greenerwheels
10 W
After a month of researching, buying, returning, re-buying, cutting, bending, machining and welding (Getting laid-off does have some advantages.... don't ask my wife's opinion). My first Hubmotor powered ebike is done. And overall I'm pretty happy with it. JD's S-750 is a sweet frame and was nice enough to redirect my tadpole recumbent project a few extra months. I bought most of the components JD offered, Universal cycle supplied the Odyssey Twisted Pro Pedals, Shimano Altus 7 Spd Shift/Brake Levers and Maxxis Hookworm Tires. The E-bike store in Portland sold me a Crystalite 408/4011 is a dual speed rear motor, controller and 36v 10ah Prismatic LiFePo4 battery pack and charger. Digikey provided braid sleeving, self fusing silicone electrical tape and 12 pounds of tie wraps.
The bike seems to perform fine, considering I'm about 230 pounds, handles much nicer than my long bike, really like the hook worms ride, however the front required careful alignment to not rub on my forks, there's probably less than an 1/8" clearance on either side of the tire. The rear clears but is close. I may try putting on a pair of Specialized Nimbus tires. (They've been my favorite commuter tire for a long time).
I do not like the IEC connector on the battery pack as well as the key that won't come out when its turned on, I'm sure I'm going to break that thing off eventually the IEC Power connector is only rated for 10 amps, seems like that will be a problem as well, but so far hasn't gotten warm. The motor / wheel was nicely aligned and spokes were tight. I ran the battery across my CBA II a couple of times and it produces 6.9 Ah but is supposed to be a 10 Ah battery. I posted my torque arm in another post earlier. I chose to put the arm on the outside of the frame instead of the inside because I was A) Lazy B) In a hurry C) Didn't want to go through a lot of work only to find I couldn't slide it in place. D) All the above...... The answer is D. But I feel confident the wheel isn't going to fly out of the drop out, or if it does I'll get a 10 second warning. Sometimes all you need is a couple of extra seconds to recover from the moment you get that Oh Crap sensation
In any case because of my New "Unemployed Status" I'll probably try to sell it after I get a few miles on it, decide which tires would be the best choice and figure out the battery capacity question. ................. Actually before I got axed, I was talking about starting a bike shop with a friend. And considering E-Bikes seem to have a stigma around most of the LBS's here, it would be nice to have a place to cater to builders. Gee all it takes is money. Please feel free to comment on my ride.
The bike seems to perform fine, considering I'm about 230 pounds, handles much nicer than my long bike, really like the hook worms ride, however the front required careful alignment to not rub on my forks, there's probably less than an 1/8" clearance on either side of the tire. The rear clears but is close. I may try putting on a pair of Specialized Nimbus tires. (They've been my favorite commuter tire for a long time).
I do not like the IEC connector on the battery pack as well as the key that won't come out when its turned on, I'm sure I'm going to break that thing off eventually the IEC Power connector is only rated for 10 amps, seems like that will be a problem as well, but so far hasn't gotten warm. The motor / wheel was nicely aligned and spokes were tight. I ran the battery across my CBA II a couple of times and it produces 6.9 Ah but is supposed to be a 10 Ah battery. I posted my torque arm in another post earlier. I chose to put the arm on the outside of the frame instead of the inside because I was A) Lazy B) In a hurry C) Didn't want to go through a lot of work only to find I couldn't slide it in place. D) All the above...... The answer is D. But I feel confident the wheel isn't going to fly out of the drop out, or if it does I'll get a 10 second warning. Sometimes all you need is a couple of extra seconds to recover from the moment you get that Oh Crap sensation
In any case because of my New "Unemployed Status" I'll probably try to sell it after I get a few miles on it, decide which tires would be the best choice and figure out the battery capacity question. ................. Actually before I got axed, I was talking about starting a bike shop with a friend. And considering E-Bikes seem to have a stigma around most of the LBS's here, it would be nice to have a place to cater to builders. Gee all it takes is money. Please feel free to comment on my ride.