'lightest.bike' 1.7kg 1000w mid drive

[4πr^2]

A Bafang to LIGHTEST adapter seems plausible.

There have been such mods between Bosch and bafang in the past.

Edit: I have no idea how you would attach the spindle/BB though.

Given M600 > Lightest conversion, I'd be curious how much weight you actually save, though. Considering the M600 is essentially an 'all in one' package. But when you use the 'Lightest', you still need to add a bottom bracket, bearings, axle, wiring, controller, etc. Seems like that is going to be quite a bit of weight in addition to the 'light' drive unit.

Just looking at their image, it seems you need - obviously the drive unit, #1, but then you also need parts 6, 7, 8, 9, 15, 16, 17, 18 and 19 just to make the Lightest equivalent to the M600. Then you'd also need some Lightest to M600 mounting brackets and additional bolts. I could see all that being a few extra kilos - and suddenly the Lightest is no longer the lightest.

 

[neptronix]

Just looking at their image, it seems you need - obviously the drive unit, #1, but then you also need parts 6, 7, 8, 9, 15, 16, 17, 18 and 19 just to make the Lightest equivalent to the M600. Then you'd also need some Lightest to M600 mounting brackets and additional bolts. I could see all that being a few extra kilos - and suddenly the Lightest is no longer the lightest.

You'll have to break out the scale and a few bikes to find this out for sure because the numbers will be pretty close.

I estimate that the lightest will add 6lbs to an existing bike. The drive unit is extremely lightweight and the accessory parts are average weight. It could be lighter if the accessory parts were replaced.

I don't think it's really fair to compare the weight of a drive that requires a custom frame to one that adapts to any bike because the 'addon kit' will always have small weight disadvantage due to how it bolts on.

 

[uhmwpolyethylene]

hhhh i want this to work so bad, tried the Specialized mid drive Creo SL today and 250w 35nm torque is adequate, but their 59+lb 250w vado (non SL) 90nm torque model is so much more useful for hills but way way too heavy... I guess the Creo 2 also came out today and does 50 nm torque and 320w peak, super pricy and only available as a diabetic gravel model though. Has anyone tried the Mahle x20 also? Or some Chinese equiv? That's a 4lb 250w hub motor with a crank torque sensor and 55nm torque. Dropping this into a climbing bike sub 13 lb would be so absolutely killer.. i wanna fly to italy and just have them put this dang thing together for me and pick up a battery back stateside or mail it LOL would probably end up being cheaper than buying Specialized...

https://imgur.com/a/u3l5T0K

https://imgur.com/a/WQR0jMk

 

[szkuba]

Actually hub motor ( gear ones little less but still anyway) are overheating when going uphill at low speed. So even 55Nm on hub drive is not equivalent to mid-drive unit that is able to keep optimal rpm and not overheat. But of course when doing mostly city and tour rides at morderate grade is still ok and saves the chain and cassete...

 

[szkuba]

According this unpacking video the full set is below 2,9kg including the cranks and BB

 

[thepronghorn]

I've seen a couple comments about the 90Nm effective/equivalent torque, and I wanted to explain what I think they mean. Normally a mid drive motor system drives the chainring directly which is 30-40 teeth. The bikee lightest system drives the chain using a tiny little 10 tooth sprocket. This means the motor can spin 3-4x faster and put out 3-4x less torque while putting the same tension on the chain. It saves some weight by skipping an extra stage of gearing in the motor reduction.

 

[uhmwpolyethylene]

Is there really anything comparable in this weight class? I guess the bafang m510 isn't really mountable? Needs a custom frame or something? The only thing that seems similar is the specialized Vado 5.0 SL 2.2 engine, peaks at 500w with 90nm torque at 6 lb, but the frame seems to be bizarrely mega heavy, the battery only weighs 8 but the whole thing is like 52-60 lbs, absurd. I suppose some of the Bosch can peak above 250w and offer 85nm torque but they are rather rare and proprietary and also on city bikes with suspension and other dead weight. It sort of seems like making these frames support internal batteries and motors makes the frame itself weigh a ton, even the 13,000$ s works Creo with carbon rims weighs a good 22-24+ lb sans 4 lb motor and 4 lb battery. The BBSHD seems to be the king of mid drives, maybe the only real game in town, but it's an 11 lb anchor, something that peaks at 500-750 and weighs less would be preferable to something that runs at 750 and peaks at 1600. The cyc photon seems to be like 3.9kg / 9lb mounted


By the way, can this motor step up or down? Say you buy 750w but want to step down to 250 or 500w. Or up to 1000w and beyond

 

[1boris]

Bosch peaks above 250 w??
Most 250w EU legal bikes peaks about 800-1200w without overheating

 

[Kueb]

Lightest owners group is on Facebook

 

[uhmwpolyethylene]

did anyone manage to get theirs working?

 

[1boris]

Nothing new? Looks like this motor must be very bad

 

[rhauff]

So at the going rate of production, I am not expecting to receive my order until summer… if the company even exists at that point.

Several people on the Facebook group got theirs last week. Indiegogo update from this weekend remains.... well, same as usual, production continues with hiccups

 

[neptronix]

did anyone manage to get theirs working?

I know, right?
They shipped around 150 units and the only people who assembled them into working ebikes seem to be youtubers..?

 

[1boris]

I know, right?
They shipped around 150 units and the only people who assembled them into working ebikes seem to be youtubers..?

Then it should be many YouTube reviews? I can't fin any other than the Italian bike magazine

 

[neptronix]

Glad you finally got yours coming.

I have a standard upright bike now and plan to hook the lightest up to, and test ride, sometime in February.

 

[amberwolf]

What, it didn't come with the light-bar still on it?

 

[neptronix]

Damn, look at that beefy rack. Looks like nice forks too.

Mine's a 26er bikesdirect bike. When i finally fit the mid drive, the bike will be worth 5x more

 

[Chalo]

Damn, look at that beefy rack. Looks like nice forks too.

It even has an almost lady-bike-like low step through, for cops who have the usual qualities that led them to their career.

 

[Chalo]

I don't mean to come between you and your cop joke, or whatever that is supposed to be, but the standover height on this large Kona Safariland is 28" which is very normal for a modern mens hardtail.

Yes, it's normal but a little weird to compromise the structure of the frame so that a short person can use wheels that are more suitable for a taller person. Ladies' frames have always taken that hit, and were always considered to be structurally deficient compared to diamond frames.

But now that bike designers (I won't characterize them as engineers) have all forgotten that trusses are composed of straight elements, crooked downtubes and swaybacked frames are the norm.

It's an arrangement that is very familiar to me because one of the shops where I work sees a lot of kids' bikes.

There's nothing wrong with that if it's what you must do to be able to stand over the frame, but it makes more sense to me for an adult bike to use whichever wheel size allows the use of a straight tubed diamond frame, rather than a pre-buckled shape. Then you can have the structural benefits of a frame design that was proven a long time ago to be stronger and/or lighter than the curvy frames that preceded it.

I bet the Kona Minute bags actually fit the Safariland/Shield.

It looks like they'd fit perfectly.

 

[neptronix]

I'd say the policebike looks like a much stronger design and way better suited for the job. The only thing that would kill it for me is the smallish triangle. The small size em3ev triangle pack would at least fit it if you don't have a battery lined up. 52v/20ah ain't half bad.

Cool that you finally got your kit! When build? I also forget, did you get a 1000w kit?

 

[neptronix]

1.76kg of motor stuff added to the bike, aka 3.88lbs..

 

[neptronix]

Dang..

Currently quite glad i got the square taper version.. you're not the first person with the spline version to have issues :/

 

[glennb]

Looks like great kit.

860g bottom bracket and cranks leaves scope for further weight reduction.

 

[neptronix]

The design is min-maxed to reduce price.
The hardest part to make light is extremely light, and supposedly, also extremely efficient. The bike parts are just average.

Would you have preferred another $200 on the price for better bike parts..
..i wouldn't, i already have bike parts.

Congratulations, you now own a lightest-est mid drive..

 

[neptronix]

Oh duh, you're right. The lightest cranks have a freewheel thread on the back, don't they.

But is it a really fair comparison considering you don't have a spider-armed crank compared.. those are heavier than the non-drive side..

There do exist other similar cranks still...
Top 10 best and Fastest electric dirt bikes Motocross Big Boy ebike DIY Motorized kit Fastest electric dirt bikes Motocross Big Boy ebike DIY Motorized kit Fastest electric dirt bikes Motocross Big Boy ebike DIY Motorized kit world's Fastest electric dir

..will you find lighter out there? i doubt it.. and i think the extra weight is all about supporting the constant much higher force on the chain than usual.

Let's be pessimistic and call it 4lbs added to the bike.