Need a suitable frame and basic component bike ASAP to build out to ebike later.

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After reading some faqs and newbie stuff I started to think the Mongoose Terrex might be a decent choice to build out an ebike from since it has a steel frame, disc brakes, is cheap and I thought I could pick it up or get It shipped quickly. Then I noticed it’s no longer in stock in the places I’ve looked. I’m a student and the bike I’ve been riding is just falling apart in every way and I need a basic bike ASAP to get to school until I can save up and buy a battery/kit. I’m fine buying a suitable frame with basic components and upgrading components and then a battery/kit in that order. Here’s some more info that I hope helps push me in a better research direction because I’m going off into the weeds researching stuff!

Height: 5’10”

Weight 180

Biking experience: Have biked almost every day for 10 plus years and very comfortable on any terrain.

Terrain: mostly need the bike for road, but would be cool if I could take it on some even hard dirt paths occasionally and up a few paved hills. Is it preferred for a mostly road ebike to have knobby tires? Some days I’d leave the battery off and purely pedal.

Frame: This would be the most important because I’m ok upgrading components over time. Then kit/battery.

Cost: suitable frame and basic components I can upgrade later <400

Speed: later I’d buy a kit to go 20-30 mph

Range: will mostly worry about speed and distance later (since now I’m in need of the bike). I do like to pedal sometimes and maybe would go 30 or 40 miles away tops. Every day commute is about ten miles total.

Currently going to school in the Bay Area

 

[E-HP]

Terrain: mostly need the bike for road, but would be cool if I could take it on some even hard dirt paths occasionally and up a few paved hills. Is it preferred for a mostly road ebike to have knobby tires? Some days I’d leave the battery off and purely pedal.


Range: will mostly worry about speed and distance later (since now I’m in need of the bike). I do like to pedal sometimes and maybe would go 30 or 40 miles away tops. Every day commute is about ten miles total.

The frame looks like it would be fine. Since you plan on riding without assistance, then you'll likely end up with a geared hub to minimize drag. If that's the case, sticking with steel isn't as important, since those motors tend to be smaller, and adding a regular torque arm would be enough.

If you mean 40 miles away, as in 80 miles round trip, then you need to consider how much assistance you'll typically ride with to determine the size of the battery, which gets back to how much room you have in the frame's triangle, so you should at least do some rough estimates.

 

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Thanks for the reply. I should have made the initial post a lot clearer. I don’t care too much about distance (40 round trip) and the battery/kit at this point. I’m just looking for a bike that has a decent frame and components I can update later once I get around to buying a kit/battery. The bike I mentioned isn’t in stock anywhere around and I need a bike soon (need to buy it with it a few days) to get to school. Have a job and school so this makes research time limited.

Can people throw out some recommendations on a bike less than 500 with sturdy frame that can be shipped quick or picked up somewhere in the Bay Area? I’ll put on better components, kit and battery later when I can afford it. Thanks

 

[E-HP]

Here are suggestions, in order, from Bay Area Craigslist:

Biggest triangle; I'd offer $325 for the red Trek Fuel; bike is good to go:
https://sfbay.craigslist.org/sby/bik/d/san-jose-trek-mountain-bikes-18/6978813306.html

Good to go with discs and decent drive train, triangle is smaller, but room enough for a shark or Hailong pack so with good cells, decent capacity. Good price as-is, but you could still bargain:
https://sfbay.craigslist.org/sby/bik/d/san-jose-2007-specialized-stumpjumper/6985921205.html

I'm partial to the old school Santa Cruz bikes, this one would need discs, but the frame support them. Similar to above, large enough area for a shark or Hailong pack. It's a large, but I'm your height and have an extra large, but still can ride it because of how the top tube dips down on most Santa Cruz frames. I'd probably start at $275 and see where the negotiation goes:
https://sfbay.craigslist.org/nby/bik/d/fairfax-santa-cruz-superlight-1/6986021918.html

 

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Ah, thanks for those leads! One is already gone, maybe someone on here snagged it. :lol: Gonna look at those and similar now that I have a better idea. If anyone sees anything else feel free to pm me. Also, open to suggestions off bikesdirect etc.

 

[E-HP]

Ah, thanks for those leads! One is already gone, maybe someone on here snagged it. :lol: Gonna look at those and similar now that I have a better idea. If anyone sees anything else feel free to pm me. Also, open to suggestions off bikesdirect etc.

Squeeze the "starving student just trying to get to school" into your negotiations...I added the starving part to demonstrate need

 

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Haha, it’s true and I thought about doing that.

 

[Hummina Shadeeba]

Bikesdirect.com

The Bike Kitchen in sf will surely have some super cheap steel frames you can build up with their parts

 

[999zip999]

The bike kitchen in the mission district is that the place you only go on the daytime. That looks like a good place to start and cheap go in there with holes in your clothes a beat up backpack and some kind of school book. It looks like you can volunteer if you have time.
Craigslist just spend a few days. Track ,Kona, specialized, look for the older ones with the big triangle. Make a cardboard box a size of your battery take it with you the cardboard box see if it fits in the frame where you would like make a cardboard box the side of the controller and take it with you see where you going to place that in the frame. It's better to know that these things fit before you buy the bike oh very important if you get a rear hub make sure there's enough clearance for a big nut to fit in the rear next to the derailleur sometimes they make the hanger or you can't put a nut there to hold the motor. Do you want front suspension full suspension. I don't mind a bike with no suspension.
Are you going to be riding the hills of San Francisco or you have more flatland. What area do you live in.
I would like 52 volt but needing that many miles will you be able to charge at work or school ?
If you can't charge where you're going then you need a bigger battery maybe 30 ah ? Pedal starts help a lot on the demands you make on your battery and how long your battery will last. Talk to text good luck reading it