You can also install the brake levers if you’d like, but remember all they do is cut the power to the motor, since we don’t have actual hand brakes on this bike. You might not have to wait for one any longer. Here we’ll look at the absolute, rock bottom, dirt cheapest way to build your own electric fat tire bicycle. Lastly, mount the battery onto the bike, either in a bag, on the rear rack, or in a custom mounting box that you can build yourself. Now you can flip the ON switch for the battery and give the throttle a slight twist while lifting the front wheel up in the air, where it should spin gloriously. Next, feed the wires from the motor and brake levers through the large grommeted hole in the bag, through the battery compartment and into the driver pocket. This kit should get you up to ~27 mph (43 km/h). Ok, now that we’ve got that out of the way, let’s see the parts. The driver overheats and shuts off the whole system. Just a thought. New other (see details) Price. 2 years ago If you make a similar conversion, make sure you take a look at state and local laws before you take your new vehicle out on the road! I’d recommend either a 750 W Bafang BBS02 ($749) or a 1,000 W Bafang BBSHD ($679). Offered in both a 8 Kw and 12 Kw motor output, the FreeRider Electric Dirt Bike by Kuberg is the perfect eco-friendly bike for any adrenaline junky. New grips go on last. #4 Cake Electric Dirt Bike The Kalk electric dirt bikes from Cake are designed for optimal off-road performance. Then connect the battery’s positive and negative wires to the controller’s positive and negative wires. This instructable will cover the basics of installing, using, and customizing the kit, as well as my review of the overall experience. Now you’re ready to ride! The last component we’ll need is a battery. The whole kit-and-caboodle goes into the bag! Even though the capacity is a little lower on this battery than our previous budget battery, the cells are higher quality Panasonic cells and should last longer while providing more power. It would make the wiring more complicated, and changing out the batteries a pain, but it might work to distribute the weight. For real power and fun, you’ll want to look for a 48V option, such as Cyrusher’s 48V 500W 26″ fat tire e-bike ($1,639) or just throw caution to the wind with their upgraded 48V 1,000W ($2,139) version instead. By going the do-it-yourself route, you can also choose the exact components that are right for you. For our nicest fat tire electric bike option, we’ll upgrade to a nice GMC 26″ fat tire electric bicycle ($401.84). Nicely Done, Reply At the other end, remove the nuts holding your back wheel in place so the bracket can slide into place along the axle, then tighten everything back up. Even though I’m a big fan of the DIY method, there are still a lot of great retail fat tire electric bicycles out there. As long as you can handle the rain, this place is a fantastic area for bicyclists! The most common question I hear about DIY electric bicycles is “What’s the cheapest I can spend on an e-bike conversion for?”. Condition. If you want to ratchet up the fun even more though, you’ll definitely want to try a fat tire electric bicycle. Feed the main power connector from the driver pocket through to the battery pocket. Reply I've currently got the bike disassembled in my shop, with the plan of distributing the batteries around the frame. On my maybe someday list are adding a bike light, brake light, and turn signals, replacing the on switch with a key start, and adding an airflow vent on the case to keep the power supply cool. Switching out the ends of the brake cables from your old levers to the new ones is pretty easy, just loosen the appropriate screws, remove the cable, and reinstall. see all. There are also some restrictions on where you can ride it. Type. Jobar, I just did some reading on Oregon moped law, and realized I really should have been looking into the law the whole time. If you do an electric bike conversion using these instructions, post some pictures below and I'll send you a digital patch and a three month pro membership! Install on the end brackets, with the threaded ends of the brackets inside the toolbox--no need to worry about them hitting the tire that way. Let’s look at that option next. Lastly plug in all of your connections and you’re ready to ride! However, once it's had a chance to cool down, it will run again. If you're using this to commute, that's waaaay less than driving or even busing will cost you! This will give us both a lower center of gravity and the ability to use all of our gears with electric power, which is great for hill climbing or riding slower through sand and snow. The cheapest option is a sealed lead-acid battery, or SLA. I think if you have a front and a rear motor you're supposed to put one driver in each side pocket, but since I've only got the front, I put the charger in the other one. Essentially, you need to remove the pedals, pedal cranks and bottom bracket assembly from the bottom of the bike and replace it with the motor and the pedal cranks that come with the motor. All told, the modification ran about $30. Or at least saddle bag the batteries so that they're lowering the center of gravity. Of course, this is just the start. Originally I wanted to go with the back wheel version with the pedal assist system, but I'm thinking that for future hacking and modifying of the basic kit, the front wheel version will be easier to migrate to a different platform. on Step 11. On my travels I've encountered a lot of different types of bikes, but I've always been intrigued by the occasional electric bike I've seen. Share it with us! The result is far better that the original. Let us know what you thought in the comments below! Feed the main power connector from the driver pocket through to the battery pocket. Electric Motion Escape. I had trouble adjusting them though, and messed around with the brakes for hours and hours. Also, note that this is a lot of power to put in that front bicycle fork. The new brake levers both actuate your brakes and cut power to the motor. Yes, absolutely don't take it apart on my account. Update 2: We did it – here’s our $700 DIY Fat Tire Ebike. You’ll probably want to zip tie the wires down to the frame, or you can even get fancy and add spiral wire wrap for a more professional appearance. It has no fancy features like gears, suspension or even handbrakes. Subscribe to Electrek on YouTube for exclusive videos and subscribe to the podcast. Recently I've had some problems with my back and foot, and that's left me stuck to car commuting to and from work. Trace an outline of the end bracket on the bottom of the toolbox, and drill eight holes to line up the brackets. Attach the included connector to the positive lead of the first battery and the negative of the last (see pictures). on Introduction, can you say which motor you have been used for E-bik. one thing I'd thought of doing was distributing the batteries around the frame, maybe a couple in the triangle and one each on the back and front. As I mentioned, I got the conversion kit from thediyoutlet.com. Looks like lots of fun. Front motors are often a bit cheaper, so we’ll go with one of those on this budget build. Using heavy gauge wire (I used the wire from an old computer power cable), wire the batteries in series--positive from one battery to negative of the next. see all. ideas about what to do with this thing next! For that reason, I recommend this option for use only off-road or maybe in bike lanes. The conversion process is essentially the same as in the previous budget bike above. on Step 11. Doing so might mean that the connectors won’t match exactly, which would require some custom wiring on your part to make the connectors fit each other. Reply Since the fork is steel and not aluminum or magnesium, it will probably be alright, but just to be safe, it’s not a bad idea to add a torque arm to help secure the motor from spinning in the fork. on Step 11, Another great how to. It can move at a top speed of 50mph and on full charge, can go for a maximum of 50 miles. Gas is crazy expensive, and I've considered more than once looking into an electric bike as an alternative to my current situation, but it's all seemed a bit out of my price range. If you still have this try adding some Dense foam to pad the batteries in the event you get hit or crash. This was my thought too. Handcycle has one front wheel and two back (daughter had feet reconstructed and used it for awhile. Read on to see how to build your own DIY fast electric bicycle. From beaches to muddy trails and even snow, fat tire electric bicycles can conquer nearly any type of riding. I just don't want to see a fellow Oregonian get a fine is all. This is the biggest expenditure aside from the kit itself, and probably the biggest ongoing expense in owning an electric bike. For over 5 years we have focused on electromobility, especially in relation to e-powered motorcycles, and have developed our own power units, chassis and enduro bike design. This bike gets power from a 50-Ah battery with 1.8 volts and a 15 kW mid-motor. $469.95 $ 469. Down the road, I've got bigger and better (and more LED filled!) The total cost of this build is $940.98, and results in a fat tire e-bike that I would be more confident riding due to the addition of handbrakes and a higher quality battery. Now I want to show you how you can do that for dirt … If it isn’t spinning, just check your wires and make sure everything is connected to the matching connector. $369.00. The total cost for this conversion comes in at between $1,647.54 and $1,717.54, depending on which mid-drive motor you choose. Most sources I read say this sort of battery will be good for about two years before you need to replace it, so with a price tag of about $160 for all four, you're looking at a yearly operating cost of around $80, plus electricity, repairs, and maintenance. Electric dirt or pit bikes for adults are great fun both on road, and off road. You might want to toss a cheap gel seat cover over it. A couple are similar enough that mistakes could be made. £260.00 to £550.00. new one with a regenerative braking function. "Great!" Razor MX650 Dirt Rocket Electric Motocross Dirt Bike 17 MPH EASY OPEN PACKAGING. These batteries are bulky and difficult to move around, so I built a little box to keep them all together. The police do watch home made e-bikes as the legal limit is 32 km/h. I am maybe thinking about separating the components and mounting in the "triangle"? The folding option is nice for those that don’t live right next to their desired fat tire bike playground and need to put the bike in their car, but the smaller wheels can make the ride a bit harsher. If you’re tired waiting around for the perfect bike to show up in the market, we have good news for you. Is that the "Feature Comment" box at the bottom right of a comment? The Electric Freeride dirt bikes are not as massive a leap into the unknown as you might imagine. 2 person DIY Electric Bicycle for dirt cheap. The information can be daunting and lead you in many directions, only to cause confusion with so many choices. It rains way so much here I have to do something, just not sure what. Nothing fancy, just a bike with giant tires. a speedometer might be a nice addition to this. Having won multiple toy awards, the bike is simple to construct and operate, and offers the thrill of the ride to a younger audience. I always shudder a little bit when I hear this, because “cheapest” and “good” rarely go together. But due to the lack of hand brakes, I wouldn’t ride this on the road with cars. In Ontario, a moped is a gas powered bike. The total cost of this barebones build is $726.89, which is ridiculously little for a 27 mph fat tire e-bike. Most of the connectors are different so there's little chance of miswiring something, but pay attention to what you're doing when you hook everything back up. The immediate differences are, the rear brake is operated by a lever on the left bar, giving a mountain bike kind of feel, the lack of engine noise, and having to recalibrate the engine braking/gearing sensations. see all. You don’t have to be a mechanic, but as long as you’re comfortable turning a wrench and have the necessary skills to swap a flat tire on a bicycle, then you’re probably ready to build your own e-bike. FREE Shipping. Ehat if you place 12v 50amps lkthium battery ? The bulk of the weight involved in this conversion comes from the batteries, and these, along with the motor driver, will be installed on a cargo bracket above the rear wheel of your bike, in a fabric carrying bag--I have some problems with the bag, more about that in step 9. Question It makes removing them from the bag a snap, and I don't have to worry about accidentally pulling a wire loose. I also had some locking collars to use as spacers, but you can really use anything, from a piece of wood to stacks of washers. Segway, the electric vehicle company best known for, well, the Segway, has created an electric dirt bike for off-road junkies with a soft spot for planet Earth. This option is mostly for fun on open ground. The speed and power of this kit will definitely be fun on a fat tire bike, but both are usually not street-legal in most states, so remember that this is an off-road e-bike. XtremepowerUS 36V Dirt Bike Kids Ride-On Electric Motorcycle Toy Speed up to 17 MPH Shock. The kit came mostly wired up, but you'll have to detach everything to get it into the bag. We have some room to upgrade here as well, which is good, because the battery is probably the single most important part of an electric bicycle. It's worth noting at this point that when I had the brakes fixed, the guys at the bike shop mentioned that they'd seen a similar front wheel motor, that a customer had been using for his day-to-day transport for about a year. Thank you! Let’s go with a similar style 1 kW fat tire e-bike conversion kit, but with a rear wheel motor ($208.99 + $23 shipping in US). This e-bike is about the most I’d pay to get good quality results on a budget. . Railroad Rail Lantern / Sign Stand Split With Axe. I picked up a medium sized toolbox, and four threaded brackets with hardware. These bikes will be something of a “good, better, best” situation, starting with the cheapest option and then adding higher quality, better features and additional cost. It will work fine for our purposes, though people usually complain about the uncomfortable seat. For this e-bike, I want to go with a very high quality electric bicycle battery, so I’ll choose a 50V 17.1Ah triangle battery from EM3EV ($566.70 with shipping to US). 59. Turns out it's a much more complex grey area than I knew! If you want to step it up a notch though, we can do a bit better with a slight bump up in quality of the components. I converted an old broken bicycle into a kick-ass electric bike for 2 people. As fortune would have it, I was contacted a few weeks ago by thediyoutlet.com, interested in having me review one of the many tools and gadgets they carry. I ended up going to the local St. Vincent de Paul's and picking up a halfway decent and mostly rust-free used bicycle for about $20. Under £260.00. What does "flag your comment to the top" mean? After consulting with some plans … I'd forgotten that my bike has a goofy 700mm European size wheel. I'd really be interested in its weight. 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