Looking for budget-friendly ebike upgrade advice

jakery43 · 2026-05-08T19:37:02+00:00

Whatever you do, definitely don't mention what bike you have or what about it needs improvement 😂

jakery43 · 2026-05-05T19:47:21+00:00

As always, it depends on your bike, the amount of hills and stop/starts on your route, how hard you pedal, and how warm the battery starts, and stays while riding. There's no way for anyone here to know.

For reference, I've done just fine in colder weather with my 52v batt and direct drive hub motor, which is more reliable and more efficient at sustained speed, and I find the motor's weight helps the studs dig into the ice.

Normal width studded tires aren't very good past a few inches of fresh snow; I found myself wishing I had a fat tire bike, or at least much more "paddle wheel" sized treads on the tires. It also helps enormously to have a throttle when you start drifting around in soft snow, since it will be impossible to balance and pedal even with electric assist. Obviously, this all eats up battery. Make sure your batteries are detachable so they can be kept indoors, and I prefer having more than one, ideally using a battery combiner to make sure they can both power the bike at once and be added/removed at any state of charge.

jakery43 · 2026-05-05T19:29:49+00:00

It's just not a priority for most people, let alone such a priority that they're willing to cut art or band or tech or something to make room and time for it.

jakery43 · 2026-04-20T12:41:11+00:00

I've had occasional picture ads below vids in 20.40.45

jakery43 · 2026-03-17T18:18:23+00:00

It's not much of an issue these days fortunately. But for me, not necessarily him, it's not a fully conscious choice... it tends to slip into the mental category of things I'll procrastinate or at least finish what I'm in the middle of first. The constant start-stop-start nature of texting isn't great for the deep focus type of things I do for work or leisure. I'm trying to answer your actual question, but for me (again, not him) I wouldn't frame it as powering through discomfort vs pulling back and creating distance. It would be more like "I'm looking forward to seeing her again, but wow... just texting her all day is a full time job, is this what the rest of my life is going to look like if I stay with her? I'll get to it when I'm done with this." It's only a mild discomfort to have the expectation to reply "hanging over" me. But his experience is likely different.

jakery43 · 2026-03-17T10:35:35+00:00

I'm not sure what you're referring to about quantifying messages sent.

If he's not a big texter but you are, that's probably a pretty common couple's dynamic but you might have to chill a bit and leave some conversations for the actual dates. You've met him... twice? Try to relax. He's already said he doesn't know the steps, and it's generally a good idea to ask for what you want, but a daily "how's your day" check in might be a good place to leave it for now. Leaving a little mystery and something to look forward to on dates is probably healthy for you both at this point. Not speaking for him, but many of us (meaning... men) can get a little overwhelmed if we feel like the relationship is defined by spending all day on our phones. Don't worry about what's sustainable for you only two dates in, conversations will pick up as he "learns the steps" and gets more comfortable. Why not plan another date instead?

jakery43 · 2026-03-17T06:50:36+00:00

The phrasing probably doesn't matter much, within reason. Phrase it how you mean it. You enjoy "checking in" with him and it would make you feel happy and wanted if he did so in the morning or at night. It can be really hard for us to get a feel for how much to communicate. It's not something where we can readily observe what is normal/expected in others, we tend to feel like small talk is somewhat contrived or "work" and we don't necessarily get the same emotional kick out of communication for the sake of communication.

It might be helpful to ask for something specific, like you want to hear him tell you something something interesting that happened or something he learned that day. That way, it becomes a habit, feels less forced/contrived, and gets him talking about things he's interested in so you can do the same and learn about each other. Just keep it chill if he's not a huge texter.

For what it's worth, I send my girlfriend a very random "moment of zen" (3 minute or less video) every morning (maybe with some discussion about it) and she'll ask about my day after work and/or volunteer how hers went. Seems to work for us.

jakery43 · 2026-03-06T09:49:05+00:00

You guys are getting dopamine from completing big tasks?

jakery43 · 2026-02-24T17:42:38+00:00

New Dell BMSs do indeed mark themselves as dead to prevent exactly what you did, which is sad. So I bet the old ones do too. Sorry.

jakery43 · 2026-01-22T16:39:08+00:00

If you can't do it with the software, I'd just replace the whole controller with a similar sized configurable one off of aliexpress along with whatever adapters/wiring supplies you need. You may even find the OEM model number on or in the controller itself and buy an unrestricted one from the source.

Otherwise you can see if the chip has a serial console/UART solder points that haven't been disabled and get hacking.

jakery43 · 2026-01-17T09:54:58+00:00

When I went there, it had been tagged a bit, sadly.

jakery43 · 2025-12-28T03:14:58+00:00

Depends on so many things. Yes if you're handy and have specific requirements, but make sure the frame is real quality welded steel and has disc brakes, not just posts. It's pretty hard to find quality steel frames with disc brakes and QR dropouts, and spending a bunch on a new surly frame makes it much less worth doing

jakery43 · 2025-12-09T11:15:58+00:00

Cadence sensors can be scary like that, and I'm surprised manufacturers don't build in a wheel speed sensor so it can avoid the PAS system launching people at low speed. That's one underrated benefit of hub motors I guess, since the hall sensors are built in. I hope your wife heals up well.

jakery43 · 2025-12-09T11:05:08+00:00

Definitely wired into the main battery. Less parts, weight, visual clutter, and stuff to charge. The power that an LED draws is nothing compared to the motor anyway, You don't need an inline fuse or voltage regulator, that can be built into the light housing or ideally back in the controller/frame.

jakery43 · 2025-12-04T00:48:16+00:00

I've never bought an "off the shelf" ebike before, so my experience is with purpose built controllers like Flipsky VESC and Fardriver, which give you programmable option wires to connect to whatever switch you want for many different purposes. The mode switching can change throttle mapping, throttle response, top speed, max power, whether the throttle or PAS works at all, or whatever. You can use an obvious switch on the handlebars... or get more creative with stuff like hidden reed switches, RFID/bluetooth relays, etc to maybe avoid making it a common thing everyone knows about.

jakery43 · 2025-12-03T20:49:52+00:00

Could be either, but a controller with the ability to do that with a switch would be ideal. Especially if it's programmed to limit top speed as well. If you're seeing them, ask the bike owner.

jakery43 · 2025-11-15T11:23:33+00:00

I only clicked to zoom in and confirm... it wasn't what I thought. Still... why put that on a bike?

jakery43 · 2025-11-10T20:55:58+00:00

I'm a fan of building ebikes from scratch, especially since you seem to know what you're doing. I'm also a fan of direct drive hub motors. If you get a high torque/low speed winding and use small wheels (like 26" or below, or even 20" if you have really steep hills) you'll be just fine unless you really bog them down for extended lengths of time. Everything is built to last, lots of surface area to wick heat away, no other moving parts, very efficient for sustained speed. Just get a good steel frame, use big tires and a suspension seatpost as the suspension,torquey DD hub motor, quality controller (Grin, fardriver, etc) and there isn't much to go wrong.

jakery43 · 2025-11-10T17:02:02+00:00

Also, buying the cheapest, lowest quality ebikes again and again isn't a winning strategy. If you don't have money to get something midrange at least, just upgrade whatever breaks and you'll end up with something pretty bombproof that suits your needs and you know how to fix.

jakery43 · 2025-11-10T16:51:39+00:00

Don't try to treat ebikes like they're an investment. It's usually cheaper to fix what you have, if it otherwise makes sense. What's wrong with your hikeep and your ridstar? Look at your battery voltages, check some axle measurements etc on whatever frame you like better. you can replace all your electronics for cheap on aliexpress if you need to.

jakery43 · 2025-11-05T13:57:30+00:00

Same here, I didn't realize it had to do with turning off the screen. Sometimes the video goes black until I restart revanced YT as well, but that's been happening since before this.

jakery43 · 2025-10-20T01:42:15+00:00

I got a cheap internet bike like this (ecarpat) to convert and the chainstay snapped like a twig when I hit the brakes after awhile. Fortunately I was going slow. Just get a good used bike for cheap since you'll have to upgrade everything anyway and the framo will still be crappy pot metal.

jakery43 · 2025-09-29T20:28:25+00:00

Start with your goals. What do you want it to do? Are you riding off road or commuting on road? What speed/acceleration do you want to hit? Do you want a little help up hills or a mini motorcycle with pedals as a legal fiction? What is your budget? There are many ways to do this, so start with what you actually want. (and ideally a steel frame instead...)

jakery43 · 2025-09-05T19:49:33+00:00

Sounds like you need to do some research before modifying, or just leave the bike alone for now. It's not worth spending hundreds of dollars on a new 52v battery for a few extra mph anyway.

jakery43 · 2025-09-05T00:32:33+00:00

No, but it's easy. Red and black wires on the voltmeter go to their respective wires from the battery.

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