dustNbone
10 kW
Longtime reader on here, finally got my ebike built last week and wanted to introduce it.
1974 Nishiki Regal touring bike originally bought new by my uncle and given to me about 10 years ago. For about the last 5 years it's been my primary transportation and has been a great bike in every way. I put around 10,000km a year on it, going through a set of tires and a set of brakes annually but aside from that no major failures or any sign of them. The front wheel is true and original, the rear one was only recently replaced in anticipation of this conversion. Looks pretty rough right now before spring tuning up. Time for a new seat by the looks of the pic.
The battery is 16S A123 AMP20 cells, in a surplus military ammo box. It's conductive which may not be ideal, but it's waterproof and pretty solid so I think it will do for now. The weight on the rack is something I'm very used to, but I'm hoping to make up a 14S5P 18650 pack out to put in the bottom of the frame triangle for my regular city duties, less weight and it will free up the rack. For my normal riding I think 20Ah is overkill, but I plan to do some lengthy touring this summer and where I live you can't get far without having to go over a mountain pass. I'm planning to equip a trailer with my little Honda 1000W generator for long camping trips, kind of a series hybrid type thing but that's another post that will require further thoughts. Plugging in every night isn't an option where I plan to go, and I'm interested in what kind of real world MPG can be had like this.
Has anyone else done anything similar with a touring bike? My biggest problem so far seems to lie with the crappy chain ring that comes with the unit, but I might be stuck with it as I've only seen 42 tooth or smaller in the aftermarket and 46 seems to be the magic number for me. I'm thinking of going the IGH route simply to straighten out the chain line, shifting has been great with the old Suntour derailleur and 8 speed cassette on the new wheel, but it likes to fall off the front ring in granny gear. I like the serviceability of derailleur systems, I plan to find myself in some pretty obscure places and these parts are common enough to be had anywhere there's a few bicycles. Waiting for a replacement hub could have me stationary for weeks so I'd need to be pretty confident in one before it would be suitable for touring. Any thoughts on this would be great.
1974 Nishiki Regal touring bike originally bought new by my uncle and given to me about 10 years ago. For about the last 5 years it's been my primary transportation and has been a great bike in every way. I put around 10,000km a year on it, going through a set of tires and a set of brakes annually but aside from that no major failures or any sign of them. The front wheel is true and original, the rear one was only recently replaced in anticipation of this conversion. Looks pretty rough right now before spring tuning up. Time for a new seat by the looks of the pic.
The battery is 16S A123 AMP20 cells, in a surplus military ammo box. It's conductive which may not be ideal, but it's waterproof and pretty solid so I think it will do for now. The weight on the rack is something I'm very used to, but I'm hoping to make up a 14S5P 18650 pack out to put in the bottom of the frame triangle for my regular city duties, less weight and it will free up the rack. For my normal riding I think 20Ah is overkill, but I plan to do some lengthy touring this summer and where I live you can't get far without having to go over a mountain pass. I'm planning to equip a trailer with my little Honda 1000W generator for long camping trips, kind of a series hybrid type thing but that's another post that will require further thoughts. Plugging in every night isn't an option where I plan to go, and I'm interested in what kind of real world MPG can be had like this.
Has anyone else done anything similar with a touring bike? My biggest problem so far seems to lie with the crappy chain ring that comes with the unit, but I might be stuck with it as I've only seen 42 tooth or smaller in the aftermarket and 46 seems to be the magic number for me. I'm thinking of going the IGH route simply to straighten out the chain line, shifting has been great with the old Suntour derailleur and 8 speed cassette on the new wheel, but it likes to fall off the front ring in granny gear. I like the serviceability of derailleur systems, I plan to find myself in some pretty obscure places and these parts are common enough to be had anywhere there's a few bicycles. Waiting for a replacement hub could have me stationary for weeks so I'd need to be pretty confident in one before it would be suitable for touring. Any thoughts on this would be great.
