I'm enjoying all the comments on my bike. I did a little research and Specialized, Trek and Marin all use 12 speed cassettes on their electric mountain bikes now. Some of them costing nearly four times what I'm spending for the bike and conversion even with the more expensive chainring. Research has shown the chains on 12 speed cassettes are no more likely to break than they are on 9 speed cassettes. Chains are just better built now than they used to be. I absolutely agree that I don't need a 52 tooth cassette to hill climb with a 1000 watt motor, but on the off chance that I'm ten plus miles out on a trail and the controller malfunctions or the battery connection goes bad and I'm stuck with a 50 plus pound bike with no pedal assist, this 53 year old will be stoked that I have that giant chainring on the cassette to help me make the long journey back to the car.
Had a similar issue with my 12 speed. I got too greedy with a 48 tooth Lekkie and had to shrink down to a 42 tooth to make it fit. So for anyone considering a 12 speed don’t, but if you must measure the diameter of the original chainring before ordering a Lekkie.
I like the Microshift Acolyte 8 speed groupset (12-42 or 12-46 cassette) on my ebike conversions. The 8 speed chains are stronger & cheaper and the 8 speed derailleur is more forgiving than 10/11/12 speed.
If you live in Canada, Sport Chek has the Diamondback Motown MTB on sale now for C$525+tax (Reg C$749). The Motown comes with Microshift Acolyte 12-46 groupset and Tektro hydraulic brakes on 180mm rotors. The fork, wheels, and tires aren't great but it has a tapered headset which make fork upgrades easy. The 68mm bottom bracket makes mounting the Bafang middrive kit very easy. I used the BBS02 and am very happy with the results
Nice! Better than a 1:1 granny gear. Give it sticky enough tires and it'll climb walls. Have to go easy on the throttle in low gears or that HD can buck you;) I had a similar issue with my hardtail (only 8 speeds at the time, up to 10 now). It took me forever to get it right, twice (it was before I knew of you).
I found just using the Lekkie drive cover and installing the stock bafang chain ring without any washers (which is why you need the drive cover) put my chain line nearly perfect. I do plan up upgrade my chain ring though with bling ring, they parts are amazing and I want a chain ring again with narrow wide teeth since suddenly my chain is falling off which used to never happen. I converted a X-Large Norco Storm 2 for reference.
On my Cannondale RZ One Twenty One, with a Lefty, I bought a full SRAM Eagle NX 12S 11-51T transmission, of course the Bafang BBS02B was a mess related to chainline, to solve it I use a 42T narrow-wide profile with 14mm offset to inside, finally a perfect chainline (more or less because a 12S never has a perfect chainline). If you want to go wild you can also add a 40T from PerciAlps with 10.5mm offset to inside that I found searching the web and also works perfectly. With both you don’t need to replace to cover. Hope this helps.
most modern mtb frames have a max. chainstay clearance for up to 38t while maintaining a good chainline. the only frame I found to accept a 40t lekkie running a perfect chainline is the Ragley Bluepig. makes a beautiful enduro hardtail with up to 160mm front travel. but, since it's a chrommoly frame, you need to grind off the teeth on the motor mounting plate, as they will not bite into the bb shell at all. you need full contact with the edge of the bb shell for a solid mounting, no teeth required.
When I installed the Bafang on a 8 speed KHS mountain bike I had chainline issues so I got an offset chainring from China off Aliexpress and problem solved. I changed the motor to a Tongsheng torque sensor motor and I had no chainline issues with the motor whatsoever even without an offset chainring. I didn't install an offset and I have no problem at all. Not sure why the Tongsheng has no chainring issues.
Isn't a 50 or so cassette cog overkill for a mid-conversion? I'm running 11-17-28 spaced 8-speed for my BBS02 and it's adequate for pretty steep trails in socal. The chainline is "straight" with the "17", so almost "straight" on either extreme.
A general rule of thumb is to have 1.5 extra chain links when in first gear. A great reference for dialing in chain length is sheldonbrown.com. He is much nerdier when it comes to dialing in bike components.
That's great am building a full suspension mtb 12speed with the bafang that i have not perchas yet😮 am stil missing 2 rim and tyers Rear shock , e motor.
The big issue is with a 12 speed the chain stay area where the chainring is on the crank very little room to install a bigger chain ring I used the Lekkie HD pro with 4 spacers so I could only use one but also and I had to use a spacer behind the chainring
At time 1:50 if someone has the ability to machine about 1/8-3/16 off the left side of the bottom bracket to allow for using the second lock ring, would that work? Would there be any issues with the motor fitment?
I know in another video you said 7 & 8 speed cassette's are the best for converting to an e-bike. I have a Catrike with a 10 speed cassette that I would like to convert some day. Am I going to experience chain line issues or is that non-issue with such a long chain? Great problem solving video!
I’m having the same exact problem with my 12 speed sram no rear suspension but I have the aggressive chain stay. And I have two spacers now with the offset 42 and the chainring is hitting the chain stay I’ll order another spacer. and the 42 pro and a onenut should do it? The onenut is a good thing to use instead of just the stock nut I had to use 4 spacers and the spacer behind the HD 42 pro The problem I had was not enough room between chain stay and motor so I have not much threads to get the nut on I’ll have to use some locktite
Why even use a 12 speed groupset on an ebike?, 12 speed chains and cassetes cost 2 times the regular 10 speed. It's just a bad economical choice, isn't it? 10 speed is the go to maximum in my opinion, chains are not too expensive, cassetes are neither, besides, 10 speed shimano deore m5100 compaitable, so no problems with shifting accuracy.
It has a twelve speed because it's a brand new bike shipped straight from the reseller and it's a good suspension bike, not a cheap one. The newer nicer bikes all come with atleast 11 or 12 speed cassettes. Economically speaking I can afford it so why not? I'm not the bike or ebike expert, John and Shane are. I just want a fun trailbike to ride. That's why I gave them my business. They can figure out how to make it work.
@@craigsimons4930 I see.. 11-12 speeds are still thinner and less durable, so you better carry some spare quicklinks and tools to fix you chain in an emergency. Dont cheap out on new chains, cheap ones snap like nothing. never buy "superlight" chains, they also snap and wear very quickly. Buying less that a 10 speed is just for your peace of mind, lesser chance of broken chains, even if we are not talking about the money.
You keep saying terrible chain line without ever saying what the problem actually is. Terrible because you're hitting the swingarm or terrible because the chain is centered on the cassette?
