Electric conversion

[jond]

Checking it out Bafang now. Cheers mate. 380 watts

No climbing out of your hole ...... Heck it won’t even burn anymore.

I’ll send some hunter valley coal .

After I’ve finished watching the koalas kangaroos dolphins and people smiling at paradise. Ahhh Port Stephens world class unspoilt nature with a temperate climate year round.

Wisteria on your verandah quit yet ?

 

[Robert Holler]

How do you find that battery mounting position to be holding up? Any challenges to the plastic bracket/tabs for the battery?

Clean!

 

[Bill K]

How do you find that battery mounting position to be holding up? Any challenges to the plastic bracket/tabs for the battery?

The battery bracket has a metal strip that distributes the load.
I have been using it for about 7 months (~4000 miles) and no issues so far (although the motor is starting to make noises, probably from the reduction gear clutch (freewheel?).
I imagine a cheap plastic bracket would have cracked or broken by now.
Here is a better picture. The outer two bolts attached the bracket to the S40 rack mounts and the inner two bolts hold the controller box.
That makes it easy and fast to remove the whole thing from the bike by removing just the two outer bolts.
The big chunk of wiring could be cut off (and the endpoints re-soldered to the connector) to make it look nicer. The kit was designed for DF bikes where the cables have to be much longer.

One other thing to note is that I had to file the dropouts a bit to fit the 10mm axle on this particular motor. This motor uses an anti-rotation washer (instead of a torque arm). That puts a lot of stress on the dropouts so it is important that the motor+controller be fairly low power.

 

[Rampa]

I would highly recommend some torque arms if you can fit them to the frame. Grin tech makes versions that bolt to rack eyelets.
https://www.ebikes.ca/product-info/torque-arms.html

 

[Crog Welly]

S40 frame ordered from Cruzbike. Electric conversion kit ordered from GoCarLite.Com.

Thanks to all for your comments and advice.

Bill K especially grateful for your contribution including pictures of your commuting rig.

 

[billyk]

S40 frame ordered from Cruzbike. Electric conversion kit ordered from GoCarLite.Com.

Thanks to all for your comments and advice.

Hmmm. I guess I'm too late. I'm surprised that no one even brought up the large difference in riding position, especially the more laid back seat angle of the S40. These are quite different bikes to ride, and in choosing one I would think that consideration would be front and center. Certainly it would be for any other kind of bike.

I'm a longtime commuter (Q2, upgraded to Q100, now Q45). I considered and test rode - in fact lusted after - the S40. But I spend large amounts of time in traffic mixing it up with cars. In the end I decided that the more upright seat, higher eye level, freer head motion, and thus better overall situational awareness on the Q45 was essential.

One man's opinion.

 

[benphyr]

I'm a longtime commuter . I considered and test rode the S40. In the end I decided that the more upright seat, higher eye level, freer head motion, and thus better overall situational awareness on the Q45 was essential.

What is the seat angle/ position on your Q45 to achieve your commuting preferences?

 

[billyk]

What is the seat angle/ position on your Q45 to achieve your commuting preferences?

About 45 degrees. Pretty much as upright as it goes. I recently got a Thor seat so the angle/position isn't precise, nor directly comparable. (By the way, when I get a few more miles on it I will report my experience ... short answer, it's excellent and worth the $200).

One factor was my need for a headrest on the S40, otherwise I got a sore neck, and that left me feeling less able to glance quickly to the side. But really everything about the seat angle of the S40 seemed more suited to going fast for long periods than to the stop-and-go city traffic that is my daily bread.

I want nimble. I want (need!) maximal situational awareness. I want to be able to quickly turn my upper body - possibly putting feet down - to see what that idiot back there on my left is doing while he's texting. (Of course I have good mirrors, but often enough those don't do the job). All this means that the upright position and wide open cockpit of the Qs is key.

I don't say this is for everyone. The only reason I commented is because we were discussing the various cruzbike options, and it surprised me that the riding position never came into it. I thought @Crog Welly should've been informed about this big difference, since their proposed use of the bike is for commuting, right?

 

[bladderhead]

Silvio is a nimble bike when I ride it in the traffic and the pedestrian places of inner and outer London. I am never worried about seeing stuff.

 

[Crog Welly]

I'm a longtime commuter (Q2, upgraded to Q100, now Q45). I considered and test rode - in fact lusted after - the S40. But I spend large amounts of time in traffic mixing it up with cars. In the end I decided that the more upright seat, higher eye level, freer head motion, and thus better overall situational awareness on the Q45 was essential.

One man's opinion.

Billyk I was concerned about all the points you have raised. I test rode an S40 last Wed ( thank you 3Whelz and Tired Pedaler). In fact, Tired Pedaler's advice is to stick with the Q platform. TP has over 20k miles on his Sofrider and has a Silvio 2.0 for weekend recreational rides. 3Whelz loves his S40. As it is I commute on my QX100 right now at about 40 degrees seat angle. So I was comfortable on the S40 in traffic. I felt able to turn my head well enough to cover the mirror blind spots. I also hear you when you talk about the open cockpit. I am planning on having as open a set up as I can on the S40. The Cruzbike team have been helpful with planning towards that riding position. Great company Cruzbike.

My experience riding "Jump" rental eBikes in Washington DC is that an electric assist helps in traffic. When on the Cruzbike, or any bike actually, I tend to take a whole lane.

My main residual question with the S40 was would I miss the rear suspension of the QX100. I don't think I will know until I have ridden the S40 for a few weeks. But I will be putting 40mm tires on 650b rims and running at 70-80 psi. Oh I should probably lose a few pounds too, that would help.

 

[rx7mark]

Hmmm. I guess I'm too late. I'm surprised that no one even brought up the large difference in riding position, especially the more laid back seat angle of the S40. These are quite different bikes to ride, and in choosing one I would think that consideration would be front and center. Certainly it would be for any other kind of bike.

I'm a longtime commuter (Q2, upgraded to Q100, now Q45). I considered and test rode - in fact lusted after - the S40. But I spend large amounts of time in traffic mixing it up with cars. In the end I decided that the more upright seat, higher eye level, freer head motion, and thus better overall situational awareness on the Q45 was essential.

One man's opinion.

The seat angle is very much a personal preference. And will change with an aftermarket seat like a Thor, because the seat in the shoulders area sweeps up, resulting in a more heads up position. On my T50 that I commute with occasionally I prefer a 35 degree angle for the middle region of the seat with the Thor GS easy seat. Hard to define a seat angle with a seat that has so much contour. My head is more upright, sort of like the baseline seat at 45 deg.

I really love my Thor seat, you might keep that option in mind if you feel the S40 is too laid back, it will bring your head more upright, along with the increase in comfort.

Mark

 

[bladderhead]

would I miss the rear suspension

You will certainly notice the lack of springs. My Silvio certainly feels more bumpy than my Grasshopper. But then I put Tannus on the Grasshopper, and I was surprised at how much more I felt the road. Tannus transmits the shocks through the shocks, which was a shock. But I think this indicates that if you install smaller wheels and bigger tyres you will get a softer ride. You might even get less rolling resistance.

 

[Crog Welly]

The seat angle is very much a personal preference. And will change with an aftermarket seat like a Thor, because the seat in the shoulders area sweeps up, resulting in a more heads up position. On my T50 that I commute with occasionally I prefer a 35 degree angle for the middle region of the seat with the Thor GS easy seat. Hard to define a seat angle with a seat that has so much contour. My head is more upright, sort of like the baseline seat at 45 deg.

I really love my Thor seat, you might keep that option in mind if you feel the S40 is too laid back, it will bring your head more upright, along with the increase in comfort.

Mark

Good to know Mark. I have owned bents with carbon seats in the past. Metaphysic for example. Thanks for the heads up!!!

 

[Crog Welly]

You will certainly notice the lack of springs. My Silvio certainly feels more bumpy than my Grasshopper. But then I put Tannus on the Grasshopper, and I was surprised at how much more I felt the road. Tannus transmits the shocks through the shocks, which was a shock. But I think this indicates that if you install smaller wheels and bigger tyres you will get a softer ride. You might even get less rolling resistance.

bladderhead I am looking forward to playing around with tire types. Maybe even wheelsizes.

 

[Rod Butler]

I hope GWS win, as it is a NON Victorian team !!!

Our Bush Telegraph has been replaced by Fibre optics with repeater stations every 25 km, and the newer cables every 50 km!
NSW and Queensland are still using Smoke signals, that have got away from them, and created a LOT of small bush fires!!!!

You have already ready future proofed yourself, with a couple of trikes to fall back to, when your sense of balance decreases any more!!!
Will the trikes receive the Electric motors???
I recommend Bafang BBS-001 36V 350 w Mid drive motors, so you can still climb out of the valley (Hole!!) you live in!

If you're an Australian and not living in Sydney, you're camping out. PJK

 

[super slim]

If you're an Australian and not living in Sydney, you're camping out. PJK

Camping in Luxury, with NO fires around us threatening to buy our house of sticks down!!!!