fat tire electric beach cruiser

GoldenMotor.com

cannonball2

Well-Known Member
Oct 28, 2010
3,682
221
63
Colonial Coast USA.
I recently bought the makings for a "fat" bike. I bought a Mongoose Malus which is I believe the same bike as a Dolomite just different colors. I got a 500w 36v fat kit which I will run on the 10ah 12s pack. The bike and kit came in around $475. The frame looks very similar to the one the Storm/Sonders uses. Will hold the pack nicely on the down tube. Would be very easy to fab a pack cover similar to the S/S bike. Since I already have the required packs/chargers. I will be into a fatty for under $500.
 

KCvale

Well-Known Member
Feb 28, 2010
3,966
57
48
Phoenix,AZ
I recently bought the makings for a "fat" bike.
I bought a Mongoose Malus which is I believe the same bike as a Dolomite just different colors.
Yes, this is a 7-speed dual disc Dolomite.



I got a 500w 36v fat kit which I will run on the 10ah 12s pack.
Will hold the pack nicely on the down tube.
Since I already have the required packs/chargers.
I will be into a fatty for under $500.
Going with a low power single speed hub like the Strom eh?

Pity. You could have bolted a SickBikeParts 36V kit on for $320 + battery...
http://www.sickbikeparts.com/catalo...ucts_id=180&osCsid=s6t9295jm5d49in5be59vmr0n2

And then you would have an electric 7-speed shifter you can pedal help if you want to, and ride easily when your battery dies as you won't get far on 500W on that bike and you will like having gears to pedal home.



I put a $1K 960W 48V triangle battery in that build and even that seemed wimpy compared to smaller electrics I've built, and it's because of the tire size.

To me the real benefit of a fat tire besides look was running those tires at ~10# for the soft ride, but that is a lot of drag, you might want to inflate yours to 30+#.

Here is a simple test of the drag you can do before you get to motorizing.

Pump up your tires to what the sidewall says is max, 30# on the Mongoose, and pedal out 1/2 a mile on a flat road.

Then, drop the tires pressure to ~10# and pedal back.

Granted this perspective is from a beat up out of shape old man that considers having to pedal more than a mile on a heavy fat tire bike a 'come and get me' call.

The point is drag is drag, your system will be a nice little boost when your great legs stamina get tired, all I am suggesting is feel what's it like on just the bike before you add the weight and drag to it, ohh, and good luck bud, I like silver bikes too ;-}
 

cannonball2

Well-Known Member
Oct 28, 2010
3,682
221
63
Colonial Coast USA.
That's a nice build KC!

The Malus appears to be the same bike just different colors. I bought it mainly because it has disc brakes. I'm not too wild about the seven speeds, don't like derailleurs. May wind up a single speed. I never pedal an MB. That's why it has a motor. The only two times I have been pushing was because of flats. There is a lot of drag with the bigger tires even at 30lbs. 10lbs sounds like the way to go especially on our roads on the island.

I'm a fan of hub motors, no extraneous parts. I'm sure it wont be as fast as the shifter but the simplicity is more reliable and actually more efficient. Still over volted it will show almost 30 and has decent range especially for my uses. Will be lighter too using Lipos. Stuff is still in the boxes for a future build. Gotta buy when the price is right!
 

KCvale

Well-Known Member
Feb 28, 2010
3,966
57
48
Phoenix,AZ
Nice bike KC!
Thanks snellemnin, that was just a 'wild hair' build as my local bike store had one when I was there with a fat wallet.

I don't really care for 4+" wide tires, hard tripe tree forks or ape hangers but it was fun.
3" tires are ideal to me. Just the right amount traction, drag, and 'cool look' like the Fito's.



That one has a 4-stroke shifter, but it would make for a sweet e-Bike I think.