Next Conversion 48V BBS02 750W

[flymeaway]

Conversion is complete.....haven't ridden the bike yet, charging the battery as I type. Still need to put the pedals on the cranks and install the chain. Also need to wire tie the wiring, but in total shouldn't be more than 30 minutes more work. I did power up the C965 and all appears in order. I don't have to ride it to know it's going to be one powerful bike!!!! Don't have a final weight yet, but as soon as I have it all together I'll take it down to our pallet scale and weigh it. Happy with the result!



Court

PS....final cost $1,550...includes Topeak MTX-E rack not yet mounted.

 

[flymeaway]

1st ride and final pictures. I have put over 3,000 miles on the 36V BBS02 500W bike and I can tell you without reservation that the 48V 750W version is much...emphasis ADDED!!!!!! more powerful. I knew before building it that the bike would have more torque and acceleration because I ride the MT1000 with the 48V 750W motor, but being a tandem it was hard to relate that bikes performance to a single. If you want unrestrained hill climbing, gobs, and gobs of power, this motor and voltage are your choice. The cost of the two (single) bikes I converted were similar so you aren't paying more for the added power.

If you are a power junky....this is your motor.

I put a picture of the new conversion and the MAC500W conversion side by side for comparison.

Court J.

 

[George S.]

It's such an incredible price for a bike that seems to be at the limits for anything you could call an ebike. In Utah they allow 1,000 watts, but there is a hard cap at 20 mph.

Never realized the Cafe has 28mm tires. I'd rather go with the 40 mm stuff, but it's an interesting bike for the price. It always surprises me that the pretty basic BD bikes are pretty solid, but no great components. Those seat post racks seem to work quite well. I don't see a CA but I guess you could add a Watts Up if you wanted total amp hour draw and watts, etc.

You deserve a lot of credit for showing people a path to really capable ebikes for very reasonable amounts of money. Wish you could bring a container in at a wholesale price and sell them, but something other than CF.

Thanks.

 

[flymeaway]

It's such an incredible price for a bike that seems to be at the limits for anything you could call an ebike.

Those seat post racks seem to work quite well.

I don't see a CA but I guess you could add a Watts Up if you wanted total amp hour draw and watts, etc.

Ain't that the truth....price for what you get. Yes the BD Motobecane frames are rugged and a good platform to build on. The C965 display has a watt meter so I can monitor motor draw, the C965 is much better then the C961!!!!

Frankly, since you can buy a bolt on battery today that's capable, it's hard to see how you can beat a conversion on price and performance with a name brand bike. You also get the bike that fits your frame size and geometry. If I didn't build the battery box I'm pretty sure the conversion would have been less then 4 hours. The toughest part was taking the bottom bracket apart to slid in the motor assembly.

Court J.

 

[George S.]

I think the BBS02 has some cost advantages I might have missed. My MAC front hub was drawing so many amps I gave up on the cheap fork and went with a Surly steel. That was $100. The disk brake was an issue, so I went with the slim one, another $45. It's sort of irrelevant to me, because the end result is great. After 500 miles, nothing seems troublesome in any way. I check the front fork and the screws in the motor regularly. The motor has really gotten quiet after the first 100 miles.

I'm assuming you need the CA with the MAC to get the programming for the PAS stuff, but that is built into the Bafang unit? That saves some money, though some people like the CA for other stuff.

It would almost make sense for somebody to offer a frame with an 'empty' bottom bracket for the BBS 02. I figure these kits are so solid that someone will offer a checklist of frames, motors, batteries, configured as needed for the type of motor. It's easy enough to do the conversion, anyway. Your boxes are great, but a triangle bag works.

I think that Bikes Direct has no interest in having their bikes converted. Too bad. They might be missing an opportunity. But their frames apparently come out of Taiwan or China, along with a lot of name brand frames.

 

[flymeaway]

I think the BBS02 has some cost advantages I might have missed.

Hi George,

It's advantage is it's complete, no additions needed and the wiring harness is spartan and effective (waterproof connections). I do very much like my MAC500W bike, but it was more work, particularly wiring.

Agreed........my battery boxes are good, but anyone can buy a good bolt on, or Paul's bag battery.

One spec.I forgot, the 750W 48V BBS02 weighs 62 lbs.

Glad your conversion is working out!

Court J.

 

[Toynut]

Ok,
It looks like I want to pull the trigger on a bike build this year. BBS 02 Midrive (750 W) is my preferred choice for this project. My Trek VRX 500 conversion will have to wait a bit, as I will probably leave it stock or just give it to one of my nephews for college.
After looking at some local stores and reviewing this thread, I am narrowing my choices down to a couple of lightweight hard tail designs that should work and will already be outfitted with quality components from the get go. Hydraulic disc brakes would be beneficial as I weigh a bit north of 225 and would like a little extra price of mind hauling my butt as well as 50 or so pounds of bike to a stop quickly.
Here is one from BD: http://www.bikesdirect.com/products/motobecane/29er-mountain-bikes/fantom29comp-tcs-xvi.htm
And here is another:
http://www.bikesdirect.com/products/fuji/fuji-sunfire-2.htm
These should give me some decent flexibility in mounting the battery inside the frame tube as well as component interchangeability for customization down the road. I test road a Cannondale Lefty yesterday and its uniqueness left me questioning future flexibility. I also looked at a Diamondback Trace XT, but I was not overwhelmed by its air fork front suspension.
Any suggestions or advice would be appreciated.

 

[Bike_On]

Toy,
I'm running a Falco 500Hx on a Trek DS 8.5. I thought the Suntour fork and hydr disk, 160mm would do the trick. I'm 175lbs. In retro, I would prefer 180mm disks and a better air fork. What I have is ok, but I think they will wear fast with a lot of high speed miles. The response of the forks are marginal compared to a Fox air set, and the braking works great with hydraulic, but I feel it going hard on the rotors. I would not skimp on these.
Dan

 

[flymeaway]

Any suggestions or advice would be appreciated.

I looked at the Sunfire, but the hydraulic brakes stopped me. The only integrated levers (hydraulic and electrical signal) I found were Tektro, but for OEM's only. Em3Ev has some conversion kits, but I wasn't blown away. I'd suggest a bike from BD with mechanical disc brakes, unless you will only consider hydraulic. I've had good luck with their 6061 frames, all Motobecane so far. The only issue I had with installation was a tight fit on the Bottom Bracket and I used a 2 1/2" diameter 80 grit flapwheel to "ream" the bore until the BBS02 slipped in. A downtube battery should be fairly easy to find.

Court J.

 

[Toynut]

I was thinking that in the worst case scenario, I can substitute the hydraulic levers for Tektro Dorado hydraulic units so that I can interface directly to the Bafang sensors. Most (but not all) of the mechanical disc brake equipped bikes tend to have lower spec components elsewhere as well. I understand that there might be an additional cost to do so.

 

[Toynut]

Matt at EMP has an upgrade set, should I wish to do so.
Front:
http://www.empoweredcycles.com/products/tektro-dorado-hd-e710-e-bike-hydraulic-brake-203mm-front
And rear:
http://www.empoweredcycles.com/prod...e710-hydraulic-electric-bike-brake-203mm-rear

I think any of their e bike systems should be adaptable if I can't get the hydraulic levers separately.

My overall bike search is to make sure the rest of the bike has top shelf or near top shelf quality components. I can always try to repurpose the components to another family members bike down the road if I have to.

 

[flymeaway]

Matt at EMP has an upgrade set, should I wish to do so.

Yes....that was the Tektro set I was looking at. I think the BD bikes frames are very good for the price. The components are average (in general) and I try to work with what they offer, but do sometimes swap major items. I always go through the wheel-set putting Ritchey Snap-on Rim Tape in place of the gray rubber band provided. I also tighten all the spokes to consistent tension measured on the Park TM-1 and true up the rims. I made a mistake on my 1st conversion and didn't work on the wheel-set, ended up with a rim flat (spoke hole) and severely out of true wheels. The next two conversion I worked on the wheels until I was satisfied and so far no'oooo problems.

When you do your conversion start a thread and keep us informed.

Court J.

 

[Toynut]

I spent a little more time trying some bikes at LBS. I found a good comfortable fit with a GT Zaskar 29 inch at Performance Bicycle. It does have air forks which seem to suite me when pumped up to about 150 or so. I am curious if the extra 25 or so of motor and battery and my 225 or so weight will tax the Rock Show Gold TK 27.5 Solo Air fork. I think max pressure for the forks is listed at 225, ....so....I think I will have a little margin of safety.

 

[flymeaway]

I found a good comfortable fit with a GT Zaskar 29 inch at Performance Bicycle.

That's the most important component! Nice bike.

Court J.

 

[Jz1276]

If I recall, that bike is definitely one that I've looked at a few times and have contimplated purchasing.
It's a great bike! I've always ridden GT...And will again soon!
What was your recent conversion? How did it come out? Jason

 

[Toynut]

This will be my first e bike build. I do have a fair amount of motorcycle experience with 8 motorcycles in my collection, as well as automotive experience, in some flavor or another, for over the past 42 years. I even worked at a bicycle shop during my teen years. This shouldn't be too difficult a project. I even own a mill, should I need to fabricate something out of billet, or modify a component down the road.
I was just being careful to make sure I chose a good, high quality bike for the foundation that would give me the most room to install certain electronic components in the frame triangle (hence a hardtail instead of a full suspension model) and would work well with a mid drive kit. I think I have made a good choice in a GT model that I was personally comfortable on. I chose a slightly larger than optimal frame size to avoid contact with the29 inch front wheel with my feet, but, fortunately I can still flatfoot the frame in spite of my 5'11 inch (and still shrinking) height and 31 inch inseam (some tender bits hang a bit lower during your later years). Also important, any parts that needs replacing or changing down the road are relatively standard and commonly available components that I can always use to upgrade another bike (i.e. should I go the Tektro Dorado e brake route, I will transfer the hydraulic units to my daughters new DB Calico Sport). This is a primary reason I passed on a Cannondale Lefty 29er which was also a nice fit and very decent ride.
Seats, stems, seat posts and bars are all readily available if necessary to fine tune the "fit" to my liking.

 

[RoyL]

Andre, Have a look here for similar---> http://www.aliexpress.com

I ordered a 48v 13aH battery with my BBS02 kit from there. So far so good on the battery but if i was doing it again i`d go for a 15aH or 20aH item. In my location you don`t go more than 500 yards and there`s a steep hill waiting!

By the way anybody know how to measure the true aH rating of a battery, have doubts as to what mine really is?

 

[Toynut]

Roy,
I noticed that the link was for a lithium ion battery, which might be (potentially) a bit less desirable due to battery chemistry stability concerns ( although it's hard to go wrong with Samsung cells). I also noticed that the locking mechanism causes you to release it from the top, where you will need to lift it a few inches and pull it forward to clear the mounting bracket. You would need to verify the clearance in your frame triangle for that, because that is where your top tube meets your bottom tube, decreasing your free space. Your specific frame design may limit your mounting choices.

 

[RoyL]

Checked that just now, yes you do have to allow for another inch and a quarter to be able to lift the battery clear. You could also mount it `upside down` on the down tube as well.

 

[George S.]

Andre, Have a look here for similar---> http://www.aliexpress.com

I ordered a 48v 13aH battery with my BBS02 kit from there. So far so good on the battery but if i was doing it again i`d go for a 15aH or 20aH item. In my location you don`t go more than 500 yards and there`s a steep hill waiting!

By the way anybody know how to measure the true aH rating of a battery, have doubts as to what mine really is?

To measure amp hours you need a meter like the Watts Up that measures the amp hours over time. (There are knock offs on the Amazon, Ebay and Hobby King sites). You have to put the meter in the circuit or hook up the battery to some other load, and let it run down. With a kit bike like mine, I just put connectors on the meter (both plus and minus) and then between the battery and the motor. I keep it on the bike all the time, actually.

It's not a great picture but when the battery is connected the meter shows 0.00 amp hours and it just accumulated everything that comes out of the battery. At the end it shows 2.94 amp hour, here. It starts at 0 when the battery is disconnected, so you could leave it on for several rides. The system will draw some slight wattage.