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5chn3ll wrote: ↑Fri Nov 02, 2018 5:23 pm Public Service Announcement: if your suspension fork has magnesium lowers, you'll want to replace those. Axe me how I know.

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I know you said you were fat, but damn. Guess we know who the fat kid "next door" really is!

Like they say, ABBYIFK.

(Always Be Berating Your Inner Fat Kid)

This makes two ruined bicycles for Schnell.

For the record, I have never tacoed a bike wheel. I've destroyed them in many other ways, but my mass has not yet been sufficient to wreck a wheel at 1G.

I will admit to falling over sideways on more than one occasion while getting used to clipless pedals, including one where I was standing still giving directions to another guy...forgot about the pedals and fell right off the road into a ditch. Thankfully, in addition to being belligerent and fat, I'm also very durable...zero broken bones so far (excluding ribs, fingers, and toes), although I did have to replace one OEM ACL with a dead guy's patellar tendon.

The K2 was not optimal, so the setup has been transplanted to my Dew Deluxe. This presented a new set of issues, the biggest being that it was only ever set up for disc brakes, and the Shimano caliper is too thick to fit in the void between the brake disc and the hub motor housing.

Since the K2 was already in pieces on the floor, I stole its front disc caliper; it's also a Shimano mechanical disc set but much more adjustable. I feel MUCH better having the brakes dealt with. Amazon should bring me a pair of chunky torque arms later today...almost there!

The rough mock-up. The batteries are now strapped together into a single block; the configuration below has the correct dimensions but isn't adequately secured; the final version has Velcro straps around all three axes; and the pack hangs from the top tube via two 3-inch Velcro straps. Two more straps secure the pack to the seat tube and the down tube to keep it from moving - it's enough weight that any shift is really disconcerting. The Velcro straps in the photo are junky temp straps - Home Depot sells some handy Velcro straps with plastic buckles.

Since I'm using the area below the top tube for the battery, I flipped the bag that came with the controller and secured it to the seat post and the top of the top tube. It looks a little junky, but once the cables are properly managed, it looks surprisingly decent.

In addition to the torque arms, I need to remove the brake shifters and install dedicated shifters - the wheel kit comes with new brake levers with override switches; the motor is disabled when you hit the brakes, even if you keep the throttle wide open.

Just wondering, if I were to buy a life insurance policy on you and name me and your widow, er, wife as 50/50 beneficiaries, what would it take to get you to sign the consent and participation notice?

So... It is Fwd? Or awd if you choose to pedal?

If you are making it fully motorized, why not get a moped? Serious question. For $500 you can have a decent used moped.

I work close enough to home that this is a viable commuter option a couple of days a week.

I went the front wheel route because it's the quickest to swap out; it takes <5 minutes to remove the wheel and battery pack to make it just a bike again.

...and because building something is often more fun than buying something.

Aiight, the finished goods. I'm still shopping for a low-profile front caliper, but everything else is dialed in. Full charge range test will come as soon as the front brakes are sorted out...

The bar ends allow me to flip the bike upside down and work on it without tearing up the brakes, shifter, throttle, etc. - and will hopefully absorb any whacks the handlebars take in the event of careless cycling...

This shot shows the SLA battery pack (20 pounds, give or take) hanging from the top tube. The chunky red and black wires were the original connectors for the rack-mount UPS module that "donated" the batteries; better quick-connectors are coming eventually to make battery charging and swapping easier. With the torque arm installed, no more shenanigans with the lowers. Even so, I really like to take it easy on the throttle. I may replace the thumb throttle with something a little more precise...while it's fun to blast down the street wide-open, pedal assist at low speed is a little touchy. Charge-o-meter, throttle, and comically large brake levers with integrated kill switches...