What's fun about DIY is that we get to prescribe the priorities. There is so much diversity here and our backgrounds vary so much. I hear and get and appreciate all of the gentle push back. I was pretty aware of the considerable downsides of this build before I got into the build.
I actually...
Yes, could have located the battery in the frame.
Downside would be higher center of mass and access to the water bottle would be limited.
Upsides: would have been easier, maybe slightly better water protection for the battery. What else?
Having the weight forward is pretty important...
Good point about wheel spray.
Thumbnail doesn't show it, but the fender plus an additional "battery fender" does a pretty good job at keeping wheel spray off the battery. Additionally I live at a pretty dry place.
Design is always about priorities & compromises.
Made a video of my Hill climbing commuter build. It's a ridged, high power front drive, strange contraption. It's been excellent for what I built it for, and so much fun. Here is the link:
https://studio.youtube.com/video/FoaBnc8hSF0/edit
Let me know what you think!
Wanting to build a commuter that will see a 5 mile 8.5% hill, carrying groceries. Would like to scoot up the hill at 15-18+ mph. Want a DD hub motor. Want peak power to be 1200-1500 Watts. It will be a shared family bike, so needs to be designed conservatively. Playing around with the simulator...