BBSHD on Genesis V2100

[paxtana]

The bag itself? Works great. Yes it does chafe a bit but less since I replaced the rear shock with an airshock, started using a gatorskin shock cover, and a couple pieces of cardboard inside the bag so the pack(s) not pressing against bag where bag meets shock.

[7bigjohn]

Nice and clean! I'm going to build one with a hub motor and would like to know how the triangle pack has worked for you so far. It does look like it would chafe but there are ways to deal with that. If I have to change the bag once a year then it would be a great system for me. Any info would be appreciated. Thanks

[Rodney64]

Good to see it finished

[paxtana]

Update! So the build is finished, here's a few pics of a few of the last touches.
Applying a small dab of permatex dielectric grease onto connectors:



Upgraded to an Eclipse chainring, chainline is now perfect, and the Eclipse looks amazing.


Are those Shimano crankarms? Why YES, they are :D


Battery selection!
Due to the rear shock you cannot put a hardcase pack in there, and putting under downtube is problematic since it would limit how much I could use the shocks.
So this is two 7ah GA packs in parallel for 14ah (and capable of 60A). Using the Luna xt90 parallel adapter. Both batteries fit nicely. Might want a footlong xt90 leash to extend things a bit so the voltmeter isn't banging against the other battery, but apart from that it's perfect.


Finished build!

Total cost including bike, upgrades and batteries: ~$2000

[Eric Luna]

did you ever finish this bike Paxtana?

[etriker]

BTW, if anybody's interested in trying the Nuvinci-360 idea, I researched what I believe to be the best prices available from this factory supplier.
I purchased the black hub at only $249! Actually, the silver one is only $219. Full warranty & support - Go to their store and check it out.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/361426865359?_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

[etriker]

Very nice & timely post/build! I too am planning/building a BBSHD on a Gen V2100 albeit not a new one. I grabbed mine off CL from a guy who didn't know tools/maint and had let the bike rear end go. I gave him $40 for the bike including a Bell foot pump & helmet. All I wanted was the frame & headset anyway ;~)
I donate all extra parts etc to our 'Affordable Bike Co-op' here locally.

Now instead of fixing the rear hub/derailleur etc, I'm using a Nuvinci-360 CVT hub so chain line should be a non-issue. I do not intend to do much if any 'off roading' so am keeping the front setup for now. But many thanks for the heads up on the disk brake issues bud.

Nuvinci CVT for bikes: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4wNcok8KdNE

and be sure to watch the following sequenced clips - they're so cool...


Very useful Nuvinci testimonials & explanations: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=56SDjxH1NuM


I really like Luna Cycles stuff & prices as well, however, they do not offer the battery power/config that is needed to fit in that small triangle so... I'm going to build my own out of their Panasonic 18650 35 GA 3500mAh cells. I just finished designing my pack that'll fit with ample room. I could actually add a 7th parallel bank (24ah) w/no issues...! Here's the breakdown:

52v- 20.4ah / 14s X 6p / 84each 18650 35 GA 3500mAh cells. Dimensions: 9.5" along the top X 6" tall top to bottom X about 3" thick. There is a 3+" 'foot' at the bottom that's parallel to the top and a front 'nose' of 2.25" top to bottom. Luna's 50amp 'Mini' BMS. All at only <9 lbs!

As well, I found a perfect bag to hold it ($17 + free ship)
*** Received it today, better than expected, an entire board-edge stiff implant all the way round the edges! Can 'mount' to the bottom 1-2 bottle bosses.
No chance to wear out/tear through; all of the flat weight of the battery is completely supported by the 2.5"+ wide bottom/back inserts for swing stability.
Imagine it pushed up all the way forward into the front frame corner angle - easily clearing the rear shock. (pix soon)

http://www.ebay.com/itm/331786653161...%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

I'm still very much planning & acquiring supplies & tools. Waiting on China shipments for spot-welder station, etc.
In the meantime I'm just learning here... gettin' the juice.

Spot-welder you say? Oh yeah. This is a beauty @ $241 delivered. My local battery shop quoted me about $150+ to weld up what I configured/assembled.
Since I know I'll depend on these packs for the rest of my life - I'll build my own and both save big bucks and know everything is perfect & safe - made in the USA! Check out the youtubes of it being applied/used.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5L9hOVG_0RQ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tg8L6vKX0ho

To buy:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/231690831424...%3AMEBIDX%3AIT



I've done this kind of thing on & off my whole career, now I can build them on my own ;~)

[paxtana]

Thanks man, it's been a fun way of approaching it cheaply. I've since sold off all the original parts and the frame ended up being practically free once I recouped the money. Yeah I wanted wheels that would actually stand up to offroading, no way was I going to trust walmart components with that.

Updates:
mighty mini arrived, added some nice rockshox aftermarket front suspension forks, and spacers ($120)

I realized a while ago that the power density battery won't work with a bbshd, too much current draw. So now I am thinking of mounting a standard shark/dolphin pack on the underside. These new forks should allow that pack to be placed there, by providing extra offset and fork to crown length. Should allow at least 70mm of travel before they interfere with a pack in that position.


Was able to raise up the handlebar quite a bit using spacers on the new fork to something a bit less aggressive.



I was surprised by how much I like the color of the blue mini. I had preordered a silver but it wasn't ready yet so I figured maybe the blue would look alright on the frame. The pics on the site make it look a lot lighter than it is but the real thing is actually darker than my shock, which is a relief. Thanks to Louis and Ashley at Luna for helping me change the order!




The chainline changed quite a lot when putting the mighty mini on however, and it needs a chain guide. I got something on the way that may help, a bike chain tensioner. I think it will work at fixing the chainline but we'll see.

[JPLabs]

That's a build that looks a lot more expensive than it really was. Thanks for sharing it.

I appreciate that you upgraded the wheels first, recognizing their importance to your safety, am I right? I once had a cheap stem break off in my hands; I hate to imagine a wheel dis-assembling itself at speed! So, kudos for that. High torque is hard on spoked wheels.

I think your battery choice and packaging on a full suspension bike will be interesting to a lot of people, especially if you can fit it in there the narrow way.

[paxtana]

The v2100 is one of the more popular bikes to convert due to two reasons: Full suspension and dirt cheap. Even after hundreds in upgrades it is still one of the most cost effective ways to go full suspension.


Total cost $2100 total
Cost breakdown:

• $700 BBSHD
• $600 (2) mighty mini batteries for a total 14ah
• $65 mighty mini chainring (edit: converted to eclipse)
• $120 2016 100mm Rockshox 30 Front Fork
• $160 bike (free frame after stripping all original parts and selling them off)
• $75 DT Swiss spokes (36 260mm for front, 18 264mm for left rear, 18 263mm for right rear)
• $44 Alexrims 26” DM24 rims (ultrawide, double-walled, heavy duty built for ebikes)
• $60 (2) Schwalbe Crazy Bob tires (2.35” width, the biggest that will fit this frame)
• $28 Shimano Deore rear hub T610
• $21 Shimano Deore front disc hub M525A
• $21 Shimano BR-M375 Disc Brake Caliper
• $16 (2) Sunlite presta tubes (26 x 1.90 - 2.35" / 32mm)
• $14 7-speed cassette (later upgraded to 9spd KMC X9)
• $22 C9 suspension seat
• $22 XLC suspension seatpost
• $6 kmc missing link
• $5 4.5mm cassette spacer
• $5 VKTech Presta to Schrader bike valve adapters
• $5 Torx bolts

After everything was removed from the BB, I slid the BBSHD in and found it was a tight fit. Required two people to get it in, one to hold the bike and another to twist it back and forth into the BB. Once in, I found everything was not as flush as it could be. There was a gap of 1.3mm.


It was important that this be flush before screwing in. I found some 1mm washers that already had a notch cut out so I did not have to cut them with a dremel to make them fit.


The combo shifter/brake corresponding to front derailer/brake needed to be replaced with the ebrake from the kit since the front derailer was removed.


To remove the handlebar grip I followed these instructions which recommend sticking a screwdriver coated in furniture polish under the grip to loosen it up. Worked nicely.

Other upgrades: Some parts on a V2100 absolutely should be replaced, the most obvious being the wheels. The low quality stock spokes have to go as does the rim, which is only single-walled.


The tubes were thin as well as needed upgrading to a larger size to accommodate the wider tires, a nice pair of crazy bobs.

The stock hubs had a lot of resistance even after messing around with the bearings and trying various adjustments. Replacing these was not a necessity but I figured might as well since I was already dissassembling the wheel. The Shimano hubs were reasonably priced and have quick releases which is nice. The hex bolts on the front disc were such poor quality metal they stripped and had to be cut off with a dremel, but the disc itself is good so it was kept, though the caliper is being replaced. The hex bolts were also replaced, with Torx bolts.

Surprised I do not want to keep this “Purk” brand caliper? Yeah me neither. It has the stopping power of a stick of butter. It was replaced with a Shimano. In the end the only wheel parts that were kept was the reflectors, the front disc rotor and the rear spoke guard.

Unfortunately this type of rim only takes Presta tubes, so the bike requires adapters for regular pumps and gauges. I would have drilled them out to use schrader but the tubes cost less than the drill bits. Great rim for the price though.


The cassette posed an interesting dilemma. The new hub is 8 speed, but the rear shifter/brake is 7 speed. Rather than spending more money to replace it I had two options. I could either use a 7 speed cassette with a spacer in place of the 8^th gear or I could use an 8 speed cassette and limit it to the 7 gears with the limit screw. I went with the spacer but I think if I could do it again I would go with the other option, since the spacer leaves a wide gap the chain could fall into if the derailer got damaged. If the chain fell in there while the bbshd was powering along I am concerned it may chew up the hub.
Added suspension seat and post since it is quite enjoyable on my non-fs bike. This is probably unecessary on a full suspension bike and I am considering putting the seat on a regular post so I can lower it more. The combo has always very nice on my front suspension bike though so figured I would give it a shot.