E-Bikes
My BBSHD project ATTACH
Cost spreadsheet: Ebike cost.xlsx Captures a bit more than the log below.
Initial purchase
From Luna Cycle
Bafang BBSHD Mid Drive Ebike Kit (Choose Your Programming Level: Hot Rod Program (For Off Road Use Only), Bottom Bracket Size: 73-100mm (Fat), Chain Ring: Stock 46T Steel Chain Ring, Bafang Handles with Ebrake Cut Off: Bafang Handles with Built-in Ebrake cut off, Display Options: Bafang Display C961, Throttle Choices: Bafang BBSxx Universal Thumb Throttle, Make it a kit by adding a top grade battery: Shark 52v GA 13.5ah $495.95, Add a 5.5mm Smart Charger for your Battery (Not Included): 52V Advanced 300W Ebike Charger $79.95 (110v input only))
1,253.95 USD
Luna Cycle Cyclops LED Light Extra Power
LIGHT-FRNT-KREE 1 $49.95 USD
Rear Light LIGHT-LUNA-RR 1 $14.95 USD
Subtotal: $1,318.85 USD Shipping: $45.00 USD Grand Total: $1,363.85 USD
Programming cable
Bafang BBS02 and BBSHD Programming Cable BBSXX-PROG-CBL 1 $19.95 USD $19.95 USD XT60 FEMALE to Barrel MALE Plug XT60-BRL-F 1 $6.95 USD $6.95 USD Subtotal: $26.90 USD Shipping: $7.00 USD Grand Total: $33.90 USD
Switch to narrower BBSHD
Hi,
I'm sure you get this question a lot, but I was unable to fit the 100mm on my fat bike (surly moonlander), and so I went putting it a cyclocross bike. As such, the 100mm is too wide, and I got it to fit with spacers, but I really need to 68-73mm model. Not sure if you can do anything to help me out, I have 100 miles on the motor so far (and I love it!). I'd even be up to trade with someone who needs the bigger one. This order is #41551.
Another question: the advanced charger arrived without the barrel adapter, so I bought one and paid for rush shipping. But then the part that came with the charger arrived a few days later. I didn't need the barrel adapter that I bought, and feel like I wasted $20 on shipping on that part because I didn't know that it was included. Anything you can do here? The order number is 43311.
Cheers, Andy
They couldn't do it.
Sold the motor for 500 + shipping
Bafang BBSHD 1000w 68-73mm mid drive electric bike motor kit, full color display Bafang BBSHD 1000w 68-73mm mid dri Price: $650.00
Had listed for 650, ended up selling for 500. Oh well.
Ordered the narrower motor
Backlinks: 2018
Bafang BBSHD Mid Drive Ebike Kit l(Choose Your Programming Level: Hot Rod Program (For Off Road Use Only), Bottom Bracket Size: 68-73mm (Standard), Chain Ring: Stock 46T Steel Chain Ring, Bafang Handles with Ebrake Cut Off: Bafang Handles with Built-in Ebrake cut off, Display Options: Bafang Display C961, Throttle Choices: Bafang BBSxx Left Half Twist Throttle $7.50) BBSHD-KIT 1 $686.50 USD $686.50 USD Subtotal: $686.50 USD Shipping: $35.00 USD Grand Total: $721.50 USD
Wrench
LUNA Wrench BBSHD and BBS02 Mid Drive Installation Tool
Battery case issues
They were all out of new cases so I reached out:
Shark 52v battery
Describe problem as clearly as you can with product: 5/6 of the tabs on the battery case have broken over use, and the battery has now fallen off while riding twice because of this (not much holding it on now). In one of the falls the piece that holds the key lock broke off completely, so the locking mechanism moves freely, and it's of course no longer waterproof. At least a whole new hardcase will be required to get riding again, and I did notice some odd power surging while riding but mostly okay. Hard to know if that is related to the falls.
Got a link to the case on aliexpress, ordered that, and swapped the battery cells over.
XT60 charger connectors broken ATTACH
I've had two go bust on me; the first fell off at the solder, the second lost the inner piece inside of the battery. In trying to get out the inner piece from the battery, I shorted it and ruined the charge port. Had to take the battery case apart and solder in a new one…but that's my fault.
I was wondering if you all would replace the connector or these are expected?
Thanks, Andy
Look at the pic:
They suggested I go with the barrel connector.
Tuning issues with IGH
Over time, the Alfine hub that it was running through was just unhappy with all of the power. This led me to swap to geared setup on a different bike (see below).s
Swap to the mountain bike
Late 2018 or very early 2019. Swapped on niner.
It was still too powerful, and will break the chain when cross chained. Workable, but you have to keep the chain line straight. I had to do some field fixes with this when picking up Olson from outdoor preschool.
Sold bbshd to Kris
Lent to a friend who ended up buying the whole setup. Went over today and helped him try to swap onto his bike. He had it off the mountain bike, and we didn't make too much progress on the swap. He was stuck on getting the bottom bracket out of his long haul trucker and I wasn't able to help (holding the tool in while he pulled on the breaker bar). We started in on a very old dump mountain bike but didn't have the bottom bracket tool.
At least I was able to fix the shifting on one of the twins' bikes. Easiest gear wasn't staying in, I actually had to bring the limit way back in (was too far), and tighten up the barrel adjuster. Easy!
Right when I got home he got the bottom bracket out of the surly…it was reverse threaded.
Also I didn't have the keys for the battery (couldn't find earlier), and we ended up cutting off the battery with a saws-all. Left one bold head in my mtb and the other actually threaded out. This was largely non-destructive, not as bad a drilling out the lock.
I found the keys after I put the kids to bed tonight! I'll get them to him so he can get it properly installed. Gave him the Luna bb tool along with the extra battery case too.
Ebikes on HN
Originally around this demo video from a guy in India. Super cool video, but it's 2 years old and not clear the company got anywhere. Someone mentioned a BBSHD conversion.
- A couple concepts put power onto the bike tire via a roller:
- british guy Sinclair (claims to have sold 5k of them), looks outdated.
- ZEHUS HALOS looks like a rear hub solution.
- Velogical has a cool one that puts power onto the rim braking surface.
- Hilltopper front wheel conversion looks pretty cool.
- The Swytch and boost are ones I'd heard of before, seem not very poewrful.
- Bimotal might be the coolest one I found here - looks it would be easy to swap on and off, uses a custom disc brake with a gear attached to power. I'll have to double-check compatibility. It's not compatible right now - but I'm on the mailing list.
- This guy built a giant frame battery for his ebike, pretty cool.
ENORMOUS thread on HN about this one. A couple mentions of bafang. I've been looking into Grin a while back, still seems like a great way to go for a custom bike. I like the idea of having a wheel that I can swap onto my Firefly, and their all-axle direct drive would most likely work on the front. Then I'd need the battery, controls to be swappable too. Maybe just have a separate commute bike?
Grin build
Backlinks: 2025 | 2025 Recap
Been eyeing the Grin Rear All-Axle High Voltage CA3 Kit. 72V with a torque sensing rear hub: sweet.
Spec the commute to Springfield ATTACH
I tried with various motor options, windings, and rider power.
2025-04-29-grin-simulation.png
The slow winding is best for a 29" wheel, and the 72V (bigger wheel and higher volts both point to slower winding). The faster winding makes sense for smaller wheels, and lower voltage.
On the whole, this has me making the commute faster than driving it! Not realistic in that way, but it's keeping me sane for having a long commute.
In retrospect, I do not have the battery capacity to support this simulation. The default limit on the controller limits to 1500w, which is ~20A and gentle on the 16.5Ah battery. There isn't even enough battery capacity to run near that 1500w cutoff, going at ~800w average for the 60-75min commute gives enough buffer.
Initial order
Grin Rear All-Axle High Voltage CA3 Kit
SKU: KIT-GrinRHV
1 USD$2,545.00 Rear Motor Model 1 x V3 Rear All-Axle, Slw PAS USD$595.00
All-Axle Rear Torque Arm 1 x V3 Rear Grin All-Axle Torque Arm Kit USD$30.00
Rear Axle Adapters 1 x 135mm (QR) Slotted Dropout Rear Adapters for V3 USD$10.00
Inject Motor with Statorade? 1 x Inject Motor with Statorade USD$20.00
Rim for 32h Hub 1 x Rim700Alex32H USD$30.00
Spoke Colour x32 32 x Sapim Strong 13-14g Butted Spoke, Black USD$2.00
Let Grin do Wheelbuild? 1 x Yes, Include WheelBuild USD$45.00
72V L10 Controller 1 x V6 Phaserunner L10 - Black USD$350.00
V3 Cycle Analyst 1 x CA3-WPx USD$115.00
Auxiliary Input and Power Switch 1 x CA3MFSwitch for CA3-WPx USD$20.00
CA Mounting Bracket Style 1 x Steer Tube Mounted Bracket for Cycle Analysts USD$9.00
Extension/Adapter Cable - Integrated PAS to CA 1 x PAS to CA Adapter Cable 120cm USD$14.00
Battery Choice (72V) 1 x 72V 16.5Ah Triangle Battery USD$890.00
Charger Option (72V ST3) 1 x 72V Satiator Upgrade with ST3 Adapter USD$295.00
Include Battery Bracket? 1 x Triple Bob USD$26.00
Throttle Style 1 x Right Half Twist Throttle (50cm Cable) USD$15.00
Useful HV Accessories 1 x Wire Route Kit USD$12.00
1 x TTL-USB Programming Cable USD$14.00
1 x Laser Mark 250W on Motor USD$15.00
Subtotal USD$2,545.00 Shipping & Handling USD$184.69 Extra Fee: DGFeeUSD USD$60.00 Grand Total (Excl.Tax) USD$2,789.69 Tax USD$0.00 Grand Total (Incl.Tax) USD$2,789.69
Build out the new ebike
Plan is to build this out on the Raleigh. Been working on it over the past few days to get it ready. Bigger commuting tire up front, meant taking off the front fender. Took off the rear fender, prepped wheel for sale (cleaned it, took photos). Had to drill out one of the rear fender bolts, drilled the head off then twisted it out with a vise grip. Ran the chain in the ultrasonic for a bit! Also cleaned the 9 speed cassette off the niner, which I'll aim to put on to have shifting. Tracking over at Install new motor.
- Tires
Tires from Kenda :
Kwick Journey × 1 K-Shield / 700x40c - 60tpi Wire RT $30.06 Kwick Journey × 1 K-Shield / 700x38c - 60tpi Wire RT $30.06No shipping or tax on these, I guess.
- 12V converter
Picked one of these up from eBay , wired it all in for the tail light and front light. The tail light is from Luna, it only works sporadically (I think the switch is what's finnicky). The head light is pretty wimpy, it's what remains of a cheapo headlamp I bought from Amazon many years ago.
Pro Chaser DC-DC 48V 60V 72V Converter Regulator Step-Down to 12V 240W 20A
Order total: Subtotal $26.99 Shipping Free Sales tax $1.69 Total charged to paypal icon $28.68
- Mirrors
Inspired by Peter Dodds with the big mirrors.
Pair 10mm Universual 7/8" Motorcycle Side Mirror ATV Scooter E-Bike Rearview.
Order total: Subtotal $13.97 Shipping Free Sales tax $0.87 Total charged to paypal icon $14.84
Broken laptop
Pannier bag ejected, phone and laptop got crushed. Quite the hassle. Turned me off ebiking for awhile. Revived the commute with a new printed battery mount:
EBike Battery Mount
Did a blog post about the build of the battery mount - see link.
Broken satiatior
Went to charge it tonight - nothing from the charger .
Will call Grin in the morning, see if I can get a new one. Something definitely broken in there, opened it up and some little plastic bits that held down some coils are loose.
Update shipped it out for RMA last week - tagged shipping on Dec 22 for $40.35 at UPS.
Ordered a new one for the meantime, on Tue, Nov 18, 2025. Your Order #1000200823.
Items Qty Price Replacement Torque Sensing Freehub, Shimano HG SKU: MP-AA_FH_HG 1 USD$110.00 Satiator, High Voltage Model (5A max) SKU: BUNDLE-Satiator72 1 USD$345.00 Satiator Charger Model 1 x High Voltage 72V 5A Satiator USD$330.00 Include 3-Pin XLR Adapter Cable? 1 x XLR to ST3 Adapter USD$15.00 Subtotal USD$455.00 Shipping & Handling USD$29.29 Grand Total (Excl.Tax) USD$484.29 Tax USD$0.00 Grand Total (Incl.Tax) USD$484.29
Upgrades
- Studded tires
Gravdal Tire 700 x 38 / Folding - 60 TPI - 252 Concave Carbide Studs $52.00/ea
$104.00
$110 total.
- Backpedal regen firmware upgrade
Using the USB cable and the macOS version of the Cycleanalyst configuration software, I upgraded the firmware to support backpedal regen. I forget exactly which version this was that I upgraded to…
The regen is really powerful! I don't need to use the brakes until the regen cuts off at ~3mph when slowing down. I still accidentally trigger it when standing up with flat pedals over bumps, so I think even more backpedaling to trigger would help.
- Installing the torque sensor
Installing the torque sensor on the high voltage setup will require modification, since the CA does not supply enough power on the 10V output for the torque sensor. There are basically two options: (1) run the CA off of the 12V supply or (2) supply the torque sensor from the 12V supply.
To run the CA off of the 12V supply requires a small amount of soldering and such - it's designed out of the box to run off the main power, which is convienent.
I don't see any other advantages to option (2), and it looks like quite a bit more work.
Running total
I'm eager to do more upgrades but I need to start recovering some of the cost here. Using the IRS rate for mileage, here's a pure break-even:
| Item | Cost | Break-even Miles |
|---|---|---|
| Initial order | 2789.69 | 4164 |
| 12V regulator | 28.68 | 43 |
| Mirrors | 14.84 | 22 |
| Tires (Kenda) | 60.12 | 90 |
| Studded tires (Gravdal) | 110.00 | 164 |
| New charger + freehub | 484.29 | 723 |
| Total | 3487.62 | 5206 |
At which point, I would opt to first expand the battery pack.
New controller
Turns out I didn't need it… I can't remember exactly why I ordered it. Maybe I thought it was broken but it wasn't? Here's the row for the table:
| Item | Cost | Break-even Miles |
|---|---|---|
| Controller (unneeded) | 373.50 | 557 |
Was shipped 1/28/2026, INV-43646.
Nilight lights
I got a fuse block for doing all of the 12v properly, along with some heat shrink wrap and other small parts, and some moto lights.
| Item | Cost | Break-even Miles |
|---|---|---|
| Nilight (lights, fuse block, etc) | 77.43 | 116 |
Cut the motor wires
See Ebike woes.
Sent it back to grin for repair. First I broke down the wheel to just the hub, and I sent it with the torque freehub, controller, and CA. I also included my MFSwitch which has stopped working not long after I started using the whole system.
They fixed it up, including a small repair to the CA apparently. They also installed the torque freehub, and kept the old one. They also confirmed my MFSwitch didn't work, and I added thru axle adapters to the other in case I wanted to run this in a different bike.
This put another $359.40 onto the tab, not to mention the outbound shipping ($63.05 on Apr 2). Not sure I included the outbound shipping on the statiator RMA either ($40.35 on Dec 22 2025). Oh and the tarriffs on the incoming, phew let's just forget about those. This puts another $460 on the total.
| Item | Cost | Break-even Miles |
|---|---|---|
| Initial order | 2789.69 | 4163 |
| 12V regulator | 28.68 | 42 |
| Mirrors | 14.84 | 22 |
| Tires (Kenda) | 60.12 | 89 |
| Studded tires (Gravdal) | 110.00 | 164 |
| New charger + freehub | 484.29 | 722 |
| Nov 21 2025 DHL | 124.77 | 186 |
| RMA Shipping statiator | 40.35 | 60 |
| Controller (unneeded) | 373.50 | 557 |
| Nilight (lights, fuse block, etc) | 77.43 | 115 |
| RMA Shipping | 63.05 | 94 |
| Repair | 359.40 | 536 |
| Apr 25 2026 DHL | 24.34 | 36 |
| Total | 4550.46 | 6791 |
It took me a lot of debugging to get the torque sensor working off of my 12v system and in the end, the support folks helped me sort out a wiring mistake that I had made.
Cut the motor wires, take 2
Backlinks: Specialized ebikes
It didn't take long until I had the same issue. This time I didn't forget to tighten it, but it just worked it's way loose. I hadn't even complete a round trip yet! The ride in with the torque sensor was nice, at least.
I'm attempted a repair myself this time. I again broke down the wheel to the hub, and got it opened up. I worked some extra cable out of the hub, and soldered all new connections.
However, it doesn't spin right. It makes some noise, spins out of control until I cut the power. Getting error codes on the controller, something is off with the hall sensors.
Next step: debug the hall sensors. I may have relaced (but not fully tighened or trued) the wheel too soon.
Vintage Electric Bikes
Saw an ad for their 72 Volt Roadster 3.0 . I like the build… nearly the same battery I have on mine, hub motor with regen…nice choices.
Priced at 5500, which seems fair. The gear on the roadster will never work for the speeds you're going with it.
https://www.vintageelectricbikes.com/products/roadster?variant=42735246147799
Specialized ebikes
The second round of cutting the motor cables, and it may really be time to get something proper.
I spent quite a bit of time analyzing the full gamut of bikes from Specialized, also peeking at Trek, and a few others.
There are two ways to go: SUV or Light+Fast. The Vado 3 is a full suspension beast, and the Creo is light weight with a boost. The Vado would have more power and more range, but the Creo is really where the fully integrated solution shines. Looking at ~65lbs compared to ~33lbs, and the Creo is a bit pricier.