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Messages - SnowDrifter

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1
Metal Frames / Re: Himalo Frames?
« on: October 05, 2022, 01:15:20 PM »

2
Metal Frames / Re: Himalo Frames?
« on: July 07, 2022, 12:07:14 PM »
Still using 'er daily!

Decided to get a cumulative weight.

Me, with clothing, shoes, pocket schmoo: 180lbs

bike: 40-45lbs

Motor+battery: 20lbs

Other accessories - rack, headlights, kickstand, panniers: another 8-10 or so

Backpack: ~5lbs

Lock: ~5lbs

Groceries: 30-40lbs

Total rolling weight? Just shy of 300.

Not the heaviest thing out there. But definitely far from lightweight. Frame and other components have yet to skip a beat. Get shat on by the bike guys for using 'cheap' parts. But ya know what? 300lbs with a motor on it and nothing's showing any fatigue as of yet? I'm pleased as punch.

For the himalo 180 fork: it's not an oil bath system. It's just greased internally. The grease gets wiped away from the moving parts periodically. What I've done to minimize maintenance and labor time after seeing the inside (it's literally just bushings and a dust wiper) is replace the screws on the back of the fork with some low-profile grease fittings. Whenever it starts to feel like it's moving low speed bump sensitivity, I toss a pump or 2 of grease in there and cycle the thing. The stuff I'm using is just what I had on hand, NLGI2 silicone grease. Using a grade 0 semi-fluid grease would probably be better. But meh. Cheap fork = I can't be bothered to split hairs on maintenance. But so far, it's been a champ. I also put about 5ml of motor oil into the air chamber to take up some volume as I found I was hitting my front fender on bottom-out. Only thing I've noticed is that the compression adjust (lockout) seems to spin at the end of the clicks vs. coming to a firm stop. Functionality doesn't seem to be otherwise affected. Happy with it so far!

On the DNM rear shock: Nothing to note there. Haven't paid close enough attention to see if I've needed to add air or not since I tend to adjust it quite a bit depending on the riding I'm doing.

For the frame: Haven't had any issues with the bearings in there, or the pivots loosening up since I did that loctite+retighten operation. The paint on there will chip if it gets smacked by a rock. But the cheapest black satin primer/paint from the local store matches it close enough for my needs.

Rolling weight: https://imgur.com/DJFJE0w

Grease fitting: https://imgur.com/Wa8cd72

3
Metal Frames / Re: Himalo Frames?
« on: May 30, 2022, 04:44:28 PM »
Correct, it can be used with a throttle only

Honestly, not sure about the 12sp groupsets. I run a 9 speed. Parts are cheaper, more available, stronger. I've found the wide steps between gears are a bit more desireable on an ebike so you're not spending all your time shifting when accelerating.

Eggrider: It's small, doesn't draw attention, and is unintrusive to the cockpit. I can also program the bbshd on the fly with my phone, vs having to get a dongle and a laptop.

It has a pretty neat HUD on your smart phone, but I've never used it as I ride with my phone in my pocket.

4
Metal Frames / Re: Himalo Frames?
« on: May 30, 2022, 12:21:39 PM »
The motor definitely dangles low. Makes for a bit of a low break-over angle. But with respect to things that have all-tires off the ground like jumps, or general comfort street riding - no issues. Can go up and down curbs just fine. I just can't take it over say..... One of those bumps for car parking, or a log in the middle of the trail.

With my current config, I'll top out around 32-33mph on flat. That's with knobby tires and a relatively upright riding position. With my older (smooth) tires, I'd get 34-35mph. That's with the fenders, rack on it, backpack, street clothes. I'm sure I could get closer to 40 if I was riding tucked in and didn't have the other stuff on. But that's not really my use case - I wanted something comfortable I can commute on as well as have some fun.

It's funny that y'all mentioned the cs-rk3. That's the exact hub I'm running, coupled with an 11-50t wide range. Have a gear for every occasion!

No complaints so far with the UPP battery itself, though the included charger should be thrown in the trash. Long story short, there's a diode isolation setup on the charge port (which is good) that is bypassed when the battery is switched on. The charger's output voltage seems to be designed around plugging the battery in with the unit switched off. It outputs 59.5v - which would charge beyond 4.20v per cell. Lifespan wise, the battery seems to be holding up decent. Last time I checked capacity on charge, it was 11.8ish aH out of a rated 13. It's 8 months old. Take that number with a grain of salt though - the last couple amp hours are going to be really depending on how I discharge it / voltage sag when the motor cuts off. I really need a few more months to plot degradation over time. I know you can get actual battery testers. I just don't have one.

Range wise - honestly that's really difficult to say. It's extremely dependent on how it's ridden and how much I pedal. Really just need to familiarize yourself with your own riding style and just do math from there. I hate to give a nothing-answer, but that's about the most accurate I can give. OEMs generally rate their bikes on low PAS under ideal conditions, but that's not necessarily reflective of the real world. I know from my use, I'll range anywhere from ~5wh/mi just casually on a flat trail (which would be 100+mi range) to 50wh/mi if I'm in traffic or riding it like a dirt-bike(which would be like 10 miles of range). Depends on the terrain and my pedaling.


For the HD / 02 - I've not used the bbs02 so I can't speak to that. But the bbshd has been nothing but reliable for me. I have an egg-rider display, so I've tuned it to my preferences regarding power output, street and offroad settings, and battery settings. The HD PAS is cadence based. The 02 is a torque sensor. Cadence is fine if you're going a relatively constant speed, it hasn't bothered me any. It feels a bit more like cruise control set on your gearing. I keep dogging Luna for their ludicrous controller but they guard it quite closely :P 

5
Metal Frames / Re: Himalo Frames?
« on: May 29, 2022, 07:56:20 PM »
I put a 13ah/52v unit from UPP in. There is a LOT of extra space. I reckon you can fit a jumbo shark or similar in there without issue. If you went a triangle style, I reckon you could fit 1.5kwh of battery in there if you were careful with it.

If you need, I could get some measurements of how much space I have in the 'triangle'

https://i.imgur.com/5cWv976.png

6
Metal Frames / Re: Himalo Frames?
« on: April 27, 2022, 10:51:20 AM »
Correct.

I have a BBSHD kit on it. So, motor + battery adds 20-25lbs of weight in the frame

7
Metal Frames / Re: Himalo Frames?
« on: April 14, 2022, 05:42:28 PM »
Well

I never could find any 'locally' available derailleur hangers. I ended up ordering a 5 pack from Ali to keep in the box-o-parts.

Early thoughts on the frame: It's *seriously* impressive for what it is. Couple light jumps, root-stairs (think hiking path), higher speed riding (35+ mph) all feel stable and controlled. Accessories might be difficult to find/fit. There's no center mount for a kickstand. No threaded accessory areas on the rear. And the swing-arms are a bit too large to for most kickstands to fit.

Also of note, the seat post diameter is 30.9mm. The listing indicates as such... But I feel it worth mentioning as the drawings indicate 30.8.

I also go a himalo "180" (actually 160) front fork and a DNM rear shock for it.

The fork: also no complaints. Not quite as free moving as higher end offerings from Fox. Rebound / compression adjustments are pretty limited. There's a little bit of fork flex if you stare at it, but nothing that translates to the riding experience.

The rear shock: Honestly this one's been a gem. Have nothing bad to say about it. The compression adjustment is on-off as opposed to the listing's lightly-implied 3 position switch. I found I had to put the pressure up higher than the included chart indicated. But otherwise, it's all in-spec. I'm 165lbs with a mid-drive motor on it and I'm running it at 200 out of the rated 250psi. If you're over about 190lbs, this might not cut it for you.

8
Metal Frames / Re: Himalo Frames?
« on: March 30, 2022, 11:24:19 AM »
Frame showed up yesterday

Initial impressions: Feels pretty solid. Seat tube is 1.8" aluminum. Other sections are 1/4"

All pivots are sealed ball bearings like what you would find in a skateboard

no rattles or loose bits in the frame

The frame was tweaked about 2mm in shipping. Unknown if this will cause issue or not. Going to build it this weekend and determine more at that point.


Welds all check out. Some of the finish work regarding the paint isn't perfect, but it's nothing I'm concerned about either, especially in the context of a $300 frame.

Included headset is actually pretty good quality. Sealed bearing variety. Press-fit parts all have good tolerance.

The seller indicated that the fork should be 120-160mm, so I'm guessing it was designed around 140. I'll be putting a 160 on it.

Rear travel measures out at approx 130mm

My largest complaint during assembly was on one of the rear pivot arm for the suspension. There are some included shims for the bearings that are a bit fiddly to install.

Included hardware feels a bit cheap, not certain if it's stainless or just chrome plated. But it's nothing that appears proprietary. Looks like m4/m5 hardware.

I am concerned about the rear derailleur hangar. The positioning of the bolt holes appears that it might have a propensity to snap instead of bending. This isn't inherently a bad thing, however, I've been unable to locate a replacement for it thusfar.


9
Metal Frames / Re: Himalo Frames?
« on: March 21, 2022, 05:30:57 PM »
I stumbled across the odd e-bike build with it, as well as some very close derivative frames. Or at least frames that use some of the same base tubes. While I've not seen anyone openly raving about it, I've also not been able to find any complaints.

I went ahead and ordered one. Will keep everyone updated

10
Metal Frames / Himalo Frames?
« on: March 18, 2022, 12:15:17 PM »
Curious if anyone has any experience with these. They caught my eye when poking around at cheap metal full suspension frames with room in the triangle. I can't find much info on the frame itself, but the same brand of forks seem to be fondly spoken of with respect to budget options.

I want full suspension for an ebike build. My current hard tail rides a bit rough over bumps when I'm at speed. So I'm on the hunt for a sub $600 frame that is not carbon fiber

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/33037737225.html

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