EBikeFL 

No trade secrets exposed. I wanted to give hope to the masses looking for alternatives to the car.

Speaking of cars...Italians are paying $9.50/gallon of gasoline now (https://peakoil.com/consumption/itali...ly-drive-home/). If there are any Italians following this thread you would greatly benefit from a setup similar to mine or other Papamotor members.

President Obama just raised the Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) limit to 54.5 mpg for 2025. At the same time, the IMF's research department has issued a report and accompanying video(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ZmJK...ure=plpp_video) stating that the oil price will need to double in 10 years to grow world oil production to the 0.9% EIA predictions.

Coincidence? I don't think so. If people can't handle higher and higher gas prices then the vehicles they drive will need to get much better gas mileage to offset the higher, $10.00+/gallon fuel costs in the near future.

wrusry

FWIW, this link has a post of a guy who took his Papamotor ebike offroad and broke some spokes/nipples.

https://endless-sphere.com/forums/vie...hp?f=3&t=36491 (Aug 28 post).

Does anyone know what gauge of spokes are used?

EBikeFL 

Papamotor uses 12 gauge spokes and nipples. I would definitely not ride off road with the stock rim and spoke setup for very long. If you switched the hub motor to my new setup using the MTX-39 rims and Sapim race spokes you would be O.K. People have ridden with flat tires on the MTX-39 rims and haven't done any damage to them.

If you ride only on the street then you'll need to check the spokes at least once a month; otherwise, the same thing will happen, you'll break spokes. A good sign you need to check the spokes is if your bike tire seems like it's slipping from side to side.

wrusry

Sounds like Papamotor should upgrade the rims or spokes. I can understand breaking spokes if using it for something outside of design (such as offroad), but if it is having issues when street riding, then they might want to look into beefing up the design. I think you made the right decision to upgrade your rims and spokes.

Thanks for the reply.

EBikeFL 

They could but then the price would increase as well. The Papamotor kits buy you time to upgrade both your bike and parts of the kit. You could easily ride with the stock components of both the kit and the bike but your maintenance intervals for both would be sooner. I wanted longer intervals between replacements and repairs so I decided to upgrade everything I could on both the bike and parts of the Papamotor kit.

It's a viscous cycle. You upgrade one part to meet the performance of another but end up going past the original part's requirements and then find yourself back to trying to level the performance again.

I want to increase my mileage at top speed so I decided to increase all the other components that would be effected by the increase in weight of additional batteries. I think I finally got the right balance. My goal is to have my e-bike replace my car, others however may just want to use their e-bikes for fun or small commutes. I think the e-bike has great potential that will soon become evident as gas prices increase.

EBikeFL 

The new rear rim setup with Schwalbe rim tape:

I used Schwalbe rim tape on both the front and back. Papamotor users you should take the rim tape off your stock bicycle rim (depending on front or rear hub motor) and use them on the Papamotor hub rim. I noticed the spoke holes left nice little circles on the inner tube when I took apart the stock hub motor rim. Any abrasion from the spoke holes on the inner tube could cause a flat.

I have the new rim on the bike. I had to make a few small adjustments but everything looks very good. I'll have more pictures later this evening...after dinner and an hour or two of work. The rear Maxxis Hookworm tire fit just fine. I was sweating bullets for a while.

EBikeFL 

I've...I've created a monster. It's now nearly 2 AM and I'm almost finished. It's complete madness, a disease. Stick with the prefab e-bikes people. Don't become like me, this insanity could be contagious. Save yourselves.

Here's a picture of the completed rear hub setup:

spirit733t

very nice, can we get some more close pics of that rear wheel and all the components

EBikeFL 

Can't...trade secrets. I'll PM you a few photos, Spirit733t...just for your eyes only. I know no one else wants to see detailed pictures.

I redesigned the battery carrier I originally had in mind. I should be able to carry enough batteries to give the bike a 132 mile range (80% battery usage) per charge. Of course, the rear end will weigh close to 100 lbs. I'm sure this weight will effect the hub motor. I will have to up the torque and top speed to compensate for the additional weight which may in turn effect the mileage. The Ping battery is charged but I have some other duties I have to attend too before I go for a test ride with the new setup.

It's madness.

kd5ete

Hiya EBikeFL & gang,THanks for letting me know.I haven't been on the papamotor website in a while. Got on the a little while ago & looked at it a long with the others that were posted on there.I saw the battery box that Cyclebutt has installed on his bike & i am throughly impressed with it.Now all i have to do is figure out how he made it or where he got it from. Dang nice looking.I also found a A2Z rear disc brake adaptor on Amazon.com https://www.amazon.com/Brake-Mount-Ta...I1755TO7M3J38P for bicycles without rear disc brakes that want to convert from the brake style. It looks inpresssiveas well & i'm thinking about buying one & trying it out as it says it is compatable with most bikes along with the rest of the gadgetry. though i haven't fully decided about that part yet. Have a great Labor day.

kd5ete

EBikeFl is turning into a MAD BAD EBike scientist. RUN FOR YOUR LIFES>

EBikeFL 

That's a nice adapter for disc brakes but only if you have the front Papamotor hub motor setup. What battery box are you referring to that Cyclebutt has installed?

EBikeFL 

I know it's crazy! I really, really want to sell my car very soon. No more insurance costs, maintenance costs, fuel costs, etc., etc., etc. I think having two e-bikes which get 90+ miles each as their range before recharge would be ideal. I'm heading in that direction. Then I want to build e-bikes for others who feel the same way.

SiXiam, you out there? How's the job search?

Spirit733t, check your private messages please.

kd5ete

O.K guys.I'll be happy to sign any & all autographs.Please be patient & don't create a riot.LOLthis is cyclebutts battery holder.Mine is not far behind.YOu made me put my delirious brain to work today EBikeFL.YOU made me turn into another mad bike scientist LOLOLOL

kd5ete

kd5ete

I started working on the prototype this afternoon.Once I get the deminsions down,I will start building the real deal. a couple of pictures in the beginning stage.Keep in mind this is for a 48v 20 ah battery so it will be slightly larger than the 15 ah.I have about 3/4 of an inch pedal clearance on each side so plenty of room & once i get the deminsions down pat,i may have a full inch clearance on each side but it will be cutting it close plus its a wooden prototype & not the metal box,but damn,it looks good to me.lol.Holy Moly,my bicyclist brain is getting devious again.Hysteria is beginning to set innnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn.

EBikeFL 

Ah, yes that is a nice battery holder. He even has v-brakes like you (ducking). I wonder how waterproof it is? I don't think he's got the PAS setup.

It's about time you got back to work, Kd5ete. Stop flirting with all your girlfriends.

EBikeFL 

The battery situated in the frame like that is good at keeping the weight centered and low but it's not very stealthy. You also have to pedal like you have crotch itch...not that I know what that looks like.

kd5ete

crotch itch???? I gotta back pedal on that one. Don't want the itchy ball thing.EEEEEEGADSSSSSSSSSSSSSS.

EBikeFL 

It's not easy, from the looks of it, to remove the battery to charge it. I mean, what if you travel the full mileage possible by the battery and then have to charge the battery? You pretty much have to have an outdoor electrical outlet or take the e-bike inside with you. You don't want to have to take all the screws off the box just to separate the battery from the bike.

kd5ete

The way i have it thought out is this> I will put the charger port and key switch on the upper right hand side of the box at the top where i will put all of the wiring.with the wood not bending,i will have to modify it as i go along with my lower frame bending slightly as it does.If it were a straight tube then i could fix it with almost perfection then build the box out of aluminum when i get all the bugs out.Cyclebutt looks like he took a computer frame and made it that way . But like i say,it's the expermental thing .

EBikeFL 

I would get three to four 4ft x 4ft 1/4in thick sheets of aluminum and take them to a local auto shop that does auto welding. Have them cut out the two sides and the portions that trace the frame in the width you want them and then have them weld everything but one side. On that side have them weld the female connectors to thread screws into around the perimeter. You can then do all the supports and drill holes through the box for whatever items (wires, etc.) you want to go through it. It may cost you $300-$400 in supplies and shop labor. You can then paint the outside with one of your cool designs.

kd5ete

I know a fella down the road that has a metal works shop.once i get this contraption put together,I'll take it along with the bike to him so he can get a better idea of what i want done .A $1500.00 dollar bicycle project will be $ 2000.00 time i get done.But what the heck.It's only money.lol

EBikeFL 

Kd5ete, you ever traveled on the e-bike so far that you had to recharge the battery in order to come back home?

kd5ete

So far i've only ridden it back & forth to work & around the town.I've run it down several times as far as having to pedal it back home but i am usually no farther than a mile away from the house when i run it down.