DIY first build

[Sbaumann14]

So after looking and seeing that no one had what I wanted, I said to myself that I could just man up and build one. So I did.

Bike was to be used mostly for hunting as I’m 58 with a knee replacement coming next year so I need something to get me out in the woods during our season. As our season runs from sept to January , in nort Wisconsin that means snow. That means fat tires baby! Not interested in a hub motor as the power wouldn’t be there and i like the idea of having different gear ratios to choose from. Set a price tag on my project of $2000. Here’s how it went:

Bike to be used was a Gravity Bullseye Monster from bikes direct. $634 to my door and had all the basic things I wanted. 4 days after ordering it arrived. These folks do not f*#k around. Shipping was very fast …

Aired the tires up and down 3-4 times, and finally settled on 12psi as my sweet spot. Who needs suspension when u have these big fat squishy mothers? Mabye on the next build…

 

[Sbaumann14]

Ok…..
so the FIRST thing to go where the pedals. I mean seriously? These metal things were scaring my shins on my banana seat Schwinn in the 70’s. I’ll be damned if they were gonna do it now. Ordered up some Fookers…. And a kickstand too. I mean, WTF? Do all mtb’s not come with a kickstand? That’s just sad.

 

[Sbaumann14]

Next to hit the circular can were the bars and stem. Bars were 620 (ummmm…..no) so I got a 780 and a stem and some lock-on grips from 50/50. Now we’re talkin.

 

[DieselTech]

Nice build! Welcome to the forums.

 

[Sbaumann14]

The brakes were ok, and I went with wire actuation hydraulic hybrids which are cheap and seem to do the job. I’ll upgrade to true hydraulic in the future

 

[Sbaumann14]

Nice build! Welcome to the forums.

Thanks!

 

[Sbaumann14]

Ok…. Now to the fun stuff. I’ve been watching “Johnny Nerd Out” and have learned a HUGE amount from his videos. HUGE. So I ordered my BBSHD in 120mm, 850c controller, and 52v battery. Also ordered some spacers from Johnny. Motor install was a BREEZE cause of his videos.

 

[Sbaumann14]

Got it finished up and was rippin around the yard doing 32-35 on the street but had to be careful because of the chain line issues

 

[Sbaumann14]

Ok, let’s get the chain line thing solved. I was torn between 2 brands of offse rings, but decided to go with the Luna 42t Eclipse. This is where I’m glad I got the spacers from Johnny. Johnny Nerd Out. Awesome mensch. Have I mentioned him before? LOL. I mean I wanted to put the Luna on the wall in a frame….it was too pretty to go out in the woods.

 

[Sbaumann14]

So my final act was to add some fenders. Put on some mud shovels front and rear. But was also installing a rear rack and thought…”why not mount the fender to the rack?” So that got done….

 

[DieselTech]

So my final act was to add some fenders. Put on some mud shovels front and rear. But was also installing a rear rack and thought…”why not mount the fender to the rack?” So that got done….

Now it looks proper! The fenders & rack set that bike off! Looks good. Hunting rig for sure. Now alls you need is gun rack for the handle bars.

 

[Sbaumann14]

And there it is…..my first build fatty. Guess u guys want numbers? Here ya go:

Bullseye Gravity….$634
Bbshd w/ 52v battery and display…$1134
bars…$40
stem…$55
grips…$26
pedals…29
kickstand…$25
brakes…$48
gear shift sensor (mid drive? GET ONE!)…$23
Lekkie One Nut…$23
rear cargo rack…$40
front fender…$21
rear fender…$30
Luna 42t…$131

all told…..$2239

for a bike that climbs like a goat on some of the hills with the 11-34 rear cassette. I tried it on (15% or better), cruises like a tank invading Paris, and just flat out rocks!
THANKS to Johnny Nerd Out for making me believe I could do all this. Your help was INVALUABLE!

 

[Sbaumann14]

Now it looks proper! The fenders & rack set that bike off! Looks good. Hunting rig for sure. Now alls you need is gun rack for the handle bars.

Got a sling for that….will b using bow mostly and not too sure I wanna clamp it to something that rattles around so much

 

[DieselTech]

On a build like yours, how is the battery rack/holder fastened to the bike down tube? Thanks.

 

[m@Robertson]

Am I seeing a slight rub from the chain teeth on your stay? If its already rubbing just from street testing, thats very bad. You would want to ad a small spacer under the Eclipse. If there's one there already, thats cause to think hard about a solution. Maybe a spacer behind the secondary housing to move the whole motor out a touch. You need at least a couple of business card's space away from the stay root for the secondary housing. A little more would not hurt, especially if that 25+mm offset on the Luna is too much, which it often is. I've got two of them and love the things, but they are often too much of a good thing and won't fit a lot of bikes.

Also if you are going to be doing a lot of jumping around and banging on stuff overland, I'd reinforce that motor connection. The double-hoseclamp thing will fix the motor rock solid no matter what, and two inner lockrings, each tightened to 90 ft lbs, rather than an inner+outer tightened to spec, will also be a solid alternative. This is a $4 alternative solution to the problem that the Lekkie One Nut also solves.

Check this out. Complete DIY motor install discussion w/pics of the above. Link is tee'd up to final motor installation:

How To Build An Ebike From Scratch: Assembly Day 1

The first day of assembly is laid out here item by item. By end of day we’ll have a roller we can sit on and push around, not a box of parts we have to carry.

talesontwowheels.com

This one gets into motor spacers, chainring and secondary housing alignment, as well as crankarm alignment under the saddle.

How To Build An Ebike From Scratch: Tinkering

We crawl one step further: confirm as best we can that motor will fit, then buy and test-install it so we can take more measurements.

talesontwowheels.com

 

[Sbaumann14]

On a build like yours, how is the battery rack/holder fastened to the bike down tube? Thanks.

There’s 2 screws for a water bottle cage. I added a 3rd and used Loctight

 

[Sbaumann14]

The rubbing was from the Bafang ring…hence the Luna. Great info on the build post!