My Retro look eBike project.

[Mark42]

BTW, the Dia Compe center pull brake on the rear wheel is what I would call "marginally acceptable". Basically, it will stop the bike on a down hill, but it sucks.

Waiting for the disk brake conversion adapter to come in the mail.... then braking should get better.

 

[riba2233]

Don't bother measuring current...

 

[OCD]

Good looking build. I was looking at similar batteries on Alliexpress and was wondering about the size looking too small to be LiFePo4. It will be interesting to see if it really is 20amp/hr as well. If you'd like a disc on the front there are springer rockers available for the Monarch that have a disc brake tab incorporated.

 

[Mark42]

Good looking build. I was looking at similar batteries on Alliexpress and was wondering about the size looking too small to be LiFePo4. It will be interesting to see if it really is 20amp/hr as well. If you'd like a disc on the front there are springer rockers available for the Monarch that have a disc brake tab incorporated.

Can you give me a link to this. I would love to have a disk on the front.

 

[Mark42]

Don't bother measuring current...

Ok. Why not? I have been reading and searching all the website about battery stuff. Please let me know why you say that. I will greatly appreciate your response.

 

[Mark42]

Today is hot. Full sun. Going to heat up those black side bags. Bike is fully charged. Gotta go.....

 

[riba2233]

Don't bother measuring current...

Ok. Why not? I have been reading and searching all the website about battery stuff. Please let me know why you say that. I will greatly appreciate your response.

Because there is no reason to do so, you have new equipment and everything is working as it should, so don't bother.

 

[Mark42]

Thank you! You are a great forum participant. Thanks for not deriding me as a newbie to electric bikes. I'm not stupid, just new.

 

[riba2233]

You're welcome! And everybody can learn, don't worry. Just year ago I didn't know anything about 18650 cells...

 

[Mark42]

I got caught in a summer storm this afternoon. Total downpour so bad I had to take my shades off to see where I was going. And I was full into the throttle to get home before the storm clouds broke, but didn't make it. Had about the last mile to go through heaviest rain I have seen in a while. Plus there was marble sized hail hitting the ground about 1 every square foot or so. Those suckers hurt. All I was wearing was a short sleeve polo shirt and short denims. I poured water out of my shoes when I got home.

The best part was I did have the headlight and tail lights to put on. So I really think that helped being seen in this downpour. And those cheap saddle bags did not leak that I could tell. I opened and inspected the side with battery, controller and dc-dc converter for running lights. So I was rather happy.

When I left the house the battery was at 70%. When I realized the weather had turned for the worst, I ran the thing home almost full throttle the entire way. That was about 4 miles, and I did it at 20 to 25mph in frantic mode. LOL!

I added a plastic toggle switch used in marine applications to switch on/off the running lights. Its plastic so it will not corrode easily. Mounted it in the front edge of the left saddle bag next to the hinge for the lid. Its in easy reach while riding to flip, and very obscure. So far its working well.

View from the rear at night.


Inside the left hand side saddle bag. The controller is mounted to the left, and the DC-DC converter is on the right. That thing in the upper left corner is a drop light. The battery in its blue shrink wrap can just be seen a little at the very bottom. All connections are either crimped or soldered. Nothing is just twisted and wrapped in tape. I know it looks messy. Still have to come back and shorten up some of the wires so it is nice and neater in that tight space. Notice the inline fuse holder that feeds the battery voltage to the DC-DC converter. I think there is a 1 amp auto fuse in there now. The converter puts out a constant 12.6V when I test with the multi-meter regardless what the battery voltage is. There is no output voltage adjustment on the DC-DC converter, its just set for 12V. About $4 on ebay.


And this is the switch for turning on the running lights. This view is looking at the front of the left hand side saddle bag. The red thing just covers the hinge.


And a headlight shot. Sorry so many of the night shots are blurry, I didn't use a tripod. Next time.

 

[Mark42]

Oh, yeah, almost forgot. The bike was feeling squirrely at 20 mph or so. When I got home I found the front wheel bearings were loose. So a little marine grease and a quick tightening of the bearing races and the steering is much more responsive. Not sure if the bearings loosened up from the stress of electric biking, or were just loose to begin with. But the bike is much nicer with tight bearings.

 

[IanM]

Nice build Mark42. Love the springer fork and panniers. They really make the bike look old school, good job.

 

[Mark42]

Thanks Ian!

My son is 12. He doesn't understand the red dice valve stem caps! LOL! I just tell him "its a style..."

 

[beast775]

Big downpours are shoddy ebike build killers..Well youre first ebike is a success! your second one will be even better :wink: ....

 

[Mark42]

Big downpours are shoddy ebike build killers..Well youre first ebike is a success! your second one will be even better :wink: ....

Thanks! Next build will be with a full suspension bike. All the weight of the hub motor and I plan on two batteries will be too much for a hard tail. I have plans for a contemporary build with dual batteries in the frame space. Its going to get heavy. Been looking for a cheap fat tire bike that has full suspension, but no luck yet.

 

[Mark42]

BTW, was riding on a long flat stretch of smooth black top road and ran full throttle and was surprised to see the bike was doing a steady 27 mph. I had no cargo. Just me (190 lbs) and a bottle of water. This is the fastest the bike has gone on level ground. Maybe after 100 miles the bearings are broken in and have less resistance? I also notice I am able to run at faster speeds and not lose much in distance. I figure it must be a break in thing.

 

[spinningmagnets]

I really love the "Monarch" springer fork, where did you get yours? (Heres another pic I found recently)

 

[Mark42]

The Monarch fork is fine for a classic cruiser you want to build. But I found it sucks for an ebike. Too much linkage, too much play. Too hard to adjust all the pivot points even with lock nuts. I am going to pull the fork and replace it with the original fork. Everything is OK under 25 mph, over that the play starts a bad collation in the bike and you have to very SLOWLY drop speed to get back full control. I have run the fork tight, and loose, and there is just too much play for the speeds hit on a long down hill ride. So I am putting back the origional mountain bike rigid fork. As soon as I can find the box with the races.
Sorry this is bad news, but its what happened to me. My bike is all outfit with old style seat, handle bars, grips, pedals, etc. The darn springer fork does not work at faster speeds.
Another problem is I can't put on a front wheel brake. I mean I can put on the classic rim clamping brakes, but if you hit a bump, the wheel moves up and down. Not good for a rim brake. Spooky tooth sells a new gen fork with disk brake adapters on it. And thicker arms and other enhancements. If you feel brave, go for it.

 

[Mark42]

BTW, other than the Monarch fork, everything else on this build is working very reliably. The cheap voltage converter from ebay is still working great, does not get too hot and the LED bulbs help keep the draw down. With the OEM mountain bike fork, the bike has a more rigid feel, and I find I ride about 2 to 4 mph faster when cruising on flat roads because the flex is gone. Added a couple of extra supports between the saddle bags and the frame to make them more rigid. That ended the problem of the screws holding the rear rack to the bike from loosening up. Now the bags have a direct link to the frame, and not just attached to the rear rack. Used 1/8 x 1" aluminum flat stock to make two braces, one for each side. Time well spent.

After the initial tightening of the spokes around 100 miles, they have not needed tightening again and its been about another 300 miles or so.

Have been caught in downpour rains twice now and a couple of times in misty or light rain. It does pay to make sure all electric connections are well sealed. Silicone will probably work, but being a boating guy, I have lots of marine poly sealants that I use instead of silicone (the old boating saying is "silicone is for bathrooms"). And the LCD display was not affected by the rain. Lights are really nice to have in a downpour. Knowing there are two red lights in the back and a headlight gave me more piece of mind while trying to see through the rain while riding on back country roads so hopefully I would be visible to these yahoo's racing around in their 4x4's.

All in all I am very pleased with the build. Thinking of a trike next.