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Cannondale E-bike Conversion

Discussion in 'Quitters' Club' started by hudsonhawk, Feb 21, 2021.

  1. Feb 26, 2021
    hudsonhawk

    hudsonhawk Well-Known Member

    North Texas...
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    For the kit itself. If you have a fairly modern bike this is literally a bolt on. No fabrication or other tweaking involved. All the connections are color coded and pinned so you have to work at connecting it wrong. While it does not come with printed instructions, they have videos posted of the whole process. It took longer to remove the old parts than to install the new ones.
     
  2. Feb 26, 2021
    Buildflycrash

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    Does this have a "pedal assist" mode or is it all on the throttle?
     
  3. Feb 26, 2021
    hudsonhawk

    hudsonhawk Well-Known Member

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    It has pedal assist as well.
     
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  4. Feb 27, 2021
    Twin2

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    will it work with a single speed beach cruiser with pedal brake
     
  5. Feb 27, 2021
    hudsonhawk

    hudsonhawk Well-Known Member

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    It should. The motor does not care what the rear cassette is. The big question is will the motor mount in the bottom bracket.

    One issue I cam across in mine was the chain length. I need a longer chain because the sprocket on the motor is much larger than the original one. It may be an issue with this conversion.
     
    Last edited: Feb 27, 2021
  6. Feb 27, 2021
    47v6

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    This is amazing. I see people riding E Bikes around here quite often now. They are a relatively new thing in this configuration though. In the recent past there was some local trendy people with their cargo bikes needing bit of power assist in the front or real wheel hub when pedaling their kids to school.

    Now I see people going over 20 MPH with fat tires bikes. The first time I saw, I didn't understand what was happening.

    With traffic so bad here and the mandate to have bike lanes everywhere, I see this as an answer to getting to the store and back.

    So, what was the total cost and hours involved for the conversion? I can see myself making an urban dirt bike thing..
     
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  7. Feb 27, 2021
    Dave Deyton

    Dave Deyton Member

    Fuquay-Varina, NC
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    Cool project. What is your range on the battery? If the battery goes totally dead, can you pedal it home?
    I like the engineering on this.

    Dave
     
  8. Feb 27, 2021
    hudsonhawk

    hudsonhawk Well-Known Member

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    Right now they have a sale going on so the price may go up.

    Maybe 3.5 to 4 hours total to do the conversion. That includes the tear down. The 750w kit I ordered was just shy of $1300. That included the biggest battery they had (52 volts at 17.2Ah), the 52V 3 amp quick charger, the larger display, and the special tool to tighten the nut and locking nut on the drive motor.

    The kits start under $1000 with the smallest 48 volt battery.

    Yes, you can still pedal the bike if the battery goes completely dead. You just will not have any assist.

    As for Range I do not know yet. Reviews I have read, for this battery pack, say up to 35 miles on throttle alone and up to 60 miles with pedal assist depending on the boost setting. I don't have any real world numbers to give right now. Obviously the less power you use the farther you can go.
     
    Last edited: Feb 27, 2021
  9. Feb 27, 2021
    hudsonhawk

    hudsonhawk Well-Known Member

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    *Realized this is wrong see post below* I just read this again and realized I did not completely understand your question. Yes it should still work, but there would not be any mechanism to turn the motor off when the brake is activated. So if you held down the throttle and hit the brake, the motor would not shut off. If you rode solely with pedal assist, that would not be an issue since the motor would shut off as soon as you stop pedaling to apply the brake.
     
    Last edited: Feb 27, 2021
  10. Feb 27, 2021
    hudsonhawk

    hudsonhawk Well-Known Member

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    The more I think about this, it won't work with the pedal brake. The crank assembly free wheels in the motor when you pedal in reverse. You cannot apply backward force to apply the break.
     
  11. Feb 27, 2021
    Jw60

    Jw60 Sitting up n buckled down. 2024 Sponsor 2023 Sponsor 2022 Sponsor

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    I think my wife has ridden her beach cruiser twice. Too heavy for her. I've ridden it with two boys in the bike trailer and was ok for a mile or so. Hopefully the costs will come down and with work only being a mile away it would be nice... but I still have to haul the bike trailer for after work.
     
  12. Feb 28, 2021
    hudsonhawk

    hudsonhawk Well-Known Member

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    For the distance question, I should be good for 46 miles if I can keep the average power usage below 250 watts. Keeping the power assist level at 1, 2 or maybe 3 should achieve this under pedal power.

    Lithium Ion Battery at 52 Volts and 17.4 Amp hours is 904 Watt hours (95% discharge with LI). 250 watts average use gives a continuous run time of 3 and a half hours. That power while pedaling would be 13 MPH. So 904 watt hours/250 Watts = 3.6 hours. 3.6 hours at 13 MPH = 46.8 miles.

    Pure throttle at max power will only be about 22 miles. Reduce that power and it will go longer.
     
  13. Feb 28, 2021
    Dave Deyton

    Dave Deyton Member

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    Pretty cool technology. Sounds like you can go a long way. You could maybe carry a charged battery in your backpack, for emergencies. Seems like this will be really fun and get you to some pretty cool places. I still remember learning to ride with clipless pedals and falling down trying to remember to un-clip. Technology has really moved forward in a big way. Still have my old Murray Stiing-Ray bike with the banana seat I rode in elementary school waiting to be restored one day.

    Enjoying reading this post and learning more about E-bikes.





    Dave
     
  14. Feb 28, 2021
    Jw60

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    I was waiting on my wife at appointment in Kansas City 2 years ago, one of the magazine articles had a story of a guy going across one of the north east states on an electric skateboard. Had a bunch of batteries and fast chargers so he could charge everything at breakfast, brunch, lunch, 2nd lunch, dinner. Interesting to read at the time and shows how the implementation has developed.
     
  15. Feb 28, 2021
    jeep peep69

    jeep peep69 Member

    redding ca.
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    E bikes are not allowed on some of our trail systems that are on BLM and national park service property they are considered motorized. But our other trails they are allowed.we thought about getting one but got a specialized rock crusher 29” for me and 26” for the wife real nice bikes and we enjoy riding them.
     
  16. Feb 28, 2021
    Dave Deyton

    Dave Deyton Member

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    My son and I rode the Specialized Rock Hopper and Stump Jumper mountain bikes, I think. E I miss those days of riding the trails. I looked for ways around the hard stuff and my son looked for ways to jump them.

    E-bike sounds like fun.



    Dave
     
  17. Feb 28, 2021
    hudsonhawk

    hudsonhawk Well-Known Member

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    This is the one draw back. Trying to find out if the trails are open to ebikes or not. My ankle and knee won't let me ride the way I want to anymore and this will allow me to still get out an ride and put a lot less stress on my joints.
     
  18. Feb 28, 2021
    givemethewillys

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    Dave, do they prohibit ANY bike with electric, or is it just the ones with pure throttle function? A lot of places distinguish between electric assist, which would allow people with disabilities to get out into the trails, or "electric motorcycles". There's a lot of gray area in there.
     
  19. Mar 1, 2021
    Dave Deyton

    Dave Deyton Member

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    Haven't been on the trails for years, not sure about E-bikes. I will have to ask some friends who are still riding.
    I haven't heard anything about prohibiting E-bikes around here.


    Dave
     
  20. Mar 1, 2021
    hudsonhawk

    hudsonhawk Well-Known Member

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    @givemethewillys and @Dave Deyton

    At the National Park level it is up to the superintendent for each park to decide what trails will allow ebikes and not all trails in any given location may be open. State Parks in Texas are the same way.

    There is a national organization that is pushing for legislation in all states to adopt a uniform definition of an electric bike using a 3 class system. These rules were adopted by the National Park system. Eventually all federal lands have been directed to adopt these rules and many states have already done so. As long as the bike fits into one of the 3 classes it is an electric bike. If it does not then it is considered an electric moped or motorcycle.

    The state of Texas defines e-bikes as an electric assisted bicycle equipped with a motor of less than 750w. Electric bikes are classified as:
    • Class 1: e-Bikes equipped with a pedal-assist only motor which stops when the bike reaches 20 mph.
    • Class 2: Electric bikes equipped with a motor that may be used exclusively to propel the bicycle and stop when the bike reaches the speed of 20 mph.
    • Class 3: Electric bicycles equipped with a motor that provides assistance only when the rider is pedaling and stops when the rider stops pedaling or when the bicycle reaches the speed of 28 mph.
    So those bikes with 1000 watt motors can not technically be classified as electric bikes.
     
    Last edited: Mar 1, 2021
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