Giant cruiser budget build

:) The strictest requirement for this was to keep it "budget focused" and "simple" to try to keep with the principles behind the build, the focus is on visual continuity, simplicity, and a retro theme. My idea was for visual similarity to roughly the 1890-1920 era, taking elements from steam engine, auto, and maybe motorcycles (especially Cafe racers). I do not want to clutter it up, however. That's why everything so far has a purpose, and I won't be slapping any junk in there just to make it look steampunk or whatever.

Thanks for the suggestions. Powder coat is what i have available, as I'm set up at home and work for it. I might dink with plating at some point, but probably not here.
 
Got the back rack fabrication mostly complete, and even managed to mock up the wood decking that will go on it. This is just pine, I'm going to use a decent hardwood later:

wYqZ71L.jpg

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Next move is the battery box itself. I managed to create a pattern I am mostly happy with, any comments on the lines of it (visually) are welcome:

phb4EnF.jpg

HMjWq9I.jpg


Oh, and I need to get those torque arms made. They are to serve to attach the front fender in addition to being a TA and providing some visual enhancement. Oh, and hooking up my S.A. hub, making some kind of shifter for it, integrating that into the battery box, make or buying a head and tailight that match the looks of this, making a metal chainguard, and and and and.... :shock: :pancake: :banana: :banana: :banana:
 
Back to a potential "Schwinn Stik-Shift" style shift lever design, I ran across an excellent potential design on the chopaderos forums:
http://chopaderos.com/forums/index.php?topic=121.0
IMG_0236.jpg


This would allow me to utilize the shifter provided with my Sturmey Archer hub, and not have to reverse-engineer the correct shift spacing while designing a whole new one. I love it when a solution already exists... I'm a shameless copy-cat when necessary. :lol:

A test look:

twx4Uq4.jpg
 
I'm not a fan of the shifter or the placement which should be more foreward. In my mind, that's a 60's shifter and the bike is more 40's & 50's
 
I was thinking I didn't really like it under there either. I kind of want it more up on the top-tube like the 60's Schwinn Stingray had it:

a-1967-vintage-schwinn-sting-ray-fastback-the-sting-ray-that-was-your.jpg


I'm not going to use either shifter's look in the above photos. I'm especially not a fan of the I still haven't figured out exactly what I want it to look like yet... need to look at some 1920-1940s cars for inspiration. I'm trying to avoid the aesthetic of the 50s if possible as I'm not really on it with this color scheme and frame shape already.

This is a 1940 Schwinn:
53427dx.jpg

And this is a 1950 one:
1959-schwinn-panther-2-ii-photo.jpg



While they have similar lines in the frame, I feel like there's a lot more going on in a 50s design, as if it's a little too busy. I think it's pretty, but over complex for what I'm trying to do. I'm going for the simpler look of the former because it's kind of in line with the frame shape already, and I wanted to keep this bike visually simple.

wturber said:
I'm not a fan of the shifter or the placement which should be more foreward. In my mind, that's a 60's shifter and the bike is more 40's & 50's
 
I think you can find examples from the 40s and the 50s that are either busy or plain. I think the aesthetic was pretty similar. The top tube drop of your frame is clearly not like either of the bikes shown and I frankly don't recall a drop like than in vintage bikes. I could be wrong, but that seems like a modern take on an old style. So in the end your bike will just be its own thing.

The Stingray shifter is doubly bad for me. First, it is a faux car part on a bicycle. It was so boys could pretend their bike was a "hot rod." I'm generally not a fan of such things. Though somehow the faux gas tanks they put on 40s and 50s bikes don't bother me so much. Second, it just reflects the wrong mentality (hot rod) for something that is more cruiser style

OTOH, if you painted flames on the gas tank/battery compartment, along with the more sloped "fast back" top tube, maybe it would start to make more sense.
 
That's true, there were definitely samples with more or less bling in both eras.
My main issue with just putting the grip-shifter on is that it looks completely wrong on this bike for looks. The stik shift was something that started to approach a better aesthetic for me. I suppose I could look at a plain lever-shifter, or come up with my own look.

*EDIT: Oh, I think I found the look I want, it even has the right branding on it:
70bd6b6a06bd01818a4ec72ffacc6b79.jpg

Early-vintage-Sturmey-Archer-Patents-3-speed-quadrant.jpg

image_636737581986704567.jpg


I hadn't see these before. I would place it on the side of the battery box something like below, or perhaps mid-way from the seat tube to the top tube:

BxQpqx9.png


wturber said:
I think you can find examples from the 40s and the 50s that are either ... start to make more sense.
 
Well, to keep it looking era, it should have in internal hub gear set, not a derailer and freewheel. Then you get a simple thumb shifter that would be exactly what the era calls for

Oops! Went back and looked. You are going with an internal hub. So yeah. Just an era thumb shifter. If you want to fancy it up, maybe you could encase it between two discs so that it would look sorta like a mini hub motor or some-such.
 
Yeah I am quite torn between going more steampunk (1890-1910 railroad-style look) or like 20-40's era more on the bicycle-side. I'm betting one of these lever-shifters is going to be difficult to get a-hold of for a decent price.

wturber said:
Well, to keep it looking era, ... encase it between two discs so that it would look sorta like a mini hub motor or some-such.
 
Ok taking a brief look ahead to building the main integrated battery, it optimistically looks like i could fit about 130 cells within the template I've made for the box. The nearest reasonable configuration is 12s10p, which leaves me a little wiggle room for extra cells in some strings to make up for the fact that I'm using laptop batteries (the goal is to make sure each // string has the same capacity).

KaEYTwg.jpg


Optomistically again at 2.0 amp hours per cell, I'll be at right around 900 watt hours, which is respectable for this build... More than I was hoping. If my figuring on 25 W-hr/mi is correct, that puts me at a nearly 40 mile range. I'm probably stretching that figure a bit. Easily enough for my work commute though.
 
Did a real run tonight just to pick up an efficiency figure. I did 9.83 miles on 199.5 W-hr, so 20.3 W-hr/mile. With the above 900 ish w-hr pack i should be able to get around 40 miles mostly non pedal riding.
 
A concept update, since I'm thinking about putting a "crate siding" onto the walls of the battery box. I bought a couple 2x6 pieces of nice port orford cedar.

ipHCKi8.png
 
Yeah I'll use fresh port orford (yellow) cedar for the siding. I'm going to make it look "crate-like" on the sides by doing a slightly too-thick glue-up of strips about 1-1/2" wide, and then planing it to 1/4" thick... I think. I might have to experiment a little with the look. I do want to put the giant decal on there as well.

Also I think I'm going to leave the aluminum/chrome highlights for now... like the goose-neck and seat-post. I watched a video or two on plating, and I think I could get it done at some point. I'd do it in nickel.

wturber said:
I like the wood, but I wouldn't use aged wood. I'd make it look clean and new.
 
dequinox said:
Yeah I'll use fresh port orford (yellow) cedar for the siding. I'm going to make it look "crate-like" on the sides by doing a slightly too-thick glue-up of strips about 1-1/2" wide, and then planing it to 1/4" thick... I think. I might have to experiment a little with the look. I do want to put the giant decal on there as well.

Also I think I'm going to leave the aluminum/chrome highlights for now... like the goose-neck and seat-post. I watched a video or two on plating, and I think I could get it done at some point. I'd do it in nickel.

wturber said:
I like the wood, but I wouldn't use aged wood. I'd make it look clean and new.
I'm interested in how this turns out. I'm thinking about putting a cargo box on my rear rack made of wood slats and using 1" aluminum angle on the four corners for reinforcement. I'm thinking about using ebony stain since the bike is black, but a lighter stain may look good too. It's all personal preference, but seeing other examples of wood being used is helpful.
 
E-HP said:
seeing other examples of wood being used is helpful.
Did you see the SB Cruiser trike? (there are several variations, the last uses a complete wooden rear enclosure; I actually prefer the look of the open-bed "truck" I had before that, but it was less practical).
 
amberwolf said:
E-HP said:
seeing other examples of wood being used is helpful.
Did you see the SB Cruiser trike? (there are several variations, the last uses a complete wooden rear enclosure; I actually prefer the look of the open-bed "truck" I had before that, but it was less practical).

Hey thanks. I've been chipping away at your thread for a while but forgot how much wood you used. What type of finish did you apply? I'm in the middle of putting a finish to my cargo box, starting with several coats of wood dye. I'm planning on following that with a coat of de-waxed shellac then a couple coats of lacquer. I don't plan on riding in the rain a lot, but I can't avoid having some exposure to moisture.
 
E-HP said:
Hey thanks. I've been chipping away at your thread for a while but forgot how much wood you used. What type of finish did you apply? I'm in the middle of putting a finish to my cargo box, starting with several coats of wood dye. I'm planning on following that with a coat of de-waxed shellac then a couple coats of lacquer. I don't plan on riding in the rain a lot, but I can't avoid having some exposure to moisture.
I used some "deck seal" stuff in "honey lemon" color because it was on clearance at Lowe's for way way cheaper than usual for a couple gallon jug. I actaully wanted to use a redwood color, or maybe maple, but it was way too expensive for my budget at the time. It's got some sort of silicone in it to seal the wood, kinda like Thompson's. Worked well so far on the wood itself. But it isn't a coating, it soaks into the wood, so it doesn't seal between planks, etc., so the whole thing isn't "waterproof".

Here in Phoenix taht's not exactly a big issue most of the time--I'm more worried aobut keeping the heat out of it so ti's got an inch of styrofoam insulation inside the seatbox area (none in the back; it's open for airflow since teh dogs can ride in it; I use SF coolers to carry cold groceries, with two inch thick walls.


I did use a clear shellac or lacquer, maybe it's polyurethane (can't remember, would have to look at the can) on the back facing panel, but that was more to help secure the LED strips to the wood and keep them there than sealing teh wood. I also did use some stain on certain strips of the rear cargo area, to make it look more like a frame (like the metal red framework of the trike), but otherwise it's all using that honey-lemon deck seal.

The deck and cargo/seatbox are narrow "planks" of some form of white pine (recycled from some signage), pretty soft and light. They darken quite a lot with sun exposure and weathering, even with the deck seal, which is fine by my (I actually like the old silver "barn wood" look, which I had with the original deck of the trike, using old pallet planks--I forget why exactly I had to change them out and went with the new deck, but I'm sure the info is in the thread when I did that probably about 3 and a half years ago or so).

The rear cargo area, the "van" box, is made of dogeared pine fence planks, also lightweight but redder than the other stuff. I would've used the same narrow planks but didn't have enough left to do it, so I bought the fence planks at Lowe's pretty cheap. (carried them home strapped along the canopy top).

It is not great woodworking, but it's not going to come apart, glued and screwed together. Not tightly fit, on purpose, so air can breeze thru while riding, and so the planks vibrate as separate pieces instead of a large wall, to keep the boominess of large panels away. (I think that might've been why I redid the deck out of narrow planks) so the dogs wouldn't get spooked or irritated by the noise.
 
E-HP said:
dequinox, any updates on your project?

I haven't updated in a while because I've had other project come to the forefront, and it's been a terribly busy summer.

I still have the following left to do: battery box, 18650 pack, powder coat rear rack (pick a color to boot :roll:), cut custom torque arms, and add tail-light/headlight.

I'll get moving on it soon, the fall season helps because our family schedule settles down a bit. :flame: :banana: :pancake: :confused: <--that's family life. :lol:

I am working on an interesting little side project that might feed into this one involving 18650 cells... let's just say I was inspired by the NESE solder-less modular cell holders, but didn't want to spring for the hardware.
 
I had a question on an old battery pack, LiFePO4, wherein I have a BMS I've been feeding the 54.6 v from a Li-ion charger, where most of the resting cell voltages are within 0.27v of eachother, but the ground to cell-1 readout is 2.47. That's got me a bit worried.

I've got it wired such that the red wire for the balance leads is on the absolute positive for the battery pack, and the black wire is on the cell next to absolute ground. Could this be the cause for the cell next to ground reading so low? Please see the attached diagram.

Cell readings are as follows:
Neg-Pos_____Voltage
G-1_____2.47
1-2_____3.45
2-3_____3.42
3-4_____3.31
4-5_____3.38
5-6_____3.34
6-7_____3.35
7-8_____3.3
8-9_____3.39
9-10_____3.56
10-11_____3.36
11-12_____3.56
12-13_____3.34
13-14_____3.39
14-15_____3.57
15-16_____3.38
BMS hookup error1.jpg
 
Battery problem solved... I had the wrong voltage. After some reading I bought the proper voltage charger and I think it's all set.
This pack is cutting out, however, when I throttle up on the ebike. I can't see on my wattmeter what the peak amps are, due to the power completely cutting out. I'll have to open it up and see what might be the issue, as it did fine with this same kit before... propelling me up to 32 mph.

I still need to make a chain-guard, hook up the older style shifter, get rid of the 3-led throttle and change it for a blank basic one, powder coat the back rack and deck it, and last but not least... build the battery box from wood.

I went on a ride the other day with a different pack though, and it worked nicely. Steady, firm acceleration, and no too choppy throttle response. I am considering a better controller though. It might be nice to get a regen braking controller on this bike eventually.

April 20.JPG
 
Just a little update on this project, now titled "Rootbeer Float Cruiser".

To-dos:
-Finish rear rack
-Build box for under top-tube (may abandon battery build, laptop cells are shit for this sort of thing)
-Chain guard (going to go plastic 3d print for now)
-Make torque arms (simplified version, I don't want those weird swoopy things now)
-Properly install front fender
-Replace seat-post, maybe the seat too
-Figure out battery solution
-New pedals
-Last: mount new Giant emblem. I ordered one for each of my most recent builds.

Photos, not that it's changed much:
RBF cruiser.jpg
RBF2 cruiser.jpg
 
Just a little update on this build, as I've been using it for a few days to commute around 8-9 miles depending on my route. over three trips my average has been 33.2 whr/mi. This is with speeds in the 20-25 range and about 50% pedaling time. It still seems a bit high, and I'm starting to think that the cheapo controller is a major factor. Both of my big heavy bikes are getting around this number despite different setups and controllers. May be time for an upgrade in that department.
 
dequinox said:
over three trips my average has been 33.2 whr/mi. This is with speeds in the 20-25 range and about 50% pedaling time. It still seems a bit high, and I'm starting to think that the cheapo controller is a major factor.

I really doubt it; there's negligible difference in efficiency between the cheapest kind of square wave controller and the best FOC controller. Your parachute-like riding position and high unloaded speed relative to cruising speed are surely much bigger factors.

I use 40-50 Wh/mi on my e-bikes when I ride at about 20 mph, but I'm very tall and heavy.
 
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