Can you buy just an e-frame?
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singletrackmack
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They are out there. Took me a few seconds to find these guys on google. Probably a lot more out there if you spend a little time looking.
https://www.lightcarbon.com/mtb-e-bike_c74
https://www.lightcarbon.com/mtb-e-bike_c74
I just priced all the STePS e8000 parts needed on eBay and it comes to $2000, I’m sure one of those Chinese frames isn’t more than $500, so for $2500 I swap out trick parts from another bike and I am in the game at a pretty high end for a hell of a lot less than $10,000. Seems like a pretty good upside to me
Bigwheeler
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As much as I like a torque assist Pedelec for mtb and how it works and keeps the weight balance centralized and low for off road use I far prefer a hub motor for my road bikes. Primarily because with the higher cadence associated with road riding, and yes I ride lot's of gravé, the Pedelec system doesn't feel natural to me at those rpm's and so I use a front hub motor with no PAS which leaves the drive train up to me as to how I want it to feel.
I do think that the current crop of eRoad bikes is not headed in the right direction based on my personal 5k of riding time on my bikes. I have the bikes set up with at throttle, gasp, that makes the motor my bitch. Through my display/controller I can set it to cruise control mode so that I can adjust it to the amount of power I want based on my cadence, range goals and terrain and not have to constantly fiddle with it. The system I use has the ability to set the watt limits to 250/500/750/1000 also and truth be told I mostly ride in the 500w mode. A bit more sluggish off the line than the higher watt settings but once you get up to speed I am generally using half that or a bit more. I can climb steep roads at a reasonable pace @ 350w and use my input and gearing that allows for a sort of symbiotic relationship between me and the motor and never feel like the motor is overriding or underperforming.
This is all in the interest of range and the display I use gives me actual information on the amount of watts I am using at any given time and also the ah's used which let's me know based on my experience with the system just how far I can go and how fast I can go to get there. Calculates my wh/mi on the fly also which is like mpg for a car and helpful for range calcs on the fly.
As fast as the e system thing is developing I also am able to adapt my bikes to emerging technology as it occurs rather than having to buy a whole new bike. I am not all that concerned about internal batteries and "stealth" look because I came out of the eBike closet quite awhile ago. I am after the performance I want and not having to spend a bunch of money on basically. Both the bikes pictured below came in at under $2500.
And another bonus is that putting together these bikes I have learned how e systems actually work and can do the maintenance on them myself.
I do think that the current crop of eRoad bikes is not headed in the right direction based on my personal 5k of riding time on my bikes. I have the bikes set up with at throttle, gasp, that makes the motor my bitch. Through my display/controller I can set it to cruise control mode so that I can adjust it to the amount of power I want based on my cadence, range goals and terrain and not have to constantly fiddle with it. The system I use has the ability to set the watt limits to 250/500/750/1000 also and truth be told I mostly ride in the 500w mode. A bit more sluggish off the line than the higher watt settings but once you get up to speed I am generally using half that or a bit more. I can climb steep roads at a reasonable pace @ 350w and use my input and gearing that allows for a sort of symbiotic relationship between me and the motor and never feel like the motor is overriding or underperforming.
This is all in the interest of range and the display I use gives me actual information on the amount of watts I am using at any given time and also the ah's used which let's me know based on my experience with the system just how far I can go and how fast I can go to get there. Calculates my wh/mi on the fly also which is like mpg for a car and helpful for range calcs on the fly.
As fast as the e system thing is developing I also am able to adapt my bikes to emerging technology as it occurs rather than having to buy a whole new bike. I am not all that concerned about internal batteries and "stealth" look because I came out of the eBike closet quite awhile ago. I am after the performance I want and not having to spend a bunch of money on basically. Both the bikes pictured below came in at under $2500.
And another bonus is that putting together these bikes I have learned how e systems actually work and can do the maintenance on them myself.
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honkinunit
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Zinn will build one for you. It won't be cheap, but it will be exactly what you want.
zinncycles.com
zinncycles.com
honkinunit
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Most of those Chinese frame websites are selling OEM quantities. I've never found one that ships just one. If you do find one that will sell you a single item, good luck with it arriving with no damage, and good luck getting any help if it *is* damaged. BTW, if you look closely, those are not even photos of frames, those are digitized CAD drawings. Those guys may not even have ever produced one of those frames. They probably know a guy who knows a guy who works for one of the handful of companies able to produce a frame like that, and they think they can just send them a CAD drawing and get a frame back that actually works.
There was a guy at Veloswap last year who had bought a bunch of Chinese 29'er frames and was trying to sell them. He said it was a terrible experience.
I don't know what Zinn would charge you to build a Titanium frame, but at least you would know what you were getting, and I'm sure he would be willing to give you advice on the electronics. Since the motor/battery/electronics run around $2K, just add $2K to whatever build you would want.
There was a guy at Veloswap last year who had bought a bunch of Chinese 29'er frames and was trying to sell them. He said it was a terrible experience.
I don't know what Zinn would charge you to build a Titanium frame, but at least you would know what you were getting, and I'm sure he would be willing to give you advice on the electronics. Since the motor/battery/electronics run around $2K, just add $2K to whatever build you would want.
