Alright, I needed a central place to put all of this down, especially since this will be my first time really building a bike from scratch.
The idea: A single bike that does everything I want from bikes, and is about as robust & reliable as I can afford/manage to make it. So it should be able to take a large rider (I happen to be over 6’) and handle both urban errands & exercise trips, alongside occasional bikepacking, while having reliable long-trip pedal assist capability.
I’m aware I could just have two or even three bikes, and make each even more suited to specifically what I do with them, but I really am set on the idea of keeping only a single bike for myself. One bike means less maintenance, less storage, less cognitive load. So one bike it is and shall be.
Note that I am not coming at this from a background of building bikes, I have a decent grasp of what I’m doing overall but my details may be just awful in places.
Determined specs:
Frame: Older MTB hardtail, 21" size & full-chromoly (it really does have to be full chromoly)
The above is all future build. I’ll come back to that. (Also I’m reconsidering some assumptions so I may rewrite it) For now, let’s focus on the current bike.
The bar-end mirrors must wait on my new grips, which coincidentally, have no throttle. That’s right, I’m anti-throttle! (not really, I just don’t want to be using it)
As a 20+ year bike commuter who’s primary focus is on functionality and reliability over other aspects, I completely understand your goals. Keep up working toward this, don’t let flats discourage you.
When I converted my commuter to electric back in ‘18 I ended up with nearly a flat a week. The added torque and weight on the back caused things that I would normally glide over to get embedded in the tire and work their way into it far more efficiently than with human power. I ended up getting a set of Schwalbe Marathon E-Plus tires with some protective layers in the carcass. Since then i’ve had a single flat from what looked like a centering-pin from a machine that managed to pierce the layers. Since ebikes with hub motors have torque arms and cables to deal with, not having to work on the side of the road is preferred.
If you had an questions or concerns about custom ebike kit things, I’ve built Bafang BBSHD systems, Toseven systems (DM01 and DM02), many of the Grin Technologies kits (I love regen), toss them my way.
I just got home from the second ride today (the first was picking up Kenda tire & tube for the front, to keep things matching. Probably unimportant but I prefer it).
I have to say that the ride difference in 2.125" width - which fits! fine even with my fenders to my great delight - vs stock 1.95" has surprised me.
I’m getting more comfortable with the idea of the Funhang EB-C1 as my bike for 12-18 months after I finish throwing the upgrades on it: the proper build is for sure going to be expensive.
My grip replacements are here and I’ve got brake cleaner to try to pull the old ones with. That’s gonna suck.
@psytrout -You say keep it going, mate, and you’re right. There was no chance of my abandoning this, though: it’s just not economical to have a car anymore. The flat was more a chance to relearn tires and tubes, and less a frustration over a few hours.
Just want to add that I miss bikes dearly and I’m looking forward to this journey. Maybe it’ll kick my ass into gear about tuning up my bike that’s the wrong size and actually riding again.
When I was doing bikes, I was into mountain and gravel. Is it possible to go tubeless? can be easier to patch a flat with that system and keep running at times from my experiance, but comes with it’s own quirks.
I really should… Maybe that’ll be a adventure for tomorrow!
I still have tubes in my gravel bike, but my old enduro went tubeless right after it arrived. Granted going up fire roads to ride the trails down is a different use case. Seating the tire is a major pain if de-seated.
My key test is this: you have a terrible flat in the dark on the side of a highway. Available decent lighting is your phone, available tools and spares are what you have packed with you.
In this test, I want it to be tubed 100% of the time.
Am I going to be grumbling and cursing the whole time? Sure. But I’ll get it done if I have the kit, if it’s tubed.
Big update today! Not only are the tires & tubes now non-stock both front & rear, I’ve now installed the new grips, mirrors, and my hacky solution for the current (temporary) rear light system. That last allowed me to move the tool pouch to where it actually belongs.
As you can see, the light is absolutely intended to mount to seatpost, but that’s not going to work, so here’s hoping that this version stays vertical (and if it doesn’t, I have a few ideas involving more zip ties).
Next on the list is spare (foldable) tires & spare TPU tubes to stuff in my tool bag JIC. Those are now ordered.
Unfortunately, my MIPS + visor helmet still hasn’t shipped.
The little bar-end horns are really lovely for sitting up and back on long flat straights.
The bar-end mirrors are out of the way and still quite useful.
Having the turn signal is so much less of a bother than hand signals.
Next steps are coming up as well.
New sets of tires and tubes (active and spare) have been ordered, so I’ll be changing the tires again. (I know, but I want to run the same as my spares)
Helmet should arrive soon (I had to cancel the MIPS one, it hadn’t shipped after days of waiting).
Clik valve conversion set including pump adapter will arrive soon.
I’ll be pulling the front basket off soon, maybe tomorrow.
I need to grab black and clear rattlecans, both for the turn signal mount and to replace the electrical tape on the frame.
After that, I’m not sure. I’m thinking of replacing the bodged double-panniers + insulated trunk. They don’t fit well together, and they don’t fit well with the tool saddle bag either. There are several things I know I need to do as well (chain guard, skirt guard, folding pedals, flatter front basket, suspension stem), plus I’m thinking about a more aggressive handlebar curve. We’ll see what order I settle on.
The only already-installed element so far that I’m not clear about is the suspension seatpost, I haven’t actually felt it working yet: could be too stiff, could need broken in. Or I could just need to buy one that isn’t low-tier Amazon chineesiium.
Finally did the spreadsheet on the Funhang version of the bike, which for the time being has to be the only version. Have to confess that I do not like the numbers, but even with SBI in case it gets stolen or I’m still way below anything else I could be doing for the mobility, and nothing else would give me the exercise.
Well. This has definitely been neglected for a minute! Now, I’m near to 200 miles on the bike, according to it’s display, at this point.
Replaced, fixed, upgraded & otherwise work done:
Painted the janky DIY brake light mount
Grips (I was happy with these but)
The throttle has come back. Yeah, sad, but traffic realities: on occasion I’m (somehow) first at the red lights.
Bar End Grips
Nifty grip tape (not installed the best, but should be fine)
Front Basket was replaced with a shallow one for better utility
New front basket geometry was bad, so added deflopilator
Deflopilator wasn’t enough, so reinstalled the new front basket “wrong” in order to bring it back and down toward fender
Pedals were upgraded
Independent headlight (stock one suuuucked)
Bell, since stock bell was on the same handlebar doodad that had headlight control
Front & Rear turn signals
Saddlebag tool bag was upgraded
Added a fishing pole holder
I’m actually planning very little more on this bike right now, except for a DIY skirt guard so I can ride wearing my trench coat in fall and not worry about it. After that, if nothing breaks / causes issues, the next thing will probably be some sort of grip mitten sock thing for winter riding. I might add a 2nd strapped bottle cage, but that’s cheap enough to be amost nothing. Beyond that… well, if the suspension seatpost doesn’t soften up more, I may look for a better one on sale.
I have also decided not to do a battery upgrade or try to integrate the lights into the harness, or try to add bottle cage rivnuts to the main/down tube. I’m just not interested in the amount of bike downtime it would probably take to document the wiring diagram and figure out the controller’s capabilities or lack thereof, or to pull the harness out so I can have assurance that it’s safe to install rivnuts: it’s a better use of my time to hunt for a solid used non-e bike to convert, I think.
After that bike is converted to an equivalent or better ebike, then I’ll sell the Funhang or give it to Kaylee, if she wants it. Remember, never own more than one bike.
The new helmet has been quite nice but I am thinking about replacing it with a dual sport, because I suspect stuffing an air filter in one of those will have an even better effect on the exhaust problem.
I’m also aware that my “cockpit” area is quite crowded. Oh well. It’s gonna stay that way.
