Electric Bikes - Downtube FS Folder Electrified.

Hey All!

Join me on my virgin voyage to converting my first Ebike project. I'm a total Noob to this so after much reading and some PM's with a few fine and helpful folks, I pulled the trigger and bought a Cyclone kit.

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First, we start off with my customized Downtube FS9 folding Bike. She rolls on 20" wheels I hand built with Disk hubs.

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Fully suspended with a Carbon Fiber front shock and a dampened rear shock (way better than the spring and bumper suspension setup Downtube originally specs)

So with that I went and ordered a big kit from Paco at Cyclone. I wrestled for a few weeks over motor sizes and after much debate I ordered the 1200 watt kit for my first venture into Ebikes. Insane torque? Yes please!!! :twisted:

After one week from placing the order I received my Cyclone kit. The box was nice and neat, in great condition. I'm always afraid of overseas shipping as they can take a brutal beating at times. Not this package. Paco had packed everything with great care and all arrived safe and sound. Along with my motor I even received a free tool kit to help with the conversion, like the Crank puller and Chainbreaker. Thanks Paco!! :mrgreen: Oh, and did I mention that in my haste I forgot to order a set of cooling fins? Paco threw those in for free too!!! :shock:

After unwrapping all the bits and bobs I have all this!

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After carefully inspecting each component I start to tinker a bit. During one of many emails with Paco we decided to try to mount the 1200 watt motor in the small triangle of the Downtube (DT).

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Unfortunately with the mount it won't fit all the way. I would either have to cut a notch into the seat tube or grind down a corner of the motor. Now, what would you folks do if given that choice? Grind the motor or notch the seatpost tube? :? Grind the motor or notch the seatpost tube? :? Grind the motor or notch the seatpost tube?

While I'm debating that I will simply mount it the regular way, outside of the triangle first. This way I will have it up and running for the rest of the riding season then monkey wrench it into the small triangle over the winter time.

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So since getting laid off from work I find I haven't a whole lot of time time to tinker on the DT-Cyclone these days. Busy hustling for employment programs to get a new job. But a guys gotta relax a bit here and there so here's my current progress.

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Setting up with the brakes and throttle. Had to cut off the curved tip of my bull horns to fit the Cyclone throttle unit. This pushed my brake leaver a little further back. No probs.

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Side view of the setup....not to shabby...

Norman

Continuing.....

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here's a POV of the setup....what to do with that controller cable?

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Peek-A-Boo!! Decided to go internal routing. Had to pop of the connector to thread the cable thru the exit hole in the handlebar.

BUT I DIDN'T MAKE NOTE OF THE COLOR WIRE SEQUENCE PRIOR !!! DOOOH!

After a quick email with Paco he sent me a line illustration of the wire sequence.

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Back in business....

A word of caution! I've been torturing myself with modifications to fit the the MTB shifter/brakes to the bull horns. Turns out the shifter /brakes fit a 22mm dia. handlebar. The bull horns are 24mm. If you can get bull horns at 22mm dia. your laughing. Meanwhile I'm going back to straight bars now... :oops: I'll probably cut them down a few inches though...

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Soooooo, guess who got a honking big package in the mail??? Yuppers!! My Ping battery showed up finally! After watching the postal tracking for 2 weeks unchanged I finally received it.

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And I have to say the packing is fantastic. Ping certainly knows how to pack a 20 lbs battery for shipping across the world. The box arrived with some battle scarring but totally intact. Multi layers of wrapping and cardboard provided a tough exterior.

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A well fitted foam box inside kept the battery nice and cozy. That and the charger too.

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So next on the plan? I have an Axiom Rear Seatpost Rack rated for 30 lbs. I enforced my seatpost with an internal shim to support the rear rack. And on this rack I'll be securing a small little suitcase containing my Ping Battery. I'll be able to bring along my charger and some bits and bobs.

http://img39.imageshack.us/img39/8581/dsc06078y.jpg

Norman

Finally.....


Then on Thursday, August 20th...... I DID IT!! I TOOK THE DT-CYCLONE OUT FOR HER VERY FIRST POWER RUN!!!! WOOOOHOOOOO!! :D :D :D :D

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Ok, lets start with the final build. Lined up the motor mounts and secured them. I drilled and tapped holes for theh front grubs screws for the big motor mount. Couldn't get into doing drilling and tapping holes into the other side as the small triangle was too small. The front grubs will do to prevent the motor from torquing and twisting. ( I hope)

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Then adding a small shim to the bottom bracket to set the chainwheels out a wee bit more for a better chain alignment. Installed my heavy duty KMC chain (and it looks monsterous) and hooked up the tension wheel.

Setup my Ping battery with some Anderson Powerpoles (THANKS GLV FOR THE HELP!!) and was pleasantly surprised that when plugging in the power I did not hear any arcing. I was all 'fraid of hearing the electric "crack" noise. Neat-O!! I tied down the battery to my Axiom Rear Seatpost rack. Nice and secure it won't go nowhere.

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Got my Battery all charged up, balanced and ready to rip, thanks to Ping for his tireless efforts to respond to each and every question I had about the first charging of my battery. THANKS PING!!!

The controller? Another strap secures it to the frame by the seatpost. Git 'er done!

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Ok, so this afternoon was the moment. This is to be the big show, the fruits of my labour of putting it all together. I was all nervous and ran around the condo back and forth getting stuff I had missed for the first ride.

Finally got to ground level out into the wonderful summer day. There was a nice warm breeze and the sun was full out. A beautiful day for my first electric bike ride.

28-44T combo I topped out at around 42 km/h. The torque is 'fierce' !! I started off slowly then throttled up. But I can feel the instant response and the whining of the motor and chatter of the chain drive was totally awesome. I zipped thru the neighborhoods residential streets away from traffic for a bit. I was grinning from ear to ear. Eyes were watering from pure joy and wind from speeds of 40km and up.

Turned out my front brake wasn't really setup properly but only found out after I finished the ride. :shock: Its solid now. 8)

So I rode around the area for about 45 minutes, doing some WOT here and there to hit my highest of 48.9 km/h I only upshifted two gears .

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Man, it was Nukkin' Futz!!! The best ride I had on this DT folder. Can't wait till I get another chance to ride.
So there's my Downtube Ebike build. There will be additional refinements later, such as putting my battery in a nice protective case and managing all the wires neatly. I'll update with pics as they come along.

Thanks again to all the great folks that have helped me along the way. Special thanks to Kentlim that influence me and guided me with my build. Most appreciated Brother!


Cheers,