Anyone just do a basic ebike conversion

[Catalyzt]

Had my 1st real ride yesterday, 20 miles of flat paved bike lane. Went well, unit is quiet, pretty fast at 30+ with me aboard. Battery was down to 25% , started with 9 miles used for testing before I struck out, so I'd say it's good for up to 40 miles when full. It's not as comfy as my other bikes with bigger tires, but all in all it's a fun ride, good for a grocery run or a quick trip. Already thinking about the next build, maybe a single speed belt drive or ??

Nice build. Do you know what the weight is?

I found that for fitness rides on my old hub-drive conversion, (only 250W, Clean Republic front hub throttle only, very small battery, 36V, 40 pounds w/ limited stem and seatpost suspension only) I could still get a fine workout, and the right amount of assistance, using just the throttle, which had maybe three or four increments of power-- though my longest ride was maybe 16 miles before the battery died with 1,600 feet or so of vertical.

That was a fine solution for about two years/500 miles, but I did burn out the battery and/or controller. I often forgot to turn the battery off, and the passive drain was bad, so a more disciplined person might have gotten another 700 miles and a few more months out of it.

 

[PedalUma]

What torque arms did you use to disperse the twisting forces away from the soft vertical aluminum dropouts? I didn't spot any.

 

[Catalyzt]

What torque arms did you use to disperse the twisting forces away from the soft vertical aluminum dropouts? I didn't spot any.

Good question, though I thought that was mainly for front forks.

The Trek was steel anyway, but I was told this was an issue for high power motors... for a dinky little 250W 30-50nm motor, you probably wouldn't have a problem.

Just curious, I'm sure you've seen far more risky builds than I have. Though some of the contraptions I've seen in Central Park make me a little nervous...