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Drunkskunk, DIY Full Suspension Electric Fat Bike
Drunkskunk6

Gavin (from Dallas, Texas) is a full sized E-biker (His endless-sphere username is “Drunkskunk“), and he felt somewhat cramped on most of the available frames. Plus he wanted a fat bike, which are not yet available in full suspension.  So…since he owns

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BH E-Motion Adds Mid Drive to its Line-up
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BH is a European bike company that was founded in 1909, and this last year we have been stumbling across various E-bikes that they have started to carry as part of their “Easy Motion” (or E-Motion) line.

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The 10 Most Expensive Electric Bikes
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Having big money is a nice thing, especially if your an electric bike fanatic. There is nothing cheap that matches the fine finish and performance of these 10 electric bikes. Unfortunately the demand for these ultra expensive beasts is not that great, because most of the electric bikes on this list

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Top 10 Famous Utilitarian Ebikes
behemoth

Last weeks top 10 list featured the Most Elegant Garage Builds Ever. Most home built electric bikes weren’t built to look pretty. This list celebrates the ebikes that let it all hang out. Function over form, the cheaper to build the better,

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Top 10 Elegant Garage Built Ebikes
emoulton

Sometimes it stupefies me on how bad production electric bikes can look (not the ones we usually review here). Did they get their inspiration straight out of China? In fact, some of the most elegant ebikes I have seen are garage builds. How can ebikes this pretty come out of a garage on a low budget?

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GNG Gen2 Mid-drive Kit Review
Gen2one

May 1, 2013, written by Ron/Spinningmagnets I haven’t written about the GNG Gen2 drive yet (It’s been out for about a year), because I was waiting to hear about which parts needed upgrading, what the actual performance was, and also

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Top 10 Fast Electric Bikes

dynotesting

Contrary to popular opinion, the fastest electric bikes in the world right now were built in garages, not in factory workshops. Maybe its because companies are not interested in making illegally fast electric bikes because of liability, maybe there isn’t enough profit

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DIY non-hub builds, the why and how (part 1)

liveforphysics

Common hub motor kits have a simple construction which keeps the price low (especially with Chinese mass-production). The low price and easy installation makes them the big seller by a wide margin.

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2012 Electric Bike Buyers Guide; Critical Questions

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If you are thinking about buying an electric bike, here is a list of critical questions you should ask yourself, and a few directions you can go in for your research. To buy an electric bike is a complicated equation

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Top 10 Pieces of E-Bike Porn

hanebrink

This is the list of the sexiest pieces of E-bike technology ever made. No, the golf caddy on the  Hanebrink (pictured above) didn’t make the list, but she is an honorable mention only because the featured picture shows how low

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Stromer ST1

































Audi Electric Bike









m55

m55 Terminus the $35,000 Austrian Bike

etek tribute

Original Pi CycleOriginal Pi Cycle
This etek did 80mph on the salt flats. Original GangsterOriginal Gangster
The quintessential electric bike hotrod...cheap frame to start with...blazingly powerful Etek bolted on any way possible with lead acid battties.
Beautiful custom framed etek bike...a shame it has heavy lead acid batteries instead of lithium.
A beautifully clean Etek creation
The creations creator...complete with the "Etek Grin" Liveforphysics 2011Liveforphysics 2011
A more modern incarnation, liveforphysics uses a lithium powered agni motor (a newer version of the Lynch motor) to dominate a ebike hill climbing race in San Francisco. HIll Climb Race 2002HIll Climb Race 2002
Back in the day, 2 etek powered monsters are lined up at starting line for race up steep hill. They would hit speeds of 50mph...up a steep grade. Monster TrikeMonster Trike
This trike i an example of a modern day creation, etek propelled and lithium powered. A lethal combination. Thunderstruck JackalThunderstruck Jackal
The Jackal was is a Etek powered scooter capable of speeds of over 50mph produced by thunderstruck motors and co-designed by author. Etek BMXEtek BMX
Etek garage build bikes are usually not safe and sane. Thunderstruck JackalThunderstruck Jackal
 Etek detailEtek detail
A close up of an example of how an etek can mount to the driveline of a common day bicycle, thus converting it to death machine. Etek StyleEtek Style
Gotta love the style of this builder...cheap chinese scooter turned into death machine Etek Pocket BikeEtek Pocket Bike
The author of this article did 70mph on this etek powered pocket bike at a drag track in Woodburn Oregon at an EV drag race. 3 Lynch Motors3 Lynch Motors
3 incarnations of the lynch design motor, the etek on the far left and the agni on far right.
Lead acid powered etec motorcross bike...not exactly a bicycle...but an etek. EtekEtek
Gotta love this guy. A $100 chinese rad-to-go scooter converted to 50mph etek death machine EtekEtek
close up of the rad-to-go etek driveline

Dogati

Solidworks EbikeSolidworks Ebike
Before this bike was constructed it was thoroughly planned and drafted in the 3d modeling software Solid Works.
Testing bikeTesting bike
Initially this build started as a conversion, before Dogati decided to build his frame from scratch. Here you see many of the components that will go in the finished bike. Astro Flight 3210 motorAstro Flight 3210 motor
Astro Flight 3210 RC brushless motor. RC motors put out a lot of power for their weight but spin way too fast so need some kind of gear reduction before they can be used on an ebike. Astro Flight Motor with Gear Reduction and double freewheelAstro Flight Motor with Gear Reduction and double freewheel
On top of the motor a planetary gear reduction system is installed giving the motor a 12:1 reduction...the motor can now use the same drive train (and gears) as the pedaling rider does. motor assemblymotor assembly
motor, gearbox, double free wheel and mounting plate
Motor installed in main frame.
Another shot of the motor mounted inside the frame JIgJIg
To weld together the complicated custom frame a jig was custom built. The frame has two halves that come together. A lot of custom tooling was fabricated to build this one bike. Frame in JibFrame in Jib
the frame inside jig being welded together Strong FrameStrong Frame
The resulting chrome-moly frame is undoubtedly one of the most solid best looking frames ever made for an ebike. swingarm jigswingarm jig
The swingarm needs its own jig....here it is in the planning phase. swing armswing arm
And the custom swing arm in its own jig Frame with handlebarsFrame with handlebars
 skeleton frameskeleton frame
the frame starts to take shape... Battery PackBattery Pack
The battery pack consists of rc lipo soft souch cells mounted in a custom honey comb structure, and a custom metal case further protects the cells and makes the pack fire safe.
Also built into the pack...custom BMS (battery management system), cell logs for voltage displays, on and off switches, and cool looking LED panels to give it finished customized look.
Battery and controller assembly are added to the frame Motor ControllerMotor Controller
All modern electric bikes need some kind of controller ot interface between the battery and the motor. The Dogati's controller is mounted.
The bike is really starting to take shape. The custom made front forks you see here will eventually be replaced with lighter and more functional triple crown suspension forks.
Assembled with components...really looking like a bad ass electric bike A Monster is BornA Monster is Born
The Dogati is finished and is monstrous. DaylightDaylight
The complete bike on one of its maiden voyages through the streets of Taiwan.



50mph Electric Trike

Matt Shumaker builds a 50mph electric trike using a giant Astro Flight 3220 RC Motor and lipo battery packs from hobby king

3/20/20103/20/2010
Here is my latest build. It started life as a KMX Typhoon. Here you can see the stock trike.
First I stripped the frame.
Next the frame was bead blasted.
I decided to widen, lengthen and lower the frame. I settled on 5 inches wider, 3 inches longer, and 3/4 inch lower.In this picture, you can see the frame cut apart with inserts fabricated...
..and then the frame welded together
Next I took the stock seat frame and welded it to the mainframe in a Space-Frame arrangement for added strength (after being stretched and lowered) and for added torsional rigidity. I like the trellis look.
For quite some time I have wanted a yellow and black bike or trike. To that end, I had the frame powder-coated "Safety" yellow, then clear coated.
For a high powered trike, the stock one inch wide rims weren't enough. So, I had custom rims made for me oversees. These are 1.75 inch wide (front) and 2 inch wide (rear) rims. They were also powder-coated yellow and clear coated.
You can also see the front rotors. These are 203mm units (up from the stock 160mm). I also installed Hope 4 piston calipers.
The drive unit for this trike consists of two Astro Flight 3220 motors that were custom made for this application. They use larger than stock (1/2 inch as opposed to the stock 3/8 inch) shafts with outboard bearing supports. They are wound for 14,000rpm at 48 volts. These motors were dyno tested for me at 14hp each. That is 28hp total! The torque is nearly 100ft pounds at the rear wheel. I expect 0 to 60 in 3.5 seconds (it has the power to weight ratio of a shifter kart). The reduction unit I machined in my shop.
I machined a torque arm and chain tensioner to help keep things in line.
Here the drive unit and torque arm assemblies are installed. This part was time consuming but very rewarding! There is such tight confines in this frame. However, I finally got all equipment mounted and lined up. Now, I need to take it all apart for final anodizing of the remaining bar aluminum parts!
Here is the right side of the installed drive system. The bare aluminum cover will be anodized black, then engraved in the CNC.
One more shot of the drive unit from above, rear.
Here is one more shot from the right side showing the chain routing over the tensioner.
Here is a shot of the steering dampener. This is a basic aftermarket allow, adjustable dampener. I learned a while back that high speed on a trike requires dampening!
I decided to run two separate master-cylinders (one for each front brake) that are activated individually by two fingers on one hand. The left front brake is operated by my left middle finger while the right front brake is operated by my left index finger. This gives differential braking for cornering and smokey donuts!
The throttle is a Magura twist grip modified to be a thumb throttle. It looks really nice next to the stock KMX grip shifter.
One more shot of the drive unit from above, rear.
You can see the custom tillers. These are upgraded tillers we CNC machine for the Catrike line. However, I decided to run them on this trike. They are nice because of the adjustability. Plus, they work much better in the "Motorcycle" layout rather than the stock vertical tiller arrangement. In the initial portion of the build I neglected to give many details of the creation of this trike. But, I must say, these tillers to not just bolt onto a KMX trike.
I run Lithium Polymer batteries on my bikes. For this build I decided to make some CNC machined battery boxes. So, to that end, we machined a bunch of twin pack boxes. Here is the first box. They will all be anodized black eventually.
Here you can see a machined aluminum battery box mount plate. This was made to give a hard-point for the heavy battery boxes to mount to.
Here are the finished black anodized battery boxes mounted to the frame. The covers will also be black with CNC engraving on the top.
The trike has been turning out so well, I decided the stock seat cover just did not look very good. So, I went to an embroidery shop and had some cool stripes embroidered in yellow to match the frame. This small detail really ties the seat cover into the look of the rest of the trike

Lukes 7 day Race Build

Yamaha Divide

Stealth Bomber

Cycle AnalaystCycle Analayst
The bomber has the popular cycle analyst batter monitoring system built into the frame...a very nice touch. Trio of BombersTrio of Bombers
3 factory riders riding the Bomber hard as it was meant to be ridden.
The Bomber weighs in at a hefty 120 pounds....it takes a lot of practice before you can get goofy on it safely. Also remember the stealth because of the rear motor weight, is not well balanced. Suntour VboxxSuntour Vboxx
This gearbox system was decidedly too complicated and heavy for the pedal bicycle crowd...but Stealth obviously saw it as a perfect ebike solution and designed their frame around it. Remember the Bomber doesn't even have a built in motor, but it does have a built in pedal gear box! off road funoff road fun
Offroad in its element the Bomber beneath a skilled rider can be a blast to ride.
stealth bomber seems to appeal to a younger demographic....too bad for the 10k price tag. Stealth FactoryStealth Factory
The Stealth factory in Australia is cranking out electric bicycles. Apparently the demand is so great for the stealth bomber, that at times there is a waiting list. Bomber WheelieBomber Wheelie
The Stealth even at 120lbs has wheeling power thanks to its powerful crystalyte 5304 motor. Bomber uspensionBomber uspension
A close up of the rear suspension of the bomber. cleanclean
clean and not jankie Battery BoxBattery Box
Here is an inside look of a Bomber with the battery box open. What feels that space? 72 volts 20ah of lifepo4 headway cells :)
The Bomber has a 24 pound hub motor built into the rear wheel. This is a very robust and powerful motor, the crystalyte 5304.
Built in cycle analayst and key start switch are a few of the finishing touches in the Stealth line of bikes. Suntour Vboxx Pedal transmissionSuntour Vboxx Pedal transmission
To eliminate the need of annoying derailleurs the Bomber incorporates a Suntour 9 speed vboxx sequential shifting system.

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