NoPhart

Hi Patrick - Passed 1,500 miles a couple weeks ago. It developed a hub slip/skip now and then that I wasn't sure where it was coming from, the motor or the rear hub. Turns out all that electric motor torque had cracked one of the Sturmey-Archer serrated lock nuts on the inside of a dropout and it had developed some slop in the bearings. I believe that slop was causing the sporadic hub slipping. After fixing that with a like thickness spacer while waiting for the OEM part to arrive, the shifter side axle nut "exploded" into three pieces while just sitting there. Glad I wasn't riding it when that happened. Two new axle nuts and the serrated washer should be in today to button it all back up.

Also switched to a pair of Schwalbe Super Moto-X 27.5 x 2.8 tires for an unbelievable cushy ride with tons of traction. Surprised they fit so well in the 2016 Soma B-Side V.2 belt drive frame; plenty of clearance. This has once again transformed the bikes ride. Can't wait to get back in the saddle for another 1,500!

PatrickGSR94

Oh wow, glad it wasn't the motor! Gonna turn 1,300 this afternoon riding home, and as of today more than half my YTD miles will be on the e-bike!

NoPhart

I haven't ridden in about two weeks now. I'm starting to go through E-bike withdrawals...

NoPhart

Got the next E-project rolling as a "bicycle" today. She's an older alloy Electra Coaster 3 customized to 29+ with 203mm disc brakes and Sturmey-Archer RX-RK5 IGH.



Build Spec (without E-components):

Used Aluminum Electra Coaster 3 (Frame)
Fix Mounted Paragon Sliding Dropouts (Left #B4010 & Right #B4006)
Cane Creek 40 Series Headset 30mm Head Tube/1" Steer Tube
Exotic Rigid Carbon 27.5+/29 Disc Fork 46.5cm With 1” Steerer
XTC 70mm/35* Stem
2 - Stem Adapters 1" to 1-1/8"
Fouriers Trailhead 58* Sweep Bars 720 Wide
Sturmey-Archer SLC50 5spd Shifter & 3/32” 20T Cog
2 - Pair ESI Extra Chunky 34mm Sylicone Grips 130mm
Strumey-Archer 5spd IGH Disc 135mm (RX-RK5)
Velocity Wheel Tape Kit - 24mm
Velocity Dually 29er 45ODx39ID 32H Shimano Deore Hubs Wheel Set
32 - DT Swiss Alpine III Spokes
2 - 203mm G2 Rotors And F&R Shimano Caliper Mounts
2 - Surly ExtraTerrestrial 29x2.5
2 - Continental Tubes 29x2.5
Forte MTX Dual Flat/Clipless Pedals
Cane Creek Thudbuster Long-Travel 27.2 x 410
2 - Cane Creek #9 Extra-Firm Elastomers
Sunlite Rack Mount Seat Post Clamp 31.8
ISM Urbaine Saddle
Avid BB7 Mechanical Disc Brake Calipers
Alligator Pro Cables

Hope to electrify it soon...

PatrickGSR94

Awesome, did the frame come disc-ready on the left seat stay?

NoPhart

No, it has Paragon vertical drops added to make it 29+ disc in the rear. I started a separate build thread for this Alloy Electra Lux 5i 29+ Speedster Cruiser with all the details.

NoPhart

Hit 2,000 miles!

At the end of the Belmont Peninsula in Long Beach California at the bay entrance.

NoPhart

Installed a gear sensor shutoff on the shifter cable and took the B-Side for a 45 mile ride today. I’ve been riding my new Electra Lux 5i 29+ eCruiser for the last 250+ miles and it was nice to be back on a responsive “whiptastic” short chain stay 27.5+ eMTB again for a change of pace. This thing eats up sidewalk driveways, tight turns around landscaping, telephone poles, trees, etc…, curb drops at freeway on and off ramps, and dodging the homeless and no leash dogs through the Anaheim homeless encampments. The cities and county officials really need to get that situation resolved ASAP! I know they are trying...

The time off my Gates Carbon Drive ride sure makes me appreciate the whisper quiet belt drive and wide 33% gear spacing on the Sturmey-Archer 3-speed cassette IGH. It’s hard to tell if the shift sensor is doing anything. I still pause and wait for the power assist to kick off before shifting. I did seem to feel a slightly longer lag after shifting before the power assist kicked back in. My guess is that’s the shifter sensor holding of the power for enough time to insure a clean shift.

Wonderful weather and ride today. Did 45 miles total. Average speed was 15.2mph. Top speed was 28.8mph (downhill after sparing with a couple strong roadies up hill on coast HWY). Started with a full 54.3 volts in the tank. Ended with 49.1 volts left. Used 5.2 volts during the 45 miles or an average of 0.1156 volts per mile. Battery shutoff is set to 42 volts, so 7.1 volts left in the tank. All else being equal, there are still about 61 miles left in the tank. Sweat!

Today’s ride really makes me want to put my 29+ Sturmey-Archer 5-speed IGH wheel set that’s currently on the Electra eCruiser on a Soma Juice frame and figure out some way of getting a Gates Carbon Drive to line up with the RX-RK5 rear hub. Once you go belt drive it’s hard to go back.

I think a pair of his (Juice 29+ 5i) and hers (B-Side 27.5+ 3i) Soma belt drive eMTB's are in order!

PatrickGSR94

Wow crazy battery life! Sometimes I struggle to do my 30 mile round trip commute on one charge with my 13.5aH 52V bottle battery. I don't really have room for a larger battery on the back because I use my trunk bag/panniers for all my commute stuff like clothes, lunch etc. Lately I've been using 3 of 9 going to work, and 4 of 9 going home, and only bumping up to 5 or 6 on big hills. Yesterday I kept it at 3 for most of the ride home, and was able to manage 15 miles on 4 volts. That's on a bike coming in above 60 pounds, and averaging around 17-18 mph.

NoPhart

After playing with the Electra Cruiser for a while, I removed the motor and returned it to stock, then sold it off. After that I re-invented the Soma B-Side by installing the Exotic carbon fork, putting WTB Byway tubeless tires on it, changing the gearing to 50T/26T to 50T/24T and putting the Thudbuster L-T with ISM Urbaine saddle on it. It's now a street demon commuter that maxes out at about 23mph pedaling at a high cadence; 20-21mph at a reasonable cadence.

The ride has served me well and will continue to on the street and bike trails. I'm now considering upping the front belt ring to 55T to get a little more speed out of the Sturmey-Archer 3spd IGH. I will add a new photo of its' new look soon.

NoPhart

While the Soma B-Side turns past 2,500 miles on its' way to 3,000, I built up an off-road trail and urban assault rig with hill climb assist only out of a 2013 Niner Jet 9, by adding a throttle only MY1018 450W/36V simple brushed gear reduction motor. It's running a 12T freewheel on the motor to 42T Chop-Saw chainring at the crank. The crank has a 30T narrow-wide chainring to a 20T sprocket on the Sturmey-Archer 5spd that was on the Electra Cruiser. Just finished everything on this eMTB yesterday except the battery.





I've been riding it as a pedal bike and loving it. After I research the best choice of 36V battery to use that will fit into the Topeak Mid-loader top tube frame bag, I'll power it up.

Can't wait to get this one sparking!

PatrickGSR94

Awesome builds man! My original setup is still kicking with over 3,200 miles, heading towards the one-year mark a few weeks from now.

NoPhart

NoPhart