New Member from East Bay in Northern California

[plochez]

Hi, I'm a retired 70 year old male that decided last year to give my old 1987 Specialized Hard Rock a new life. With the help of a good friend I installed a 48v, 750W Bafang mid-drive on my bike and have had a blast on it since, clocking over 700 miles on it so far. I joined a local bike riding group (FOGG) and we go out every Tues and Thurs in the east bay, riding different trails, many that I never even know existed before I started riding again. A lot of people advised me against converting my old bike, but I can tell you it is just fun to ride and I haven't had any issues with it; the only thing I have missed is having a nice front suspension fork to cushion the ride a bit when we go on some dirt trails.

I picked up the ebike bug and have been curious about trying out different ebike versions (rear wheel hub, front wheel hub, etc) so I have just recently built a rear wheel hub drive 1000w ebike on an old Kona Blast frame for my brother. I learned a ton in the process of doing that and overcame some challenges getting the rear brake caliper adjusted that gave me a great sense of satisfaction.

I wanted to see if I could get my wife out riding with me so I also recently bought a small frame, newer Specialized HardRock single gear bike and I installed a 350w iMotor on the front wheel. We haven't taken out yet but hope to soon. I also had some challenges in getting a mechanical brake caliper to fit with the iMotor, but also figured that out, which was satisfying.

have a lot more ebike building projects planned and look forward to being part of the EBR community.

 

[indianajo]

Congratulations. Enjoy riding your bike.
You sound pretty handy. I help my wife & her relatives with their cars. They are not interested in bicycles.

 

[GadgetJim]

Hi, I'm a retired 70 year old male that decided last year to give my old 1987 Specialized Hard Rock a new life. With the help of a good friend I installed a 48v, 750W Bafang mid-drive on my bike and have had a blast on it since, clocking over 700 miles on it so far. I joined a local bike riding group (FOGG) and we go out every Tues and Thurs in the east bay, riding different trails, many that I never even know existed before I started riding again. A lot of people advised me against converting my old bike, but I can tell you it is just fun to ride and I haven't had any issues with it; the only thing I have missed is having a nice front suspension fork to cushion the ride a bit when we go on some dirt trails.

I picked up the ebike bug and have been curious about trying out different ebike versions (rear wheel hub, front wheel hub, etc) so I have just recently built a rear wheel hub drive 1000w ebike on an old Kona Blast frame for my brother. I learned a ton in the process of doing that and overcame some challenges getting the rear brake caliper adjusted that gave me a great sense of satisfaction.

I wanted to see if I could get my wife out riding with me so I also recently bought a small frame, newer Specialized HardRock single gear bike and I installed a 350w iMotor on the front wheel. We haven't taken out yet but hope to soon. I also had some challenges in getting a mechanical brake caliper to fit with the iMotor, but also figured that out, which was satisfying.

have a lot more ebike building projects planned and look forward to being part of the EBR community.

Awesome ride !!! I just turned 64. Bad knees, back, hips, and feet. With my Rad Power RadWagon, I can easily cruise all over town to work, shopping, and now I ride with four different cycling group, one which is strictly for ebikes. I'm riding almost everyday now !!!

 

[HarleyM]

Hi Plochez, like you, I've recently finished converting my Specialized Hardrock with a Bafang BBS02B 750W 48V and am also having a blast with it. I'm so glad to have used my bike which I already know so well and gave it a new lease of life. Because I did it myself, I've got a good appreciation of how it works and feel reasonably confident that I can sort out most issues that I'm likely to face, myself. I have been away from recent advancements in the cycling world but now with my renewed interest, I'm lapping them up and upgrading my bike with mod cons that add to the pleasure I get from it.