Opinions on this bike please

[Deleted member 4366]

One other thing. On my latest bike, I have Shimano Deore LX combined brake and changers, where the brake lever changes gear. It makes fixing a brake switch much more difficult, but they're so much more convenient than separate brakes/changers, and they leave more room for the throttle and other stuff.

 

[Fordulike]

73mm B/B will work with BBS probably better with 68mm

Are you saying 73mm will work better than 68mm, or to aim for a bike with 68mm?

 

[mfj197]

Are you saying 73mm will work better than 68mm, or to aim for a bike with 68mm?

Aim for 68mm if you have the option. You can fit it to a 73 but you have to leave off one of the two securing nuts, and I believe the chain line suffers as well.

Michael

 

[Nealh]

Both will work however the chain line will be better for the 68mm, 68mm is more standardand tends to be the most common BB which the BBS looks like it was designed for.

 

[Fordulike]

Thanks mfj197 and Nealh. In fact the BB issue never even crossed my mind originally.

 

[rippedupno1]

Hi Fordulike,
Firstly my apologies for wading in after you have stated your preference re the brakes, however I only wanted to add from my experience as I have a Mosso with the BBS02 which has excellent hydraulic brakes (defiantly needed in my opinion due to the potential speed the BBS02 gives you) my point is that last feb I was out in Lanzerote and hired a BH sport plus with the 250w Panasonic crank motor and rim brakes and after being used to my hydraulic brakes I was horrified at how poor they were, they were only just up to the job of stopping a 18kg bike with a 250w motor that was strictly limited to 15.5 mph. Given how much more powerful the BBS02 motor is ( night and day more powerful ) and the potential speeds that it will allow you to achieve I would strongly advise a rethink on the brake front. I fully realise it is your decision and again apologise for putting my two penneth in but I felt I had to say something given my direct experience.
cheers Gaz

 

[mfj197]

Of course if you put a set of hydraulic rim brakes on you would have a setup that is both lighter and potentially more powerful than hydraulic disks ...

 

[selrahc1992]

Thanks for the replies so far, but as I mentioned earlier, I am totally ok with rim brakes. My previous bike had a heavy rear hub motor, and had no problems whatsoever with braking or reliability. Rim was checked regularly for wear and cracks, but was still fine after 1000's of miles.
New rear wheels aren't particularly expensive anyway.
The rear brakes had to deal with the inertia of a much heavier wheel too, which a crank drive system won't have.
BBS02 has a thumb throttle, so should be ok with the Revo shifters.
I was just wondering how smooth the shift system is when used on a non electric bike?

for what it's worth, decathlon sells a 26 dual suspension dual disk brake MTB that gets OK reviews for teh budget kit it is for around £350

 

[VictoryV]

Of course if you put a set of hydraulic rim brakes on you would have a setup that is both lighter and potentially more powerful than hydraulic disks ...

but don't let the brake material wear down, any metal to metal contact would open the rim like a can opener!!

 

[Fordulike]

Hi Fordulike,
Firstly my apologies for wading in after you have stated your preference re the brakes, however I only wanted to add from my experience as I have a Mosso with the BBS02 which has excellent hydraulic brakes (defiantly needed in my opinion due to the potential speed the BBS02 gives you) my point is that last feb I was out in Lanzerote and hired a BH sport plus with the 250w Panasonic crank motor and rim brakes and after being used to my hydraulic brakes I was horrified at how poor they were, they were only just up to the job of stopping a 18kg bike with a 250w motor that was strictly limited to 15.5 mph. Given how much more powerful the BBS02 motor is ( night and day more powerful ) and the potential speeds that it will allow you to achieve I would strongly advise a rethink on the brake front. I fully realise it is your decision and again apologise for putting my two penneth in but I felt I had to say something given my direct experience.
cheers Gaz

No probs rippedupno1. The only reason I was originally happy to get rim brakes again, was the fact that I had experience with a powerful set-up before and the bike stopped really well and efficiently.
It was capable of reaching 28mph very quickly and in the grand scheme of things was a pretty heavy set-up anyway.
I do put the good V-braking down to a few factors though.
I made sure my wheels were absolutely true, the brakes were adjusted for performance on a regular basis and I swapped over the rear pads for Kool Stops.
I have no doubt that hydraulics are infinitely better, but rim brakes still do a mighty fine job if maintained well.
I am on now the look out for a more suitable bike than the one originally posted. I never rush into things, especially where safety and technology are involved, and will probably fanny about for a couple of months before settling on my final build

 

[Fordulike]

Of course if you put a set of hydraulic rim brakes on you would have a setup that is both lighter and potentially more powerful than hydraulic disks ...

Are you pulling my chain. Can you really get hydraulic rim brakes?

 

[Fordulike]

for what it's worth, decathlon sells a 26 dual suspension dual disk brake MTB that gets OK reviews for teh budget kit it is for around £350

Nice looking bike, but don't think the battery will fit in the frame

 

[flecc]

Are you pulling my chain. Can you really get hydraulic rim brakes?

.
Yes, there are plenty from Magura and others, and very good they are too. This link shows a variety of the Magura ones.

And this is a highly rated one from Shimano
.

 

[Croxden]

I threw my old bike away when the rim brakes wore through the wheels. To replace them and the gears & chain was not worth it. So I bought the Grace MX instead, always need a good excuse for a new purchase.

 

[Nealh]

Better to be safe than sorry, e bikes are heavier by some 10kgs or more and add the fast speeds of upto 30mph and this gives more inertia meaning more stopping force is needed.

 

[103Alex1]

Are you pulling my chain. Can you really get hydraulic rim brakes?

I have the Magura ones on my Kalkhoff. Mixed feelings about them but they do work. Still more prone to wheel locking up than hydraulic discs, though I think ?? Certainly felt that way anyway on one occasion, but maybe I didn't adjust them perfectly.

One other thing. On my latest bike, I have Shimano Deore LX combined brake and changers, where the brake lever changes gear. It makes fixing a brake switch much more difficult, but they're so much more convenient than separate brakes/changers, and they leave more room for the throttle and other stuff.

Now they look familiar I'm definitely sold on them and would definitely go for them again on another bike. .

 

[trex]

I wouldn't go for Magura rim brakes. They are not as controllable as rotor based hydraulic brakes, lock the rim easily, can suffer from bad truing, oil, water, rim wear and are just too pricey for what they are if you compare their prices against hydraulic brakes from Shimano and Clarke.

 

[Deleted member 4366]

Now they look familiar I'm definitely sold on them and would definitely go for them again on another bike. .

I got them because I liked the idea after trying them on your bike. The easy fitting of the throttle is a bonus. Are you still using that bike?

 

[103Alex1]

I got them because I liked the idea after trying them on your bike. The easy fitting of the throttle is a bonus. Are you still using that bike?

Don't think I'd ever have got the double-throttle and switch on there without combi-shifters, to be honest !

Yes, the bike is still happily doing its thing and the electrics have given me no problems since the original build. I did have to replace a couple of spokes on the motor wheel, though - thankfully you suggested I buy some spares right at the outset so I had those in the box to swap out.

Would love to put some more miles on it - last Summer was pretty much a total write-off as I was away from Devon working round the clock for most of it. Hasn't really eased up since I got back, so been scurrying out for car loads of food reserves rather than enjoying myself. But I come to the end of the opportunity I have spent the last year working on 'flat out' come 31st March. I expect things to slow down significantly after that and hoping for a sunny Spring. .

If the battery is likely to keep going, I'd like to swap out the groupset sometime for something smoother. I'm having some 'slipping' gears / noisy shifting and reckon it's likely down to worn cassette and/or chainring. Or maybe I'm just not very good at adjusting things ?

 

[EddiePJ]

103Alex, in relation to your gear changing issues, check that the inner cable is running freely and smoothly. If you haven't used the bike for a while, moisture can get trapped in the cable and make it stiff, so giving the effect of slipping gears when it releases itself. It's one of those annoying and not always obvious causes.