Storm, Worlds First Electric China Girl

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biknut

biknut

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Sep 28, 2010
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The search for perfection never stands still. I've been pretty happy with my results so far, but there's always room for improvement it seems. An owners group with over 5000 members, all owning the same bike has evolved into a great resource. Some smart monkey figured out that there's a 750w Bafang motor that's so close to the exact same physical size as the stock 350w motor that it's guts fit neatly inside the stock motor casing. This allows a couple desirable upgrades. 1. more than twice the torque, and 2. the ability to use a 7 speed freewheel in the stock frame. This change has had as great an impact on my bike as anything I've done so far.

The Bafang 750w geared motor has a whopping 80Nm of torque. That's twice as much as many 1000w direct drive hub motors.



One problem with previous 3 speed freewheel I was running was the smallest gear available on a 3 speed is 16T. Even with my 50T front chain ring I was all pedaled out at only about 22 mph. This new 7 speed freewheel has an 11T sprocket which allows me to pedal easily way past any top speed I can achieve even riding down a mountain. Actually 6th gear is great for racing at top speed, and 7th is like overdrive for when you get tired.



It's also kind of a sleeper now, because the since I'm retaining the stock motor shell it still says 350w on the motor in case anyone is looking.
 
biknut

biknut

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I installed some new Luna Lander air forks. I custom shortened these forks 1 1/2"





 
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TheNecromancer13

TheNecromancer13

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Jan 21, 2015
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Portland, Oregon
I can't tell very well from the pictures, so correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't that front fork at a bit of a steep angle for a tube fork? Are you worried about it wearing out faster? I know on my stretch cruiser build I had to use a springer fork because a tube fork wouldn't have lasted long at such an angle.
 
biknut

biknut

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Sep 28, 2010
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TheNecromancer13 said:
I can't tell very well from the pictures, so correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't that front fork at a bit of a steep angle for a tube fork? Are you worried about it wearing out faster? I know on my stretch cruiser build I had to use a springer fork because a tube fork wouldn't have lasted long at such an angle.
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Honestly I don't know, I haven't gotten to ride it enough yet. It does feel a little different.
 
mbearden

mbearden

Member
Mar 2, 2016
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Florence, KY
This thread is misleading... I thought you were going to put a HT china girl engine on it as well and have it be a Hybrid MB. Don't get me wrong, this is still a sick build, but I'd be willing to send you a Toyota "Hybrid" badge if you wanted to put a gas motor on it too! ;)
 
biknut

biknut

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Sep 28, 2010
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mbearden said:
This thread is misleading... I thought you were going to put a HT china girl engine on it as well and have it be a Hybrid MB. Don't get me wrong, this is still a sick build, but I'd be willing to send you a Toyota "Hybrid" badge if you wanted to put a gas motor on it too! ;)
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That would be sort of redundant. I already have all the range, and speed I want now. I don't have any use for a china girl engine now.

I understand your line of thinking though, but unlike electric cars, or motorcycles, electric bicycles have overcome the range problem
 
biknut

biknut

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Velodrome said:
Hey Biknut! How bout an update on how the new fork is working out?
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These Luna Air forks are pretty good especially for the price. Much better than typical low end spring forks. When I come to a stop they react like motorcycle forks by diving slightly, then rebounding, and they have a smooth ride. No noise either except an occasional thunk sound if they bottom out on a big bump. They're worth the extra $75 over the spring forks.

 
biknut

biknut

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Sep 28, 2010
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These are new Electra alloy fenders. I shortened the rear fender by about 10 inches. These are very similar to the fenders on Bruce's bike above, but these don't wrap around the tire as far, and no flares. I also decided to dump the rack, because I never use it.



 
ultralight01

ultralight01

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Oct 30, 2016
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Hood River, Oregon
Just saw one in person yesterday. Bone stock red bike with the slim tires.

All I can say is, it looks pretty. But the wheels and spokes look like a Walmart bike. So it's definitely a China girl bike. With the amount of upgrades you've done, the chassis will last virtually forever.
 
biknut

biknut

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Sep 28, 2010
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ultralight01 said:
Just saw one in person yesterday. Bone stock red bike with the slim tires.

All I can say is, it looks pretty. But the wheels and spokes look like a Walmart bike. So it's definitely a China girl bike. With the amount of upgrades you've done, the chassis will last virtually forever.
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There's no telling how many actual china girl parts I've used on this bike. Most of the fender hardware. The controller bracket that I made.
 
biknut

biknut

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Sep 28, 2010
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My orange wheels are probably what stand out the most on this bike. Only the original yellow fatty's got the orange anodized rims. All other models got painted rims. My wheels have 3500 hard miles on them, and are still in good true. They've held up better then any other motor bicycle wheels I've had so far, even my custom double walls I got from REI.

The reason I know is because when I ride down the street, kids come running out of houses yelling "nice wheels", or as I ride by on a sidewalk they'll say nice wheels as I ride by. Older people say nice bike more than nice wheels for some reason.

 
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