Input for long range commuter build?

[4speed]

Looks like this project turned out rather nicely!

I do my own fenders often as not on bikes. You may be in the same boat. That pic above of the dirty, dusty fat bike shows where I normally end up: Using mtb mud guards. Then extend them out a bit with black gorilla tape folded horizontally across the front and back of the short almost-fender to extend it. The tape will last for years despite its soft-ish nature, and will maintain its shape while riding at speed. You can use a much smaller version of that grey body fender and I have found body fenders keep enormous amounts of water off both the bike and the battery.

Here is a pic of a front wheel change I just made on my Bullitt (35mm wide rim to support that 2.4" tire). I'm showing the pic cuz it uses a different style of fender that bolts to the fork crown and doesn't get in the way of tire clearance. I don't use the rear as there is zero clearance so I have sealed the 'bulkhead' behind the tire in other ways. This fender is made by SKS and they have other versions.

View attachment 126150

None of these options will look as clean as what you had.

Get rid of that horrible front chainring as fast as you can afford to do so. Unfortunately the Lekkie rings have gone way up in price but they are still the best bet. Speaking of which, what does your chainline look like? The offset front to back? Thats a big deal for drivetrain longevity. Maybe the biggest. If its deflected it becomes a chainsaw to the drivetrain teeth and of course the chain itself isn't going to last.

Three different derailleur adjustment vids in this link, which is tee'd up a bit so you don't have to scroll much to get to them. The third one is from Park Tool. It takes the longest but its a complete tutorial to start from scratch and get everything perfect.

How To Build An Ebike From Scratch: Assembly Day 2

Assembly Day 1 got us a rolling chassis that looks like a bike. If you squint a little. Lets keep up the pace of progress here on Day 2

talesontwowheels.com

I would not do a gear sensor at all. I have bikes with and without. I just do a stutter in my cadence and doing so is automatic now. Also redoing the BBSHD settings so it shuts down immediately and starts up soft are really important components to the success of that technique.

That front fender could work on mine, and possibly a second one (or if they come in other shapes) behind the fork. Will look into that, thanks.

As for the offset, right now chain line is pretty straight onto the 8th gear (of 9) and it seems like I will be using 9th gear for almost all of the time. The 1st, 2nd and even 3rd are quite off, I don't go below 4th and that is only when I start. I could offset the chain ring (or any chain ring) for a totally straight line on 9th gear, though I may need to sacrifice 4th gear too for that...

Thx for the adjustment links, I will certainly look at that. Same with the motor settings, I haven't even started to dig into that yet.

 

[PedalUma]

I just do a stutter in my cadence

Me too. Because I ride a lot of IHG that only shift when coasting, this becomes natural. I shutter at the crunch of a novice down shifting on a slope.

 

[PedalUma]

 

[mikeschn]

I had a chance to design and 3D print a bracket for the Giant Cypress!

It looks like it'll work! There's 3 captured nuts in there, to make things easy to assemble!

Here's a sample installation:

 

[m@Robertson]

I had a chance to design and 3D print a bracket for the Giant Cypress!

That channel underneath is for cable pass thru? Looks fantastic!

 

[mikeschn]

Good catch! Here's a pic of the bike upside down, with the brake cable and the shift cable!

@4speed I ended up resin printing this with ONYX Pro410

 

[m@Robertson]

As for the offset, right now chain line is pretty straight onto the 8th gear (of 9) and it seems like I will be using 9th gear for almost all of the time. The 1st, 2nd and even 3rd are quite off, I don't go below 4th and that is only when I start. I could offset the chain ring (or any chain ring) for a totally straight line on 9th gear, though I may need to sacrifice 4th gear too for that...

Welcome to fine tuning the gearing on a mid drive Sounds like you are happiest on the smaller cogs, so consider a couple options when you are willing to go there:

In the back, swap in a bigger rear cluster. That won't help your chain alignment. But since the rear cluster is larger you are making bigger jumps, so you will have a lower gear available to you at the same position. I just did this with my hill-climbing Mongoose Envoy. Swapped out a 12-32T Shimano HG200-9 for a 11-46T Microshift Advent. I can't get to the biggest cogs either - because of an aftermarket 2-legged kickstand of all things. That cluster is pinned together and has cogs made of solid, hardened steel (no spiders) so its best-case in terms of mid drive durability. And cheap at just a hair under $40.

In the front, you can play some games though with a different chainring. What happens if you go inboard just a bit with more offset, and add teeth? Do it right and the cog in back that yields ideal cadence goes one higher up. Which means you can start to think about giving up on the smallest cog you have - which is only a good thing on a mid drive. This is how I wound up with a 52T ring on my Bullitt. On my 11s cluster I need to be 3 gears in to get straight chainline and ideal cadence on flat ground.

 

[4speed]

Welcome to fine tuning the gearing on a mid drive Sounds like you are happiest on the smaller cogs, so consider a couple options when you are willing to go there:

In the back, swap in a bigger rear cluster. That won't help your chain alignment. But since the rear cluster is larger you are making bigger jumps, so you will have a lower gear available to you at the same position. I just did this with my hill-climbing Mongoose Envoy. Swapped out a 12-32T Shimano HG200-9 for a 11-46T Microshift Advent. I can't get to the biggest cogs either - because of an aftermarket 2-legged kickstand of all things. That cluster is pinned together and has cogs made of solid, hardened steel (no spiders) so its best-case in terms of mid drive durability. And cheap at just a hair under $40.

In the front, you can play some games though with a different chainring. What happens if you go inboard just a bit with more offset, and add teeth? Do it right and the cog in back that yields ideal cadence goes one higher up. Which means you can start to think about giving up on the smallest cog you have - which is only a good thing on a mid drive. This is how I wound up with a 52T ring on my Bullitt. On my 11s cluster I need to be 3 gears in to get straight chainline and ideal cadence on flat ground.

Interesting suggestions, I will most certainly consider all of them!

 

[mikeschn]

Interesting suggestions, I will most certainly consider all of them!

I am starting to think about that too!

At my normal cadence of 60-70, I am on the smallest sprocket. By changing my chainring from 42 to 52, I can get off the smallest sprocket. See the red boxed targets below...

 

[m@Robertson]

See the red boxed targets below...

That screen on that site is exactly the one I use to try and figure this sort of thing out. Set your chainrings as '42,52' and it will give you both data sets one on top of the other on the same screen.

To further muddy the waters: If you can get to the third cog in, that usually puts you on the pinned-together section of your cluster (assuming you are using one that is pinned). Those cogs distribute the force of the motor across more of the cassette body versus digging a channel into the cassette body on their own. Keeps your cassette body alive for longer (not necessary but still helpful if you have a steel cassette body).

 

[PedalUma]

I am starting to think about that too!

At my normal cadence of 60-70, I am on the smallest sprocket. By changing my chainring from 42 to 52, I can get off the smallest sprocket. See the red boxed targets below...

View attachment 126244



View attachment 126245

Interesting. I was just showing @m@Robertson an example from yesterday. I installed a Box 3, 9sp, 11-46 group set on an electric Specialized Pitch. It wouldn't hit 2 and 1. Too much cross chaining. Then I installed a 10mm offset, N/W, 42-t ring from Eco. It hit all gears but would drop off the front in 1. So I painted a front derailleur black and used it as a chain guide. Works perfectly now. That is about a 420% range.

 

[mikeschn]

Interesting bags on that Pitch. I need some storage bags on my bike... I may have to try some of those!

 

[PedalUma]

Interesting bags on that Pitch. I need some storage bags on my bike... I may have to try some of those!

I think that he got them from that large river in South America. Those RockBros pedals are from there. They are super nice and dirt cheap. It is just too easy to order from that place. I can order at ten PM in my underwear and they arrive at my workshop at eleven AM the next morning. I put black nail polish on the logo of those pedals and tap it with a piece of foam for matte texture.

 

[4speed]

So, to sum this thread up...

This was the designated victim, a Cannondale of unverified model from somewhere around 2004-2006 afaik. Alloy frame, 28" wheels with SRAM hubs and 28-622 tires. Avid Juicy 3 hydraulic 160 mm disc brakes, SRAM X-7 3x9 gear, 11-34 cassette.

Now with...
BBSHD with P850C panel
48V 24,5 Ah battery
Shimano pedals
Schwalbe Energizer Plus Performance 37-622 (E-50 rated)
Wider fenders to fit the 37 tires
New brake rotors, pads and chain
Brooks B17 saddle
Ergon GP3 grips
60 mm mirror
Lezyne Strip Alert rear light

I am quite happy with the choice of BBSHD over BBS02, not for the actual required power but for the extra headroom and apparently better cooling.
The Ergon GP3 grips make a huge difference for me, as does the Brooks B17 saddle. The mirror needs a better placement of course, wherever that is going to be, but just having it is a great benefit imho.
I would have gone with 40-622 tires for comfort - and I actually did at first, but they were just too high and touched the frame. The 37 mm is 3 mm lower and still E-50 rated.

Down the line I may consider a damped seatpost and a narrow click-on bag from local manufacturer AVS.

 

[tomjasz]

BBSHD over BBS02

Nice build. Gotta be a very fast bike. The BBSHD can run as a one speed and take incredible abuse.

 

[4speed]

Nice build. Gotta be a very fast bike. The BBSHD can run as a one speed and take incredible abuse.

Target was 40 km/h or 25 mph sustained (and, ideally, trip average) for 30+30 km and it does that.
Almost all my commuting route is paved, low traffic, smooth country road and fast cycling. But the last few km is dedicated bike lane/path, paved but for several reasons not fit for speed, and that inevitabely brings down the average by an amount that I can't make up for on the rest of the route. But I can live with that.