That makes sense. I wasn't riding more than 20 or 30 minutes at a time and didn't have any gear on the bike. I was haulin down some downhill trails pretty fast (I can't imagine going any faster and feel safe) but I'll see how I like it when I have my gun or bow bouncing around with me. Off trail i was going slow and steady. What fork did you throw on yours?
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DIY Fat tire e-bike build
- Thread starter PEEJAY
- Start date
That makes sense. I wasn't riding more than 20 or 30 minutes at a time and didn't have any gear on the bike. I was haulin down some downhill trails pretty fast (I can't imagine going any faster and feel safe) but I'll see how I like it when I have my gun or bow bouncing around with me. Off trail i was going slow and steady. What fork did you throw on yours?
- Joined
- Dec 19, 2019
- Messages
- 1,283
Following…
drpike22
Active Member
I keep it at 10lbs. for trails and 15lbs for pavement.
I feel like I'm being called out for being slow.
I have a 140mm trail 29er as well, the fatty just rides like a big bmx bike to me with the rigid and I can pop the front end over everything, theres no mush in the front, it just reacts to every input. I've spent plenty of time on forked fatties, its just a different experience to me and once you get the flow down it is a good time and surprisingly smooth.
On an e-bike with the extra weight I could see it making a bigger difference.
Its definitely a lot better riding a rigid fatbike than a rigid mountain bike I agree. I just put a bucklos air fork on mine as the budget options are pretty limited without a tapered head tube.
This guy build a very similar bike to mine for desert riding and he ended up eventually adding a similar air fork as well
This guy build a very similar bike to mine for desert riding and he ended up eventually adding a similar air fork as well
I should add my fatty is one of the most slacked out trail geometry fatties. I'm sure that changes how it rides.
I feel like I'm being called out for being slow.
I have a 140mm trail 29er as well, the fatty just rides like a big bmx bike to me with the rigid and I can pop the front end over everything, theres no mush in the front, it just reacts to every input. I've spent plenty of time on forked fatties, its just a different experience to me and once you get the flow down it is a good time and surprisingly smooth.
On an e-bike with the extra weight I could see it making a bigger difference.
Both of yalls points make sense.
If im going through a field with a million divots its probably nice to have the suspension. Most of the spots im using it will be a mtb trail or hiking path going in and then ditching it and hiking the rest of the way. its mostly big woods hunting around me. Blackwater National Wildlife refuge has the longest ride but its all flat and beaten in paths. Western MD turkey hunting is where its really going to get interesting
Good thread. THanks.
I saw the bucklos forks. also looked into headtube adapters that let you run tapered. i have the right i.d. to install them. Amazon had the rockShox Bluto fork for $540 a couple weeks ago but then i gotta get a new front hub on the wheel etc. and its gonna cost more than the bike after its on.
Yea exactly hahah, at that point, I would be fine if I have to put a new budget fork on it every 5 years. Also, I still have the rigid fork so I can always go backwards if I'm in a pinch
Well everything bolted up perfect. I didnt need any spacers to keep the motor off the chainstay. Theres about 1mm of space which helps big time with my chainline. I was worried it was gonna be really bad but the 30T chainring is almost perfect. It could be a little more in. Maybe 3 mm but I think the huge teeth on the luna ring will keep it from popping off. If you hunt mostly flat land the stock chainring that comes with it will give u perfect offset on this bike. But you'll need a longer chain. Gonna try to get the rest wired up after the game. I'll make a list of all the parts and tools I used if anyone wants to build the same bike. 
Like christmas morning! Just wait till you get your first ride!
Its hard to believe looking at that little motor that its 14lbs but it feels like its made of frickin lead. At least it will probably take a beating. The bike is definitely heavy now though with adding the motor, back rack, 32oz of FlatOut in the tires, and battery. ~60lbs vs 34lbs makes a huge difference for putting it in the back of my SUV. next investment is a hitch mount rack i guess. Luckily i dont weigh much at all (155) so it should zip around pretty good still.
Yes.... It feels heavy for sure especially at first. I had to figure out how I picked my bike up and loaded it because its not fun to just man handle without a little planning. What is nice is that you get the added traction with your torque. I spin the back tire all the time and can't imagine if the bike was a lot lighter
Ive been riding it around for 3 or 4 days and this thing is amazing. Super easy to build. Didnt need to follow any instructions it just all bolts and clicks right together. I have a triangle frame bag holding the battery right now and I think it works pretty good but a little too big for my frame. The 30t chainring and my 11-42 10 speed cassette works great so far. Didnt need any adjusting in the drivetrain. I did clean up the wires and adjust the brakes in the back but everything runs great. I also did have to solder on a different power wire connector to the motor. Cut off the Anderson connector and put on a xt90. My battery already had xt90s female installed. I think the only other part i bought n didnt mention yet was a lekkie "onenut" to tighten everything down with a regular bottom bracket tool. This bike goes up every hill so far and I'm not even working. Only other thing I'm waiting on is a cut off switch/button I'm going to wire in to the front brake harness. On my rear brake I switched out the lever with an electric cutoff lever. I'm leaving the front brake stock and the switch will shut my engine off so I can shift gears safely. Didnt feel like a gear shift sensor was good enough for what I wanted to do and way too expensive. Greenbikekit.com sells the switch (its a horn button but wires into the brake cutoff harness) if anyone is interested. Also getting a programming cable shipped so I can tweak things as I learn what settings I like to ride on. My butt doesn't like the saddle and the bumps so I'm swapping that out with a different one on an old bike and bought a suntour ncx suspension seatpost for $71 shipped from their website.
If your thinking about an ebike. I would definitely not shy away from building your own. It takes about 1.5 to 2 hrs if you take your time. You are gonna get a much better bike for your money and youll know how to work on it again if something goes wrong. Lunacycle.com (california) and bicyclemotorworks.com (Pennsylvania) have trustworthy batteries and parts from what i researched. Time will tell. This whole bike with all the parts shipped cost right around 2200 and i have extra stuff sitting around i didnt need. I bought a tool kit from jenson USA for $40 that had everything I needed to install the motor and hopefully most tools to work on the bike in the future. My dad's build (same bike) will cost 1700 cuz the bike was used.
If your thinking about an ebike. I would definitely not shy away from building your own. It takes about 1.5 to 2 hrs if you take your time. You are gonna get a much better bike for your money and youll know how to work on it again if something goes wrong. Lunacycle.com (california) and bicyclemotorworks.com (Pennsylvania) have trustworthy batteries and parts from what i researched. Time will tell. This whole bike with all the parts shipped cost right around 2200 and i have extra stuff sitting around i didnt need. I bought a tool kit from jenson USA for $40 that had everything I needed to install the motor and hopefully most tools to work on the bike in the future. My dad's build (same bike) will cost 1700 cuz the bike was used.
Looks sweet! Pretty fun to ride huh? I have thought about a suspension seat post too but its not high enough on the list to justify a purchase yet for me. My only complaint is all those cables on the front end are stressing me out a little bit lol
Haha. Yea I cleaned those up before i rode it more. That was right after I finished getting it set up to see if it even worked. It's a blast to ride. So far I've made it up every hill I've tried.
I got a bad back and hip so the seat will hopefully help a little bit.
The suspension seat actually helped a lot more than I thought it would. For $70 I'm happy. I pulled a saddle off my old specialized mtb and together they both absorb a lot of the bumps. My wrists did take a beating today though. That suspension fork is sounding better and better haha. Found one old shed while riding. 
Yea. Any recommendations? Very annoying laying it down (especially if the pedal assist kicks on) and im sure once I have to load stuff it's gonna be a problem.
Get a double leg kickstand, single legs suck for heavy bikes, loose/soft dirt, and anything with a slope, and get exponentially worse with any combo of the 3.