Giant Revive project

[ijava]

Greetings,
Thank you TylerDurden, TheFingers, Dand214 and Drunksunk for help with my first post.
I found a Giant Revive to use as my ebike project. I have many questions for all you ES ebike building guru's. All advice and suggestions are greatly appreciated.
(I am hoping to save myself some headaches, time and money by doing things right first time! :? )
My budget is $1,000.00 for: (motor, controller, batteries, charger, throttle, CA)
My questions are:
1.Hey I am a big guy! 6 foot 240 lbs, so I am thinking 48v 1000w dd motor?
2.Front or rear hub motor? I like the idea of a front motor for simplicity. However a rear motor would have better traction.
3.Any input on which e bike controller, batteries? (I would like 35-40* MPH plus a
20 mile range) Can this be done for about $1000.00?
Thank you all

 

[Kin]

35-40mph is quite high. 30-35mph sounds like it might be much more realistic for what you're going for, in terms of range and budget. Well, actually, flatly, you will not get a 20mile range at 40mph within your budget. It's reasonable that you could still get a pretty sweet setup though, with that budget.

Some typical questions:

1)What are the hills like on your route? Is it hilly? The hills that do exist, are they very long? This will be an important factor on geared motor vs. hub motor.

2)How much do you think you'll want to contribute to the pedaling (will you be pedaling hard as well? A little bit? Not at all?)

3)Do you have the fortune of already having some equipment, like power supplies and batteries chargers? I'm just asking because some people have these items from other hobbies.

 

[amberwolf]

You might also want to look at DeeJay's Revive project thread, too.

 

[ijava]

Hi Kin,
Thanks for your reply.
I do not have any batteries or charger that I cloud use for my bike project. There are some steep hills near my home. I do intend to assist the motor with pedaling to extend my range and to climb hills. How much more would it cost to reach my desired speed and range? I want to build this bike once with out remorse, rather than spending money twice, up grading components.

 

[Dee Jay]

You might also want to look at DeeJay's Revive project thread, too.

There wasn't anything really special (power or speed-wise) with my Revive other than cool factor of being semi-laidback, right choice of parts such as tires, rims, child carrier, right colors, and overall honest effort in tidiness. The original idea behind my Revive build was to simply be able to take off from a standing stop because a pedal forward bike does not allow you to use body weight advantage for take offs. Lots of cyclists here probably thumb their noses at my bike but they don't take into account the comfort of a Revive. Another reason for my build was to cut through extreme headwinds we have here in early spring. And it all worked out as planned! Plus I got (and still get) lots of compliments! 8) 8) 8)

If I were ME, I would jump inside your body and go dual motors, but not dual hub wheels as I did on my revive. If you want to climb hills you would need to use your gears with a mid-drive motor like a cyclone kit or maybe a stokemonkey type deallyo.. and then a high speed motor at the front wheel for speed, either a hub or RC motor, but I think $1000 budget wouldn't get you much batteries for your weight. And 20" wheels won't get you far. It's why I'm itchin to convert the rear to 26".. An Xtracycle kit would be great! And would look better than what I can make!

 

[neptronix]

'greenerwheels' had one of these and i called it the 'space bike'. It was really weird at first to ride when i borrowed it from him, but after a while it was a really cool ride!! Dorky as it is, i want one now, lol

35-40mph requires a rather large hub, but 20" wheels will give you an advantage here. Look for a hubzilla, Crystalyte 53xx, Crystalyte 54xx, or Crystalyte HS.

If you want a 20 mile range at that speed, you are going to need tons of battery. check out the ebikes.ca simulator and you will find out what your power requirements will really be like:

http://ebikes.ca/simulator/

 

[Dee Jay]

Dorky as it is, i want one now, lol

a rat's nest of wires, un-trimmed zip-ties and duct tape won't help you look like an eletrical genius either aka "otaku" (wanna be geniuses in electronics, anime, videogames, and collectors) believe me there are lots of otaku here and those people are usually written off and ignored , not once did I ever get called otaku. I thought I was, to be honest and was expecting it but it never happened.

All I'm saying is, don't you wanna be taken seriously?

btw, let's see your bike?

 

[neptronix]

..huh?
3 build threads in my sig, go look at em
Peak power bike was supposed to look ridiculous, if that's what you're referring to.
The other ones are stealthy, on purpose.

Dorky is not bad. Not here. To the world outside of ES though, it may be . Warrants consideration if being accepted by the public matters to you.. :lol:

'greenerwheels' revive build was fairly clean, but even he started calling it the space bike. I'm not making fun of it ... but you have to admit it does have a character all it's own.

 

[Dee Jay]

..huh?
3 build threads in my sig, go look at em
Peak power bike was supposed to look ridiculous, if that's what you're referring to.
The other ones are stealthy, on purpose.

Dorky is not bad. Not here. To the world outside of ES though, it may be . Warrants consideration if being accepted by the public matters to you.. :lol:

'greenerwheels' revive build was fairly clean, but even he started calling it the space bike. I'm not making fun of it ... but you have to admit it does have a character all it's own.

just talkin generally

I'm not looking for approval, but this hobby is an important movement. I want more people into it so developments will be pushed forward. people would be pretty put-off if the duct tape trend continues. Even I get put-off by otakus here.

AJ, Teletik, and many others, are rockin the Ebikes proper.

Never actually looked at your bikes till now, nice work! I thought you were one of "those people"

 

[neptronix]

I agree about the duct tape builds. Not sure why you thought i was one of them but i will forgive

I'm all about hitting that middle ground between form and function. Most people on here are biased towards function, you're right.

On that note, this bike is actually kind of a challenge to mount batteries to. It may be difficult to mount a lot of battery to in order to get that 20 mile figure at such high speeds. I wonder what the gameplan is here.. maybe side mounts ( like mini-panniers ) on the front, motor on the back?

 

[dnmun]

why not measure the spacing on your front dropouts and see if they will take a 20" magic pie such as what david has for sale?

cheap and simple start that should last a long time with a 48V16Ah headway pack for $434 from BMS battery or a ping pack for $530.

he will have a good idea of your top speed from his rig.

 

[Dee Jay]

Not sure why you thought i was one of them but i will forgive

yeah my bad..you flew under my radar cos it seems you don't toot your own horn like I do, :lol: not that I have much to toot about :lol: I just do that for the halibut.

On that note, this bike is actually kind of a challenge to mount batteries to. It may be difficult to mount a lot of battery to in order to get that 20 mile figure at such high speeds. I wonder what the gameplan is here.. maybe side mounts ( like mini-panniers ) on the front, motor on the back?

rear of the swing arm, both sides and top of the upper frame (beam)

Opinion time… steel toes on? The Revive's long swing arm has the same advantage (for battery packs) as the Mundo's over conventional frames, it's why I think it's one of the best platform for an bike conversion.

As for frump phenomena , I'm not trying to single people out, just speaking my mind and I won't apologized for that, sorry..



[youtube]-xRshS1xl5E[/youtube]

 

[Dee Jay]

anyone remember my attempt at stuffing M1's inside the frame? :lol: THAT, gents, IS THE FUTURE exoskeleton bike frames stuffed with power.

JMO

 

[Kin]

I've actually started looking for a Revive on craigslist and ebay around where I live. If I could find one cheap, that would be pretty nice to try a semi recumbent .

 

[StudEbiker]

The Revives are nice and comfy. It's nice having a rear suspension. And of course if you are talking about electric Revives then this one sets the standard:

http://endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=28&t=26455&hilit=recumpence+revive

They are however incredibly heavy for what they are. 46 lbs by themselves IIRC. At this point, I would MUCH rather have an AT Bike E than a Revive. For one thing. I think it's about 10 lbs lighter than the Revive, but they are usually more readily available and often at cheaper prices.

 

[Kin]

Yes, what killed some of my thoughts about the revive was in part that I can't seem to get one around here and used they're $500 for a $700 dollar original bike. At least on the east coast [I saw a few on the west coast for ~$300]. Thanks for the other option

 

[Dee Jay]

They are however incredibly heavy for what they are. 46 lbs by themselves IIRC.

are you an Ebiker or a body builder?? :lol:

At this point, I would MUCH rather have an AT Bike E than a Revive

hooo yeah… Bike E… the tandem would be great for single rider Ebike conversion, nice long frame beam plenty of space underneath for a large mid-drive motor (maybe two motors) and battery packs.

I mentioned once before that the Revive was a knock off of the Ebike and they sued Giant. I wish saved that article..

noisy motor...

[youtube]6uZ2YNBu12k[/youtube]

 

[sk8norcal]

^ hmmm, funky front fork...

I mentioned once before that the Revive was a knock off of the Ebike and they sued Giant. I wish saved that article..

u meant BikeE ...

http://poleary.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=general&action=display&thread=180

 

[Dee Jay]

u meant BikeE ...

oopsy

lol

yeah Bike E

^ hmmm, funky front fork...

I know right? like a caster. proly cos there's no rake/trail

edit: that's not the article I read but interesting to know posters opinions, thanks!

 

[sk8norcal]

here's one i haven't seen before....
cheap...
http://www.sbraweb.org/?q=node/5069

 

[Dee Jay]

here's one i haven't seen before....
cheap...
http://www.sbraweb.org/?q=node/5069

yeah evox are nice…saw one and it stopped my heart lol

and the cannondales with headtube shock

semi recumbents, love 'em lots!


but after my success with my folding PCB 20"/26" I can't go back down to plain 20" bikes.

I'm loving my PCB, it's my main bike right now. 20/26 are the only bikes I'll build from now on, I think…

 

[sk8norcal]

wats a PCB? link?

 

[Kin]

I'm loving my PCB, it's my main bike right now. 20/26 are the only bikes I'll build from now on, I think…

What do you mean? I assume 20/26 means 26" front wheel. I guess that's slightly more stable, is that why you like it?

OK. Sorry OP, this is getting semi off topic. How do we get it back on topic? What are your feelings about the whole situation right now?

 

[StudEbiker]

Not sure what PCB is, but 20/26, would be 20" tire in front, and 26" in rear.

 

[Dee Jay]

wats a PCB? link?

I'm loving my PCB, it's my main bike right now. 20/26 are the only bikes I'll build from now on, I think…

What do you mean? I assume 20/26 means 26" front wheel. I guess that's slightly more stable, is that why you like it?

OK. Sorry OP, this is getting semi off topic. How do we get it back on topic? What are your feelings about the whole situation right now?

PCB stands for Precious Cargo Bike, an original name I made up for that project.

http://endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=11453&start=15

http://endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=36981&p=585941&sid=ea6f0e8d4161008ec4e8464939d230d3#p585941

Recently, I started calling it the Double Dutch Bike for the following reasons:

-I like weed (Dutchie/Kouchie)
-a nod at Dutch cargo bike makers, who also likes Dutchie
-and I hauled a Dutch Oven on it!
-EDIT: Oh yeah and it's a funky name
[youtube]IFEljrgc9D0[/youtube]

Won't be surprised if Madsen "creative" team steals my new bike name lol

Back to the Revive... If done right, converting the Revive's rear wheel to 26" will extend range, yet have the same comfort and step-thru profile like scooters. Not sure how 20/26 Revive is gonna look, tho.. The easiest way to convert it is to use an xtracycle kit but I think a chunky steel MTB swing arm would be more stable.