Giant Sedona BBSHD Conversion

[Chefkeith]

Ok, I've decided to convert a circa 2007 Giant Sedona comfort bike to electric. After reading a TON here on the forums, I finally decided to go with the BBSHD.

The Bike (Scored for Free):

2007ish Giant Sedona, 24 speed, front shocks, disc brakes, aluminum frame, seat post shock (I think).

The Kit (from EM3ev):

BBSHD - 48V 1,000W
DCP14 Color Display
Thumb throttle
Ebrake 1pc Sensor
46T Bling Ring
Push Button EBrake for shifting

The Battery (from EM3ev):

50V 18.9Ah (14S9P-22P)
Max Cont. Current ~38A
Max Burst Current ~57A

58.8V Charger with 99/100% switch


Extra Info:

I'm 215 lbs. and love to pedal - will be losing weight soon. I exercise often.

My commute is a rather hilly 4 miles each way, all uphill on the way to work. I plan to ride much more often after the conversion and use the bike for many more errands on top of commuting (all road and smooth trails).

I don't enjoy riding faster than 25 mph (at least on my road bike). On my road bike, I average about 13mph on flat ground.


Questions:

1. Any problems I should be aware of? Red flags? Things to watch out for during the install? There are cables that run below the bottom bracket that I'm going to have to work around.

2. Is my cassette alterable to select my favorite gears for the best chain line? Do I need a new/different chain?

3. How do I know if the front shocks are OK/working correctly? Same with the seat post shock.

4. Does my battery match the motor? Is there a style of riding/tips that will prolong the life of the system? I don't plan on taking off from starts with throttle only.

5. Any charging tips for this charger and battery combo to charge safely and prolong the life of each?

6. I've got new tires and tubes, and plan to have the wheels tuned. I've got a better rack to install from my road bike that I've been commuting with.

7. I need fenders, maybe a mirror, and a rock-solid iPhone holder. If anybody has any suggestions for any of those, I'd love to hear them.


Thanks so much in advance for all of your collective guidance, I could never have done any of this without your help.

Cheers!

 

[spinningmagnets]

Is my cassette alterable to select my favorite gears for the best chain line?

Since you only want 25-MPH (the US national speed limit is 28 for pedelecs), I would go with a smaller chainring to help hill-climbing torque. There is a gap in the available chainrings, but I recall a 36T and 42T are available, over the stock 46T. The 42T has a deeper inset to the chainline, however...

Since you have a cassette, you have options. Ride the stock set-up around your normal commute a few days. Especially first gear. If it isn't low enough for your slowest riding, then you do need a smaller chainring (or, a bigger first gear on the rear).

Once you've picked out your favorite three or four gears, you can take apart your cassette, and re-arrange all the gears so that your favorites are slid over as a group to be centered on the front chainring. the other gears that you will not be using will just be spoacers at that point. If you use all of them, fine, leave them be, but...most people do nnot need 7 closely-spaced gears once they get a BBSHD, and "most" BBSHD riders wish their favorite gears were farther inboard to help the chainline (or farther outboard?)

 

[USAEBIKECO]

Cool bike. Be sure to invest in some very good Kevlar tires and thicker slime tire tubes. It really does make a difference.

 

[HY10]

I have a giant cypress looks much the same with hd
The chain line is best suited to 46t in the kit
Went together nicely

 

[Chefkeith]

Thanks for the advice! The kit is already on the way, so I'll have to try the 46T chainring for now, but I might try a smaller one in the future. I went with the larger one so that I could "help" pedal as I still hope to get some exercise.

 

[Chefkeith]

Got the conversion done no problem! The bike is quick with plenty of power. Rode around 18 miles today before the left crank arm came loose. Was able to tighten it enough to complete the ride. Looks like the cheapo bafang crank arms aren't going to cut it for me.

I must have not got the bottom bracket as clean as it should have been because it was a TIGHT fit to the the motor in - I'm not sure I can ever remove it.

I installed a SRAM twist shift which works with the Shimano rear derailleur just fine. I had ordered a Bling Ring, but it didn't show up, so I installed the stock Bafang ring. The chainline is perfect and I can hit all 8 gears in the rear if needed. So far, I haven't thrown a chain. Debating getting a refund for the Bling Ring or having them send it.

Installed the Wuxing push button for shifting and love it. Went with the HWBS shifting sensor and it works remarkably well.

Had to reroute the shifter cable that ran below the bottom bracket. I ran solid cable housing the whole way as it's probably easier to install for a beginner like me.

Had to shave a bit off the thumb throttle so it would hit the twist shifter and get stuck in the full throttle position, lol.

The rack was tricky. This bike doesn't have dropouts, so I had to rig it to the seat post. And the rear disc brakes get in the way of the lower dropouts, so I found a fat-bike rack at the LBS that had offset attachment points that just miss the brakes and derailleur. Only took some very minor modification. It does cause the load to be shifted back slightly, but I think it'll be fine. Plus, the rack is wider, which is nice as I tend to haul lots of stuff.

That's about it. Thanks everyone for the advice - this forum is great!

Edit: the blinky is now mounted on the rear where it belongs - I got in too much of a hurry to take the photo, lol.