DIY electric Mountain Bike, 3kW, 40+mph, 20mi range

I researched the crap out of E-Bikes-- visited shops, went to fairs, demoed them. Like many of my projects (3D printer, copters, ultralight aircraft, etc…) the things are still too expensive and lacking features so I am motivated to build my own. Surprisingly this project came together way faster than my other ones and was completed in a few evenings (and less than a 6-pack of Belgian IPA).

• 40mph+ Max speed @ 3.0kW (cruising commute 32mph @ 1.4kW)

• 20mi Range (~10mi when really shredding)

• 8” suspension for good times offroad… and in the air

• Half-twist throttle provides predictable power for wheelies and obstacles

• ~30+ commutes completed with zero traffic citations

Mid-drive over Hub-drive motors:

• For mountain biking where you’re relying on suspension, you want to eliminate unsprung mass so we prefer to keep it low and on top of the suspension.

• Mid drive setup also can utilize the bike’s gearing, thus accessing high torque and high speed ranges.

• The only issue is that they are slightly harder to retrofit onto an existing bike or favor a purpose built frame.

Consumer Ebikes are legally limited to something like 750W. haha

• I found this 3000W mo’ fo’ after a lot of searching for $350. There are a few larger ones out there but I’ve come to realize through experience that you start exceeding the strength of conventional bicycle hardware (i.e lots of broken chains and the rear triangle actually pulls in due to all the torque and is prone to chain skipping). Next version will fix this.