1st e-bike conversion, talk me up, or talk me down!

I've heard good things about the Kool Stop pads, but I am fresh off the boat here.

In other news, the first bike arrived yesterday, and it looks like a good, sturdy bit of gear. The "Super Stealth Dark" is a decent looking metallic gray. The 17.5" frame seems to fit correctly, if slightly high, with the 29" wheels, so I think when I get the 27.5"s installed it should be right on. Need to get on Bikesdirect to send me the specs on the rims, as I need to order my spokes and IGH for the rear wheel rebuild.

I did have one issue out of the box: when I flipped the bike over and put the front wheel into the fork I found that the disk rubs on the left (outside) brake pad. It doesn't rub and skip off. Just consistently a millimeter or so too far outboard. I tried loosening the caliper, closing the pads on the disk, and then retightening, but that didn't seem to help. Loosened it again and retightened while applying a little pressure to the caliper to push it slightly toward the midline, but again, no result. I don't think the disc is bent, as it scrapes along very consistently. Any ideas?
 
Thomas Jaszewski said:
All from a single source repeated ad nauseam. There were rotor issues but now corrected.
Click to expand...

Glad to hear it, and in no way here to bash Bafang! Bringing reliable, affordable, effective ebike kits to the market is driving a revolution, if YouTube is any guide, and I'm really looking forward to spending all my money. But you know how it is when you're thinking of a build; every little possibility, rumor, or detail must be run to ground, beaten to death, and had its corpse kicked repeatedly.

Or maybe that's just me. ; )
 
Clyde said:
Truly appreciate the benefit of your wisdom and experience, Thomas. I did see a video last night on building a fiberglass battery holder that was inspiring, but uncertain how many new trucks this old dog can learn at one time. Since a functional, turnkey solution exists I'll likely resign myself to a shark battery of some kind and leave the high aesthetics for a future build.

No fear of a little UI settings tweaking from this IT pro, so I'll have a look at the eggrider manual and see how complicated it looks. It would be nice to be able to set it for class 1 or 2 if the Boy wanted to ride.

Super 73 has a range of mini-bike style ebikes at Super73.com, and claim app programability for their mid-drives, too.
Click to expand...
I'm getting a triangle plastic case battery and am also concerned about the ease of theft.
I have several ideas to build a cage of some sort, with security bolts or screws that should slow down any opportunist thief.
I'm leaning towards simple metal dual cross members. I'll post a pic if and when I build it.
 
I'm frankly a little obsessed with mounting my battery on the seat tube. There's a 52v15ah triangle arrangement that I think will do the trick if I can work out a way to mount it. Dreams of metal frames and fiberglass and locking mechanisms and hinges...

Another thought occurred to me recently: what about a lockable frame made of the kind of bent rods they make bottle cages out of, but scaled up to fit a shrinkwrapped battery, maybe in a ne0prene sleeve or something for shock absorbtion? So just a skeleton around the battery pack rather than a full aluminum enclosure?

Interested to see what you come up with.
 
SEARCH for battery box designs.

KoolStop eBike pads are an improvement, but not adequate for 30MPH BBSHD.
 
Locks are a good deterrence, however, after watching the lockpicking lawyer on youtube, pick bike locks in virtually seconds, I like the idea of security bolts or screws to secure the cage/bars.
Anything to slow them down. And I can still remove the battery if I want with the bolt keys.(like locking wheel bolts on cars).

Also it's a good idea to add a hidden vibration alarm or two! They are very cheap and some come with remotes and lights like on cars!
 
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Thomas Jaszewski said:
SEARCH for battery box designs.

KoolStop eBike pads are an improvement, but not adequate for 30MPH BBSHD.
Click to expand...
I just did a search for hydro brakes with rotors and found a well ranked set for @ $40.
That will probably be the upgrade option I choose.
It's good to be able to stop : )
 
JES2020 said:
I just did a search for hydro brakes with rotors and found a well ranked set for @ $40.
That will probably be the upgrade option I choose.
It's good to be able to stop : )
Click to expand...
The only budget brake I'd use is Avid BB7 for mechanical discs. Your frame will need disc brackets! $40 for a 30MPH bike? Nah! But perhaps I' nor clear on the motor and speeds you'll be running at.
 
A 52V 17AH battery in a Reention lockable case is pretty darn secure.
 
Thomas Jaszewski said:
The only budget brake I'd use is Avid BB7 for mechanical discs. Your frame will need disc brackets! $40 for a 30MPH bike? Nah! But perhaps I' nor clear on the motor and speeds you'll be running at.
Click to expand...
Nice catch! Learn something new everyday. Just added disk brackets to my amazon cart.
I'm set on hydro brakes because of the lack of adjustments, that are needed on mechanical pads.

Just realized I would need a new wheel in front for disk brakes...so I'll just convert the back and live with it until my next bike...Sondors just came out with a $2300 Elite ebike, If I get bored with my kit bike AND want to spend 3x the cash...
 
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JES2020 said:
Nice catch! Learn something new everyday. Just added disk brackets to my amazon cart.
I'm set on hydro brakes because of the lack of adjustments, that are needed on mechanical pads.
Click to expand...
So the frame has brazed on mounts for disc pad assemblies? I've never seen an "old Trek" with rim brakes and braze on brackets for discs. In my use, I find cables a lot easier than dealing with brake fluid. Hydro still requires maintenance and cheap hydraulics aren't much better than pad brakes with good KoolStop pads. Jeez, very good and decent pads for hydraulics are in the $40 range.

Best of luck. Have fun! It's a great adventure you're on!
 
Thomas Jaszewski said:
So the frame has brazed on mounts for disc pad assemblies? I've never seen an "old Trek" with rim brakes and braze on brackets for discs. In my use, I find cables a lot easier than dealing with brake fluid. Hydro still requires maintenance and cheap hydraulics aren't much better than pad brakes with good KoolStop pads. Jeez, very good and decent pads for hydraulics are in the $40 range.

Best of luck. Have fun! It's a great adventure you're on!
Click to expand...
"So the frame has brazed on mounts for disc pad assemblies?"
I thought that's what the disk brackets were for, attaching the assembly to the frame, is there something else a person needs to add disk brakes? (besides having an appropriate wheel mount)?
 
JES2020 said:
"So the frame has brazed on mounts for disc pad assemblies?"
I thought that's what the disk brackets were for, attaching the assembly to the frame, is there something else a person needs to add disk brakes? (besides having an appropriate wheel mount)?
Click to expand...

You’ll need a fork with tabs to bolt on the brake, you can swap out a fork. Plus the same tabs on the frame rear seat stays. You could try a disk on front, rim brake on back if your frame doesn’t have these and you don’t want to have a shop braze them on
 
Dewey said:
You’ll need a fork with tabs to bolt on the brake, you can swap out a fork. Plus the same tabs on the frame rear seat stays. You could try a disk on front, rim brake on back if your frame doesn’t have these and you don’t want to have a shop braze them on
Click to expand...
Thanks Dewy
It seems to be a little more complex than I first thought.Not sure where these tabs would go, need to study up more. In the mean time I'll just be very careful.
In order to put disk on front will I need a new wheel to mount the disk to? I don't want to build a new wheel.
 
my bike has a lower power 350w BBS01 and rim brakes, I’m about to pick it up from my local bike shop who have built a new front wheel with a drum brake hub, I’m keeping the rear rim brake, so I can have an all weather commuter, should work fine for Class 2 speeds. The price I paid was $285
 
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