Hi, im new to the whole idea of electric biking.. Ive spent a good amount of time doing my research and as far as dollar for dollar performance and ease of installation I'm going to buy a Sparrow 4825 front wheel hub motor for my Day 6 Dream 21 semi-recumbant bicycle... i'll be getting the kit (which apparently is a crystalyte motor) from www.electricrider.com and i already have the bicycle which i got from www.day6bicycles.com


i just wanted to let everybody kno incase u have any personal experience with the system or advice to offer. I am aware that brushed motors do wear out but money is tight and in a year or two i wont mind sending it back to be re-brushed.


Also i just like to let you guys kno what an awesome bike the dream 21 is, i've rode many bikes in my life time and this one by far takes the cake. extremely comfortable, u can ride this bike for hours and not be sore and i get a lot of compliments on how it looks as well !!


thanks in advance, andrew.

Your range will typically be significantly lower with a brushed motor than with a brushless equivalent. 20-25% in some cases.

If this is an issue for you, I would suggest going with the "Roadrunner", which will only have a marginally greater cost, but will allow you greater distances.

Thanks abney, on their website it lists the range of the sparrow as being only 1 mile less with sla's. so do u think thats not an accurate estimation?

I do eventually plan on switching to either ni-cads or another higher end battery but right not my budget is maxed out cause of all the little extra's like new tires, a cycle anaylst, heavy duty kickstand and a good lighting system and all that.

its not gonna make that big of difference in regard to range. BLDC is better because of no brushes to fail but you always need a controller. Brush motor can be run without a controller through relay. I've messed with this and it's surprisingly workable. Simply push a button and get full power. I'd be careful with a powerful motor but 200-500W is not a big deal.

Anyway - I still suggest BLDC if you can swing it. Work it all out with SLA and move up from there.

Hello,

I am new to this also. I am considering putting a front wheel motor on a Day 6 Dream. Are their any problems fitting the motor in the front forks??

Hey topeka - I like the looks of Day6 and I know they offered Bionx kits at some point so I would guess the forks should work. Just check the motor width and fork dimensions before buying. Spreading forks a mm or two isn't a big deal. You should also check these bikes - they look as comfortable as Day6: http://www.ransbikes.com/street08.htm

Since we spend a lot more time in the saddle on an eBike it makes sense to be comfortable.

topeka, the forks defintely will work fine. even for the a big motor like the 5303 crystalyte motor. i cant say enough good things about the day 6, its the most comfortable seat i've seen on the market... i've spent the whole day hanging out riding around on my day 6 and i was as comfortable as u can possibly be. i'll let u kno how everything goes once i get my crystalyte motor installed !!

Hello Group,

Ten years ago I bought a nice Cannondale touring bike. After a short period of time I was so miserable on the seat that I nearly gave the bike away and decided my biking days were over. Recently I got the idea of building an electric bicycle. I knew if this idea was to work I was going to have to solve the pain in the saddle question. When I went into the bike shop the first thing I noticed was overall the quality of the bikes has gone up while the price of the bikes have gone down?? Pleasant suprise! I told the salesman that my primary concern was comfort. He guided me to a hybrid......not much difference from what I remembered, then a "Townie".......definite improvement!, and finally to a bike I had never heard of "Day 6". When I saw the seat I knew I was on the right track. When I got on the bike I laughed! This was comfortable! Wide seat.......no pressure points..I felt like the backrest was taking some of the pressure off the buns?.....It reminded me of a motorcycle ride!
I was worried that after this discovery I would find out that a front hub motor would not fit on this bike. Your input was Good News!

save your $$ and use an ampedbikes.com kit.
higher quality than crystalytes, but they have almost no tech support

Andrew, did you get the wide seat and backrest? I'll be watching your thread with great interest and hope you post your progress. I don't have one but believe Day 6 to be one of the most comfortable bikes around (as several of you have said).

Yes BroadwayJoe, Day 6 did offer an e-bike with Bionx motor and one vendor still sells them (can't recall which one). However, it was a rear hub installation.

I want to build a Day 6 electric but will consider the eZee motor which weighs considerable less than the C'Lyte.

day6 used to have a kit with the bionx but they changed over to a new company, i called them about it and they said they havent put the information up yet on there website... if ur intrested u can email me and i'll email u back the info (sum420body@hotmail.com)... heres the basic stats - Rear motor with 7 speed freewheel
Battery in Bag on Rear Rack
36v/10Ah LiFePo
25 amp controller
For steeper terrain
18-22 mph
16-20 mile range with no pedaling
$1595

jerry yes i did get the wideseat and i got a digicam so i'll be glad to update with some pics when i recieve my order. btw just to let u guys kno i started looking into comfortable bicycles after i had a surgery that made riding a bike seriously difficult and it worked out great. i honestly doubt there is a bike that matches the day 6 for comfort and quality !!

Here is an email exchange I had with Day 6 om July 9

Jerry wrote:
Hello Kelly,
What happened to the Journey electric project? I don't see any e-bikes on your site now.
Regards,
Jerry

Jerry:

We are still moving that direction but it is taking longer than expected. The increase in gas prices has caught everyone off guard and the supply of good batteries is severely limited. One of my suppliers is out of batteries and motors until September!

I have found a new supplier that assures me he can supply me with all the motors and batteries I need.

We are using a BMC front motor on the Journey and a BMC rear motor on the Dream. The BMC motor has twice the torque of other motors its size because of the gearing and it still will go 21 mph. We are using a lithium iron phosphate battery which can be charged over 1000 times. Lead acid can be charged about 200 times and lithium ion about 500. This battery only weighs about 9 pounds compared to 26 for lead acid. You can get a decent lead acid system for about $800 but it WILL be heavy and it WILL NOT last. We don't even deal with them anymore.

I have attached pictures of the Journey showing the battery between the downtubes and the Dream I ride showing the battery on the rear rack. I have also attached information on electric bikes in general and ours in particular.

We are taking orders and have a large waiting list if you want to get on it. Let me know if you have any other questions.


Kelly

Note: Pics are too large so I will try to reduce - Jerry

Day 6 Pics
Dream 21 (blue) - Dream Nexus hub (white)

Hello Group,

I had a telephone conversation with a Kelly Hutson sp? from day 6. He was very helpful and full of information. He brought somthing to my attention I did not know. He said the Journey 7 speed was geared much higher that the Dream 21. He said it was only possible to assist the electric motor up to about 21mph (in top gear) on the Dream 21 but he is able to assist the Journey (in 7th gear) up to about 27mph! He said he never takes the Journey out of top gear. What do you guys think? Do I need all those extra gears or should I go with the simpler (cleaner looking) Journey?

No doubt Kelly is right on Topeka111. From my experience, I never change gears however, my area is very flat so you need to keep that in mind.
I may go for the one-speed Day 6 just to keep the costs down. Of course, I'm not interested in super speed but if I was I would change out the crank gear combo.

Hello Group,

I was able to purchase two Dream 21 bicycles for me and my wife yesterday. We took them on a quick 6 mile bike path around a county lake. Very comfortable! (I think this is the first time in my life I have ridden a bike for any distance WITHOUT pain in the rear) I also ordered a 48v Go-Hub kit from Largo scooters. It should arrive on Tuesday. Since I have never built an electric bike before is there anyting I should keep in mind??

smart eBikes. Good to hear Day6 progressing with eBike designs.

Unless you've got very hilly terrain multi-speeds hardly matter. The motors usually provide enough assistance - just a different way of doing it.

Go slow building. Plenty test rides, check things, expect some repairs and tinkering. Measure twice, cut once.

Topeka 111 wrote
Since I have never built an electric bike before is there anyting I should keep in mind?? Here are a coupla things

- I had to get extra zip ties for securing wiring and controller and carry extra in road repair kit.

- Mount controller for adequate air flow for cooling

- The front fork drop-outs require a flat surface for mounting the hub motor. File flat if necessary.

- Some folks have a torque arm which prevents the motor from severing the wiring if the fork drop-outs fail

- Try to prevent water damage to throttle, motor, controller, exposed wiring. Drip loop for the wires coming out of the hub prevents water entering the motor; some components can be sealed with silicone or other. I mounted my controller under my rear rack (under battery bag)

- Since the Day 6 has such a long wheel base, the battery wire may require a splice. Soldered wires guard against vibration. plenty of tape for water protection.

- With extra speed and vibration, expect nuts, bolts and screws to work loose. Lock-tite may help.

edit: Forgot my manners; congratulations on your new purchase; sounds like a good, comfortable fit and I believe you will be very happy w/bike and motor kit.

Hello JerryT,

Lots of good ideas. I need to print this out!