Don’t Bother Building a DIY eBike in 2024

[@carlyellison8498]

Thank goodness I did my BBSHD MTB conversion in 2023!

[@eetusva7521]

:DDDDD same here

[@BH4x0r]

i did mine in 2021

[@Kay0Bot]

Emtb is still cheaper to do diy. A regular street ebike. His point is valid

[@jonathanchampagne7683]

I made my first 2 electric MTBs in 2007.

[@jonathanchampagne7683]

I could make you rich if you'd listen to me.

[@TheJb123176]

So if you buy a ebike my problem is companies want to charge insane prices for them. 3-4 k for a ebike that only can reach speeds of 30-35 mph. I can build one that can reach speeds of 40+ for a fraction of the cost of a company's ebike.

[@NiSiochainGanSaoirse]

My ebike gets to 43mph, and jus yesterday did 30 odd miles on full throttle and STILL had half a charge left. It cost me £1500 British pounds, with another £500 to get a windscreen, bags, mudguards and a comfort saddle. It's incredibly comfortable, road legal thanks to the 12v lights and turn signals, and I'd advise ou to build your own. Super simple to do, and you get super cheap travel for years.

[@MyLifeInTheDesert]

But is that even legal in your area You aren’t allowed to go that fast on a multi use path

[@WhyGodby]

My area I have to ride on the road with cars in normal lanes​@@MyLifeInTheDesert

[@TheJb123176]

@@MyLifeInTheDesert are a cop? Who cares if someone rides a bike faster than the speed limit.

[@OkRetard-f7y]

@@NiSiochainGanSaoirseyo imma need to see the full list of what u bought

[@Supavape]

Don't bother building an ebike? You sound like you work for an ebike company now....

[@projectpat2262]

@johnnyharperscoutstable5386 I’ve been looking for suggestions on motors?

[@hus_10001]

Bro built it butt ugly, picked a frame that makes no sense

[@hus_10001]

@johnnyharperscoutstable5386 no it doesn't happen sometimes unless you don't understand electric bike conversion kits instructions telling you the bike frame you want is the diamond frame / double triangle frame. Literally every manufacturer recommends that type of frame otherwise if you use some weird shaped frame the build ends up looking like a hobo electric bike. Looks messy and butt ugly like it's some early prototype model electric bike from 20 years ago

[@hus_10001]

@johnnyharperscoutstable5386 folding ebikes are the worst, every part that you can fold gets to be noisy, loose and rattling, which makes the bike feel like it will fall apart. But it's upto you, since your the profession and all you would know better 😅 also the only 🔥🔥🔥will be you burning that I was right. anywho you like the ebike in this video so them sort of builds may suit you.. all I know is I have built 3 bikes for myself but even my first bike looked very clean. I can even say that it was cleaner than my last one I'm currently using because its a Norco xfr 1 hybrid has small triangle frame so made things a little tight and I noticed I have more cable to hide but I might fix the cables soon by running it through frame as bike already has the slots to do so. I uploaded short of mine

[@hus_10001]

@johnnyharperscoutstable5386 dude you showing off a front wheel hub motor build on a trike 😩 they are much easier to make come out clean. You can't compare the two. But what would I no, your the profession 😇

[@chamesbrown7307]

Building your own helps you understand how things work , and this can help a lot when or if something breaks , you will definitely know how to replace it from knowledge of the Build

[@stockey]

My 60MPH DIY cost me $1500, and i don't intend to sell it, and it's very well built, almost look like a main brand.

[@pedxing]

do tell! spec/part list anywhere you have posted? I am intrigued

[@anakinskymonke3670]

No one will believe you if they see it for themselves!

[@Jack-bh5ro]

Yeah send a party list plz

[@coltonroddy5655]

we need to know what you’re using!

[@fahmiyusoff9154]

My 350w kit cost 200usd with perfomance comparable with 1500usd ebikes tf u talking about

[@veen4481]

For real anyone who this video is meant for is so confused with this guy. I immediately went to look up his first recommendation, gtfo. I can save that for a car. 😂

[@stavencapp]

350 watt LOL

[@prophetzarquon]

Dude isn't talking about anything like 350W; he _started_ with a >1000W 72V, 40 MPH build. And yeah, he's right that you can totally get a 40 MPH ebike that _looks like a bicycle_ for ~$1500 these days. The main challenge, is that building/buying a 1KWh battery alone, costs over $300 just for the cells. Secondly, whether DIY or prebuilt, most ≥40 MPH "ebikes" look less like a bicycle than the emotos they (legally & functionally) are. DIY can still be a decent value (especially with cheap ebike frames now available!); he's just pointing out that *prebuilt ebikes tend to offer somewhat superior fit & finish,* without spending a lot more money than a comparable DIY. Which is true. Unfortunately, _most_ buyers of a prebuilt ebike, are buying $50 worth of battery on $200 worth of bike, for $1500, or some "high performance" ebike with altogether about $200 worth of electronics & $1500 worth of components, for >$5000... Most batteries sold are poorly protected (in both DIY _and_ prebuilt markets 😬), & most companies (in both DIY & prebuilt markets) are a flash in the pan, with no great customer support history. Buying _the right_ prebuilt ebike, _can_ be an easy & cost-effective entry point for people who want an ebike but aren't sure about building one. That said, however, I don't think most people _will_ buy "the right" prebuilt ebike for them, unless they've studied & built one, first!?

[@fahmiyusoff9154]

@@prophetzarquon entry level ebike you get 350 watt motors... For 1500usd..tf you talking about

[@prophetzarquon]

@fahmiyusoff9154 No, that's incorrect. There are _lots_ of ≥750W ebikes for $1500. Check out companies like Aventon, Lectric, RadPower, & even ride1up. There's also "white label" chinese shops offering _excellent_ builds in that price range (¡especially considering where most "brand name" bikes get their components!). "750W" is among the most common in the US, due to regulatory limits. Even in EU countries with a "250 Watt" limit, the _actual_ output from more expensive big name Bosch/Brose/etc systems, commonly peaks over 1KW (because 250W limits were based on a fundamental misunderstanding of human power output; 250W is typically sustainable _all day,_ with larger than average people averaging closer to 350 or even 500 Watts exerted for the same motions). I hope this info helps, & regardless of what ebike you may have, I hope it serves you well!

[@Nalladolla32]

Theres also a lot of benefits to diy versus buying premade that you didnt touch on. Yeah someone getting a cheap kit off amazon would be better off buy a cheap bike. Some of us however are into much higher power build utilizing features that arent found of most stock bikes such as variable regen, foc control with field weakening, higher voltage packs, phase amp tuning vs standard battery amp, full tuning abilities on throttle, pas, large direct drive motors over small geared hubs, solar setups, gps and trip analyzers etc. I agree that for most out there buying premade is the way but for the enthusiastic builders that know where to look, the highest quality and most recent developments can be bought and applied when it will take years to see it on stock bikes. Example. Grin technologies has developed a thru axle direct drive motor with integrated torque arm, 4kg weight compared to most 6kg on comparable hubs, thin lams for reduced drag, internal temp sensor, overmolder plug, optional single side application, optional pas sensor in cassette body for seamless pas, and with statorade injected into the motor it can handle a bit less than 2kw continuously at higher speeds. You will not see this motor on a stock bike any time soon, if at all. Most stock bikes are geared hubs and arent anything special. The benefits to going diy if you actually know what you are doing and dont buy the cheapest stuff from aliexpress are endless. It just depends on if thats what you are looking for. Also companys come and go so when support drops for a bike and parts arent available anymore, they are screwed as most dont do the work themselves. Look up what happened with bionix. Going diy you have a full understanding of the bike and if something goes wrong you can fix it, without some crappy support trying to "help" you.😂 Premade bikes have come a very long way though and some are a great deal for the price. It all depends on what you are looking for and the use case in my opinion. Great video!

[@Matanumi]

.....wired freedom?

[@Nalladolla32]

@@Matanumi What about it? It's a nice bike especially for the price but still doesn't tick many of the boxes that some of us are looking for. Like things listed above.

[@frankroach9346]

I agree with you because if you want to go 60 mph plus DIY it also cheaper

[@Sofiner1]

Thx man i agree. Currently planning on building my own and the amount i learned already pais dividends in maintenance. Are those aliexpress kits that bad? I am eyeing one currently. Do you know any common issues?

[@Nalladolla32]

@@Sofiner1 Biggest thing is you don't really know what you are getting until it arrives. You can find great stuff on there like motors, wiring, parts etc but whatever you do don't get any batteries off there. That's when you start playing with fire(literally). Just research whatever you are looking to buy and make sure the seller has sold them before and has decent reviews. If they haven't sold any and have no reviews move on.

[@nathancereska8215]

You left out one scenario. I’ve built and bought bikes. The best bike I have is a 500 dollar Ebike I bought off Amazon…, then stripped it and used a kit on it. All in 2,000 bucks. Thing is amazing and my range is killer. It’s really a third option, and one I’ve really enjoyed. Thanks for the video

[@gangsteradam1014]

Could you go in more detail on what u did? I got a 500$ e bike that I want to upgrade to

[@hus_10001]

@gangsteradam1014 don't do it, keep it as is and buy another kit and just put new kit on new bike frame, upgrades are a waste if money if its a ready made ebike. And best kits are ebay kits, they are super easy to build, they have literally like 4-5 plug and play colour coded plugs u just need to connect and you are done. Why buy an ebike just to strip and put another kit on?? Makes zero sense

[@nathancereska8215]

@@hus_10001 you are just getting a second battery and better controller… it’s not throwing out all the parts….. base Amazon e-bikes are low torque shit battery basic. Couple bucks makes them better than high end bikes for 5,000 buvks

[@hus_10001]

@@nathancereska8215 💩

[@geozil6782]

Don't listen to this guy

[@TheOriginalBumper]

I did my bike conversion for about 180 not including the bike I had for 4 years that was 12 years ago. My bike is now about 16 years old and it’s super easy. I use ryobi 40 volt batteries . So there are ways to make the bike super inexpensive . And I use my battery for many other uses not just an ebike battery that just sits there most of the day in garage .

[@davidhuggins3892]

IDK if I agree with your statement. I'm on my 3rd build after doing major research on all the ready made bikes out there. And I really wanted to buy one. But price was a major factor which lead me to build #3. Plus if something does go wrong on the road you have a better chance of fixing whatever comes up as supposed to calling customer service and hoping you get help. Another reason is you can build your bike to the way YOU want it to be. Whatever power you want. That was a major factor because I'm going to be much more comfy on my build than anything on the market. Now I will say If you got the money to spend and it fits your specs go for it. But learning to do and build e-bikes is a damn good hobby and you can pass on knowledge to other people.

[@indogyrsimdead]

That's the reason I built my ebike from Amazon so I can replace anything if it broke.. check the video on my page to see the bike

[@joshuawilliams3831]

@david I’m a first time e-bike buyer. Wanting to build my own bike. Bc I’d like to do more than 30 mph ifneed be. Can I email you or Facebook message you with some questions by chance?

[@indogyrsimdead]

@@joshuawilliams3831 Check out the bike I built on my page for a $1000 & does 35 miles per hour...Total Amazon build

[@griffincontracting]

I don't think anything you've mentioned invalidates my DIY e-DH rig.

[@AdamsHadEnough]

This is still the way to go!

[@namiix7365]

i think the exception is emtb. a name brand mid drive mountain bike is absurdly overpriced.

[@dmt472]

emtb's are insane, full suspension is already crazy and with electric it's like $8-10k lol. Problem is even if you build your own the full suspension frame is already super expensive, so you are kinda screwed anyway

[@outtolunch88]

My first was e-bike was in 2012, 250W front hub to get around Sydney. Into the city and across the harbour bridge faster and free parking. My CYC X1 Pro and custom-built battery has just been shipped to go onto a 2012 Giant 29er Hardtail. So for about $5k Aussie I'll have a tidy build, back-country fly-fishing & commuter machine. It'll have 2x torque and 3x range of a factory bike costing 10-12K. I was in a bike shop on the weekend, factory eMTB's are ugly and overpriced - like Tesla built a bicycle.

[@benjaminlhargrave]

A Wired Freedom costs $2000. Your similar custom was like $500. How does paying an extra $1500 make any sense at all?

[@marklavoy3113]

Your opinion - not mine .

[@TheMarklandian]

My bike 3kw 60v 25ah high quality 4 piston hydraulic brakes with 203mm rotors was less than 2k. I’ve hit over 50 multiple times on rides no problem. It’s my first ebike/ebike build and I wouldn’t even think of getting a production bike instead. I’m now in the enthusiast category with 4 bikes. One big thing I think with DIY is number one learn and at least understand what you’re doing. Know you’ll need space for electronics and buy a frame based around your components. Number two search the internet for a good quality/priced product. I got an eBay motor kit that was 5 stars and a unit pack power battery. And I think the biggest thing people do is cheap out on necessities. A decent frame and brakes will trump speed for me. Finding the good middle ground is the best in my opinion. DIY really isn’t that bad but it takes alot of time and a lot of research to basically find the Lego pieces for something you only have an image of in your mind

[@sambryant2150]

50 miles?

[@TheMarklandian]

@@sambryant2150 50mph

[@lionelhowell4972]

I installed a 1500-watt eBay kit on my 29' Shwinne Axum mountain bike and it's great. 37 mph throttle only, and 70 miles range if peddling. All under $700 48v 20Ah battery included.

[@TheMarklandian]

@@lionelhowell4972 how slow are you going to get 70 miles. I have a dual battery setup on one of my bikes (total 48v 34ah) and it gets about 50 with me pedaling a lot in pas 3

[@lionelhowell4972]

@@TheMarklandian Easily, 10-15 mph max it's called casual riding with very few hills. that kit also has regen ( so maybe you need to learn how to use that as well)

[@nicod974]

Bought a name brand ebike, had only troubles after troubles with it... Controller blew, motor melted, battery had to be replaced, frame paint arrived damaged, crank shaft is grinding, all macanical cables had to replaced, front gear derailleur Shimano broke down... 1800€ for fixing. I got new motor, new controller new battery new BMS new cells and I'm a painter by trade so it was easy fix. The struggle was rewinding a motor but anyone gifted with a brain should be able to learn motor basics

[@paulstrollo3187]

as a builder, i can tell you for sure and for certain i can no longer compete with mass producers. Just what the parts cost would get you a really nice factory ride forget about all my labor. Only up side is most "kits" are unlocked so more access to P settings ECT.

[@guymee]

I mean, I got the random kit on Amazon, and it taught me how to repair simple parts of a bike and showed me how easy it is to remove and add parts to a bike So for me the biggest reason was that I want to know how to work on issues with the bikes I wasn’t an enthusiast until I was into the concept of building my own ebike on KZbin because of videos I saw it was cheap and that was my reason, but it just made me into this whole thing, I think it’s good if you actively want to learn

[@markifi]

one exception: you want an electric cargo bike and can easily store any shape battery, controller, and their cables. some packs especially refurbished automotive stuff still are as cheap as 100 dollars per kilowatthour (according to aging wheels anyway, i haven't seen this first hand)

[@murdercom998]

Title should be Don't half ass your ebike build in 2024

[@davidleedom]

It's all about your goals. I'm doing rail trails. The average speed will be 10-13 mph. I want a pedal assist without any throttle. When I change bikes, i'm moving my motor to my new bike and donating my older bike to the local used bike shop. I'm also concerned about the flood of ebike brands. If a company goes out of business, how do I get a replacement battery? I'm using a generic battery so i can swap them around, no sweet.

[@bassw1758]

DIY is the best way to be, most pre built's have jacked up geometry, terrible for off road, to many pedal strikes, Fork angle is always jacked up too. And full suspension 250w ridiculously expensive, beautiful bikes with pathetic electrical systems that brake a lot leaving you without your bike for months.

[@salviaaable]

true.. one of my friends got his first "ebike" i guess its called stance e. on flat terrain it is a pain to pedal over 25 Kmh with its big 29" tires, and the brakes are getting very hot no regen whatsoever, no real information about the battery just an generic app, no real insight of the components, casette and chain getting worse every time. gearbox with many moving parts but no real power, even the 4000-6000€ bikes got not much of abigger battery to properly getting that steep hill up without pedaling like a maniac, lol

[@cbxgang]

you’re insane to think 2500$ for an ebike with 2kw and maybe 20 km range is affordable

[@prophetzarquon]

A 2KWh battery, is gonna cost ~$500 just for the cells alone. I agree that $2500 isn't exactly "affordable" for most people these days _(most_ people don't have even $500 to spare). 2KWh is actually quite unusual, among prebuilt "ebikes"; almost all have less than 1KWh capacity! Not sure _where_ he thinks people are going to order a prebuilt 40 MPH "ebike" with 2KWh of battery, for $2500?

[@lilvegasbasc-se7en-0-duece67]

I love your take on this but what would you say about buying a cheaper bike with an open frame and upgrading it to a 72 volt system with a 5kw or higher motor in the back ? Since no bikes really come like that out the door

[@eetusva7521]

YEP! true true

[@jefff6884]

Ebikeguy on KZbin built a 8000 watt version of this. Goes over 100mph.

[@lilvegasbasc-se7en-0-duece67]

@@jefff6884 Tommebike. He lives an hour from me.

[@lilvegasbasc-se7en-0-duece67]

@@jefff6884 yee I live an hour from him.. imma have em build me a battery soon

[@MrTapsa.]

Yeah bud very safe👍

[@igorberezin856]

you are dead wrong. my ebike kit i purchased for 210 on ebay which is 1000w direct drive. 8ah battery for 120( currently sold for 90.00). its super easy to build a bike especially that a simple FULL SUSPENSION bike is fairly cheap. fully assembled came to about 400.00 including all headlights, usb ports and additional safety led light installed with flash controller. similar featured bike costs around 1200 if you were to buy it in 2024. so no you are dead wrong. you should build your own diy bike its easy and much more customizable the way you want it. Prebuilt bikes lock you in to a formfactor battery limited outright. They weigh as much as a person 80+lb (my bike i built diy is around 50lb and i carry it all the way to 3rd floor apartment no problems every day)

[@Kloudthedon]

I'm good

[@prophetzarquon]

8Ah... So, maybe ten minutes at full power? The _cells_ for a decent battery alone, cost > $400... IDK what good 8Ah is supposed to do?

[@Inventerguy16]

There are definitely pros and cons to DIY electric bikes, but the thing that makes me really like DIY electric bikes is that you know what went into making it and if something breaks it’s much easier to swap out. Buying a manufacturer to electric bike it’s really good if you just want some thing that set up and good to go right out of the box but the problem with most manufactured electric bikes is that if something gets damaged it’s a lot harder to replace if at all, especially if a frame gets damaged then the bike is pretty much worthless with a DIY electric bike if the frame gets damaged or gets damaged or something with the electrical system fails, you don’t have to replace the whole thing you can just replace a certain part. Also, I find it really fun to just have a electric bike that I built and even if it looks like crap as long as it performs, great it’s amazing because people won’t want to steal it as much as a beautifully made manufactured bike because they think it looks Janky, but to the owner of the bike they know it’s theirs and it works the way they want it. and finally with doing a DIY electric bike you get the satisfaction you built it. You can’t get with a manufactured bike riding built feels A lot more special than writing something that you paid to someone else to build.

[@coolcatclickos]

In your hypothetical you said that if the frame of a pre-built e-bike would be broken it's "pretty much worthless" what's the difference on either side you have to buy a new frame & all the other parts are the same compatibility. Why can't you just then use that as an opportunity to upgrade your pre-built frame to one of those cheap carbon fiber frames from Alibaba. See the damage to the frame as an opportunity to upgrade it. pre-built e-bike would not be able to replace with other do-it-yourself parts available? Any part on a pre-built e-bike you can replace with not only that part but different alternatives it's not like a proprietary system. You said if the part on the manufactured e-bike is broken it's worthless

[@wandererstraining]

I just built myself an ebike using a BBSHD and a Marin Pine Mountain 1. I wanted a hardtail with a steel frame for durability and repairability. I wanted good power, and a reliable motor. And I wanted a large battery capacity. I have one medium sized triangle battery, and one brick battery mounted on top of the frame. Overall, it's not messy. I 3D printed a lot of the parts myself, and increased water resistance using silicone. I'm soon going to install larger disc brake rotors. One of the advantages of my build is that the bike is not that heavy for what it is, and I can choose what battery configuration to bring along for the day, depending on my needs. I can also easily upgrade the bike in the future. I guess I count as an enthusiast. It could have been cheaper to buy something like an Aniioki with dual hub motors and massive batteries. But then, I find myself with a much, much heavier bike to carry upstairs, and judging from what I read online, the quality of the components might have been lower. For me who lives in Canada, the "off the shelf" performance bike would have been a dual battery Biktrix Juggernaut that costs about $2000 more than my build. My BBSHD has less power, but I could mod it to get even more power than the Juggernaut and it would still come out much less expensive. With that said, the Juggernaut is the more elegant solution. Its dual chain setup is awesome and protects the drivetrain, while having the disadvantage of the motor no longer having access to gears. Overall, building or buying is definitely a tough call. If I didn't care for repairability, I could have built one for even less, or even bought one already made for less but with more tradeoffs. Or I could have bought one with pretty much no tradeoffs for significantly more.

[@Zomby_Woof]

It depends on how much you want to spend to go how fast. If you want something that will do 45mph to keep up with traffic, and don't want to spend the earth, you have to go diy. What I learned is that is thats what you want, you need to buy certain components rather than make them - like the frame. A conversion on a regular bike is always going to have a lot of failure points - like dropouts. You don't need to weld up your own frame - pick one up off ali, pick your motors, controllers, battery, bms, display... If you want to run more than 2kw on one axle you need to go with a gearless hub motor. When I had wrung all the learning what not to do on my diy conversion, I switched to a factory dual gear motor full suspension bike. Its nothing _but_ compromises, but I could not have built anything close to it for $1400 delivered. I've resisted so far the urge to take it apart and modify it. But its nice to know I would have no problem replacing any component on it if I needed to.

[@samdash3216]

Great video. Thanks for insights! One offtopic question: What is this bike frame in the outro? I love it. Is this custom build or frame is available for purchase somewhere?

[@WaveRadioUSA]

I have enjoyed viewing your videos. I have a motor goat but also an older 2000s Cannondale MTB I want to convert to ebike for fun, I like the concept of direct drive hub motor. I have looked at the NBpower and Leaf systems, and like the NBpower but all their verbiage states 26" wheel (disk breaks), so not sure if they are saying they will work with disk or disk only? My old Cannondale has "V" wheel breaks and it will hard stop and throw me over the handle bars. Did your bike conversion have MTB V style breaks?

[@dmt472]

Looking at some of the fully pre-built and integrated bikes they are great. They work out the box and they go forwards. Problem for me comes when something goes wrong - repairing those ebikes is going to set you back steeply as I imagine they're not made to be easily serviced, so you're going to have to get vendor repairs, and let me tell you the crank motors are EXPENSIVE. Now if you get a conversion kit - let's say a rear electric conversion kit (e.g. Geeko 100g rear), okay I'm now locked into the number of speeds and frame fit, but that still leaves me a TON of range of bikes I can switch to, and I can upgrade with half the price by getting only a new motor. And let's say I don't actually want an e-bike anymore because I'll be fording a river or going into a big city, just swap out the tyre with the original, remove the battery and bam you're back to a normal bike.

[@AB-ct3ev]

"move onto your next bike" brother I'm using this piece of junk until I crash it.

[@E-bikeguy]

DIY all day for me, I can customize the parts, get the bike that best suits me, and make it go as fast as I want and have the range too almost the same price as a mid drive Trek MTB

[@vermin6107]

In the intro you correctly capture the essence of the current target demographic for such kits. People that find them attractive for economic purposes. So the first point concerning optics falls incredibly flat. People that struggle to get by and need an efficient way to work for example don't care about the looks. And a similar problem raises its head with your second point when it comes to resell value. There is this commonly known quote of "It's expensive being poor." And this is one of these situations. If you dont have the money for a professionaly manufactured e-bike than you can't base your decisions on how well bikes that are out of your price pool would retain value if you had the money. As a student for example I dont have a couple of thousand dollars just lying around waiting to be spend on a bike. I just need to get over a literal mountain multiple times a week for my job to finance university. Looks dont matter. The hypthetical resell value of bikes that I currently cant afford dont matter. If people in those price ranges are not your target audience then that is completely fine but for people like me this video just falls completely flat.

[@chrisc7764]

Addressing your points - Fit and finish: don't buy a kit and buy and bike then force them to work together. Go in with a plan. Mid drive motors have controllers built in and there are TONS of battery options that work even inside full sus triangles. This makes the fit and finish so much better than a hub drive kit with an external controller. If you insist on getting a hub motor then consider a hardtail with much more space inside the triangle. Resale value: you're right about this. You'll never get your money back, people need to realize this before beginning their build. Growing list of alternatives: depends on your needs. For commuting I agree with you, there are great options. For trail riding, I think DIY is superior. E MTB's from manufacturers are $4k minimum and you can build a straight up weapon for $2-2.5k. Get an early 2000's downhill bike or a modern aggressive hardtail and put a mid drive kit on it and it feels incredible. My 04 Kona Stinky has a BBS02 and a small 10Ah battery but can easily do 20 mile rides on steep trails. Yes the motor hangs a little low but it has never been a real handicap for me and I've ready on really technical, chunky, black diamond trails.

[@bmxriderforlife1234]

Im buying a random aliexpress frame kit that that super73 style esque. I can pick my forks and parts including motor and battery stuff. Carver fat bikes sram xd hub. 1x7 gear set up. Lightning rod small block or bbshd. 72v and a nice controller and set up to handle 40amps. Gas tank style battery holders or case and get my own wired up or find one that fits. For like 3k at worst ill have a 72v 130ah 7 speed mid drive set up. Potentially with regen braking if i drop the derauiller based gears. Potentially with carbon rims. Probably gonna run bmx tires vs fat bike tires. But still at least 2.4 wide and wide rims to help blimp em out. And gonna set up for an integrated charge port. External controller but set up bolted to the frame. Many come with cable routing but if not 3m double sided tape cable ties. And an extra battery hook up for a battery back pack.

[@piotrukasz3582]

For the same reason, I built my first ebike in 2021. I went for higher costs and finally paid about €3,600 for the entire project, but at this price I could get the cheapest ebike that reached a maximum of 45 km/h. The difference was that for the price of a factory ebike I had: a 1500W motor instead of 250W, a 1480Wh battery instead of 500Wh and bicycle components of a class or two higher in quality. And the maximum speed I achieved was 72 km/h, I didn't try any faster due to my fear of the bike falling apart. Now I'm wondering whether to replace the engine with a more powerful one and continue riding my bike or buy a ready-made ebike. A difficult choice.

[@chrisregister8021]

I have a specialized enduro in brand new condition. I was thinking about putting a CYC proton on it. Do you think I would be better off just selling it and getting something new?

[@Zoey_the_Rat]

Ummm, idk about the price, I've counted it to be at least 1.5x cheaper to build a 750w bike than to buy an absolute 250w trashfire of a vehicle. Also, what about buying components separately instead of a kit? Cause they don't always provide regen breaking, which I would very much enjoy having

[@ChrisB...]

DIY is engrained in my genes, I can't help building it myself even if it costs more. The end result is always closer to what I dreamed that anything I can buy retail.

[@mikec4308]

to each their own

[@marianosantiniello2213]

What an obvious comment.😅 Just like it might make more sense for you to buy one. People who like to tinker or who have a very specific build they are going for; they will fare far better doing their own DIY bike.

[@inimicalintent8825]

Worth building if you know what you doing and don't mind no UL 2849 certification. But apartments and buildings are banning DIY ebikes and people from bringing in non UL 2849 ebikes nowadays

[@dallashill23]

Apartment bannings on e-bikes is absolutely not true and BS why are you telling lies?

[@UnknownArtist450]

Partially agree. It actually depends on which type of ebike you prefer. Majority of hub motor kits are a pain indeed because of all those wires. Mid motor kits do not have this problem plus they have lost of other advantages. If I wanted hub motor ebike, I'd get the ready built one rather then converting, but my pesonal opinion mid motor kits are the best.

[@ajtkyqa]

Does a bicycle wheel keep its weight load capacity if it is respoke a with shorter spokes to add a hub motor? Want to add a hub motor to a cargo trike and keep the same load baring capacity and integrity.

[@ianmangham4570]

No wonder this guys giving up ,he creates a monstrosity 😅

[@lewisedwardson7776]

Look, you're right that the ebike market has dramatically improved. For the average ebike user that is neither an enthusiast nor a beginner, there are so many really great options to pick from in the $700-2000 range, and if your DIY project is literally just a typical 10, 15, or 20 Ah battery, a 1500W or lower motor, on a 26-inch fat bike with front suspension, then you could have bought something for roughly the same cost, that would look neater and retain better resell value. Everything you said was accurate. But what you didn't say, was a lot, you left out a lot, leaving with a perspective that ignores how useful DIY is for beginners and enthusiasts, which are also a huge portion of e-bikers, in the case of e-bikes it might even be true to say that beginners and enthusiasts combined, are more than half. In the last two years, the common e-bikes on the market shifted from a 250-350W with 216-280 Wh battery, up to 750W fat tire e-bikes with 600-960 Wh batteries.. Even 1000-2000W e-bikes are starting to have multiple choices at each level. And e-bikes are starting to come standard with fenders, rack, headlight/tail light, and good quality displays. Some are even coming with turn signals and brakelights. But I think your omission of the current relevance of DIY for e-bikes, was motivated by a desire to not risk liability. But market bikes still almost never use regenerative braking. Regenerative braking is obviously great for the 5-20% range upgrade, but it's also great for reliable rear wheel, controllable braking, without having to wear through your brake pads. And it wouldn't cost much different to have controllers that support regen. The batteries on e-bikes with Peak 1500W or higher, which is what's really necessary to get a reliable 28 mph, tend to lack the battery capacity to actually maintain that speed. People who are going faster generally also intend to go further, and maybe even ride for longer. And doing that takes a substantially larger battery. Right now, if you buy a 250W e-bike, you get a 300 Wh battery, realistically it lasts you for 1.5 hours of 15 mph, you went 23 miles. With a 500W e-bike and a 600 Wh battery, you get around 1.20 hours of 20 mph, 24 miles. With a 750W e-bike and a 720 Wh battery, you get around 1 hour of 25 mph, 25 miles. With a 1000W e-bike you get a 960 Wh battery, and you go around 28 mph for almost an hour, and you get around 26 miles of range. With a 1500-2000W e-bike, you get a 1200 Wh battery, you can go 35-40 mph for noticeably under an hour, and get around 27 miles of range. They've managed to carefully balance the battery with the motor power in a way that results in very similar riding distance for most e-bikes, regardless of what they advertise. But what if somebody wants to ride their e-bike for hours? These e-bike companies are charging way too much for their spare batteries, and their starting batteries aren't big enough. It's easy to upgrade a DIY bike. Need more range? Search the entire market for basically any battery of your choosing. Instead of buying a spare 48V14.4Ah battery for $700, you can buy a 52V28.8 Ah triangle battery for $500. Or even bigger, if you go custom or venture outside of Amazon. DIY bike can use your existing bike. So it's already exactly how you want it. Right now the market isn't providing people with 28mph-e-bikes with 2-3 inch bike tires. Not everyone wants a 4-inch fat tire, and not everybody who wants a normal bike tire, wants some puny 250-350W motor, some are avid cyclists that want power comparable to their own. Torque sensing is still rare on market e-bikes. I've never gotten to ride a torque sensing e-bike, but it sounds like an essential feature that would make riding feel just like a regular bike, pedaling harder to accelerate harder, that would make the whole experience more fun and immersive, motivate me to pedal harder more consistently, and it would also give me better control over the bike when I want to pedal through rough areas without too much assist but also without having to use a low speed limit setting. Gearing. Many of these e-bikes are using standard shimano 7-speed, which I have no problem pedaling at 28 mph or lower, but a lot of people say it takes too much cadence from 20+ mph, and they need higher gears to pedal slower at higher speeds.

[@Aka.Aka.]

Torque sensing is ez to get now. Aventon has a 999$ torque ebike and velotric has a 1099$ torque ebike

[@lewisedwardson7776]

@@Aka.Aka. Those are weaker ebikes, though. If you want an e-bike with decent power, then without torque sensor, there are options for $1000, but with torque sensor and decent power, it's hard to find anything under $1600. The $1000-1200 e-bikes with torque sensors are only as powerful as $400-700 e-bikes. The people who make good powerful bikes for cheap aren't willing to put in a torque sensor, which costs them like $10-40 more than a cadence sensor, they could even charge $100-200 extra and make good profit off of it, but those companies aren't integrating it. There are some companies that offer torque sensors for what some would consider affordable prices, but for a lot of people, spending $1000 on an e-bike that goes slower than you can go pedaling a regular bike is not worth it.

[@trevortrevortsr2]

I wanted a bike with triple-braced air assist forks, mono-shock rear and lifepo4 cells and just couldn't find one so built my own - spoking the wheel 2 cross heavy gauge - a bike that would be ok there ever i went

[@fugemlpriks1876]

Please don’t knock the DIY bikes please mate. I enjoy your videos immensely.👍🇦🇺

[@devildogcody]

Price to performance is still better in DIY. While there are many name brand ebikes I would LOVE to have, I simply can't afford them

[@sykomode]

A premade bicycle and a high quality diy kit will always be more for your money than a premade ebike. Your bike was ugly because you made bad choices, a diy kit can always be removed but if your premade ebike breaks, you're stuck in that companies ecosystem or you just have a big heavy piece of junk that cant be used for anything.

[@Bengy22]

For point one you can build a bike with a diy frame that will hide the battery and look atraight out of a big shop. See the Dengfu E55 frame for example

[@ypsqueeze9632]

Hi mate I love how you clamped you battery on what is that thing as I need somewhere to clamp my big ol battery somewhere and the way you done it seems perfect, like a mini fuel tank

[@sergioontiveros4984]

Ok ill hear you out ,can you show me one bike that goes minimum 40mph thats under $2000?

[@khanrides]

Segway Xyber and lyric graffiti X are coming out this year and both are going to be 45 mph e-bikes. Very promising bikes and they come feature packed out of the box. Lots of great e-bikes coming out this year

[@slimdunkin117]

The xyber is a 48v overpriced junk…

[@ryanmfitz]

lol donar frame selection matters, DIY is best value if done right. if you use quality parts the right buyer would come around. bike market is saturated atm, so all these ebikes used are cheap.

[@Superhermit]

My DIY bike was fantastic, but yes, quality was shaky and brakes were dangerous. I think it would be easier today to look for an Fixer-upper ebike and replace the components with DIY parts, than to use a regular bike. The bike frame size, rear fork width, and break system is a pain to figure out on normal bikes, especially when you look for one on the used market . I have an Ariel Rider Kepler now and I like it a lot. But for my next bike I want a Torque sensor and thinner tires for nimble handling

[@noodles169]

Ive always liked the idea of buying a cheap ebike and modifying it over time, till you get the perfect bike for your needs

[@igorberezin856]

you will be locked in to the onboard battery form factor which is changed over time and you will not be able to get a new battery few years down the road when your capacity starts to drop because companies do not support product past warranty period. expect to dump your frame for a new one to fit a new battery connector and housing if its internal frame battery.

[@user-oy9zy4ds9m]

My wired freedom is arriving Monday 😁

[@dtape]

I wish there existed a fully built bike with the configuration that I want. I'll probably have to build it myself. A commuter bike with single speed belt drive with hub motor and hydraulic disc brakes with 650 wah battery and torque sensor. I live in NYC where it snows and it's so much better using a belt drive. And NYC is close to flat so I don't really need gears when there's motor assist.

[@subspace666]

an obvious reason to build your own is to have a bike of sufficient power , in places like England i think your limited to 250watt and 500watt in canada so buying might not be an option if retailers can't sale them.

[@iemy2949]

Would rubbee style be hell on the back tire tread?

[@JayZec-t8q]

Buddy from what I could see the bike you built looked very nice _ a few decals away from a factory built one

[@mrhatchyK24]

i do what i want, whenever i want, how ever i want

[@victorvannatter312]

They don’t make many factory bbshd bikes with big batteries. Especially not for even half of what I’m spending on parts. That’s why I build my own. Completely agree with you though if you’re happy with a hub drive, it’s hard to beat the wired freedom

[@funniersphere44]

But you could 3d print the panels and compartments everyone seems to think inside the box

[@quantumfx2677]

I work with sheet metal and plastics, easy to customize a beautiful look! Build your own and you can change bikes anytime to another one you like! This guy put together something using the wrong bike and cobbled it up! I guess if you don't know how or don't feel like building your own then buying a pre built may be your thing.

[@samuelhartman872]

Im kinda skeptical. I dont doubt that premade bikes usually look better, but they probably end up costing more. In a big US city, high quality used bikes are really cheap.

[@CadeKidd]

People don't normally use a full suspension to convert into an e-bike to avoid the issues you had. You should of known this would of been a common problem if you did any research. Comparable range and power with a good prebuilt is a $4,000 starting price compared to $1600 to convert an existing bike that will haul ass.

[@OZZYERIDE]

you need to get a proper mtb frame, hardtai8ls usally get the job done well like the gaint takln 3

[@omnipresentvideo7686]

I've often thought about splitting the difference: buy a cheap ebike and replace electronics with better kit. Then, I have a cleaner look with potentially better performance and reliability. Eg. Buying a Vivi fat bike for $400 and simply putting a better motor/battery kit on it. I'm not "mountain" biking so I don't need quality suspension parts, it's a glorified cruiser.

[@moussi22]

Take in to account that if you buy from manufacturer in most countries it will be limited to 21km/h and you will have to spend a lot of time/money bypassing that limiter.

[@suspiciousstew1169]

This is why I’m considering putting a mid drive motor on my gravel bike, but only several years into the future because I don’t need a car replacement yet

[@Bernhard_Schmidt]

There is a typo on the amazon listing title at 2:03. It says mutifunction

[@davidstonkus3288]

The one thing you did not mention about building your own is safety. a friend of mine wanted me to build the battery and charger/controller. I told him I'm sorry but I don't want to be resposible for all the lives lost when your apt. burns down.

[@jayhouston1614]

I built one from a Lechen ebike kit from Amazon and purchased a UPP battery as well from Amazon on June 8th 2022! I havent had to do not one thing to maintain the battery nor the kit! Use some critical thinking and also follow the directions! Most people dont! So many idiots feel they can do what they want just because they spent their money on it!

[@ptaylor81]

My 72v 2000w new ebike cost £1300 from ebay. Top speed 45 mph or 76 kph. It's terrifying, but fun!

[@Jnaathra]

My most recent attempt at buying a name brand bike was a cluster fuck of broken promises, missed shipping dates, addon no longer available. So that put me a month behind when I wanted the bike. So now here I am, online looking for DIY ideas. So that I can get - exactly- the features that I want at the price I want. Looks like people didn't take to this particular video all that well.

[@benpar8120]

I don't want a big bulky folding ebike, I need one with decent 2" wide tyres that I can carry upon & down stairs onto the Tube in 🇬🇧

[@stueygewy]

5:18 WOW that decision to overtake the Tesla on the right was quite risky!

[@Dragonhawk232]

"Two main groups of people wanting to build their own E-Bikes, beginners, and enthusiasts." Sir, you forgot poor people...

[@philbaker4155]

England 15 miles per hour?

[@KenKlassen-q9u]

You say you paid 2000$+ for your build. 431$ for the kit and a mongoose bike 399$ is 830$ + tax is say 1000$ I didn't hear where the other 1000$+ went. I'm interested in building a bike but not if it doubled with added costs. I can see maybe a couple hundred but a 1000$? The battery I'm thinking but that one you have shown on your bike can't be lithium ion. And if it isn't it must weigh what 25 lbs and it's huge. A little top heavy? So I agree with you . There are a few really nice ebikes that really aren't visibly ebikes . Wouldn't notice if one scooted by at 25mph. Lithium batteries ,wiring in the frame. Weighs 36 lbs dual disc brakes. And half the price of your build. I think I just decided which way I'm going.

[@sebastianfernandez6146]

I usually bike absolutely everywhere and love the exercise but this would be handy for those times I sleep in and I need to gtfo out the house ASAP.

[@grinjnbren]

I've got an unfinished battery i need to prioritize

[@heavenlyvibes7102]

Yeah I want a bike that goes 100mph and 300 mile range I am going to have to build this for it cost over 10k for this bike

[@valcrist7428]

Just the motor of these upgrade kits are priced as much as an already available full ebike.

[@egontravaglia8787]

your point of view is so valid. but i want to learn and recycle doing it

[@watcher63034]

Buying a mid drive mountain bike with good suspension, brakes, etc... is very expensive. Over 5K all the way up to 14K, For this type of bike, you are better to custom make your own. The commuter type bikes are very nice looking and perform well enough on flat ground or slight hills, but they wont get you offroad with good suspension, nor will they tackle large hills.

[@Manny30004]

I need a help can somebody help recommend me to buy a e bike with 110 miles range and with throttle only

[@Masukuboi]

I bought a ebike conversion kit, but it seems to be too heavy and keeps popping my tire tubing? Can anyone help?

[@simeballs]

Did the rim come with rim tape applied so that all the ends of the spokes are covered? If nothing is between your tube and the spokes they will put holes in the tube. I'd check that first I don't think it's because the kit is too heavy

[@Masukuboi]

@@simeballsI don’t think it did come with that, thanks man that might be the fix

[@simeballs]

@@Masukuboi @Masukuboi no worries mate, I had the same problem on my first ebike kit and after popping 2 tubes I realised it was missing the rim tape. If you KZbin how to apply rim tape/rim strip you'll see exactly what I mean and you don't need to buy fancy tape any decent tape will work if you just put a couple of layers. But yeah you definitely need it or you'll keep getting flats. Hope that helps!

[@Jozavenue]

You are right two left hands r a no go.

[@EVRLYNMedia]

honestly i ride a diamondback mtb i my parents got used in 2012 for $250, its condition has only deteriorated since then. if i can give it new life for less than $400, thats a deal in my book TBH

[@Zensaitv]

I love you because you make it how you want and need it for, not letting a company think that's what you need.... I'd rather buy a dual suspension frame with good room and dimensions, build it up look slick with sleeves and robust parts. But how these bikes are going to 3k to 8k is ridiculous it's for sure not that much to make 😤😮‍💨 I love my bafang 52v 25amp 60mi range buddy looks slick and people always comment on it. You just did yours badly sry to say. Planning and execution is everything.

[@niccoomar9569]

Building your own is cheaper and better to be honest you can make it neat and look good.

[@dailyrider2975]

DIY get you the bike you want, not what someone else thinks you want. Plus you built it, you know how to fix it or improve it. For me, I ride the road exclusively, so I'm NEVER buying a bicycle with spokes again. Unless those are motorcycle wheels. In fact that would be the major point of DIYing a EV-bike. Using motorcycle parts as much as possible. The parts last longer, more durable and often are cheaper or same price as a bicycle.

[@stavencapp]

3:57 yeah they really dont. Even a stock name brand e bike, 2nd hand will get you pennies on the dollar compared to what you paid for it. I tried for 6 months to sell my brand new $4k ebike, less than 50km on it it for $2500, i thought that was a bargain, best offer i got was $1000.

[@dalvenable331]

I have built around one hundred ebikes using about every conversion kit style out there on about every style bike out there. I personally have found the best design that I have built for a few folks and myself but just enjoy designing and building the bikes for a hobby. You are right they are now making the ebikes more desirable today than 10 years ago but I am not a fat tire fan and like to keep my bikes looking like bicycles. easier to handle and repair. I would put my 48 volts up against most purpose built ebikes out there today. most folks go over board and make their bike look like the Borg. Now I have gotten a few factory ebikes and later using a conversion kit made them better. Oh big pro for DIY is I can build a 40 mph ebike for less then $800. Making it stop cost another $100.

[@biggussniffus5537]

I built a 72v 3500W 35AH battery hub motor bike on a dual suspension air shock MTB for under $1500 that does power wheelies and goes 104KM/H. For that price you can't even buy a commercial 36-48v prebuilt ebike that does over 40 kmh with a 13AH battery lol

[@JohnDoe-rr8uf]

New ones usually goes for no less than $600 where I'm from. And those are so crap they're not even worth it. For that price tag, the only option is to either buy used or build your own or some combo. Honestly though, diy isn't too bad. Nowadays with 3D printers it becomes way more accessible and easier, it only makes sense to diy it, enthusiast or not. I built one for < $250 with only hacking together used parts. $100 of that was the bike itself.

[@je7647]

if youre not going to pedal an 85cc frame is ideal.

[@je7647]

but of course that kinda defeats the purpose of "ebike"for some people

[@MrJarjar1]

what you're saying only works for people with money and that don't live in countries with stupid restrictions on the output levels of the motor and battery like here in england here is the uk law on e-bikes You can ride an electric bike if you’re 14 or over, as long as it meets certain requirements. These electric bikes are known as ‘electrically assisted pedal cycles’ (EAPCs). You do not need a licence to ride one and it does not need to be registered, taxed or insured. What counts as an EAPC An EAPC must have pedals that can be used to propel it. It must show either: the power output the manufacturer of the motor It must also show either: the battery’s voltage the maximum speed of the bike Its electric motor: must have a maximum power output of 250 watts should not be able to propel the bike when it’s travelling more than 15.5mph An EAPC can have more than 2 wheels (for example, a tricycle). Where you can ride If a bike meets the EAPC requirements it’s classed as a normal pedal bike. This means you can ride it on cycle paths and anywhere else pedal bikes are allowed. Other kinds of electric bike Any electric bike that does not meet the EAPC rules is classed as a motorcycle or moped and needs to be registered and taxed. You’ll need a driving licence to ride one and you must wear a crash helmet. Getting vehicle approval for your electric bike An electric bike must be type approved if either: it can be propelled without pedalling (a ‘twist and go’ EAPC) it does not meet the EAPC rules This should have been done by the manufacturer or importer before you bought it. If it’s been type approved, it will have a plate showing its type approval number.

[@MissInformer]

I love how about 95% of these comments are clowning on the premise of this video.

[@chrisfalx3251]

Does anyone rock big batteries in there backpacks ?