Well, it might finally be time to post some pics and notes about my new ride. It's been a long wait to get something I can electrically ride on but at least in the short term this ride is fun enough for the moment and has got me excited with whats possible.
For my build I really wanted to keep with the theme and look of the bike. I didn't want it to turn into a wired mess and look like a pieced together bunch of bits, so I wanted to make it look nice, be semi stealthy and still be a nice fun cruiser.
I've been doing a lot of reading, researching asking questions and wondering, but I have certainly learnt alot and seem to be well on top of most items and issues now so I know where I want to go with this ebike thing. I got a lot of help from people like Knuckles, Johnrobholmes, dogman, deecanio and others that I have messaged over the past month or so, I appreciate the help guys.
I was, and still am, planning on building a rear motored bike so I can set up a decent front and rear brake but I was a little uncertain at spending $800+ initially on something I wasn't really sure of performance wise, as I've never really used an electric bike before so had little idea of what they can really do. So I really didn't know what to expect from one and if it was actually going to be worth the investment. I wanted to use a rear motor so I could convert the front end of my cruiser to either disc brakes or a drum brake (as I can't use a rim brake) and put a rear disc on the motor. Through a lot of reading and questions I managed to work out that a rear motor would fit with chain clearance and offset issues for my 3" fat tires. However, there was going to be a lot of messing around, expense, investment, time etc before I was even going to get to a stage that I could try the bike out and see if I actually liked the ebike thing.
But then I was lucky enough two weeks ago to get a WE BL36 kit brand new, delivered for under $200. This gave me the cheap taster I was looking for so I could get an idea of what to expect and would get me moving and allow me to take my time accumulating the other bits and pieces to do really nice build instead of trying to rush parts together.
So here it is: From this:
To this:
I wanted to cover up wires wherever possible, so I ran the wires down the down tube and hid them under some angled aluminium sprayed to match the frame and a zip tie either end. Looks good adn hides the wires well so I'm happy with it.
I also lowered the controller as low as it could go so again I could hide the wires and it almost gets the controller out of sight. I made a few brackets and used the chain guard tab and drink bottle screws to mount the controller. Fit like a glove and worked well, you can see a few pieces of rubber I used as dampers.
I'm using the standard rack, 36v SLA batteries and bag. They are fine as is and the rack I find sturdy enough, it's really not that bad a system. The weight of the batteries was going to be a known draw back and they are truely as heavy as expected. I can see the appeal of lighter batteries and I think it will be a sound investment in the near future and make for a more enjoyable all round experience. BUT they do work and they got me moving for very little. I plan to use some nice leather panniers to hold the batteries but might wait until I get the lighter batteries.
The front wheel is quite heavy now, there is a lot of weight in these motors (why I want the bafang). I was lucky enough to find a matching Felt Quick Brick tire in 26" to go with my 24" Thick Bricks. I want to change the rim to a 24" WIDE one so i can use the other Thick Brick but I think I'll stick with the 26" for the time being and save the 24" custom wheel build for the rear motor. The rim arrived with a stripped spoke nipple and a few bent spokes, dings and wobbles (this may not have been WE fault but UPS delivering it form the person I bought it from) but I was able to straighten it out and get a replacement spoke (and a few spares). I think it might be worth it to build up a new one, either way I think I'll paint the rim red and the motor and spokes black. I plan to run the wires up through the middle of one of the fork legs so the wiring will completely disappear. So I'm running on only a rear coaster brake for the moment and riding accordingly. It's fun for cruising but I need to be careful and watchful but I generally ride quite slowly so it's not too bad. I also used an Ampedbikes torque arm, these are great and very adaptable, highly recommended.
Finally, the thumb throttle. Hey it works ok, I actually dont mind it but I'd still like a half twist. The trick is not to use your thumb to push it but I kind of grip it with the side of my hand/thumb and use it like a normal twist grip. Works fine but can be kind of twitchy when you hit bumps if using just your thumb
In summary, the BL36 kit isn't so bad, especially for the price and I was surprised by its performance. The speed and torque surprised me on 36v SLA so I think for my future bafang I'll probably only need 36 or possible 48v lithium anyway. I thought 20mph was going to be too slow but it's honestly plenty and is actually quite quick. Without suspension I dont really want to go much faster anyway. The only draw back of the BL36 is the sensorless startup, it vibrates and make a bit of noise at slow speeds. Given that's how I like to ride anyway the vibration and noise it a little annoying and encourages you to go faster to get away from it. Does anyone happen to know if a dedicated pedal first controller would be any better or do they still jutter and vibrate while they find the sequence? I think I'll have fun with this system however while I build the parts for my upgrade.
For my build I really wanted to keep with the theme and look of the bike. I didn't want it to turn into a wired mess and look like a pieced together bunch of bits, so I wanted to make it look nice, be semi stealthy and still be a nice fun cruiser.
I've been doing a lot of reading, researching asking questions and wondering, but I have certainly learnt alot and seem to be well on top of most items and issues now so I know where I want to go with this ebike thing. I got a lot of help from people like Knuckles, Johnrobholmes, dogman, deecanio and others that I have messaged over the past month or so, I appreciate the help guys.
I was, and still am, planning on building a rear motored bike so I can set up a decent front and rear brake but I was a little uncertain at spending $800+ initially on something I wasn't really sure of performance wise, as I've never really used an electric bike before so had little idea of what they can really do. So I really didn't know what to expect from one and if it was actually going to be worth the investment. I wanted to use a rear motor so I could convert the front end of my cruiser to either disc brakes or a drum brake (as I can't use a rim brake) and put a rear disc on the motor. Through a lot of reading and questions I managed to work out that a rear motor would fit with chain clearance and offset issues for my 3" fat tires. However, there was going to be a lot of messing around, expense, investment, time etc before I was even going to get to a stage that I could try the bike out and see if I actually liked the ebike thing.
But then I was lucky enough two weeks ago to get a WE BL36 kit brand new, delivered for under $200. This gave me the cheap taster I was looking for so I could get an idea of what to expect and would get me moving and allow me to take my time accumulating the other bits and pieces to do really nice build instead of trying to rush parts together.
So here it is: From this:
To this:
I wanted to cover up wires wherever possible, so I ran the wires down the down tube and hid them under some angled aluminium sprayed to match the frame and a zip tie either end. Looks good adn hides the wires well so I'm happy with it.
I also lowered the controller as low as it could go so again I could hide the wires and it almost gets the controller out of sight. I made a few brackets and used the chain guard tab and drink bottle screws to mount the controller. Fit like a glove and worked well, you can see a few pieces of rubber I used as dampers.
I'm using the standard rack, 36v SLA batteries and bag. They are fine as is and the rack I find sturdy enough, it's really not that bad a system. The weight of the batteries was going to be a known draw back and they are truely as heavy as expected. I can see the appeal of lighter batteries and I think it will be a sound investment in the near future and make for a more enjoyable all round experience. BUT they do work and they got me moving for very little. I plan to use some nice leather panniers to hold the batteries but might wait until I get the lighter batteries.
The front wheel is quite heavy now, there is a lot of weight in these motors (why I want the bafang). I was lucky enough to find a matching Felt Quick Brick tire in 26" to go with my 24" Thick Bricks. I want to change the rim to a 24" WIDE one so i can use the other Thick Brick but I think I'll stick with the 26" for the time being and save the 24" custom wheel build for the rear motor. The rim arrived with a stripped spoke nipple and a few bent spokes, dings and wobbles (this may not have been WE fault but UPS delivering it form the person I bought it from) but I was able to straighten it out and get a replacement spoke (and a few spares). I think it might be worth it to build up a new one, either way I think I'll paint the rim red and the motor and spokes black. I plan to run the wires up through the middle of one of the fork legs so the wiring will completely disappear. So I'm running on only a rear coaster brake for the moment and riding accordingly. It's fun for cruising but I need to be careful and watchful but I generally ride quite slowly so it's not too bad. I also used an Ampedbikes torque arm, these are great and very adaptable, highly recommended.
Finally, the thumb throttle. Hey it works ok, I actually dont mind it but I'd still like a half twist. The trick is not to use your thumb to push it but I kind of grip it with the side of my hand/thumb and use it like a normal twist grip. Works fine but can be kind of twitchy when you hit bumps if using just your thumb
In summary, the BL36 kit isn't so bad, especially for the price and I was surprised by its performance. The speed and torque surprised me on 36v SLA so I think for my future bafang I'll probably only need 36 or possible 48v lithium anyway. I thought 20mph was going to be too slow but it's honestly plenty and is actually quite quick. Without suspension I dont really want to go much faster anyway. The only draw back of the BL36 is the sensorless startup, it vibrates and make a bit of noise at slow speeds. Given that's how I like to ride anyway the vibration and noise it a little annoying and encourages you to go faster to get away from it. Does anyone happen to know if a dedicated pedal first controller would be any better or do they still jutter and vibrate while they find the sequence? I think I'll have fun with this system however while I build the parts for my upgrade.
