Please help with my first design

[Jim53066]

HI,
New member here, never had an electric propulsion vehicle, this would be my first. I have been reading and reading, so much so, that I am pretty much completely confused. Please help me by critiquing my plans so far.

What I want to do is build solid, low cost electric cruiser type bikes for my wife and I to use while traveling in our RV. Both of us are in our mid 60’s, so the normal issues of SPEED, ENDURANCE, and HILL CLIMBING are not of concern. PLUS, we do not need fancy led controllers, hydraulic brakes, and multi gearing to repair and or maintain.

What I (think) I have decided to do so far, BUT LOOKING FOR GUIDANCE;

1) Beach cruiser type bikes as I am pushing 300 lbs., and the vast majority of our riding will be on black top roadways within and around the campgrounds or nearby stores.

2) Single speed rear wheel, (possibly an internal 3 speed rear end?) good idea or not?

3) Front hub drive.

4) SPEED is not all that important, 15 mph would be more than enough.

5) 10 to 15 miles, is all that would ever be needed for distance.

With that said, will I be better off getting a vintage bike, or just buy one of the new Chinese beach cruisers for a couple hundred bucks and convert it ?

I am also looking for info on front wheel kits? Any recommendations on Volts? Watts?

Batteries?

Controllers?

Complete conversion kit with battery?

What works, what does not?

Am I blowing smoke? Should I just bite the bullet and buy a kit already put together?

Thanks ahead of time for your consideration.
Jim

 

[indianajo]

Beach cruisers are a hot item now, and have the advantage with the crank forward design that you can put your feet on the ground easily when stopped. Newer bikes come with disk brakes, which I like since I ride in the rain. Mechanical disks are fine, at least my tektros are.
I use front wheel geared hub motor kits, since i like to pedal myself when the wind is not radically in my face. Ebikeling.com and lunacycle.com seem to have competent kits. Don't buy a battery from anybody else, unless you live in canada or hong kong. Some shop owner recommended batteries from californiaebikes.com but I haven't used them, nor am I sure of the real URL spelling.
Buy the controller, throttle, PAS pickup, brake handles all from the same kit. Matching things from different vendors is a PIT*. I bought the $100 LCD display with the first kit and the numbers were all wrong, plus it fogged up in the rain. LCD of green yellow red for the battery voltage is adequate. Battery from the same vendor makes problems easy to diagnose.
Make sure to get disk brakes, rim brakes do not work in the rain. Period. A big fraud perpetuated for 50 years since the coaster brake became "obsolete" because it did work in the rain.
Single speed rear makes keeping up with traffic out of red lights problematic, but you do have to keep derailleurs oiled & adjusted. Not a huge problem IMHO but I'm very talented mechanically. The 7 speed shimano rear has a design problem of coming unscrewed & dropping the balls, stay away from it. The 6 speed version sold in the 00's broke and axle under my extravigant 185 lb weight. IGH is pretty reliable if you don't try to run a mid drive motor power through it. Don't buy the Sturmey archer 5 or 8 speed, I did the S80 and the shifter pawl pops off after 500 miles - every mile. The 3 speed Sturmey is okay, also the shimano IGH generally.
Have fun shopping or converting.

 

[Mr. Coffee]

My first reaction to your post is that if you are mechanically inclined enough to put that all together, the additional effort of maintaining a 7-speed derailleur is tiny. For the kind of usage you are describing you'd probably need to adjust the derailleur once a year. And a 7-speed is really only for gentle terrain.

My second thought is that front-drive bikes feel just weird. I don't know if that is a concern to you but a rear drive feels less unnatural.

My third thought is maybe I'd better understand what you are after if I understood why you are going the DIY route: are you just mechanically inclined and want to do it that way, is that the only way you can see to get exactly what you want, or are you trying to save some money.

If you don't mind spending money, Bike Friday can build you a custom (and folding) e-bike that would likely be well-suited to your needs. One of their models, the Diamon Llama also can be built for a heavier person. If you care about the made-in-America thing, Bike Friday's are hand-made in Eugene, OR.

 

[Jim53066]

Thank you for the reply's.

Indiana,
That is exactly the type of information I was looking for. To clarify a little;
I was thinking single speed for two reasons, mainly the KISS principle, that and the fact that I am married to a wonderful woman that is about as mechanically coordinated as a brick. I have a gut feeling she would have a hard time figuring what gear is best for a particular moment.

YES, money is an issue, we are both retired, and mainly on SS and a very small pension. If I can not put together an e-bike for under $1K each, it just plain will not happen.

COFFEE;
I admit that part of the reason for a DIY bike is the design and build phase. I was a car guy for 50 years. Having built a dozen or so street rods, classic cars and trucks, I like the challenge of putting together something that will perform as well as the big guys sell, for less money.

Thanks again,
Jim

 

[tomjasz]

My second thought is that front-drive bikes feel just weird. I don't know if that is a concern to you but a rear drive feels less unnatural.

I hear that often, yet my one front drive bike, a kitted Trek Pure 3spd coaster, is my favored ride. I move back and forth to my mid drives and I just don't feel any weirdness at all. I wonder if the criticism isn't learned rather than experienced for naysayers.

If I can not put together an e-bike for under $1K each, it just plain will not happen.

For $1000 you can get a great front-drive setup. In my experience, the only drawback to FD is hill climbing. But a geared drive will do better than a hub drive. Do you have bikes to convert? What are they?

 

[rich c]

Did you read this post? https://electricbikereview.com/foru...check-out-the-new-pace-350.28313/#post-200131
Don't fool yourself with the idea of assembling something is always cheaper. You are competing with high production Chinese factories with your labor. No one sells a kit for less than the Chinese factory pays. I've also assembled cars and rebuilt farm machinery. Bicycle mechanics and electrical component troubleshooting are hardly the same. When I got in this hobby, I bought a Sondors Fat Bike for $500. You couldn't buy the components for that!

 

[tomjasz]

I bought a Sondors Fat Bike for $500.

And I sold hundreds of dollars in upgrades to individual Sondors buyers that were disappointed in their performance and range. I'm agreeing with your premiss, just concerned that these low-end bikes might not be sustainable when it comes time for repairs. With a wheel kit, a rider can have his favorite ride electrified. When I converted my Trek Pure there were NO flat foot frame eBikes. Still today the choices are limited.

 

[rich c]

And I sold hundreds of dollars in upgrades to individual Sondors buyers that were disappointed in their performance and range. I'm agreeing with your premiss, just concerned that these low-end bikes might not be sustainable when it comes time for repairs. With a wheel kit, a rider can have his favorite ride electrified. When I converted my Trek Pure there were NO flat foot frame eBikes. Still today the choices are limited.

The OP said 15mph for 10-15 miles. The Sondors certainly fits that bill. I have over 1,700 miles on mine, and all I did was buy a better controller and display.

 

[tomjasz]

I have over 1,700 miles on mine, and all I did was buy a better controller and display.

Good to read it worked well for you! The fella I worked for when the first bikes shipped sold a lot of batteries as well. Please don't take that as a negative by me.