I’ve been taking my E bike build slowly to make sure that I didn’t make mistakes. Yesterday, however, I realised that I was very close to being ready to test so I completed the few items left. I fitted the throttle, mounted the battery and turned it on with 2 switches. Lifting the front wheel it spun in near silence. I forgot to start the app. Strava for my first outing when I rode to a cash machine so rode around the block.
These 2 short trips involved some climbing. I chose front wheel drive in order to retain my 10 speed transmission. Rear wheel motors usually use screw on 7 speed cassettes which is a technological step backwards. I’ve connected 2 blue wires together which restricts the 1000 watt motor to a legal 250 watt output. This will assist me on the climbs, give me sprightly performance whenever required and not put too much strain on the wheel mounts. The twisting forces of high powered electric motors could cause the axle to spin in its mounts, damaging the drop outs.
The feeling of power assistance, which is not something I thought I’d need until old age, is really quite delicious. A smooth torque propelling you silently forwards. My Strava data from my second attempt shows that I could reach around 15 mph on a level surface without pedaling but on a very gentle slope with some work on the pedals I reached 19.4 mph with an average whilst moving of 10.5 mph.
I need to make sure the system is as water resistant as possible and then I can ride some trails. I’m concerned about the robustness of the system so am not expecting to ride as hard as I did on a non assisted bike but should still be able to get some good, exciting riding done.
Mountainbiker 