Deacon's DIY Electric Bike Forum!

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I have done a little research and I think I now have the right idea for my big finish e bike. Drum roll please.

What I have now is a 350 watt brush motor on a mount that is part of the rear wheel assembly. The wheel is 12.5 inches in diameter and the sprocket is a fast 55 tooth 4.5 inch model. The bike has a coaster 20" rear wheel.

I have done some research and found there is a 500 watt or larger motor that will fit onto the wheel housing, That should give me better sustained speed going uphill. I have a ton of 26" mountain bike rear wheels sitting around. Most are in good condition. I can pick up a solid 26" mountain bike frame for peanuts from the thrift store. I will just convert it to a one speed, that's all you really need anyway with a motor bike. Add my upgraded pusher motor that is already scary fast and I should have the final version of my ebike.

I have no plans to start on it today, but that is what I plan to make my final ebike version when I get around to it. If I set it up right the whole pusher assemble will fold up over the rear wheel of the bike for easy roll around and storage. I would simply have to drop it and ride off. It's all I do now with my pushers. The batteries make them heavy nothing else.
 
I finally finished a bike.... After experimenting and generally throwing money at the ebike problem I have the first of two that satisfies me.

The first one to be complete is the econo bike. No not because it was cheap to build but because it gets the most range of the two bikes I built.

Econo bike is on a 26 inch front suspension mountain bike. I changed some things like adding a comfortable seat. Fixing the rear derailleur in place so that I could get rid of the broken shifter. Actually it was in the way as well.

I built a bobtail pusher trailer using a 16" inch bicycle wheel with a 55 tooth speed scooter sprocket welded onto it. I added two 12 amh sla batteries to the arms of the bobtail trailer. All the weight holds the trailer down and gives me a very low center of gravity.

The 24v 350 watt motor does a very nice job but it leave some hill climb pedaling for me to do as well. I have a controller and throttle on this bike. It has front and rear brakes so it is pretty safe.

I think the 12amh battery will give me about five miles which is more than enough for my errands. I'll make some photos of them both when the second bike is finished.

Fast bike is awaiting a controller and throttle. It is so powerful that it blows fuses so I'm going to put a controller and throttle on it. I am also going to have an inline fuse. I need to add one to the econo bike as well.

This bike is on a front suspension 24" mountain bike. I had to raise the handlebars so it has bmx type bars. To do that I had to relocate the shifters. It has a better seat as well. This also has the 16" bicycle rear wheel with a scooter sprocket. It is 500 watts and it hums with just an on off switch. I have no idea what a controller will do to it. I hope it will at least stop the fuse blowing.

It should be ready for use again by the middle of next week. These two bikes are done. They are also most likely my last ebike builds. I have a good inexpensive design for an ebike now so I am happy.

I might have to rebuild my hub motor if I don't sell it on ebay. Not rebuild the motor just buy a controller and put it on a bike. What I am thinking is if I don't sell it, I will just store it for a while to see if the price of the controllers falls. It might the brushless motors are new for an ebike. If they catch on more and cheaper controllers might be the result.

Anyway I'm declaring the ebike experiments a success and also over. I might have to repair the ones I have to keep on riding them but that is it for new building I think.
 
Yesterday I set up the wiring for the new controller for the 500 watt pusher motor. When that controller comes the building is over. The repairs start but the actual building is done.

Judging from the 350 motor that I set up with a controller, I think the controller actually limits the motor. I know the motor will pull enough current to melt the wires without one. Anyway its all done except the actual wiring. I am also going to solder some connections but I consider that maintenance.
 
Well I rebuilt the econo diy electric bike today. It uses the front wheel from a sixteen inch kids bike as a pusher wheel. It has a 350 electric scooter motor. This time I went with a medium sized rear sprocket. It is 67 tooth. The bike climbs the hills nicely and pulls them at a slow but steady speed without any pedaling at all. Today I switched out the kiddie sized chain right for a full sized cruiser sized ring. It has a coaster brake style rear wheel on the bike. Most of the time I can't catch up to the free wheel in order to pedal. I am using a controller on this bike to limit the draw of the motor. It is doing very well. I plan to use this bike for my daily trip to the bike/walking trail. I park it in the parking lot and walk on the trail.
 
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