For my second ebike build I wanted to make the ultimate utility bike.
Has to be: An excellent ride, fast & light & nimble, reasonable load capacity, able to be left downtown, work in all weather, reliable & low maintenance, etc.
I've learned a lot from my first build. It was an absurdly massive bike that weighed in just over 40Kgs. In some parts of the world that much weight would have bumped it as a moped. But on top of that the motor added resistance even when unused, sorta like what you'd get from a 1/2 inflated tire. So once you'd reach the top speed for an ebike at ~32km/h, then dropping the hammer hard yeilded eventual acceleration. It was also over powered, I guesstimate it gave somewhere between 800w - 1.3Kw peak power out at 20 - 25km/h, this disconnects you from the bike, makes you feel like an accessory on it. But it mostly sucked as a bike because being grossly overweight made it ride around about as nicely as a dead pig, it felt like a motorcycle. Still, it let me get my commutes done while keeping my summer times. It had potential, but less would have been more.
I've experimented a bit and found that the bike's max weight can be up to somewhere over 20kgs. Now I know, that's still a hell of a massive clunker... But consider that at this weight it still feels like a bike, it still feels pretty nimble and can be made to jump **** (barely) But more importantly it's still got some fire in it and it's just waiting for you to light it back up in a ball of blissful oneness. At this weight it's definitely more timid regarding cutting through traffic like a ginsu knife of hope though, so I'd expect it to be slower downtown. But well this is meant to be a utility bike...
Given the means I dispose of, reaching this weight is likely to mean carrying batteries on my person. Also this time around I've chosen to use the
P2-A hubmotor, as can be found on Brett White's site. I chose a hubmotor again out of other options because the buisness end is inside rather then exposed to the elements, and as such is more reliable & has greatly reduced maintenance requirements. At ~3.5Kg it's just over half the weight of the massive motor in my previous build, it's also alot more subtle. And while the previous one was a disgustingly massive & over powered pig, this one should make a nicely balanced hybrid that's actually usable as a bike - fancy that. For same reason I expect to need a good bit less battery to get things done. Plus this motor has a freewheel, so I expect these things put together will make quite the difference when I get past the motor's speed limit. All in all, should be a major win. On the flip side, being geared means it'll make sound.
My first attempt at this second build, well once nearly all setup the bike allready weighed an absurd 30kgs, and that was without a motor or front brake yet. Fail. Then a pot hole from hell ate it up so bad that it destroyed the frame and front wheel. So the bike failed at failing, epic!
So I found something else that would do the trick, but it's a POS. Weighs 19Kg as seen, I've been riding it around like that for the past few weeks or so, so the fit's pretty much dialed in by now. I've not built it up since I was hopeing to stumble upon something better, say like an old Bridgestone. That woulda been a nice improvement and saved a nice chunk of weight at it, but that hasn't happenned & winter's coming. So POS red bike is probably gonna be it.
BTW, spoke card is a Mickey mouse King of hearts, found while riding.
To be continued...
