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just assembled the e-bike

CalG

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whee ha!
Cal's new bike 2.jpg


The hills are much flatter now!
 

T-Square

Terry
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Fun aren’t they. :ogbiggrin:
 
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CalG

CalG

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I've been out each afternoon for the past three days.
Off road is still snow and slippery (ice under grass )
Our roads (gravel/dirt) are wet, muddy and rutted.
A 12 mile loop with all the hills get's me back warmed up and out of breath.

Just what is wanted!
The conversion has already proven it's self. I would never go pedal through that muck without.
 

Plai

Paul Lai
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I've been out each afternoon for the past three days.
Off road is still snow and slippery (ice under grass )
Our roads (gravel/dirt) are wet, muddy and rutted.
A 12 mile loop with all the hills get's me back warmed up and out of breath.

Just what is wanted!
The conversion has already proven it's self. I would never go pedal through that muck without.
Maybe I missed it elsewhere. What are the details? A conversion, you say? Which one? How much effort to select, install, what are the battery options, why did you chose what you choose, etc?
 
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CalG

CalG

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Paul

I looked into options for a couple of months.
Went with this outfit.
I liked the straight forward presentation. A bit more $ than some other sources, but I like to know there is a real person to talk to if I need something. So far, it's seemless. No Issues at all. (And Nicely packaged and shipped to boot ;-)

BBSHD mid motor with a big 48 V battery pack. The battery was about as costly as the motor kit. And so far, it appears I didn't need as much capacity. My butt gets sore before the battery shows discharge ;-)

It took me maybe 2 hours to "convert" my GT Richter 8. Steel frame . I did purchase the bottom bracket tools, so that was all a breeze. fiddling with grips, shifters levers and wires takes the lions share of the task.

Why? I'm getting too lazy to pedal our hills, and I don't consider walking a bike much fun.
Why a mid drive? More like a motor bike, It just makes sense to me.
The Bafong kits are well proven, reliable and parts are readily available if needed. I had considered a more basic (read higher power) motor/controller build, but thought I should see how I liked the e-bike before putting in all that time to fab brackets etc. Plus, the DIY path ALWAYS COSTS about double what you think it will. BTDT too many times ;-) The "kit" is the Kit, Only one charge on my cc.

I want to spend the $15 for a controller to PC interface cable so I can reprogram the controller. I didn't want to mess with settings until I had some experience. Since I can't leave things like that alone, I purposely didn't get the cable with the kit.

Also I'm looking at slightly larger tires for softer ride and flotation for our muddy forest conditions.
I'm running hybrid road/knob side tread now, they spin like crazy when it gets slippery.

Take a look at the BBSHD you might like to do something similar.
 

surfacehoar

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I have a BBSHD conversion kit purchased through Luna Cycle, mounted on a Norco Big Foot(fat bike). I think it's 2 years old now. Admittedly, I don't ride it too often as I leave it at our remote property. When I do use it, I ride it hard.

The FSR I ride climbs over 4000ft over 7miles. I don't peddle and go full throttle the entire time. I use a 52V 13Ah battery and it is basically dead when I reach the top of the road, approx. 30 minutes.

To speak to the BBSHD's build quality, It's stamped at "750watts" If I remember correctly it's designed for a 20amp controller and 36v battery = 720watts.
The 48v battery brings it up to 1000watts.
The luna kit uses a 30amp controller, with the 52V battery = 1560watts. The battery fully charged is actually 58.8watts so continuous power with a fully charged battery is 1764watts.

Luna offers a 50amp controller if you buy a built bike that puts out over 2500watts from the BBSHD.

I've never had a problem with it, or had it overheat even though my controller, battery, and riding style are pushing the motor hard.

I ride down the road and hit all the jumps (water bars mostly) as if I was on my proper bike. Which resulted in lots of flats initially, as I suspect the additional weight and lack of suspension puts more stress on tubes. I run max pressure now(60psi) and try to be a little softer with it, especially when riding though loose jagged rocks.

The motor and battery have been rock solid. The install was easy. I was skeptical of the hydraulic brake sensors but they have been a bit finicky but no real issues.
 
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CalG

CalG

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Just got back in from a ride. Cooling off in front of the screen ;-)

At 33 degrees and muddy, I likely would not have gone out on one of my straight bikes.
Coming into the house, I mentioned to my wife that the d$^&! electric motor just makes me go faster in the slow spots.
That's good I suppose, but my wrists are taking a beating from the pot holes ;-)

I don't run brake cut-off switches. No issues so far. I can feel the power assist drop out in less than 1/2 second after pedaling is stopped.

I thought I would "motor" more, but find I'm much more comfortable pedaling than just riding.
The battery lasts a long time too.....

Go figure.
 

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