BBSHD 29er or 26 or 27.5 FS Mountain / Off Road Opinions Needed

geosped

100 W
Joined
Mar 18, 2015
Messages
258
Hey guys could use some advice. I currently have a 26" XC FS Bike with a BBSHD kit and 17ah pack. My primary use case is to go mountain biking on the weekend. I ride most of the trails in North Georgia I dont do any down hill stuff mostly trail rides, single track. Anyway I want to change platforms to either a 29er mullet or 27.5 bike full suspension. I would like a bit more ground clearance and the ability to plow over stuff which my current bike is not as well suited to do. What other benefits are there for going to a larger wheel on an e-bike? What do you guys recommend. Also looking to downsize my battery as I want to store it under the saddle and not on the downtube. I just need the pack to last for a couple of hours riding with minimal throttle engagement. The 17ah pack last anywhere from 2 to 3 rides so I bought way to much battery. What size would you recommend? Any gotcha's when considering a newer larger bike? I know that after 2011 most bottom brackets are pressed fit and I would need an adapter and that BB's widths are typically a bit larger on a newer bikes so I probably wont be able to use my existing kit. Any other considerations that I should be aware of?

Would you recommend a Trail or Enduro? I was thinking a Trail bike 140-160mm travel would be more than enough knowing I wont be doing any big jumps.

How does the BBSHD fair on a 29er is it harder on wear & tear of the drivetrain?
 
Hi, I'm in Roswell so I ride Big Creek, Blankets Creek, Old Rope Mill, etc. on my 2016 Cove Hustler 27.5 (150mm travel front/rear) equipped with a BBS02 and a 14s4p 14ah shark pack on the downtube. Honestly, I'd still be on a 26er if it wasn't a "dead-end" tire size lol! 27.5 or 29er is irrelevant in my view as long as the geometry works for you. I also ride with "minimal throttle engagement" and find that with my 14ah pack I can ride ALL of Blankets Creek AND ALL of Old Rope Mill Park (approximately 3-4 hours) and my battery pack is down from 58v to 52v. I'm out of gas long before the battery pack is! I would say look for a bike with a 'straight' downtube so that the BBS is as out-of-the-way as possible and, like I said, 14ah (or less) is plenty for a big day out. Good luck!
cove9.jpg
 
Split it down the middle and make a mullet 69er with yours. the higher axle to crown should slacken things up a bit and should help angle the motor up a few degrees to help with log clearance. forks and tires plentiful. quick and easy. see if you like it and you are only down an hour and few hundred bucks. Better than committing to an entire build when you have a good foundation. I know there are certain things my 29er does better, but 26 can feel a lot more fun
 
pexio said:
Hi, I'm in Roswell so I ride Big Creek, Blankets Creek, Old Rope Mill, etc. on my 2016 Cove Hustler 27.5 (150mm travel front/rear) equipped with a BBS02 and a 14s4p 14ah shark pack on the downtube. Honestly, I'd still be on a 26er if it wasn't a "dead-end" tire size lol! 27.5 or 29er is irrelevant in my view as long as the geometry works for you. I also ride with "minimal throttle engagement" and find that with my 14ah pack I can ride ALL of Blankets Creek AND ALL of Old Rope Mill Park (approximately 3-4 hours) and my battery pack is down from 58v to 52v. I'm out of gas long before the battery pack is! I would say look for a bike with a 'straight' downtube so that the BBS is as out-of-the-way as possible and, like I said, 14ah (or less) is plenty for a big day out. Good luck!
cove9.jpg
In the picture, how does the rear suspension not hit the battery case?
26 is still relevant and a valid size.


Manbeer said:
Split it down the middle and make a mullet 69er with yours. the higher axle to crown should slacken things up a bit and should help angle the motor up a few degrees to help with log clearance. forks and tires plentiful. quick and easy. see if you like it and you are only down an hour and few hundred bucks. Better than committing to an entire build when you have a good foundation. I know there are certain things my 29er does better, but 26 can feel a lot more fun
Remember to also look at the length of the crank arms.
 
geosped said:
I would like a bit more ground clearance and the ability to plow over stuff
Definitely 29er then.

geosped said:
What other benefits are there for going to a larger wheel on an e-bike?
How does the BBSHD fair on a 29er is it harder on wear & tear of the drivetrain?
No difference to a mid-drive motor.
 
Mid Drive - 20" vs 29"
https://ebikes.ca/tools/simulator.html?mid=true&batt=B5220_GA&cont=C40&cont_b=C40&batt_b=B5220_GA&mid_b=true&wheel_b=29i&grade=9&bopen=true&grade_b=9&wheel=20i

Direct Drive Hub Motor - 20" vs 29"
https://ebikes.ca/tools/simulator.html?bopen=true&batt=B5220_GA&cont=C40&grade=9&cont_b=C40&batt_b=B5220_GA&grade_b=9&wheel=20i&wheel_b=29i&motor=MX4505&motor_b=MX4505

fatty said:
geosped said:
What other benefits are there for going to a larger wheel on an e-bike?
How does the BBSHD fair on a 29er is it harder on wear & tear of the drivetrain?
No difference to a mid-drive motor.
 
markz said:
Mid Drive - 20" vs 29"
https://ebikes.ca/tools/simulator.html?mid=true&batt=B5220_GA&cont=C40&cont_b=C40&batt_b=B5220_GA&mid_b=true&wheel_b=29i&grade=9&bopen=true&grade_b=9&wheel=20i

Direct Drive Hub Motor - 20" vs 29"
https://ebikes.ca/tools/simulator.html?bopen=true&batt=B5220_GA&cont=C40&grade=9&cont_b=C40&batt_b=B5220_GA&grade_b=9&wheel=20i&wheel_b=29i&motor=MX4505&motor_b=MX4505
BBSHDs almost universally use drivetrain gears -- you can't compare at a fixed, arbitrary gear ratio. I mean, you can, but it isn't realistic or insightful. Big wheels go farther=faster.
 
markz said:
In the picture, how does the rear suspension not hit the battery case?

The top of the battery case was softened with a heat gun and a 'channel' was formed to provide clearance for the shock.
20190501_100854 (Large).jpg
 
A good choice these days for a BBS-equipped full suspension bike might be a Zumbi F11 (available as a 29er or 27.5) which has a straight downtube and space for a battery pack. A straight downtube is important because it keeps the motor from hanging too low.
https://zumbicycles.com/f11/
z2.jpg
 
There are better add on drives than the BBSHD coming available which might be worth waiting for. Specifically X1 Stealth and Lightest. Both of which could be mounted inside the correctly chosen frame and offer maximum ground clearance.
 
Grantmac said:
There are better add on drives than the BBSHD coming available which might be worth waiting for. Specifically X1 Stealth and Lightest. Both of which could be mounted inside the correctly chosen frame and offer maximum ground clearance.

The reduced clearance with a BBS02 hasn't really been an issue for me. It's still a good bit higher than the cranks so I'm far more likely to strike the pedals than the motor. Unless the goal is to do as little exercise as possible, I find the BBS overkill for trail riding. I'd rather have a motor with half the power and half the weight.
 
Strictly from my opinion and observations so far on the ebike front, I don't think there's much reason to have really light weight framed emtb's because there's not really much of a penalty to have a heavier, burlier framed pedal assist mountain bike. It may actually be a benefit to have the heavier, more competent bike with a motor. On our pedal-only bikes we've all been gram conscious for good reason. This may not be much of an issue anymore...except for lifting the bike onto a rack or such...LOL! I think riding these factory or conversion emtb's is also a little harder on the frame and components because...well...we have more power to plow over trail obstacles and such, so having a little more substantial frame and suspension components is a bit of insurance.

I installed my BBSHD on an '08 Santa Cruz Nomad that has a 160mm coil fork and a DH style coil rear shock. This bike is used solely for mountain biking on trails that have decent technical aspects. The around 50-pound total weight of this bike is not really noticeable on the trail...in fact I'd say it contributes to a beneficial level of increased stability where you don't get knocked off your line as much as a lighter pedal-only bike...much like why a dirt motorcycle is very stable on a trail. My Nomad has a 26" rear wheel and the Fox 36 fork can run a huge 26" tire or a 2.35 27.5 tire. I'm noticing with the pedal assist that the rollover capability is not as big an issue compared to the 29'er because you have more than our wimpy human power, so stalling out on an obstacle isn't as common. I think you'll find better choices in newer frames or complete bikes in the 27.5 or 28'er category for obvious reasons.

I'm not really having any ground clearance issues on the Nomad. It's only a tiny bit lower than the 42T Luna Eclipse chainring. If I were constantly running in extreme rock gardens or trying to jump up on to sizeable ledges, I think most of these conversions could be problem. However, I measured the ground clearance on our shop's Trek Rail 7 with inside-the-frame Bosch motor, and it was the same clearance as my Nomad. Also someone mentioned the power of the BBSHD perhaps being too much for off road. With the program cable I was able to soften up the power delivery using a lot of good guidance from many of the forums. I like that the controller is noticeably more robust than the BBS02, so you also may have a little more peace of mind.

Almost forgot...I'm running my 52V--17AH battery in a backpack with a longer cord to the battery for mountain biking trails. I thought this would be a temporary thing until I figured out what long term solution I would go to. However, I'm finding this method to work quite well at this point. I can see commuters and such wanting/needing a bike mounted battery perhaps, but really that is fairly preferential, so the individual has to come to grips with the pros and cons of it.
 
pexio said:
Hi, I'm in Roswell so I ride Big Creek, Blankets Creek, Old Rope Mill, etc. on my 2016 Cove Hustler 27.5 (150mm travel front/rear) equipped with a BBS02 and a 14s4p 14ah shark pack on the downtube. Honestly, I'd still be on a 26er if it wasn't a "dead-end" tire size lol! 27.5 or 29er is irrelevant in my view as long as the geometry works for you. I also ride with "minimal throttle engagement" and find that with my 14ah pack I can ride ALL of Blankets Creek AND ALL of Old Rope Mill Park (approximately 3-4 hours) and my battery pack is down from 58v to 52v. I'm out of gas long before the battery pack is! I would say look for a bike with a 'straight' downtube so that the BBS is as out-of-the-way as possible and, like I said, 14ah (or less) is plenty for a big day out. Good luck!
cove9.jpg

Will have to get together and go riding as soon as another bike up and running. I'll keep an eye out for your bike. I go to Big Creek at least twice a week. Although now I'm huffin and puffin.

I could not sell my e-XC BBSHD bike I had it listed for two months and not a single hit. I stripped my BBSHD kit off and sold the bike by it self with in 8hrs of posting the listing.
 
This is what I wound up with. Sorry I have another thread going but thanks for all of the suggestions. The first bike pic is from a BBSH bike that I just dismantled it was based on a 68mm BBSHD with 42T Lekki and 17ah EM3EV battery. 26" XC Specialized epic. Big issue was a 1.9 tire in the rear. Man once it got going it was NOT very stable. Very sketchy in fact. It weighed around 50 lbs and I did not find it stable at all Not a whole lot of traction going on. It really needed a wider tire with more grip. I would find my sell locking up the brakes and not trusting my lean in on turn's at all. Not to mention riding on firmer tire pressure was a must because I would constantly get double pinched flats when I'd try to soften up the rear and or suspension. The rear shock would also bottom out. I certainly would not recommend a XC 100mm travel bike with a BBSHD kit especially if you do any kind of serious trail riding. Learn from my failures :0. It was a lot of fun though and it climbed like a goat on PCP.

Ok so I bought a bike a couple of weeks ago. With such a limited supply of bikes in Georgia I jumped on this bike and though it might make a GREAT donor bike. It's a 27.5" Breezer Team Repack but it appears I may have to hack this one up a bit to make it work so I have a big decision to make. Do I want to hack up this nice bike up? It looks like I'll have to remove the chain guide and bracket that's welded on the underside of the BB. Or just sell this one and buy something more suitable. I also want to use a much much smaller pack. No point in carrying a 17ah pack as the pack will outlast my riding capacity. There is no way I would ever out last a 17ah pack on a single ride. I'm good for 2hr max ride and then I'm toast. Reducing the extra weight should make the bike feel a bit more nimble on the track lets not forget you still have the 8or so lbs of the BBSHD sitting very low. I think that's the main reason why it feels like it tracks so well in general the low center of gravity that the mid drive has. But my setup was not ideal. Also not a big fan of the 26" tire with out dialing in the throttle this is also an issue. I know you can now reprogram to make the throttle less sensitive but I just played with the Start Limit setting to where it would be better but not ideal. Climbing rocks and roots on an in climb or around a turn and having to hit the throttle can be pretty sketchy. I've fallen several times due to the "jerky" feeling of the BBSHD and popped a wheelie. It took me months to figure out get on the throttle early well before the obstacle and now I have it down pretty well but still what a PITA. I think a 27.5 or 29 with enough momentum would make it much much easier to get in and around these kinds of obstacles with needing the throttle to bail me out or at least I wouldn't need it as much. On large climbs where I'm other wise pooped out I love the throttle. Most of the time I find my self using PAS 3 when riding unless I'm on a long stretch of flat road where I'll go up to 4.

So I'm thinking an 8ah 40T 21700 cell 52v should last me a good long day of riding before recharging question is where do I put it. Anyone go this route is an 8ah 40T 52v enough? Does it sag to much? Can you get at least 2hrs of good trail riding? I've heard good things from those that have actually used it and bad things from those have haven't (doubters). But then again I've only heard it from a couple of people. I'm thinking a saddle bag somehow strapped in the small triangle below the seat adjacent to the top tube. Another cool feature of this bike is the dropper post so something else to consider with mounting the battery behind the seat. So many things to consider arrrrr. Would you guys hack it up?

Also anyone have experience with the Lekkie extension kit. It apparently takes your 68mm BBSHD kit and allows you to mount it on a BB92. Let me know your thoughts and comments. I love reading everyone's ideas it's funny we all have the same interest with all different experiences and use cases and everyone is different but the system just seems to work great with what ever the condition.
 

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geosped, that bike looks like a decent candidate for the BBSHD. On that chainguide at the BB area, do you have a closer pic of that? Even on single chainring setups that are so common today, you usually don't need chainguides with a good chainline and something like the Luna 42 Eclipse that has a narrow/wide tooth profile. You match that with a clutch style rear derailleur, and it becomes extremely hard to ever drop a chain. The Luna 42 Eclipse is often one of the only ways to attain a good factory positioned chainline with the BBSHD on a mountain bike. You mention "hacking" on that factory chainguide when it probably isn't that critical anyway with the right components, even on just a pedal-only MTB...unless they designed the BB with some kind of lousy chainline...which is doubtful.

geosped, you really need to reprogram the BBSHD to achieve a highly satisfactory power delivery. I swear to you it's not hard at all, and frankly many have plowed that ground already and you won't be having to reinvent the wheel to tweak the program. Even for a computer luddite like me, it was easy to follow the directions, and it was almost plug-and-play with some of the excellent instruction provided by many sources here and elsewhere. I've been somewhat shocked how smooth you can get the throttle and pedal assist tailored to your preference for actual mountain biking.

I think you're heading in the right direction by going to a burlier framed MTB with good suspension for the BBSHD application.
 

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TNC said:
geosped, that bike looks like a decent candidate for the BBSHD. On that chainguide at the BB area, do you have a closer pic of that? Even on single chainring setups that are so common today, you usually don't need chainguides with a good chainline and something like the Luna 42 Eclipse that has a narrow/wide tooth profile. You match that with a clutch style rear derailleur, and it becomes extremely hard to ever drop a chain. The Luna 42 Eclipse is often one of the only ways to attain a good factory positioned chainline with the BBSHD on a mountain bike. You mention "hacking" on that factory chainguide when it probably isn't that critical anyway with the right components, even on just a pedal-only MTB...unless they designed the BB with some kind of lousy chainline...which is doubtful.

geosped, you really need to reprogram the BBSHD to achieve a highly satisfactory power delivery. I swear to you it's not hard at all, and frankly many have plowed that ground already and you won't be having to reinvent the wheel to tweak the program. Even for a computer luddite like me, it was easy to follow the directions, and it was almost plug-and-play with some of the excellent instruction provided by many sources here and elsewhere. I've been somewhat shocked how smooth you can get the throttle and pedal assist tailored to your preference for actual mountain biking.

I think you're heading in the right direction by going to a burlier framed MTB with good suspension for the BBSHD application.
I've attached a couple of pics of the underside. Let me know what you think. I have an eggrider which is BlueTooth and have programed it that way. I"ll have to look back at the thread and see exactly which settings to modify. It wasnt as clear as what to do if one had an eggrider.
 

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geosped, I found your other thread on this bike. I'll attach my response just in case you've bypassed that thread.

Ahhh geosped, from your other post I see what you're talking about...the ICGS tabs. It almost seems these have gone out of favor, and honestly other solutions exist to not require this. For out-and-out DH and hardcore freeride it was not a bad idea, but now with clutched derailleurs and narrow/wide chainrings you don't see them as often. As to whether you should cut them off, that's a personal decision, but I'm sure you can't and don't need them for your application. It would be nice if one of the tabs that don't interfere with the motor placement could be used as a secondary motor mount/retention feature, but I'm not sure that's possible, being on the opposing side of the clamping interface.
 
TNC said:
geosped, I found your other thread on this bike. I'll attach my response just in case you've bypassed that thread.

Ahhh geosped, from your other post I see what you're talking about...the ICGS tabs. It almost seems these have gone out of favor, and honestly other solutions exist to not require this. For out-and-out DH and hardcore freeride it was not a bad idea, but now with clutched derailleurs and narrow/wide chainrings you don't see them as often. As to whether you should cut them off, that's a personal decision, but I'm sure you can't and don't need them for your application. It would be nice if one of the tabs that don't interfere with the motor placement could be used as a secondary motor mount/retention feature, but I'm not sure that's possible, being on the opposing side of the clamping interface.


@TNC user_id=78739 Thanks for your reply. I made the decision and I'm going to move forward. Any ideas on the best way to remove those tabs? I was gonna use a dremel and a slicing disc. I wanted to see if I could save the actual adapter mount. Also since nobody wants to buy a used 68mm BBSHD kit. I was going to use this adapter https://california-ebike.com/shop/bottom-bracket-adapter-pf92/ so I could "stretch my 68mm to fit a 92mm PF92 BB looks like it was made specfically for my application.

Any thoughts on using a 36T Lekkie Chain Ring.
 
geosped, on the chainring does the Lekkie have enough backspacing to provide a good chainline? The deepest Lekkie is about 20mm, while the deepest Luna is about 25mm. In the case of my Nomad pictured above, I couldn't get a good chainline except with the Luna 42T with a 25mm offset. Now, I'm not saying a Lekkie of a certain size and offset won't work in your case, just be aware of the offset of the two brands/models. I know many get the Lekkie to work just fine on many MTB's.
 
TNC said:
geosped, on the chainring does the Lekkie have enough backspacing to provide a good chainline? The deepest Lekkie is about 20mm, while the deepest Luna is about 25mm. In the case of my Nomad pictured above, I couldn't get a good chainline except with the Luna 42T with a 25mm offset. Now, I'm not saying a Lekkie of a certain size and offset won't work in your case, just be aware of the offset of the two brands/models. I know many get the Lekkie to work just fine on many MTB's.

I have a 42T Lekkie on the Blue Bike above and I measured it to the new bike and it wont fit. Major chain stay interference. It doesnt clear at all even with a bunch of BB spacers it would still be a problem. The 42T certainly has much greater offset than the 36T. I know Lekkie does carry a 2mm spacer but that's only gonna give me about 7.2mm. I'll just have to see what happens. The 30T that's on the bike now seems to have plenty of space and the 36T should have plenty of clearance as well. I'm wondering if I'm gonna need to add a few links to my chain 11sp chain. I may wind up having to get a luna chain ring. Not sure yet. I'll have to look at it. Parts should be arriving next week.

36T(HD) – 110g (5.2mm Offset)

42T(HD) – 158g (18.3mm Offset)

https://electricbike.com/forum/forum/knowledge-base/motors-and-kits/bbshd/20359-bbshd-chainring-offset-guide
 
Which ever chainring you go with, just make sure you select one with a narrow/wide tooth profile. That and a clutched derailleur can cover quite a few sins on the old chainline.
 
PXL_20210531_221321051.jpg
pexio said:
Hi, I'm in Roswell so I ride Big Creek, Blankets Creek, Old Rope Mill, etc. on my 2016 Cove Hustler 27.5 (150mm travel front/rear) equipped with a BBS02 and a 14s4p 14ah shark pack on the downtube. Honestly, I'd still be on a 26er if it wasn't a "dead-end" tire size lol! 27.5 or 29er is irrelevant in my view as long as the geometry works for you. I also ride with "minimal throttle engagement" and find that with my 14ah pack I can ride ALL of Blankets Creek AND ALL of Old Rope Mill Park (approximately 3-4 hours) and my battery pack is down from 58v to 52v. I'm out of gas long before the battery pack is! I would say look for a bike with a 'straight' downtube so that the BBS is as out-of-the-way as possible and, like I said, 14ah (or less) is plenty for a big day out. Good luck!
cove9.jpg

Hey,
Nice meeting you yesterday on the trails. I thought I remember your post about how you got your battery to fit and it was on my post, funny it's small world. We were bound to run into each other I ride Big Creek fairly often. We need to do it again. It's great to find other DIY's bikes out there on the trails. I'm seeing more and more of us out there on the trails. I'm trying to setup a group ride for the local Atlanteans. I found two other guys in Atlanta that have similar ebikes.

TNC said:
Which ever chainring you go with, just make sure you select one with a narrow/wide tooth profile. That and a clutched derailleur can cover quite a few sins on the old chain line.

Funny you mention chainring. I just got notification and ordered a Luna Eclipse 42T with the 24.8mm spacing. At this point what's another hundy. It's going to offer about 6mm more spacing than the Lekkie 42T although It's still pretty far off. From what I can tell this is my best option so far. Check on the clutched derailleur and check on the narrow tooth Luna's 42T is Narrow Wide as are the Lekki's as I'm sure you already know. I have also added a chain guide. I noticed on my XC rig with the same Lekkie and BBSHD with an almost perfect chain line the with out a chain guide I would on occasion get the occasional pop off. Now on the new bike with a chain guide I have 0 chain pop offs to date. I got a cheap Chain Guide from AliExpress around $11 and I think it's great cheap insurance. One of the chain popoffs on my XC bike the Blue one posted on here did significant damage to the frame nothing structurally but chewed it up pretty good and definitely weakened the chain.

Pic of completed project. I have about 30 miles on it so far with the wacked out chain line. I can feel the tension and some noise on some climbs. I'm surprised it hasn't snapped yet. Battery is giving me about 15miles and says about 51% leftover. I'm thinking between 20-25miles of black expert trail / intermediate trail riding. The 8ah 52v pack is still way more than I'll ever use on a single ride. I'm thinking 6.5ah would have been the sweet spot to maximize weight efficiency.

Next steps:
*Smaller crank arms 152mm to reduce pedal strikes which are not many now that I have the correct tire pressure in my tires and proper sag set in rear shok.
* 42T Luna Eclipse Chain Ring with 25mm offset.
* 2.6 DH tires for added traction and stability. Also may go 2.5 in the front and 2.4 or 2.3 in the rear. If anyone knows of a good cheap tire let me know.
 

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can you guys link which chain guide your using with bbshd?? any eBay source for same/similar? I never use Ali..

I'm using an old front derailleur as a chain guide.. it's working well but would like to clean it up a bit.. since the bbshd chain line is off, not just any chain guard may reach out that far.. I'm currently running lekkie 36t ..


geosped said:
PXL_20210531_221321051.jpg
pexio said:
Hi, I'm in Roswell so I ride Big Creek, Blankets Creek, Old Rope Mill, etc. on my 2016 Cove Hustler 27.5 (150mm travel front/rear) equipped with a BBS02 and a 14s4p 14ah shark pack on the downtube. Honestly, I'd still be on a 26er if it wasn't a "dead-end" tire size lol! 27.5 or 29er is irrelevant in my view as long as the geometry works for you. I also ride with "minimal throttle engagement" and find that with my 14ah pack I can ride ALL of Blankets Creek AND ALL of Old Rope Mill Park (approximately 3-4 hours) and my battery pack is down from 58v to 52v. I'm out of gas long before the battery pack is! I would say look for a bike with a 'straight' downtube so that the BBS is as out-of-the-way as possible and, like I said, 14ah (or less) is plenty for a big day out. Good luck!
cove9.jpg

Hey,
Nice meeting you yesterday on the trails. I thought I remember your post about how you got your battery to fit and it was on my post, funny it's small world. We were bound to run into each other I ride Big Creek fairly often. We need to do it again. It's great to find other DIY's bikes out there on the trails. I'm seeing more and more of us out there on the trails. I'm trying to setup a group ride for the local Atlanteans. I found two other guys in Atlanta that have similar ebikes.

TNC said:
Which ever chainring you go with, just make sure you select one with a narrow/wide tooth profile. That and a clutched derailleur can cover quite a few sins on the old chain line.

Funny you mention chainring. I just got notification and ordered a Luna Eclipse 42T with the 24.8mm spacing. At this point what's another hundy. It's going to offer about 6mm more spacing than the Lekkie 42T although It's still pretty far off. From what I can tell this is my best option so far. Check on the clutched derailleur and check on the narrow tooth Luna's 42T is Narrow Wide as are the Lekki's as I'm sure you already know. I have also added a chain guide. I noticed on my XC rig with the same Lekkie and BBSHD with an almost perfect chain line the with out a chain guide I would on occasion get the occasional pop off. Now on the new bike with a chain guide I have 0 chain pop offs to date. I got a cheap Chain Guide from AliExpress around $11 and I think it's great cheap insurance. One of the chain popoffs on my XC bike the Blue one posted on here did significant damage to the frame nothing structurally but chewed it up pretty good and definitely weakened the chain.

Pic of completed project. I have about 30 miles on it so far with the wacked out chain line. I can feel the tension and some noise on some climbs. I'm surprised it hasn't snapped yet. Battery is giving me about 15miles and says about 51% leftover. I'm thinking between 20-25miles of black expert trail / intermediate trail riding. The 8ah 52v pack is still way more than I'll ever use on a single ride. I'm thinking 6.5ah would have been the sweet spot to maximize weight efficiency.

Next steps:
*Smaller crank arms 152mm to reduce pedal strikes which are not many now that I have the correct tire pressure in my tires and proper sag set in rear shok.
* 42T Luna Eclipse Chain Ring with 25mm offset.
* 2.6 DH tires for added traction and stability. Also may go 2.5 in the front and 2.4 or 2.3 in the rear. If anyone knows of a good cheap tire let me know.
 
I have this one and it's been working very well. Shouldn't be hard to find based it the pic. Or search using the description.
Bike Single-disc Chain Guide Protector Mountain Bicycle Aluminum Alloy Chain Tensioner MTB
https://a.aliexpress.com/_mq1FlYN
 

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My chain line what do you guys think?? I'll be ok with the chainstay. I guess it's hard to tell even from the pics. One pic on the small,middle and large cog.

Any guesses as to how long before the chain snaps? I've got about 30 miles on it
 

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