Mongoose Envoy

[stanmiller]

@EMGX - I thought the same thing, but I knew, on sight, that the Envoy was worth having. So I GAVE away a pristine Raleigh Team USA, a Schwinn World Tourist project, and another more recent Schwinn that was still from when Schwinn was a frontline brand. I still have a fleet of seven, including the Envoy. I rode it for awhile unpowered and the "tractor-trailer like" gearing as described by an earlier poster is dead on. The saddle is amazing. The 2.4" tires roll way better than I expected. I have a TSDZ2 in the BB and I bought a 104bcd adapter. I haven't decided on rings but I am considering 32/46. Sadly no one makes an adapter with a 64bcd granny carrier so 32T is the lowest one can go. I bought a rectangular format battery from EV3EM to fit in that open space behind the downtube. Allowed me to keep the frame mounted front rack I had bought.

I see that the front rack helps tilt the bike forward on the kickstand. That's nice. Before swapping to the Ergotec kickstand, my bike was easy to topple over.

It also looks like you removed the steering stabilizer. With the OEM stabilizer there was lot of steering wobble. I replaced it with this one from Velo Orange and it removed most of the side-to-side.

Velo Orange Wheel Stabilizer for Large Downtubes: 38-62mm | Tree Fort Bikes

www.treefortbikes.com

 

[stanmiller]

I swapped in new brake pads yesterday after 830 miles ridden. With motor and battery the Envoy tops out around 75 lbs. Add me and we're now at 275 before any cargo.

Early on, I replaced the OEM brakes with TRP HY/RD hydraulics. Great stopping power! And to keep things quiet installed organic brake pads. The Shimano MO5 pads lasted 500 miles. I switched to Tektro E10.11's and that got me to 830. Not great, but better than grinding and squeal.

 

[stanmiller]

I swapped out my Satori Animaris seatpost for a PNW Coast dropper post. Pretty cool. The Animaris was super stiff and my 200 lbs didn't make it budge often. The PNW is much more compliant and adjustable with a high pressure shock pump. I have mine set at 280 psi.

Below the Loam activation lever tucked under the bottom bar:

 

[Travis.Downing]

Thanks for sharing your list of upgrade components. The stock center stand is woefully inadequate for a cargo bike. Loading panniers one side at a time is a perilous endeavor. I've built out an Envoy with a 750W Bafang BBS02 mid-drive motor and it moves, even with ~40lbs of groceries weighing it down. The aluminum frame makes it lighter than most standard e-bikes with steel frames.

Question: the specs list a KMC Z72 chain, which should be plenty sturdy from what I can tell, but I snapped it after only about 50 miles of riding. Any insight on whether the stock chain isn't up to the stresses, and what is a better option?