frame from someone else with more of either type of testing (which I have).

Btw - I never said testing every frame produced. You did.

I would expect a sample to be tested to at least prove the design is effective and the manufacturing processes are not producing rubbish. Yes, it costs money, which is probably why EEB have used the same design as Vector, which just so happens to be very, very similar to the basic characteristics of the stealth frames - just with different geometry and seatpost design. There is probably an assumption there that if the original has pulled it off, so will this. It doesn't change the fact that it should be tested prior to offering it to the public.

Given differences in steel grade, geometry and test conditions this assumption that it will be the same as what the design was.. influenced by, is only somewhat valid and I value my health more than a couple of bucks. I can always work more, earn more and buy another frame. Unfortunately, this theory didn't work out so well for Humpty Dumpty....

Besides, assuming the frame is able to stand up to the testing, theres no harm done to it and its just a matter of time and effort.
 
Paul from Em3ev said they'd sold around 40 frames. That's low volume. Perhaps in many ways it's comparable to the carbon fibre NYX ebike frame.

Lurkin said:
In the absence of adequate testing information available, I consider it hasn't been conducted and I'll either await user testing (other forum members accounts) or purchase a different frame from someone else with more of either type of testing (which I have).

I'm genuinely curious to know what physical testing details and results you've managed to get from a mainstream frame producer. Are you going to share them?
 
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