DIY without the DIY

[Robert W Green]

Hi Harry,

Don’t really follow much on Endless Sphere. Karl called it Endless Drama. I know the people know a lot more than I do in any technical area.

It seems like Lectric Cycle has gotten pretty heavily involved in these DDIY (Don’t Do It Yourself) kits, prebuilt kits. So I assume over the last year or so it hasn’t blown up in their face. The difference in price between Lectric and Luna is a little shocking.

The mounting point of Bafang drives is the weak link, I guess. Maybe they can beef it up if they sell specific bikes. Put an additional mount somewhere, built for the Giant. Luna is trying to sell the BBSHD as a street legal version. If that’s really 750 watts, the drive is going to be pretty bullet-proof. Maybe they can include the tools to keep it tight. I don’t know how bulletproof the packs are in the cradles, but I’m sure there are ways to insure the integrity. I use fasteners on my Luna Shark.

I have a hard time buying into the argument there is something magical in the engineering of a bike built to be an ebike. Trying to adapt the BBS drives to every bike out there is tough, and some people have real problems. How many people really ride the bikes hard? Some of this is about comfort. But if you find a really nice bike and work through all the stuff that makes the build a good build, I wonder how different it is? The reviews say the Giant MTB is a very nice bike, great value. The HD has been reliable, and the street version is a half power version of an over-engineered drive. I’m asking for an objective comparison of real bikes that people actually use. With the Giant/HD, there is a bike you can compare to something in the Bulls or Haibike lines. Is it going to happen? The industry doesn’t really want to take DIY stuff that seriously. And the industry is too small.

Two years ago I bought a Bigcat Fatcat XL, my first purpose built ebike. At $1550 it was not a bad bike and the mechanical parts still work but the electric parts have stopped communicating(error code 30). It's been in the shop for going on 5 weeks and I expect to get the call any day now that 'they did everything that they could do but the patient just didn't make it. Sorry Mr. Green.' I know that my bike couldn't compare with a higher end bike for quality and performance, but in the end you all will get the same call for the ebike part of your bike. Now what do I do with this half a bike. At least with my new ebike conversion( a Sun EZ-1 Supercruiser with BBS02) if the electric parts fail or the whole kit dies I can turn it back into an unpowered bike. My Fatcat will be an awful unpowered bike and I just don't have the money to gut it and start over with a kit. RIP Fatcat XL. I'll probably change my mind later but right now I prefer kits. What the ebike world needs is more available spare parts.

 

[Robert W Green]

Interesting comments on Luna and ES. Not sure what that is about. I think DIY is the successful part of ebikes, right now, but the product line is very limited and the roadmap for development of the products is opaque. I'm not sure what the spat was about. No one really wants to compete with Luna. Paul just doesn't have distribution. Chris and LeGrand seem to feel that a full service retail model will work for them. Bafang could sell direct. Chinese vendors need distribution models for batteries, and they need to build a reputation. BABA stock zooms up every day.

I could see a bright future for DDIY with decent choices (maybe more choices) that would get built right. Then you get the open battery model and the upgrade model that works so well with DIY. Not sure if they could fold in something like that Max with custom frames. Golden and MAC also need torque sensors.

Like to know where you end up on the Anthem with the HD. The Anthem is more expensive than the Giant MTB's that Lectric and Luna are using. The real question is how well they work with a powerful and somewhat heavy motor. But it's an SUV, capable of doing a lot of things. So hopefully you write up the total experience on your Blog. I'm willing to wait a couple of months until you know what it really does. Ebike like that could last a lot of years.

Wouldn't it be great if you could drive down to the Bafang store and pick up a kit or a spare battery or any spare part that you need! Waiting for things to get here from China is a major drag. Why not revitalize Detroit by turning it i to the ebike manufacturing center for this hemisphere. Need a part call Bafang Detroit and order one up. A guy can dream can't he?

 

[harryS]

Two years ago I bought a Bigcat Fatcat XL, my first purpose built ebike. At $1550 it was not a bad bike and the mechanical parts still work but the electric parts have stopped communicating(error code 30). It's been in the shop for going on 5 weeks and I expect to get the call any day now that 'they did everything that they could do but the patient just didn't make it. Sorry Mr. Green.' I know that my bike couldn't compare with a higher end bike for quality and performance, but in the end you all will get the same call for the ebike part of your bike. Now what do I do with this half a bike. At least with my new ebike conversion( a Sun EZ-1 Supercruiser with BBS02) if the electric parts fail or the whole kit dies I can turn it back into an unpowered bike. My Fatcat will be an awful unpowered bike and I just don't have the money to gut it and start over with a kit. RIP Fatcat XL. I'll probably change my mind later but right now I prefer kits. What the ebike world needs is more available spare parts.

Five weeks with no answer? My guess is bad controller, loose/failed connector, or broken LCD. Technician should have figured that out in two hours by swapping in parts. Maybe he has no parts or has no expertise? Your Fatcat looks like standard geared motor with external controller somewhere (under the frame?)

If you knew it wasn't the motor, the complete controller/LCD pair could be replaced if you don't mind wires not running inside the frame (maybe that's where one broke?). Looks like your bike uses a geared Bafang fatbike motor, and those usually have a common 9 pin connector. Mine does, anyway.

 

[tomjasz]

Jeez, who are these people that don't have parts? Doug at California eBikes has ALL the parts! Empowerdcycles even sells a repair kit. Change out parts and pay for what you keep!

Error code 30 is almost ALWAYS a controller. As someone wrote, under an hurt determine. The advantage of buying from the little guys. They are quick turn around and have a lot to loose by dragging a fix out 5 weeks.