Homemade E-bike, Is it possible...

Im not very knowledgable about EBikes..... the "Endlesssphere" website is an Ebike website that is definitely worth checking out, i love this site but unfortunately you will get a lot more feedback over there then you will here on EBike issues.

If possible still keep a thread going here as i personally like to check out EBike stuff.

MTB Moto said:

...to fit these parameters?

To construct an "E"-Bike from scratch?

Have acquired the donor bicycle, and I possessing normal skills including welding steel, and all cutting fastening work, travel range, 35 miles round trip with some hills, that will allow recharging overnight from a solar panel/batteries at home?

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Do you plan on doing a lot of pedaling? My wattage came out to about 10 watts a mile @ 12mph with some pedaling as an assist on mostly level ground amd around 20 watts full electric at the same speed. Wattage load will be your main concern that you need to determine. About the only reliable way to do that is to get a cheap set of lead acid batteries (fresh ones) for your setup and see how far it takes you on the exact ride that you do. I think, and I am doing some guessing, that you will need around 1000 watts of battery power to do it on a brushless motor at a speed at less than 20.

Also, I wouldn't monkey with the solar aspect, the cost of 1 kw to recharge a battey at my location is only 6 cents.

These were always my dream but never could afford them.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/48V-40AH-Li...934440201?pt=US_Batteries&hash=item3f14f37909http://www.ebay.com/itm/48V-40AH-LiFePo4-Electric-Bicycle-Battery-Scooter-E-Bike-Motor-kit-For-1000W-26-/270934440201?pt=US_Batteries&hash=item3f14f37909

Your project is possible, but you're looking at a fairly hefty price tag. E-Bikes have improved a great deal just over the last year, but the cost hasn't improved much. The biggest improvement has come in the form of batteries. They are finally getting most of the kinks worked out. The solar panels are just not a very good idea. They work the best for heating more than they do at recharging anything. Another question is. What type of motor are you planning to use? Hub motor or just plain vanilla motor that has to be mounted somewhere and driven by chain, belt, friction or some other means. I personally like the challenge of mounting a motor and running it through the rear derailleur. Here's an example of how not to do it. Although this works. And doesn't work too badly. The range is fairly short. If i get rid of the SLA batteries and replace it with something else it will do better i'm sure.
This has already been said but endless sphere is probably the best place for ideas and help with all the mumbo jumbo out there.

I'm sure it is possible, i have a e-bike project from scratch too. I have bought an electric kit form a well known company and have collected all the other parts over a period of 2 months. Someone else is welding the frame and fork for me and will assemble it all together. Price is about $ 2800 all included.

http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200466672_200466672

$499 w/o shipping. Kinda hard to beat.

DaveC said:

$499 w/o shipping. Kinda hard to beat.

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Yeah is hard to beat price wise. Good starter electric bike as well. Won't get the target range though. Unless willing to pedal alot. Could also invest in some upgrades and be money ahead though.

As already mentioned, ES will yield a lot more technical how-to on DIY projects. There are a number of configurations possible, hub drive, mid-drive, pedelec and or combinations of those.

As inspiration, I met a guy yesterday out riding who completely fabbed his own eBike. Thinking out of the box, he used a hub motor but mounted it on an axle mid-frame to drive a freewheel crankset, then through to the rear gear cluster so he had a broad range of gearing. It was like combining a Stokemonkey with a shift kit. He mounted his battery packs in cages on the front fork to even out weight distribution. A very clever set-up, he said performance and service duty was up to his targets, etc etc. A bright guy but not an engineer, taught shop classes at a trade school so he did have access to machine tools.

This book helped me a lot.

http://www.amazon.com/Electric-Bicycles-Design-Electronics-Technology/dp/0471674192

Looks like nice prices and selection here for kits.

http://www.bikeberry.com/electric-motor-kits.html

I would build from an inexpensive kit first; like a Currie. It is easier to learn from a system that works. After you learn the ropes you can overclock it or build something from scratch.