Bruce scores 2 Cruzbikes

[Tuloose]

A local man had been trying to sell his Freerider and Silvio 1.0 on Craig's List for 6 months with no luck.
I mentioned to him that he would have better luck using the Cruzbike Forum but he did not want to deal with the hassle of packing & shipping the bikes.
Yesterday I made him an offer on both bikes and I now am the proud owner of a Freerider and 2 Silvios - the new to me 1.0 and the 2.0 I have had for 3 years.
I probably would not have done this had I not attended the NW Retreat. Seeing all the Cruzbike hacks and possibilities opened my eyes to the world outside of my Silvio 2.0. Riding Jeff's electrified Freerider back to Camas from Portland left me with a hankering for an easy rider type of town bike.
Both bikes are pristine with few miles.
The Freerider has a single 38t chainring with an 8spd cassette - good enough for around town.
The Silvio has the Sram 50/34 chainrings with an 11-38t cassette - good low gearing for the steep hills surrounding us here in the mid Willamette Valley.
My plan is to get my wife who currently rides an old Bacchetta Giro to try out the Freerider.
Once she learns the basics of the moving bottom bracket I hope to switch her to the Silvio 1.0.
When she discovers how much better the Silvio climbs and how much faster she is compared to her Giro she will be hooked!
We have a little 27 mile course we do quite often with a good amount of climbing. She times herself on this course and I think she'll be pleasantly surprised when she compares her times between the 2 bikes.

 

[super slim]

If the Freerider has a 135 mm wide rear fork, then you could install a Bafang BBS-01 350 watt 78 rpm, OR a BBS-02 750 watt 100 rpm, Bottom bracket motor, in the OLD BB position, and drive a 9 speed rear wheel using a twist shifter and throttle on the Left handle bar. Using all the gears with AWD, it will climb ANY hill!

Or replace the existing BB and crank, with a Bafang BBS-01 or 02, and use it for bitumen hill climbs. Using the gears allows the electric motor to stay near its most efficient motor speed, and extends the range dramatically (2 X) if any hills greater then 2% are ridden.
Also there is no 20+ watt drag if not using the motor as with direct drive hub motors.
The Bafang motor has an internal controller and neat press fit wiring so only the speedo, power meter and handle bar throttle,% assistance, brake controls and the battery.

https://www.empoweredcycles.com/col...afang-bbs02-mid-drive-motor-electric-bike-kit

 

[Lief]

NICE Work Bruce!
That Silvio 1.0 looks pretty clean!

You planning on electrifying either of them based on your experience with Jeff's Pegasus bike?

 

[Tuloose]

Thanks for the electrifying tips guys.
Jeff & Abram used what they called pinion drive rear hub motors which they thought were superior in some way.
I know they said the motor did not put any drag on the drive train at all when in pedal only mode.
I'll check out the system you mentioned Super Slim.
For right now I'm planning on keeping it pedal drive only.

 

[super slim]

Jeff's is a Internally geared hub, with a one way clutch, so no drag when not pedaling, but still suffers from low efficiency when at low revs < 20 kph.
It is a good option, (with an Internal controller) for flat riding.

 

[Tuloose]

I put a rack on the Freerider and took our dog Fredo out for a spin around town.
Trish snapped the photo before we left for our ride.

 

[super slim]

It looks like Fredo is having a good time!
Did he fall out the back when you accelerated?

 

[Tuloose]

If I had Jeff's big hub motor on the back wheel and hit the throttle that could have happened.
Actually though, he is clipped in with a harness.
He jumped out of his basket once when he spotted a squirrel and he dangled over the side.
He hasn't jumped out since.

 

[LarryOz]

He jumped out of his basket once when he spotted a squirrel and he dangled over the side.
He hasn't jumped out since.

I guess he learned it was better to watch from the basket than dangle from the leash! Smart dog.

 

[JeffParker]

Congratulations Bruce on your score! I warned you this would happen when you rode Pegasus! That Freerider will make a perfect electric conversion, and the Silvio is sweet.
Decide what you want out of your e-bike: speed, climbing, hauling, or range and then decide if you care about being street and/or trail legal.
I love pedal assist mode because it smooths out power spikes on starts and you can pre-set speeds 1-5 to limit power consumption for some truly long range rides, but throttle-only is fine for your first e-Cruzbike.
Pegasus is 1,500 watts at 48 volts with a 21 aH battery- I did the 25 mile ride in Portland on speed 1 and only used less than 20% of my battery capacity. On those roads Pegasus could have done the century with that climbing with power to spare.
Abram has identified a lot of sources for equipment, some China-direct. Sometimes a kit is the simple way to go.

 

[Tuloose]

Good to hear from you Jeff and thanks for the advice.
I'm having a lot of fun on the Freerider as long as as there is no intense hill climbing involved.