Dillenger / SP Crosstrail build thread

[creativepart]

I've started a build to convert my Specialized Crosstrail Sport Disc into an eBike with a Dillenger Premium Off-Road Bike Kit.

I have owned a Bilx Vika+ folding eBike for the past year and enjoyed the powered rear hub. But when I decided to try this build I looked at both front hub kits and mid-drive kits. In the end I settled on the Dillenger rear hub kit. I made this choice because of my familiarity with rear hub eBikes and concerns about mid-drive bikes not riding the same enjoyable way. I've found that I ride my eBike like a scooter, even though I pedal almost always... it's really ghost peddling.

The Dillinger kit looks to be very complete and straight forward. Another plus was it's "sale" price and availability, too. It comes with a 500w-1000w geared hub motor (my Blix is 500w-750w geared hub drive) and includes a 48v 13amp hour lithium battery and charger. At the price of about $750 complete it was a compelling set of components for the price. And it has plenty of good reviews and YouTube reviews, too.

My kit arrives on Monday (today is Saturday), so I took yesterday to get my Crosstrail ready for the install. I removed the rear wheel, tire/tube and handle bar controls. In the process I discovered I needed a new Freewheel and brake rotor. The Crosstrail has a shimano cassette that can't be used on the Dillenger wheel's threaded freewheel hub and the brake rotor is shimano centerlock while the Dillenger wheel requires 6-bolt rotors. Those have been sourced easily and I'm at the waiting stage to get started on the actual build.

I'll report back early next week about how this is all going.

 

[creativepart]

All of my parts came in and I spent the day... well, about 6 or 7 hours installing everything and so far everything has worked as planned. As you would expect some things took longer than anticipated and the instructions were lacking in a few areas. Not so much that they did much but require double checking on YouTube videos about how to do things that seemed unclear.

I'll post some work photos tomorrow and I'll contact Dillenger to let them know where the details need improved.

As of right now the entire bike is built and the hub motor, throttle and pedal sensor are working normally. I need to tidy up the cables, use a bunch of zip ties, program the display/controller and do the minor adjustments to handlebar control placements, etc.

If you are of average mechanical ability YOU CAN DO THIS. I'm 70-years old, worked as an Advertising exec my whole life and would describe myself as a tinkerer. If you've worked on bikes previously and have a few bike tools you're golden.

 

[creativepart]

Some pictures of the process:

 

[creativepart]

The Dillenger kit has been pretty complete. I had to source a 9-speed freewheel and a bolt on brake disc rotor but other than that everything has been included in the box and easy to install.

The only parts that are not well documented in the instructions are the RPAS sensor install details and some cable routing kerfuffles. All were easily worked out by watching YouTube videos (not of Dillenger builds).

It took only about 6-hours to complete the build. I used the weekend before the kit was delivered to strip the bike and get it ready for the build. That took about 4-hours tops. I still need to add about a hundred zip ties to the wiring and dial in the placement of handle bar items and a little programming of the display/controller. I'd guess it will take 3 or 4 more hours at max. So, this is an easy ~2-day build start to finish. I expected it to take a week when I first started thinking about the project.

Everything seems to be good quality and while the bike hasn't been put on the pavement yet (it's 28 degrees here in South Texas this morning) it turns on and runs via pedal and throttle.

The kit came with motor cut sensors for my hydraulic disc brake levers (they come standard) but I haven't installed them and I'm not sure if I will. My current Blix eBike has mechanical disc brakes and the brake levers have the controllers built in. I can't think of one time when I tried to brake with the motor still cranking. So, I'll go a while without the brake cut outs and see how that works.

When I started this process I thought I'd try to use the battery and charger from my Blix eBike and save some money. But the Dillenger kit was offered with the 13ah 48v battery and charger at only about $250 more than other kits would have cost without batteries. At under $750 for a complete DIY eBike kit including 500-1000w geared motor, electronics, cabling, battery and charger this was a great bargain. Also, I ordered the kit on a Tuesday and received it on the following Monday. Shipping was a reasonable $38.

Hope this helps some thinking about taking on this challenge. I'll circle back after I get some road miles into this bike.

 

[EMGX]

Are you planning on taking it with you to Tucson? I'd be interested in your opinion on how it does on hills. Saguaro East is a fun short loop with some hills to test it.

 

[creativepart]

It will depend on how I feel it is before we leave. I'm putting on the final zip ties and the temp is up to 50 now so I'm about to go for my first ride. If today and tomorrow it seems ready to go I'll take it. I don't really take bike tools with me - so it depends on what I think still needs work. If not I'll take the Blix foldable. I took the Blix last year and it did great.

We stay in South Tucson and the bike trail around there is pretty extensive. I keep the Trails Tucson maps on my phone. But the trails around there are flat as a pancake. We have a number of big hills in our home subdivision. We live at the beginning of the Texas Hill Country. So, I'll get an idea probably tomorrow.

The Blix does OK. I'm 220 and the hills on my daily ride are pretty significant. On PAS 5 up a steep grade with pedaling the speeds drop to 13 mph or so. The Blix does a steady 25 mph on PAS 5 on the flats. The Dillenger is supposed to do 28 mph. That's why it's the "off-road" version.

 

[creativepart]

Finished the Dillenger build today and took my first ride. It was 48 degrees outside so it was very chilly at the top speed of 28 mph. Climbing a short steep hill the bike was pretty effortless at 18+ mph.

As previously mentioned to finish I needed to program the controller (which is located inside the battery mount by the way) via the display and that went fine. I added about a pound of zip ties to tidy everything up and keep wires tucked in and not going to catch on anything.

A size Large Specialized 700C front suspension bike rides a lot different than my Blix with 20" wheels, tall handlebar stem and big cushy seat. My new Specialized Dillenger rides more like riding a road bike, that's for sure.

I only got in 3.1 miles before I headed home with frozen ears. Tomorrow the high is 61 so I'll take it out and put another 5 to 10 miles on it and get to know it better.

 

[creativepart]

I wanted to circle back and report that all is well with this DIY Dillenger Crosstrail. We're in Tucson and have been here nearly a month. There is a great paved bike trail here that goes all around the city something like 68 miles in total. It's called "The Loop." I have already put 300 miles on the bike and thoroughly enjoyed it. Everything is working perfectly and it's changed my riding style completely.

My previous eBike, a 20" folding Blix Vika+ was something I rode like a motor scooter. I pedaled but with the PAS at 5 100% of the time all I needed to do was "ghost-pedal."

This new eBike is capable of 28 mph but I've been riding the trails here in PAS 2 (out of 5) and averaging 16 mph. At this speed I need to use the gears much more and after a 25 mile ride I feel I've gotten a bit of a workout with sore legs, etc.

When deciding between getting this rear hub drive kit or a Mid-Drive kit I thought about going with the BeFang BBS2 mid-drive instead. But because I felt it would change my riding style as detailed above I decided to stay rear hub drive.

Now that my riding style has changed anyway the thought occurs to me that I might have preferred the mid-drive setup more.

All that said, I'm loving my current "new" eBike and feel it's doing all I'd hoped it could do. Very positive experience with the Dillenger DIY kit. Highly recommended.

 

[EMGX]

Nice. I also ended up putting a 48v, 500w nominal, geared rear hub motor in a old Schwinn Sierra mountain bike that I already had. Not the Dillinger but it is also a nice and complete kit (minus the battery which I already had). For comparison I have a BH rebel gravel X Yamaha PW-SE mid drive bike and installed a Tongsheng 36v 500w mid drive on a couple different bikes, (it's now on my wife's Dahon Briza 24" folding bike). Later this spring I'll remove the geared rear hub kit from the Schwinn Sierra and install it on a cruiser tandem bike so my wife and I can ride it again on hilly paths. While the geared rear hub motor (with a KT controller and display) isn't as refined a biking experience as the torque sensing Yamaha or Tongsheng mid drives it is still quite good - not like a motor scooter at all. I was surprised to find that I could pull long steep grades as well as on the mid drive bikes and neither the controller nor the motor got hot. Bottom line is that while I like the mid drive bikes that I have I'm pretty sure that I wouldn't have purchased the BH Yamaha bike if I already had this kit at that time. Consider that the Bafang mid drives (other than the ultra?) might not have the torque sensing feature so it might not be a step up in riding experience vs your Dillinger.

 

[stanmiller]

This new eBike is capable of 28 mph but I've been riding the trails here in PAS 2 (out of 5) and averaging 16 mph. At this speed I need to use the gears much more and after a 25 mile ride I feel I've gotten a bit of a workout with sore legs...

Thanks for the update. I'm looking at this kit for another Mongoose Envoy build.

Was the motor bogging down? Thus you needed to keeping pedaling to move through the gears? And if you put the bike in PAS3, maybe it would go too fast?

Do you have a link to the 9-speed freewheel you went with?

 

[stanmiller]

Nice. I also ended up putting a 48v, 500w nominal, geared rear hub motor in a old Schwinn Sierra mountain bike that I already had. Not the Dillinger but it is also a nice and complete kit (minus the battery which I already had).

Which motor? Link to kit?

 

[creativepart]

Thanks for the update. I'm looking at this kit for another Mongoose Envoy build.

Was the motor bogging down? Thus you needed to keeping pedaling to move through the gears? And if you put the bike in PAS3, maybe it would go too fast?

Do you have a link to the 9-speed freewheel you went with?

No the motor wasn’t bogging. It was a combination of what seemed the best speed for the bike path and the desire to preserve battery and get some exercise at the same time. PAS3 took me to 20 mph which was just a bit too fast for the path and required zero effor.

I was riding between 20 and 30 miles a day and after the first couple of days I just naturally settled into a comfortable rhythm in PAS 2.

I bought the 9-speed Freewheel that Dillenger sells.

Freewheels

For rear wheel drive hub motor conversion kits, get yourself a fresh new freewheel/gearset that screws right onto the threaded hub from the Dillenger Premium Off Road kit. Single Speed, 6 Speed, 7 Speed, 8 Speed, 9 Speed Freewheel sprockets. 6 and 7 are Shimano, single, 8 and 9 speeds are a...

dillengerelectricbikes.com

 

[EMGX]

Which motor? Link to kit?

Amazon.com

When I bought it there was a $33 discount for Prime members and another $20 Amazon coupon so it was $280. My only other experience with a geared hub motor is a MXUS 36v 250w front motor kit which was gutless on hills so it was never used other than short testing on a few bikes so I wasn't sure what to expect. This one is in a different league power wise. I haven't ridden any other 48v 500w nominal geared hub motor to compare it to but I'm impressed so far.

 

[stanmiller]

Amazon.com

When I bought it there was a $33 discount for Prime members and another $20 Amazon coupon so it was $280. My only other experience with a geared hub motor is a MXUS 36v 250w front motor kit which was gutless on hills so it was never used other than short testing on a few bikes so I wasn't sure what to expect. This one is in a different league power wise. I haven't ridden any other 48v 500w nominal geared hub motor to compare it to but I'm impressed so far.

Interesting... That motor appears to peak at 1000W.

And it looks like one can get a cassette version on AliExpress though the lead time is several months.

129.15US $ |Ebike Conversion Kits 36/48V 500W Rear Cassette Motor Wheel with Optional 16 28 Inch 700C/Display/Throttle/PAS Electric Bicycle|Electric Bicycle Motor| - AliExpress

Smarter Shopping, Better Living! Aliexpress.com

www.aliexpress.com

 

[creativepart]

Bringing up this old thread I posted back in February to announce that I'm going to do a switcheroo on this build. I'm removing the hub drive, installing a BBSHD and reusing the battery from the Dillenger Hub Drive Kit.

Don't get me wrong - I've loved my rear hub drive and have put 1000 miles on it as of yesterday. But I want to check out a mid-drive. I love the idea of putting the OEM wheel, cassette and disc back on the rear of my Specialized Crosstrail and letting the crankset do the work for a change.

It took a while but I finally learned to use the bike's gearing with the rear hub drive - but I want to go all the way with that by switching to mid-drive.

I've upgraded the Crosstrail's OEM suspension fork - a Suntour "brain" spring fork - to a Rockshox Paragon Gold air fork with manual lockout. I've been running the OEM Specialized Trigger 700c x 28c tires all this time so I'm moving to some Schwalbe Marathon 700Cx50C tires. I also got a KINEKT 2.1 Aluminum Suspension Seatpost which I love.

Dillenger sells a battery cradle that works with their battery that I have from my original kit that will work with Bafang BBSHD. So, I should be good to go.

I'll report back after I receive the parts and start with the RE-Build.

 

[creativepart]

Stopped for a water break the other day and just happened to catch this moment - totally unplanned:

 

[creativepart]

Right after surpassing 1000 miles on my Dillenger Rear Hub Drive / Specialized Crosstrail Hybrid bike kit I began making plans for a change.

Don't get me wrong, I really loved my DIY eBike and was happy with every bit of it. But, I've had 2-rear hub drive eBikes and I really wanted to know and live with a mid-drive. At first, I thought I'd buy a used hardtail mountain bike and build a completely new bike. But as I looked at what used bikes were available I decided to simply remove the entire rear drive drive-train from my existing bike and start over.

First, I made a couple upgrades to my existing Specialized Crosstrail - I pulled off the super heavy "brain" suspension fork on the front of the bike and replaced it with a RockShox Paragon Gold in the same geometry. This took an amazing 2+ pounds off the front of the bike, plus the new suspension works much much better. Then I put a Kinect 2.0 Seat Post suspension under my keester. Lastly, I upgraded the 700c by 38c tires with Schwalabe 700c by 50c Marathons - 2" wide.

More importantly I returned the Crosstrail to the stock wheel, disc, cassette and click shifter that the bike came with originally in 2018.

After all of that I installed a Bafang BBSHD Mid-Drive system, with a Lekki 46t ring and a 860C display. I purchased the kit from "johnnynerdout.com." He had the parts in stock, could ship from his base in Utah and his pricing was about the same as others.

The bike is totally complete now and I've only ridden it 12 miles so far. So, it's early days. Oh, I kept the battery (13ah 48v) that came with the Dillenger Rear Drive kit. They sell a cradle that works with their battery and is plug and play with the Bafang power cable. Easy Peasy.

So far I"ve learned that mid-drive is different than rear hub drive... but still much the same. The rear hub drive had more torque off the line via throttle, but the mid-drive is about 4 to 5 mph faster at top speed (33 mph is top speed I've seen on the flat.) I wasn't looking for more speed, but more interaction with the gears and rear derailleur. There is some of that... but not as much as I previously expected.

Thanks for keeping up with my eBike saga.

 

[creativepart]

Here's a couple of photos of the re-engined and reconfigured bike from today's ride:

 

[Paintboy]

The Dillenger kit has been pretty complete. I had to source a 9-speed freewheel and a bolt on brake disc rotor but other than that everything has been included in the box and easy to install.

The only parts that are not well documented in the instructions are the RPAS sensor install details and some cable routing kerfuffles. All were easily worked out by watching YouTube videos (not of Dillenger builds).

It took only about 6-hours to complete the build. I used the weekend before the kit was delivered to strip the bike and get it ready for the build. That took about 4-hours tops. I still need to add about a hundred zip ties to the wiring and dial in the placement of handle bar items and a little programming of the display/controller. I'd guess it will take 3 or 4 more hours at max. So, this is an easy ~2-day build start to finish. I expected it to take a week when I first started thinking about the project.

Everything seems to be good quality and while the bike hasn't been put on the pavement yet (it's 28 degrees here in South Texas this morning) it turns on and runs via pedal and throttle.

The kit came with motor cut sensors for my hydraulic disc brake levers (they come standard) but I haven't installed them and I'm not sure if I will. My current Blix eBike has mechanical disc brakes and the brake levers have the controllers built in. I can't think of one time when I tried to brake with the motor still cranking. So, I'll go a while without the brake cut outs and see how that works.

When I started this process I thought I'd try to use the battery and charger from my Blix eBike and save some money. But the Dillenger kit was offered with the 13ah 48v battery and charger at only about $250 more than other kits would have cost without batteries. At under $750 for a complete DIY eBike kit including 500-1000w geared motor, electronics, cabling, battery and charger this was a great bargain. Also, I ordered the kit on a Tuesday and received it on the following Monday. Shipping was a reasonable $38.

Hope this helps some thinking about taking on this challenge. I'll circle back after I get some road miles into this bike.

Hello there, interested to read about your kit. I ve just bought and installed the 1000w rear hub kit. I can't get it working. No one on Facebook ebike sites are helpful. When l turn on the display it lights up for 2 seconds then goes to a flashing battery with no bars and a carlike engine management light flashing in bottom right corner. No thumb throttle response at all. Battery is fully charged. The only thing I can narrow it down to is the brake sensors. The instructions say they are not needed to work but l ve watched a YouTube video of some one with the 350 kit moving the magnets to get throttle to work.
I can't find the magnets in the box anyway, just some sticky tabs