Hello from South Coast Massachusetts

[calfee20]

I just ordered a BBSHD kit that will end up on an Electra Cruiser Lux Fat Tire 7D. It will be tested out on a specialized road bike first.

[Bicycle365]

Welcome, I think you'll love the HD , I just got one and am very happy with it.
Joe B, Central Massachusetts

[calfee20]

What did you install it on.

[Christian Livingstone]

Hey,

Welcome, Calfee,

There was someone here recently looking for a cruiser frame model with disc brakes for a Bafang mid-drive, I believe. But he was having trouble finding a suitable one for himself. Those Electra models could be just the proverbial ticket.

Maybe you'd be willing to start a thread when your stuff arrives, and include in the title that it's beach cruiser-style frame.

[spinningmagnets]

I have an Electra Lux Fat 7D with a BBSHD. Be aware that if you mount the motor rotated to being under the bottom bracket (BB), then it will strike the curb, if you do any curb-hopping. On flat ground it would be fine.

I was able to mount my BBSHD motor inside the triangle, but I had to make some huge cuts on the motor-shell fins, and then I had to make a brutal cut into the seat-tube. It is not for the beginner, or for the feint of heart. That model of bike is about $700, so damaging it beyond repair is a real possibility.

I'll be glad to answer any questions that you might have about the Lux 7D. It is the frame in my BBSHD installation pictorial. https://www.electricbike.com/removin...ket-cartridge/ The BB is definitely 100mm wide.

[exodious]

I have an Electra Lux Fat 7D with a BBSHD. Be aware that if you mount the motor rotated to being under the bottom bracket (BB), then it will strike the curb, if you do any curb-hopping. On flat ground it would be fine.

I was able to mount my BBSHD motor inside the triangle, but I had to make some huge cuts on the motor-shell fins, and then I had to make a brutal cut into the seat-tube. It is not for the beginner, or for the feint of heart. That model of bike is about $700, so damaging it beyond repair is a real possibility.

I'll be glad to answer any questions that you might have about the Lux 7D. It is the frame in my BBSHD installation pictorial. https://www.electricbike.com/removin...ket-cartridge/ The BB is definitely 100mm wide.

Can you provide more details (and pictures?) of what you had to do to fit the BBSHD in a Lux 7D, inside the triangle? When I first read the linked article I had thought it was just about cutting off that tab. Thanks.

[calfee20]

I have an Electra Lux Fat 7D with a BBSHD. Be aware that if you mount the motor rotated to being under the bottom bracket (BB), then it will strike the curb, if you do any curb-hopping. On flat ground it would be fine.

I was able to mount my BBSHD motor inside the triangle, but I had to make some huge cuts on the motor-shell fins, and then I had to make a brutal cut into the seat-tube. It is not for the beginner, or for the feint of heart. That model of bike is about $700, so damaging it beyond repair is a real possibility.

I'll be glad to answer any questions that you might have about the Lux 7D. It is the frame in my BBSHD installation pictorial. https://www.electricbike.com/removin...ket-cartridge/ The BB is definitely 100mm wide.

I would like to take the time to thank you for your post of the installation into the lux 7D. I had a Whizzer when I was a teenager. What I remember the most besides every cop in town trying to catch me was how comfortable the bike was. Today's cruisers are based on that old Schwinn frame. I road tested a Electra Lux 7D a couple of weeks ago and was startled by how nice it is. So I am going to build an electric Whizzer. I hope the cops leave me alone this time. There were no mopeds when I was a kid so I was fair game. I am still disgusted when I see a moped because they get a free pass but I never did.
PS the cops never did catch me, and pedaling that Whizzer was like pedaling a cement truck........calfee

[calfee20]

I'll be glad to answer any questions that you might have about the Lux 7D. It is the frame in my BBSHD installation pictorial. https://www.electricbike.com/removin...ket-cartridge/ The BB is definitely 100mm wide.

You said you had to cut the seat tube. I went back to your article and didn't see a cut in the photo. Could you take a different photo?.............calfee

[spinningmagnets]

Be aware, I don't recommend this to anyone...that being said? Here's what I did. I used a $20 angle-grinder from Harbor Freight (with the stock thick grinder blade), and I used SAFETY GLASSES!

I have scars on my hands, and I will acquire more scars over time. If you cut a finger, apply pressure to the cut and sit down, then elevate the cut above your head to reduce the blood pressure at the cut. When it stops bleeding (10 minutes) apply some neosporin disinfectant, wash around the cut and wrap it in tissue and some kind of tape to hold it together. A day later, clean it thoroughly and apply super-glue (cyano-acrylate glue) to hold the skin together, apply neosporin disinfectant cream liberally, and cover with fresh tissue and duct tape.

If you stubbornly refuse to use safety glasses (I use $9 swimming goggles) and you then get aluminum/steel shreds in your eye? Email me your address, so I can drive to your house/apartment and beat the shit out of you. USE...SAFETY...GLASSES. One-eyed men have a hard time getting a good job or getting laid. Nine-fingered men? no sweat, bro.

That being said...The seat-tube feels very little stress, and the downtube (whether straight or curved) is under tension . Dont screw with the downtube, to keep whatever strength it inherently has. I placed a steel pipe across the point in the seat-tube where I needed a dent. and I wailed on it with a 4-lb sledge hammer. I was shocked at how little it had any effect.

That was when I realized the Electra frame was beefier than I had previously thought (in spite of it being "only" aluminum), and also...cutting it might be an "OK" option. If you replicate this cut and then you ride at 40-MPH, hit a pothole, the frame tacos, and then you die...I feel bad for ya, son.

Looking at the seat-tube from the side, I removed about 1/3rd of the width of the tube at its deepest portion of the oval cut. Tape measure in pic is showing millimeters (mm)

[spinningmagnets]

more pics

[Christian Livingstone]

Yeah,

That's cool how you did what it took to get it into the triangle. The mod is probably not even noticeable, and the frame integrity is undoubtedly still quite sound. The motor probably looks even less conspicuous when the chain and chainring are on. Nice!

Be aware, I don't recommend this to anyone...that being said? Here's what I did.

[spinningmagnets]

I suspect the BBS02 would not require any mods to slip into this frame (since the BBSHD fins are fatter), but...I have no evidence yet. If somebody sends me one, I'll verify yes/no (with pics), and then send it on to the builder who bought it.

[calfee20]

The BBS02 does not come in 100 mm. I don't know if I want to be that radical on the frame. I may have to rethink the plan. Thanks for the extra photos.

What if you cut the seat tube flush at the weld then cut it shorter and put a slight bend in the tube and weld it again. Remove the rear wheel and one of those tubing benders that electricians use would fit in there.

[calfee20]

I was at the dump getting woodchips for my garden last Thursday and there was a beat up cruiser in a pile that I almost picked up. It had a Shimano rear shift hub, 3 speed I suspect. Anyway if it is still there I will grab it and try that for practice. If I do I will take photos........calfee

[spinningmagnets]

Steel frames are the easiest to weld. Aluminum frames are often heat-treated to improve their strength, but if you cut and weld (heliarc/TIG/torch-braze) the welding process permanently softens the section that was heated. This is part of the reason aluminum drop-outs will snap from the factory instead of bend, they are brittle from the heat-treating that makes them stronger. The heat-treated drop-outs can take more stress, but when they do finally reach their limit, they snap off.

I hadn't thought of this before, but your suggestion would work great. The Ford ebike didn't even have a seat-tube. If you bought a steel cruiser with a little stretch in it behind the seat (like the Felt Bixby), you could cut the bottom of the seat tube flush, then cut the middle of the seat-tube at a slight angle. Then it could be rotated so that the bottom half angles back. The resulting seat-tube would be a shallow V, pointing forwards.