Not much to say here. But don't try to install a BBSHD on the Gravity Sniper from BIkes Direct. Save your money and go with another donor bike instead.
So you don't have to waste money we went ahead and did it for you and will break it down for you piece by piece:
Bikes Direct Gravity Sniper full suspension $1500
BBSHD 100mm from Luna Cycles $700
Luna Cycle Mighty Mini: $55
Luna Cycles 52v 11.5ah Panasonic PF performance pack - $435
Total Spent : $2690
Disclosure: We did not get far past the initial test rides to know this bike was not made for the power of the BBSHD so we went with our battery temporarily mounted on the frame with Gorilla duct tape. So nobody make fun of us for duct tape on a Luna Bike.
Installation Notes
Getting the old bottom bracket off was a royal pain in the ass. IF you decide to go against our advice and buy this bike expect this task to be the most difficult task in the build. We recommend taking this to a bike shop to have the BB removed…..for us we used a hammer and a screw driver. After the old drive was off, the bike came together quick with no spacers or grinding needed to fit the 100mm BBSHD kit.
Chain line was super fine with the Might Mini....but the massive torque the mighty mini generates might be too much for this bike.
The Bike - Grape colored Gravity from Bikes Direct 19 inch
This is my first Bikes Direct purchase and even though it looks great and impresses the chicks.... I was disappointed. The bike came with multiple deep scratches in the paint. Because of its unique color...our only hope was to get some touch up paint from Bikes Direct. At $1500 these days for a regular bicycle (no motor no battery) i would expect more. I could have gotten a better bike from the local REI and had direct technical support.
We noticed even on initial assembly there was a lot of play in the rear wheel. Even the rear wheel had play in it with its crappy quick release mounting solution. In addition, the entire suspension has a lot of sway in it making it almost cartoonish to match its fat bike looks. We did not know how bad it would get until later.
Battery Mounting Solution
This was easier than I thought. The Luna cycle panasonic 11.5ah High performance pack fits perfectly in the space in the triangle with no problem at all. It s a wonderful thing whenever you can get a battery to fit inside the triangle of a full suspension bike. As for battery choice even acid testing this battery with massive hills with the BBSHD at 30 amps continuous the pack barely got warm….this battery pack is an excellent choice for the BBSHD and I stand behind that despite what some naysayers say.
We were working on making a custom battery mount just for this frame and even considering a custom 20ah 52v pack to fit perfectly in its tiny triangle..... but then we rode the bike and glad we stuck to the temporary fix of gorilla tape.
Initial impressions before riding
Wow the bike was beautiful we love it. The idea of a full suspension BBSHD fat bike is just awesome. This bike looks wicked and was a real attention getter. All my neighbors were asking how much and how fast.
After the first test ride:
We love the full suspension, and how cushy it feels….we were thrilled to ride a fat bike with not only the natural suspension the fat tires give you, but with quality bluto front forks and rear suspension this thing feels so cushy ….our first impressions around the block we were GIddy and we immediately loaded it in the van and went on a mountain trail ride.
After we got over our initial impressions of how awesome this bike looks and how nice it is to ride a 30mph full suspension fat bike, we immediately noticed the problem.
Massive Frame flex
The rear suspension on this bike is awful for the BBSHD. It might be ok riding the gravity at normal 15mph pedal bike speeds…..but with the BBSHD installed and torquing the frame the rear swing arm was all over the place.
This bike really sucks….and is not at all the right platform for the BBSHD.
My personal theory is that this a cheap rear suspension unlike the Ellsworth Dare we tested along side it, and the Dare was rock solid where as the gravity was as twitchy as hooker in church.
After one long ride w e decided that the Gravity is not a good platform for the BBSHD and we can not at all recommend it. Even as a non electric bike I cannot imagine a strong rider being happy with this amount of frame flex. You can visibly see the bike rocking from behind. It sucks.
In fact we can't recommend this frame and this suspension to anyone after seeing how much play is in this rear suspension compared to any quality full suspension mountain bike suspension. This is a cheap excuse for a rear suspension, and at $1500 for a Bikes Direct bike I am very disappointed. It has wal mart written all over it except it looks a bit better.
In high gears especially you can feel the rear end tweeking all over the trail, most prevalent when you press on the throttle and when you let off. For a rider not accustomed to this feeling it is downright scary.
We Don't recommend this Bike to Anyone
That being said the full suspension was a blast to ride off road despite the ridiculous frame flexing.
Once you get use to the flexing it is fine and the bouncy luxurious feeling is fun.
However you are compromising a lot for full suspension, and there is no reason not to wait for a full suspension fat bike that performs properly.
Consider these points:
With this and the big scratches the bike came with we are going to go through the hassle of converting this bike back to a regular bike and sending this giant bike directly back to Bikes Direct.
If anyone wants it for our cost of $2690 please message us quick :)
So you don't have to waste money we went ahead and did it for you and will break it down for you piece by piece:
Bikes Direct Gravity Sniper full suspension $1500
BBSHD 100mm from Luna Cycles $700
Luna Cycle Mighty Mini: $55
Luna Cycles 52v 11.5ah Panasonic PF performance pack - $435
Total Spent : $2690
Disclosure: We did not get far past the initial test rides to know this bike was not made for the power of the BBSHD so we went with our battery temporarily mounted on the frame with Gorilla duct tape. So nobody make fun of us for duct tape on a Luna Bike.
Installation Notes
Getting the old bottom bracket off was a royal pain in the ass. IF you decide to go against our advice and buy this bike expect this task to be the most difficult task in the build. We recommend taking this to a bike shop to have the BB removed…..for us we used a hammer and a screw driver. After the old drive was off, the bike came together quick with no spacers or grinding needed to fit the 100mm BBSHD kit.
Chain line was super fine with the Might Mini....but the massive torque the mighty mini generates might be too much for this bike.
The Bike - Grape colored Gravity from Bikes Direct 19 inch
This is my first Bikes Direct purchase and even though it looks great and impresses the chicks.... I was disappointed. The bike came with multiple deep scratches in the paint. Because of its unique color...our only hope was to get some touch up paint from Bikes Direct. At $1500 these days for a regular bicycle (no motor no battery) i would expect more. I could have gotten a better bike from the local REI and had direct technical support.
We noticed even on initial assembly there was a lot of play in the rear wheel. Even the rear wheel had play in it with its crappy quick release mounting solution. In addition, the entire suspension has a lot of sway in it making it almost cartoonish to match its fat bike looks. We did not know how bad it would get until later.
Battery Mounting Solution
This was easier than I thought. The Luna cycle panasonic 11.5ah High performance pack fits perfectly in the space in the triangle with no problem at all. It s a wonderful thing whenever you can get a battery to fit inside the triangle of a full suspension bike. As for battery choice even acid testing this battery with massive hills with the BBSHD at 30 amps continuous the pack barely got warm….this battery pack is an excellent choice for the BBSHD and I stand behind that despite what some naysayers say.
We were working on making a custom battery mount just for this frame and even considering a custom 20ah 52v pack to fit perfectly in its tiny triangle..... but then we rode the bike and glad we stuck to the temporary fix of gorilla tape.
Initial impressions before riding
Wow the bike was beautiful we love it. The idea of a full suspension BBSHD fat bike is just awesome. This bike looks wicked and was a real attention getter. All my neighbors were asking how much and how fast.
After the first test ride:
We love the full suspension, and how cushy it feels….we were thrilled to ride a fat bike with not only the natural suspension the fat tires give you, but with quality bluto front forks and rear suspension this thing feels so cushy ….our first impressions around the block we were GIddy and we immediately loaded it in the van and went on a mountain trail ride.
After we got over our initial impressions of how awesome this bike looks and how nice it is to ride a 30mph full suspension fat bike, we immediately noticed the problem.
Massive Frame flex
The rear suspension on this bike is awful for the BBSHD. It might be ok riding the gravity at normal 15mph pedal bike speeds…..but with the BBSHD installed and torquing the frame the rear swing arm was all over the place.
This bike really sucks….and is not at all the right platform for the BBSHD.
My personal theory is that this a cheap rear suspension unlike the Ellsworth Dare we tested along side it, and the Dare was rock solid where as the gravity was as twitchy as hooker in church.
After one long ride w e decided that the Gravity is not a good platform for the BBSHD and we can not at all recommend it. Even as a non electric bike I cannot imagine a strong rider being happy with this amount of frame flex. You can visibly see the bike rocking from behind. It sucks.
In fact we can't recommend this frame and this suspension to anyone after seeing how much play is in this rear suspension compared to any quality full suspension mountain bike suspension. This is a cheap excuse for a rear suspension, and at $1500 for a Bikes Direct bike I am very disappointed. It has wal mart written all over it except it looks a bit better.
In high gears especially you can feel the rear end tweeking all over the trail, most prevalent when you press on the throttle and when you let off. For a rider not accustomed to this feeling it is downright scary.
We Don't recommend this Bike to Anyone
That being said the full suspension was a blast to ride off road despite the ridiculous frame flexing.
Once you get use to the flexing it is fine and the bouncy luxurious feeling is fun.
However you are compromising a lot for full suspension, and there is no reason not to wait for a full suspension fat bike that performs properly.
Consider these points:
- You are paying a premium for the full suspension. ($1500 for a Bikes Direct bike is a lot)
- The full suspension adds significantly to the weight and complexity of the bicycle
- The full suspension dramatically reduces the space you have in the triangle and you cannot use a convenient mounting solution for mounting a battery such as this triangle battery bag from luna.
- With as much play as we got in the rear wheel, we think this suspension is chinese developed and very experimental. You are becoming a test dummy when you ride this bike.
With this and the big scratches the bike came with we are going to go through the hassle of converting this bike back to a regular bike and sending this giant bike directly back to Bikes Direct.
If anyone wants it for our cost of $2690 please message us quick :)
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