My Crosstrail Disc build

[presturtle]

Okay, so for this thread i'll document my build progress and experience with BMS Battery. So I know I just bought a plug and play kit and it won't be anything special, probably has been done at least a couple other times but maybe it will help someone.

First off the bike I chose is the 2015 Specialized Crosstrail Disc. Pretty entry level hybrid with a small 63mm front fork, nothing special here, it does look pretty slick to me though. This pic isn't truly a before, I put on the LCD3, but everything else is normal.





Next, what motor/batteries I bought. I chose the Q100H front 260wind in black from BMS Battery, and the "dolphin style" panasonic 48V 11.6Ah LiIon battery with built in sine wave controller. Also added a spoke wrench, hidden brake sensor and torque arms. In total with a bare motor including shipping it totaled $604.


And now for my experiences with BMS Battery. My order was placed on April 9th choosing the cheapest shipping option which was FedEx. It was in testing for about a week, and then on the 22nd they messaged me and said they had to ship with DHL and that it would be $15 extra. This didn't seem like too much to me so I didn't argue and just paid for it, I'm still not quite sure why they couldn't use FedEx but oh well.



On the 24th the status was changed to shipped and they sent me a tracking number. I kept checking the tracking like every few hours, and it changed to "picked up" in Hong Kong on the 26th. Then bam it hit customs in Ohio on monday the 27th. Cleared Customs and hit Dallas Fort Worth morning of 28th, and then I got a call that same day from the delivery man saying he was going to drop it by.


Little side note, I have never had a package company call me to tell me they are delivering a package, much less drive to my work to give it to me rather than my home. Worked out great!

Opened the box and everything was packed decently, I can see what other people are talking about with all the little styrofoam "bits" though. No damage from what I could tell.

Next step is to get the motor laced into a wheel. I have a few questions regarding that for anyone who will chime in. It would have been $100 extra in shipping for a built wheel from china, so I thought I might as well have one built locally. So I brought the motor in to a bike shop here and they quoted me $50 in labor to build it, $1.50 for double butted spokes, $5 for rim tape, and I could bring in my own rim, tube and tire.

I bought an alex rim off amazon for $27 shipped, but I was wondering if the rest is a good price or not?

http://www.amazon.com/Alexrims-TD17-700c-Black-Disc/dp/B001CJX36G/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1430319951&sr=8-2&keywords=alex+rim+700c+36h

Also what is a decent 38mm hybrid tire for hopefully around $20?

So now i'm just playing the waiting game until my rim gets in and I get the wheel built so I can put it all together.
Price list so far.
New bike on sale- $520
Order from BMSB including extra shipping- $619
Wheel build from bike shop probably around- $150
I also spent probably another hundred on misc. bike things like extra tube, patch kit, pump etc.

I'll put out a new post when everything is put together and let everyone know what I think. Thanks!

 

[chas58]

Cool. Thanks for sharing. That looks like the type of thing I would buy - I like what you have speced out!

Like you, I had a wheel built locally since shipping was crazy from China (i had a spare motor put in the box for no extra shipping cost from GBK). As i recall I paid about what you did for the wheel build. Make sure you take it back after 4 weeks and have them recheck the spoke tension.

This had the advantage of allowing me to pick my own rim (i wanted a deep V), and have much, much higher build quality than my Chinese wheels (and support from my LBS).

 

[chas58]

Tires:
I have used Surface Drifters, Bontrager H2 Hardcase (38mm), Some Continental touring tires, other people like Schwalbe marathon Supremes. Touring tires tend to work best on 700C ebikes.

Personally I would invest in some nice tires, although long wearing tires with puncture protection are pretty nice in an E-bike. I’ve worn down some off road knobbies pretty quickly!

 

[presturtle]

At long last I am finished, it took a while to get 2 c washers shipped in after I realized I didn't have any. I have yet to ride it as it has been monsooning in oklahoma over the past week.

 

[presturtle]

After the first ride, I am in love! It'll easily do 26mph throttle only, and I hit 30mph with peddaling. It is kinda scary on the road with a car in front of you that can stop a lot faster than you, I skid to a stop a few feet from running into the back of a car at a stop light.

 

[d8veh]

Nice bike. It looks very tidy. If you want puncture-free commuting, the Schwalbe Energizer for the back and a Marathon Plus on the front. The Energizer is specially for electric bikes. The sizes are 1.75, which give fairly low rolling resistance and they last forever, but the downside is that grip isn't so good. Therefore, they're only suitable for the road.

 

[presturtle]

Another update that I think a few were still questioning, the Q100H from BMS battery seems to include a speed sensor now. Before it seems as if people were saying speed would only show up with throttle, I am getting a speed readout with pedaling only, also it'll show the 1-2mph when I am walking it to a bike rack.

 

[d8veh]

Yours has the speed sensor in the hub then.

 

[MastaKebob]

PresTurtle: This thread is fantastic. Thanks very much. I bought a very similar package this weekend (same battery pack, the q128h 36v800w rear hub motor, same torque arms and hidden brake wire sensor). If you don't mind, I have a few questions in preparation for my build: Was the setup pretty much plug and play? No need to trace wiring diagrams or solder on connections? Did you run into any issues during the build?

 

[chas58]

I found greenbikekit crossed the wires on the throttle (they didn't match the controller wires), but other than that everything was pretty much plug and play.

Of course there is rats nest of wires coming out of the controller, so I was scratching my head trying to figure out which wire did what sometimes. I ended up labeling all of the controller wires.

 

[d8veh]

PresTurtle: This thread is fantastic. Thanks very much. I bought a very similar package this weekend (same battery pack, the q128h 36v800w rear hub motor, same torque arms and hidden brake wire sensor). If you don't mind, I have a few questions in preparation for my build: Was the setup pretty much plug and play? No need to trace wiring diagrams or solder on connections? Did you run into any issues during the build?

I don't think there's a speed senor in the Q128, so if you want the display to show the speed when you're freewheeling, you have to fit an external speed sensor. That means drilling a hole and soldering three wires.

They give you an extension wire to join the motor to the controller, which is much too long. If you want your wiring to look neat, you need to cut it and re-join the wires, which means soldering and heat-shrinking 8 wires.

If you have integrated brakes/shifters or hydraulic brakes, you have o do some DIY to fit brake switches.

If you have anything other than a square taper bottom bracket, you have to do some modification to the pedal sensor.

None of these things are very difficult.

 

[MastaKebob]

I don't think there's a speed senor in the Q128, so if you want the display to show the speed when you're freewheeling, you have to fit an external speed sensor. That means drilling a hole and soldering three wires.

That's a shame. Just emailed Jack (BMSB) asking about that. He's been very responsive so far, responding to emails within 24 hours (I forgot a few of the accessories in the initial purchase and he helped me add them via the $1 shipping or parts line item).

They give you an extension wire to join the motor to the controller, which is much too long. If you want your wiring to look neat, you need to cut it and re-join the wires, which means soldering and heat-shrinking 8 wires.

No worries. That I can do.

If you have integrated brakes/shifters or hydraulic brakes, you have o do some DIY to fit brake switches.

Luckily not applicable to me. A single grip shifter (will probably change that to a thumb shifter to make room for the half throttle) and regular brake levers. I figure its going to be obvious how to install the hidden brake wire sensor.

If you have anything other than a square taper bottom bracket, you have to do some modification to the pedal sensor.

I have no idea what type bottom bracket I have. Something I'll need to look into.

Thanks for the heads up!

 

[MastaKebob]

From Jack @ bmsbattery:

Yes, the q128h have an internal speed sensor. the LCD3 Display show speed when coasting.