JRA
Well-Known Member
Almost done with a new bike build. Steel frame drop bar 40c tires and Grin AllAxle 12mm thru axle front hub motor. This is the third bike I have built in this fashion and looking to be the best yet.
Front hub motors are not at all popular but I see no logical reason why. I wouldn’t spec one on an mtb but for any road use they work great as long as they are set up properly.
48v 18ah 2170 cell battery will reside in my tt bag leaving room for my King cages which differs from my other bikes stand HL battery mounting on the down tube which prevents for even one so I am looking forward to that.
I ride primarily on country pavement roads and logging roads and use lower psi, mid thirties tubeless, to get good small bump compliance and feel no need for any other form of suspension but I also have a long history of riding rigid and hardtail mtb’s....
Sometimes I’ll do some single track and although I don’t even have one on my eMTB I put one on as a matter of opportunity as my mechanic buddy that helped me plumbing in the brakes and shift cable had one on a bike in his rafters he no longer used. I had heard you could convert a front brifter into a dropper lever and he got that to work with some creative dremeling. Not sure how much I’ll use it but it will be good for letting others try the bike because it locks in anywhere in it’s 100mm stroke.
My other bikes are aluminum and right away I noticed how smooth the ride was even though the psi was @ 50 due to a fresh tubeless setup. Steel is real as they say.
After my maiden voyage sans battery I feel I could ride this bike all day eve with the DD hub motor on. The Grin DD motor exhibits little to no drag and while I haven’t weighed it with battery I think it should be in the low 40’s which isn’t bad for a 1000w capable steel frame bike with an 864wh capacity.
As an aside my buddy had an SWorks Levo with the Creo type motor/battery I got to ride up a pretty steep grade. Although a light bike for sure it’s power output in turbo felt similar to my 48v/18a TSDZ2 in mode 2 of 4. Admittedly I use that mode primarily but do use mode three for climbing especially. For the 12.5k for the version I rode I think I’ll pass.
Front hub motors are not at all popular but I see no logical reason why. I wouldn’t spec one on an mtb but for any road use they work great as long as they are set up properly.
48v 18ah 2170 cell battery will reside in my tt bag leaving room for my King cages which differs from my other bikes stand HL battery mounting on the down tube which prevents for even one so I am looking forward to that.
I ride primarily on country pavement roads and logging roads and use lower psi, mid thirties tubeless, to get good small bump compliance and feel no need for any other form of suspension but I also have a long history of riding rigid and hardtail mtb’s....
Sometimes I’ll do some single track and although I don’t even have one on my eMTB I put one on as a matter of opportunity as my mechanic buddy that helped me plumbing in the brakes and shift cable had one on a bike in his rafters he no longer used. I had heard you could convert a front brifter into a dropper lever and he got that to work with some creative dremeling. Not sure how much I’ll use it but it will be good for letting others try the bike because it locks in anywhere in it’s 100mm stroke.
My other bikes are aluminum and right away I noticed how smooth the ride was even though the psi was @ 50 due to a fresh tubeless setup. Steel is real as they say.
After my maiden voyage sans battery I feel I could ride this bike all day eve with the DD hub motor on. The Grin DD motor exhibits little to no drag and while I haven’t weighed it with battery I think it should be in the low 40’s which isn’t bad for a 1000w capable steel frame bike with an 864wh capacity.
As an aside my buddy had an SWorks Levo with the Creo type motor/battery I got to ride up a pretty steep grade. Although a light bike for sure it’s power output in turbo felt similar to my 48v/18a TSDZ2 in mode 2 of 4. Admittedly I use that mode primarily but do use mode three for climbing especially. For the 12.5k for the version I rode I think I’ll pass.
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