GT Sensor Full Suspension Mini Cyclone

[FatMarty]

I am building this bike up from a new frame I paid dearly for last year. It’s an aluminum frame 650B with Path-link 130 rear suspension.
Path-link makes fitting any mid-drive a problem because it drops below the bottom bracket which blocks the Bafang type and won’t allow a traditional Cyclone mounting either.
The solution I found is the Luna Custom Mini Cyclone mount. It positions the motor forward just enough to give clearance needed and allows a one point clamping installation.

A few pictures to get started and I will update in the near future for final complete project.

[FatMarty]

Having a hard time editing pictures in first post so I will try to do it right.
This image shows bike after I built it up but before I started on e-bike conversion.

[FatMarty]

This picture shows the Path-link setup.
Notice how the bottom bracket mounts above lower suspension link.
No BBSHD can fit here.

[FatMarty]

These photos show how I mounted Luna Custom Mini Cyclone.
I also added the Lunatick crank setup.

[FatMarty]

Now I get to the part...

I shied away from external controller motors until now because I don’t like how they are wired with all the large non-waterproof connects.
Enter Higo 9 pin cables doubled up for motor phase and motor control and 7 pin Higo Bafang cables for handlebar controls.
9 pin Higo for hub motor is good for about 20 amps for phase wires - doubling them gives approximately 40 amp capacity for 40 amp Bluetooth controller.

[FatMarty]

Top image shows controllers original connections and bottom photo shows it opened up and ready for rewiring work.
Second image from top shows inside work and Third image is the complete setup ready for testing.
This is a Bluetooth 40 amp controller so one of those leads is a five pin Higo display cable for that.

[FatMarty]

So I did the testing and decided I don’t like pedal assist with cyclone; but otherwise it’s all good. (Jerks out PA wire)
Realizes after talking with friend that pedal assist with no load is not good way to test so wires back in Higo cable for pa.

I used template available at Luna.com to see if Dire Wolf 21 amp-hour would fit and it’s a go!

[FatMarty]

I am now waiting on delivery of battery and hope to get everything finished up in the near future.
I probably will need another water bottle mount installed but otherwise anticipating smooth sailing for last leg of this journey.
I will let you know how this movie ends soon.

[Greeno]

I was also thinking on a BBSHD build on a 2016 GT Sensor. Couldn't you just shim the motor housing out to clear the chain stays? What is the BB width on this bike 73mm? Hard finding a dual suspension bike with space for a decent size battery and have a bottom bracket not tucked back so the motor hangs down like a cows udder. any info would be great.

[FatMarty]

Hi I tried fitting a bbshd to see once my old bb was removed and it’s impossible to make it work with the I-bar suspension on the GT Sensor as it extends down below the typical bb housing.

[FatMarty]

Hey electricbike.com friends!
I took a detour ( had to suddenly move to a new place during Covid lockdown so stuff was in storage for a spell).
But I just finished attaching the DireWolf battery mount and got a few pictures to share.

I was only able to access one factory installed water bottle rivet nut with the battery before adding two more rivet nuts higher up the down tube and drilling another hole lower down on the magnetic mount.

This was fairly easy to do with a right angle drill attachment and a 5 mm rivet nut kit. I used aluminum rivet nuts because that’s what came with the kit I ordered. If I experience loosening at some point I imagine swapping to stainless will be easy enough now that the holes are properly drilled in the bike frame.

It’s a tight fit for the battery which doesn’t leave a lot of room for the power cable connection near the rear shock adjuster/lockout.
I was able to slightly bend the lockout cable guide down leaving enough clearance to avoid any power wire damage.

Next thing to do with this project is to mount the controller to the seat tube or the top of the battery maybe?
I will get back soon with details and images.

[FatMarty]

Here’s a picture of GT Sensor bottom bracket.
The Bafang mid drive motors will not fit.
I am not even confident that the factory Cyclone mount is long enough to work for this frame.
I was looking for one of these frames for a couple years because of the huge triangle space for battery with rear suspension and high ground clearance.

The Luna Custom Mini Cyclone mount is the only sensible solution I’ve found for this particular type of suspension.
I have had to tweak a few things to make it all work. For instance I needed to change the factory drive cog on the Mini Cyclone to fit the half link drive chain and I believe I also changed up the idler arm to reverse the spring.
Still - I consider this “bolt on” so you don’t need a machine shop to build a pretty badass electric trail bike using the Luna kit.

[DaHose]

Whoah .... I have never seen (or noticed) where a frame had the BB built into the suspension linkage. That's a trip.

How are you stabilizing the motor so it is fixed relative to the linkage movement? Can you show a better pic. of the BB mounting?

Jose

[FatMarty]

I used extra BB locknuts which I beat on with a hammer on BB tool to lock the mount in place.
In addition I used the “shipping” bolts to stiffen the bracket. The shipping bolts,(according to the article here showing an install are optional and were in the way and needed to be removed for that build), add a ton of rigidly to the mount.

I thought of some sort of damper between motor and frame for more support but decided I will see how this works first.

Obviously a fixed connection between motor and frame would prevent rear shock action so no hose clamps to down tube for this build.
I have had great success “beating” my bafang motors onto three hardtail installs without any slipping and I have put thousands of miles on them.

Its worth noting that the torque force on the motor is always going to be initially absorbed by the rear shock because of the unique BB in that linkage.

[DaHose]

Interesting. I would thing the motor torque would eventually make it move. Cool.

Looking at your setup, I think it would also be possible to wedge against the lower section of the linkage with an L shaped foot. Think hinged plate with a screw to add tension.

Jose

[FatMarty]

Yes I like your idea of a spring loaded hinge.

[FatMarty]

I just finished adding the brake sensors and magnets. I had to zip tie the brake levers to glue the magnets on the reach adjusters. They were attaching to the brake cylinders from magnetic attraction. So a picture of that for the thread. I super glued first and then used black silicone around edges to give more support. I have knocked a couple magnets off like these before; so maybe the silicone will help prevent that.

I took one more image of the motor and mount setup to hopefully better show how I installed it. There’s two locking bb washers, each beat on with the hammer, then the pa sensor followed by a third bb lock washer I got from Lbs hammered tight.

After I finished I picked the bike up by the motor and shook and jerked it about with no movement or slippage; so I feel like it’s going to be fine.
I am waiting for mount hardware for the controller and some wires to finish up but hope to be test riding by the Fourth of July.
I will be very vigilant monitoring the motor and mount for movement and just see what happens before deciding how or if I need to add more support.