MD 1000 Redux ...

[RMK!]

I had an original 2020 Leli MD 1000 with Sturmey Archer IGH (SA). I limped through the first 1200 miles with the SA IGH but it was doomed to fail and did. Leili sent me (for $300) a new back wheel and SRAM 9 speed that resolved the shifting issues with the SA IGH. By that time, I had really gotten into ebike riding and was doing 150-300 miles per week mostly on paved trails so the MD 1000 was not the best option for that use case.

I ended up selling the MD 1000 and buying several other ebikes finally settling on a stupid expensive Riese & Muller Delite GX dual battery bike that has a Rohloff E14 shifter, quite Bosch drive system and dual batteries for 100 mile range per charge. After 5500 miles on the R&M I had a problem with the Bosch motor which was replaced under the excellent 2 year warranty by the dealer I purchased it from. It is now like new again and a really fun, smooth, quiet long distance (+/- 50 miles) ride.

Honestly, I always missed the MD 1000 as it is although noisey, such a tough, cool, fast, go almost anywhere ebike. I saw that Kyle (Bolton/Area13) had a customized MD1000 Warthog (70 miles on the ODO) at auction and bid on it twice finally getting it for less than I paid for the Lieli MD 1000 bike. That made it within my budget for a 2nd ebike. It is a fun, fast backup and I'm still going hard putting 200 or so miles per week on the bikes (weather permitting). Part of the reason for getting the MD 1000 was that when pleasure riding (<40 miles) the 250 watt Riese & Muller with my wife who has a 750 Watt Evelo, I was having to work too hard to keep up with her. She rides in the 20+ MPH range which it totally in the wheelhouse of her Evlo. Now with the MD 1000, I can put just as much effort into our fun riding as I want and keeping up is no longer an issue. I still go hard on the R&M averaging 18 mph over the 50 miles on my standard workout ride. It includes some nice dirt track segments with beautiful scenery and little to no traffic. To sum it up, horses for courses.

 

[Nvreloader]

Hi RMK
Did you get the Uart motor on your custom 1000?
You summed it up perfectly, on the WH bikes.

I am still running my Wart Hog MD 750 I got from Kyle also, a Great bike that I like, been averaging 80-100+ miles per charge, spend about 75%+ of the time trail riding on cow/horse trails, dry creek washes etc.
My major concern is that the gearing selection for MY type of riding is NOT slow enough, 15-16 mph riding trails gets to be work..........LOL and staying on the trails dodging rocks and sage brush.

Since I spend most of my time in 15-17-20T gears when on the road traveling and the rest of the time in 26-30-34T gears off road, and I don't ever use the 11-13T gears, way too fast for my style of riding.
I am working on a plan to remove those 2 bottom gears and add 48-50-52T gears to the top end to get more slow speed off rode use.

IMHO, I could better use the lower gears for 4-6mph off road travel.
I have added all the major features I wanted ie, full fenders to keep the slop off me, back rack and front basket, better lighting, need all the lighting I can get when night riding during the HOT days, Garmin GPS 60cxs, soft cushy seat No Nose, with a self adjusting weight stem.

Changed the HD bars to the semi cruiser style with adjustable head, very comfortable grips that have a left hand 1/2 twist throttle that holds what ever speed I need on the road, dual swing away mirrors for when trail riding, sage brush is tough......LOL, 2 more 48V battery's, I don't worry about range any more, just have to figure out the best/safest way to carrying them when needed.

Tire liners, Flat Out and inserts for the tires, and with all these changes the bike weight is now almost a 100#'s, a slow moving tank............LOL
All I have left to do is to change the gears to fit the trails.

I am getting ready for this trail ride, https://tahoepyramidtrail.org/, just have to wait for the 3'+ snow cover to leave, we got hammer this year, we needed it, I may make it a 2 day over nite ride, as I have only done several 50+ mile rides and then I get tired.........Lol

Have been using Google Earth and have found several good trails (Horse) that will connect this trail to Fernley, the only 5-7 mile gap not connected, the only headache is getting across the Derby Dam, I don't know if there is a pass gate there, to use the canal road. Still planning.

Your thoughts and suggestions..........
Tia,
Don

 

[RMK!]

I'm pretty sure you are getting better use out of your ebike than 95% of ebike owners. The Warthogs are ideal for your mostly off road, desert/mountain riding.

I've only added a back rack and 1 extra battery (just in case) as I want to keep it minimalist. I have a set of Tanus Armour inserts and will do that eventually. Been meaning to ask Kyle if he already did that or, at least added Flat Out to this one as he did personally use it for a bit. I had a flat on my original MD 1000 and it wasn't fun dealing with that on this heavy bike. I hate the weight gain with inserts and flatout but it is an essential piece of kit if you ride off road.

 

[Vewlix]

Hi RMK
Did you get the Uart motor on your custom 1000?
You summed it up perfectly, on the WH bikes.

I am still running my Wart Hog MD 750 I got from Kyle also, a Great bike that I like, been averaging 80-100+ miles per charge, spend about 75%+ of the time trail riding on cow/horse trails, dry creek washes etc.
My major concern is that the gearing selection for MY type of riding is NOT slow enough, 15-16 mph riding trails gets to be work..........LOL and staying on the trails dodging rocks and sage brush.

Since I spend most of my time in 15-17-20T gears when on the road traveling and the rest of the time in 26-30-34T gears off road, and I don't ever use the 11-13T gears, way too fast for my style of riding.
I am working on a plan to remove those 2 bottom gears and add 48-50-52T gears to the top end to get more slow speed off rode use.

IMHO, I could better use the lower gears for 4-6mph off road travel.
I have added all the major features I wanted ie, full fenders to keep the slop off me, back rack and front basket, better lighting, need all the lighting I can get when night riding during the HOT days, Garmin GPS 60cxs, soft cushy seat No Nose, with a self adjusting weight stem.

Changed the HD bars to the semi cruiser style with adjustable head, very comfortable grips that have a left hand 1/2 twist throttle that holds what ever speed I need on the road, dual swing away mirrors for when trail riding, sage brush is tough......LOL, 2 more 48V battery's, I don't worry about range any more, just have to figure out the best/safest way to carrying them when needed.

Tire liners, Flat Out and inserts for the tires, and with all these changes the bike weight is now almost a 100#'s, a slow moving tank............LOL
All I have left to do is to change the gears to fit the trails.

I am getting ready for this trail ride, https://tahoepyramidtrail.org/, just have to wait for the 3'+ snow cover to leave, we got hammer this year, we needed it, I may make it a 2 day over nite ride, as I have only done several 50+ mile rides and then I get tired.........Lol

Have been using Google Earth and have found several good trails (Horse) that will connect this trail to Fernley, the only 5-7 mile gap not connected, the only headache is getting across the Derby Dam, I don't know if there is a pass gate there, to use the canal road. Still planning.

Your thoughts and suggestions..........
Tia,
Don

This is the only problem I have found with a heavy ebike, none of the maps show trail information on whether there is a locked gate or a stile where you have to lift the bike over the obstacle to continue with the ride.

I would have thought with many disabled riders or ones with trailers this information would have been available by now.

If anyone ever finds a gps software that can fix this problem please let me know.