Diamonback Overdrive Sport 27.5 gets a BBSHD

[Alan B]

I would agree, though the fellow who took the tumble may have some regrets, hopefully not though. I think he had a camera, should have a good vid there. I'll have to see what I captured as well.

I just took the bike for a short grocery ride and checked the numbers. I updated the post above, but about 14 miles consumed 7.6 amp hours, so nearly two miles per amp hour, which is typical for this bike. So with a 24 amp hour battery the range for those conditions would be around 40 miles.

Today I used the 6 amp hour Mighty Mini, those are so nifty for short runs.

[Rix Ryds]

Nice post Alan! Looks like a good time had by all!

[Alan B]

Last Sunday I charged up a new 24AH Luna battery for the RidgeRunner and took it on a group ride to China Camp. There were almost a dozen riders, most equipped with Bosch based bikes like the Cube. In the photo above we are at the Nike site at the top socializing while one rider fixes a flat in the background. Met a bunch of nice folks and had a good ride, not as steep as Slacker's peak, but longer, with many challenging spots, such as tight turns on the switchbacks.

The power of the BBSHD was perfect, the performance limitations I faced on this ride were not the bike or mid drive, but the technical skill to stay on the line I had chosen. It didn't always work out quite like I had planned. Still it was a great trip and I managed to avoid any spills. I had one rider take a minor spill right in front of me, but I managed to get stopped in plenty of time. I may have a great video of that, haven't checked that far yet. I did get a great but brief segment of a squirrel leaping across in front of me, I think he bounced off the front tire, or came very close to it.

The new tires, a Maxxis Ikon rear and Ardent Race front did a great job grabbing the trail and surviving all the rocks and rough spots. My first experience with Maxxis, and they are excellent.

I did have a few problems. The GoPro mount (shown on the forks above) kept rotating forward and down, so I have some inverted video of my feet pedaling (or not pedaling). :)

The Cantilever rack also wanted to rotate and touch the tire. Unfortunately this frame doesn't have rack mounting threaded holes.

The rear brake is still howling. Need to fix that.

There was a BBS02 on the ride also, and we compared temperatures. The BBSHD got very warm but not quite hot, and the BBS02 was a little warmer.

Used about 7.6AH of 24, and traveled 13.7 miles, much of it moderately steep, rocky or gravel single track. (updated with actual BattMan data).
And now it needs another bath. :(

[Alan B]

My LBS would probably scream and throw me out if I brought an ebike in there. :)

Matt said he would look at it, I haven't been by to see him yet. All this liquid sunshine is sure interfering with projects ebike.

[commuter ebikes]

Good info, these are new brakes and so fare I've tried readjusting, cleaning and sanding as well as doing some bedding, at this point they're quiet at some braking force levels and not at others. I need to try a few more things including strapping the hoses down, sometimes a resonance can be a problem and loose cables amplify it.

The LBS has always adjusted my brakes and made them perfect for about $20.

[Alan B]

Good info, these are new brakes and so fare I've tried readjusting, cleaning and sanding as well as doing some bedding, at this point they're quiet at some braking force levels and not at others. I need to try a few more things including strapping the hoses down, sometimes a resonance can be a problem and loose cables amplify it.

[JPLabs]

Couple thoughts on reducing the disc brake noises....I suspect Alan knows these things already, but may be good info for some:

I follow a 'bedding in' process, which is intended to transfer a layer of brake pad to the disc by getting them hot. Basically, just use the brakes harder and harder a few times when new. Mine have been quiet since new, after doing this. Various methods are used. Detailed info can be found at MTBR forums and similar places with bike knowledge.

For cars, I am in the habit of putting Disc Brake Quiet paste on the rear of pads. This is a damping material which absorbs some of the resonant energy from the pads. It is sticky and can hold dirt, so not ideal for a bike. But might be a useful method if used sparingly.

Next, hardware installation check: Make sure rotor bolt tightening is done in star sequence, and evenly at proper torque. Also make sure caliper bracket alignment is good, and tight. Loosen caliper bolts, apply brakes, tighten under load, check.

I've read that once pads get contaminated with oil, they are ruined and need to be replaced, or will forever be noisy. But others will clean with alcohol and sand off glaze to refresh both pads and rotors, successfully - I'd try that as a last resort.

[Alan B]

It might, but I'll probably try a bit more to see if I can speed it up.

[commuter ebikes]

I think I'll call this bike the Diamondback "Ridge Runner" after some of the trips I've used it for.

Still need to get the rear brake to stop howling (it's not too bad, but is annoying at some braking levels), and it could use a good washing after the rain stops. The Batt-man is working out fairly well, but I need to get a few more trips on it to gather more data.

I wonder if it would fix itself after you put a few more hundred miles on it. I was in this exact same situation, meaning to get to a bike shop, and one day the problem was gone. Call it a wearing in period for the rotors.

[Alan B]

I think I'll call this bike the Diamondback "Ridge Runner" after some of the trips I've used it for.

Still need to get the rear brake to stop howling (it's not too bad, but is annoying at some braking levels), and it could use a good washing after the rain stops. The Batt-man is working out fairly well, but I need to get a few more trips on it to gather more data.

[Alan B]

The right 3 speeds would be great for motoring. The time the in between speeds are going to be most handy is when pedaling is required, either due to low battery or some other issue preventing motor use, or when real exercise is desired. Then the ability to match a desired cadence would be useful.

The Rohloff is interesting, though from what I read shifting with power on doesn't work. Being able to shift when not moving is good on all the IGH's, but they behave differently when power is on. The Rohloff has wider range than a rear cassette, whereas the other choices mostly don't have more range than the cassette they replace. It is pricey, but we were paying more than that for a good battery not long ago, and it will outlast a battery by a long shot. Actually the Rohloff may be a longer term investment than your bikes.

Keeping the project light is a priority than not everyone has. It depends partly on how often carrying the bike will be required. So far I've been able to self propel it when the trail got too steep for riding, so I wasn't bearing the weight of the bike. So maybe a few more pounds wouldn't be a big deal. Most of us could stand to lose more weight than these drives represent.

It would be interesting to try one. I have a three speed hub that came off the BikeE. They made 21 speeds with a 3 speed hub and a 7 speed cogset. Very strange. But that would work with the BBSHD if one wanted full gear combinations. I don't know if it would hold up though.

The one case where this Diamondback is not going to have low enough gears is the steep climbing case with no motor. I've lost about 2:1 on the low end which will make motorless pedaling difficult on steep stuff. The Rohloff could gain most of that lost ratio back if it was setup toward the low end. But there's a tradeoff between buying a Rohloff and building another bike. Priorities...

[Alan B]

Thanks. It has been a good project.

[Rix Ryds]

Nice article Alan. Well Done

[Alan B]

I haven't done enough low power pedal assist to have an answer, sorry. In a sense, any answer is not very interesting because, depending on the amount of assist the range can be anything.

The Borg is heavy and pedaling it is different. I pedal hard in sprints, to help it accelerate or climb steep hills. I can add 600 watts to it, that's enough to bounce the front wheel off the ground at low to medium speed, but it doesn't stay there long unless the gradient is very steep. I have the power dialed back on that bike to keep the front wheel down. It is a fun bike, a superior commuting machine, but don't run out of juice, it doesn't have enough gears to pedal its weight uphill. This lightweight bike is a lot more practical to pedal. I'll get more data on low PAS settings when I take it on some group rides and we go slower.

The Borg's normal range is about a mile per amp hour when riding hard and fast (like the old commute run with 1200 feet of climbing). Probably closer to a half amp hour per mile if I ever rode it slow and easy. I don't seem to do that much. And that's at 66 volts (18S lipo).

[Alan B]

Full article on this Diamondback is published: https://www.electricbike.com/a-diy-m...eet-and-trail/