BBSHD w/ 52V 13.5ah Shark 1997 Rocky Mountain Equipe

[Willard27]

I walked out of a coffee shop on my way to work in early June and almost walked into what I thought was an awesome looking commute bike. Flat black, tricked out with front and rear racks and an interesting looking cycle computer, I saw the owner going full Pee Wee Herman trying to chain it to a post. I then noticed the BB Motor behind the chain ring and asked him what he had going on. He told me he and his wife decided to go down to one car, he lost out (or won) the who-got-the-car discussion for getting to work, and he had entered the ebike world. He bought a brand new commuter bike from REI, and a kit from Luna Cycle. Said all his research pointed him to a mid-drive do it yourself.

I started to salivate, and read, and watch Bruno…

My commute is either by 4Runner or Hypermotard, save for the 4 times a year I get my fat a$$ in the saddle and peddle over the West Hills here in Portland. The good and the bad is that it is a 1000ft climb. It's an amazing way to start the day, through Forest Part, down a firelane and popping out at the St John's Bridge followed by a quick flat ride through town. The road up is pretty quiet in the morning, and at night I can take advantage of a couple of old roads now closed to cars, but, I need a nap when I get to work, and I have taken a nap a half-way up a couple of times on my ride home. Let's hope the ebike gives me more "at home" nap time.

Step 1: Convince wife this is a good way to spend money.

Step 2: Create financial analysis involving divorce lawyer option she put on table.

Step 3: Wait 4 weeks

Step 4: Try again for financing involving argument of fitness and mindfullness improvement

Step 5: Buy BBHSD with secret PayPal account.

Step 6: Dance when battery pack and BBSHD kit arrive

Step 7: Wish you would have done more homework...

I thought, mistakenly, that buying a 100mm motor vs a 68mm motor would allow me to use the equipment on a future bike build. I love my Rocky, but with all the stories of Fat Bikes and full suspensions I thought I would like to have the option of doing something different in a couple years. Stupid is as stupid does.

I measured the bottom bracket with cranks and sprockets in the way and thought I had 80. Put some spacers on the 100mm and Bob's your Uncle, right? It was definitely 68mm. Lesson #1. There are not enough spacers in the world. Putting substantial torque through a spaced joint = lame. Your chain angle looks like crap.

Just Go to BikePedia http://www.bikepedia.com/ find the bottom bracket width and buy the right motor.

Step 8: Contact Luna for a return

Gary has been very helpful and quick to respond. My old motor is returned and he tells me my new 68mm is shipping. No tracking number yet, but I get this was my mess-up and am very happy they are helping with the swap. If you are reading this Gary - Order 100542! I want to finish the build report!
Donor Bike - 1997 Rocky Mountain Equipe. It's been a great commuter and trail rider with the kids. "Skunk Tail" fender and Bull Horn bar ends were both highly coveted custom additions.

Step 9: Get the @#$%ing Cranks Off.

You can see from the pictures below I had to do some shadetree-mechanic action to these bad boys. It really hurts to cut your prized Raceface Forged Aluminum cranks.

Tried to thread the puller, but it wasn't deep enough, and forging must do something pretty cool to aluminum grain structure. Just assume you are going to have to do some beating and cutting on a 20 year old crank.

Dremel Removal Option. Highly recommended. Some duct tape will allow you to easily reinstall these on a future project.

Step 10: Battery Install

So far, so good. Easy install with the frame bolts.
Step 11: Controls & Wiring

Thumb throttle where the shifter used to be. Need to figure out how to get rid of the headlight battery and convert voltage. Add a link to comments if you have one!
Bought a new chain as some insurance. $13.29 seemed like a no-brainer.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Stopped by The eBike Store in PDX and they told me there was no better deal than Luna Cycle Bafang kits which helped make me feel I made the right decision. They said they could also help with controller programming or other build issues I might have. Hoping I don't have to take them up on it, but nice to know they are there.

I will post the final pictures and a Bruno-esque video once the motor shows up.

Luna Parts List - $1463.91
Extra Shipping to return 100mm BBHSD - Don't want to think about it…
Handle grips / Fenders / Chain / Misc Tools like a stupid crank puller - $75.00
80% Charger (for work) in Checkout, waiting for Paypal recharge - $99.00

Item #	Description	Qty
BBSHD-MTR	Bafang BBSHD 1000W Mid Drive Kit	1
BBSHD-MTR-100mm	BBSHD - 100mm	1
BBSHD-CR-46T	BBSHD Stock 46T Chain Ring	1
BBSHD-CR-42T	BBSHD Aluminum Chainring Adapter and 42T Sprocket	1
BBSXX-DISP-DPC14	Luna Full Color Display DPC-14 For the BBS02 and BBBSHD	1
BBSXX-THMB-U	Bafang BBSxx Universal Thumb Throttle	1
BBSXX-HYDRO-PAIR	Bafang Hydraulic and Disc Brake Sensors E-Brake (Pair)	1
BBSXX-PROG-CBL	Bafang BBS02 and BBSHD Programming Cable	1
BBSXX-TOOLS-LUNA	LUNA Wrench BBSHD and BBS02 Mid Drive Installation Tool	1
52-CRBN-SHRK-13.5ah-GA	52 CRBN SHRK GA	1
CHRGR-52-3ah-XT60	52v 3amp Luna Mini Charger	1

[Rodney64]

Nice write up looking forward to the finished build.

[Willard27]

Gary must have read my write-up, motor showed up the next day and fit like a glove!

Finished up the build and took it out today in the sunshine. Wow. The videos and write-ups of what an E-Bike is like really don't do it justice. But before I get to that, here's a couple issues that I worked through that can hopefully help you out.

Issue #1 - Chain Alignment.

I thought I was doing a good thing getting the Bafang Alloy 42T Chain ring for gearing. I missed the fact that it is a 9mm offset. It doesn't line up with the big gears. Watch the video. BBSHD Part 3 Install picking the right Chainring Get the Luna Eclipse. I have one on order but you can't go wrong with a 25mm offset, and the option to use spacers to get it back out to exactly what you need.




Issue #2 - Epoxy the Brake cutoff magnets

This wasn't really an issue, but I couldn't find any good pics or write-ups. Here's mine. I have v-brakes but still went for the magnetic sensors. Used some lock-tite stick and seal. Seems to be holding but I bet there is better stuff.



Issue #3 - Jump Start your Dead Battery

I don't know what the heck went wrong here. My battery sat for quite a while waiting for parts and my finish build, but it was dead when I connected it. The charger showed a green LED 2 - indicating full charge, but the voltmeter said .62V at the connections. Luna confirmed it was cool to use the Jump Start technique on a Carbon Shark. I have to tell you I was still pretty worried about throwing bare wire voltage and sparks at a $500 battery. The charger fan started whirring away afterwards though.

http://lunacycle.com/jumping-your-lu...-battery-pack/

First ride.

Like I said above. Wow.

It normally takes me 50min to 1 hour to do the 3 mile 1000' climb. This thing did it in 11min. It is like being a kid and riding a bike for the first time again. I ride a decently powerful motorbike like I mentioned above, but the sensation that you are peddling and producing the power to get you up the hill makes you feel like the Bionic Man. It's like your first time on a full suspension mountain bike. You get giggly. You want to go for another ride as soon as you get home.

It didn't have any trouble pulling 15mph up the grade. PAS 9. Got a little warm, but not anything that scared me. 36mph GPS after I got back down and hit the "flat".


I read one review where the rider mentioned feeling like the BBSHD was "dragging" when he wasn't peddling. Slowing him down. It totally feels like that is what is going on, but the mechanics of it say no way. It is just your old bike when you look down and don't peddle, but it feels like you are riding in sand.

It is amazing how your body is tricked by the peddle assist. It is addicting. It is going to be very hard to hop back on my Stumpjumper. I might need another BBSHD.

I am commuting on it tomorrow even though I only have the gears 7,8,9. The Luna Eclipse and having all 8 gears back will make it better for the steep climbs, but it is totally rideable as is. Need to figure out my rear cassette now if I want to hit 70mph like Bruno.



I have seen a lot of mention how good the guys at Luna Cycle are on here, and do want to give my thanks as well. Gary in particular was always quick to respond to my calls for help and organizing my return. The battery jumpstart confirmation email in particular, and his note that "we'll send you a new battery" if it is broken rather than asking what I had done wrong gave me the confidence to keep going. Very little frustration and an experience I would highly recommend.

[Peter Halt]

Did you try it in the big gears? I had a similar chain line on my Kona with the alloy chain ring and I put a thousand miles on it before I switched to the eclipse. I had no problem with the low gears as long as I didn't look at the chain and shudder with horror. No significant wear visible on the drivetrain.

[Willard27]

I did - it pulled off of the front chain ring. Starts making some nasty noise in 4th to go along with the shudder of horror! The picture above doesn't really do the offset justice. It's pretty bad.

[Willard27]

I stand correct Peter you were right - it pulls off in the garage, under low power, but out on the road and pulling it stays on. I ran the battery dead on the way home the other night, and when you have to gear down to climb it stays engaged. Horror shudder must help keep things connected!

[Rodney64]

Nice to see it finished. Gary's a good mate to have.

[LI-ghtcycle]

Great build! Love the humor in your write-up! ;-p

I am in Oregon City, but I know very well that nasty climb as I had to make it with a 150lb bike with all my camping gear when I rode to the Recumbent Retreat some years back at Ft. Stevens (and I didn't have a motor on that one yet lol!).

Good to hear the BBSHD is treating you so well on the hills! Not that I am surprised, seeing what others are doing in just as steep of grades in other places. : )

I tried to convince someone to allow me to build a custom rear triangle for a full suspension Rocky of about the same vintage (simple swap out of the stock for a custom, no modifications) but these days it would be so easy with the BBSHD!

[Willard27]

Climbing that hill with camping gear would be a challenge. I would probably end up camping at the Skyline Tavern if I did make it up!