cheap frame + strong motor = nice bike

Hi all,

About a year ago, I assembled my first BBSHD bicycle on a Trek Shift 1 frame. The bike was lightweight, fast, nimble and stopped on a dime even from high speeds.


There were a few drawbacks though. It had a jarring ride when I occasionally rode on dirt paths or across fields. It also had an aluminum frame which was stable but also prone to fatigue and possibly a crack/failure down the road. I also wanted disc brakes if possible. The brakes on this bike stopped really well (KoolStop pads), but the one time I rode in the rain and I realized that discs were going to be safer in the long run.

So I kept my eyes open for a steel frame bike with disc brakes and simple spring front fork shocks. And then I found this for $100 barely used.



Steel frame (clean welds), spring fork, disc brakes.

So I reinstalled the BBSHD to the new frame. To it I added a seat post spring shock and spring comfort seat. For safety, I put Continental Contact Plus tires on it (700x47), and hybrid hydraulic calipers brakes, front and rear lights, and side mirror. For comfort, I put an adjustable steering stem and handlebars with a 5 inch rise (nice upright seating). For reliable shifting, I installed a Deore 7 speed derailleur, a 11t-34t freewheel and thumb shifter. And for distance, the battery is 48v/24.5ah. This bike climbs 45% hills, cruises 50+ miles easily and just yesterday did 42+mph (downhill, peddling, at 70% power level on the motor). Keep in mind going that fast is not a regular occurrence; that happens only when I am trying to get out of the way of traffic coming up from behind me. The bike will go about 35mph on the flat with a full battery, 100% power, throttle only.

The bike sits 54 inches tall and weighs 60 pounds without the battery.



I have about 700 miles on this bike and motor combined and am enjoying every minute.

I think suspension is critical. However, there are some on this board that are much heavier then me and they bottom out suspension systems. They are more likely to prefer under-inflated tires.

I agree. Since 95% of my riding is on smooth roads, suspension is not such a concern. However I may purchase a nice set of suspension forks down the road if I decide to do some upgrading. For now, the cheap shocks on the front with the shock seat post make for a very smooth ride.

It is a good frame choice, better then a department store bicycle shaped object, or some mystery generic frame, or the back yard engineered frames (Enduro suitcase frames) that seem to be popular.

And you are riding in a rational sane manner, not huge power, not super fast.

A bonus for that Trek frame is that it doesnt have holes in the frame for cable routing. Which can be a problem if you are hanging a battery off the top tube. My Townie Electra 21D had holes in the frame for cable routing and the frame cracked right at the cable routing hole.

markz said:

It is a good frame choice, better then a department store bicycle shaped object, or some mystery generic frame...

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Thanks. I wanted to get a steel frame for strength, flexibility and longevity. I realize the frame in heavier than your typical aluminum frame, but with the motor a few extra pounds is not as big a concern. The Schwinn Glenwood frame is a cheap department store bike frame, but with the few upgrades it turned into a pretty nice e-bike.

...I added a seat post spring shock and spring comfort seat...

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I bought a Thudbuster and it completely transformed the experience. Later I bought a Suntour NCX, because it was shorter so my feet were more flat on the ground at stops. I didn't have any problems selling the Thudbuster for 80% of retail price.

spinningmagnets said:

...I added a seat post spring shock and spring comfort seat...

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I bought a Thudbuster and it completely transformed the experience.

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I would have loved a Thudbuster, but it would have cost more than the original bike (without the motor kit). Instead I purchased a cheap seat stem shock (coil spring) and spring seat. I smartly took the coil spring seat post apart and properly greased is so that it moves freely and smoothly. It actually feels quite nice now.

I like the big seats with the big steel coil springs, I bought some really nice ones at the used community bicycle store for $5 when normally they would retail for $75-100 easy.

I don't know about other heavy weight aka fat people like myself, but I break seats all the time, placing the seat in the correct spot on the rails, the rails would collapse. Right now I have a cheap $20 elastromer suspension seat, not sure about the suspension part, but the rails collapsed long ago and its still holding up fine. My thought upon thinking about my situation was to shove hockey pucks underneath the rails which I will do on the next good seat I get.

A suspension seat post would be good to have if its a rigid frame, and having a suspension fork is nice but a good one is expensive just like those cushioned seat posts.

I'm finding that even cheap parts can sometimes work perfectly nicely if setup properly and lubed properly. The cheap spring seatpost worked poorly (would stick and not come back to original position) when I got it, but then I took it apart and lubed it with high quality grease. Now it moves smoothly and quietly.

drguitar said:

The cheap spring seatpost worked poorly (would stick and not come back to original position) when I got it, but then I took it apart and lubed it with high quality grease. Now it moves smoothly and quietly.

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I should probably do that with mine. Was it difficult to put it back together? (I'm imagining fighting the spring during reassembly).

99t4 said:

I should probably do that with mine. Was it difficult to put it back together? (I'm imagining fighting the spring during reassembly).

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This explains the process.

https://youtu.be/Q7acUFC2goQ

99t4 said:

Was it difficult to put it back together? (I'm imagining fighting the spring during reassembly).

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Actually, the spring in mine was not under tension in the post. So putting it back together was very simple.