Nice build. I installed a BBS02 on my Trek 4500 and it is my new favorite ride. I went with Luna 500 display and put a rear cargo rack for occasional grocery store runs. I also ride mountain trails and enjoy the power boost. I ride almost exclusively pedal assist. The bag and mid drive conversion kits are the most cost effective EBike alternative to the factory made products.
I have considered a rear rack. I also have a flat tire bike that has a rear rack and that is why I have not yet. But this is definitely my go to bike. I looked at your Bike as well. Good job on it.Thanks for watching. There will be a 1000 mile review coming soon.
@@southernebiking I am currently in Chiang Rai, Thailand. It is a place I love and the biking around here is world class once one understands the layout and logic of the traffic. Lots of beautiful rural roads that are paved, albeit roughly, and full of interesting terrain. The situation is perfect for a bike like yours. On this and previous trips I have rented hardtails and they have been perfect. I am in my seventies and have just bought property here so I will need an electrified version. Off the shelf Ebikes are hard to find here so a local shop will do a Bafang conversion for me. Your excellent videos have helped get my head around the project! Keep them coming! There area million videos on ebike conversions but all too often they are too long winded, disorganized and too full of TH-cam“ influencers” waving their flags. Many thanks for your good work.
@@taijiclassicist4017 thank you very much. I really do appreciate the kind words. I have some other E bikes that were purchased as finished products, i.e. Rab power bike, Eco trick etc. but I always go straight to this bike as it is by far the best. Don’t know if you watch my thousand mile review or not, but I would suggest a Torque arm be installed with a bafang. It really stabilizes the motor. Thanks and good luck, enjoy the ride.
Yeah I really like this bike. The 1000 mile review show some updates that I made on it. I also have a fat tire factory made. I do like it but it’s in a different league than this one.
Nice ride! I was looking hard at that bike for my first mid drive conversion, but came across a Polygon Xtrada 6 on sale for $649, couldn't pass it up. Just ordered the BBS02 kit today. My main concern is getting a decent chain line where I can use all the gears.. happy riding!
Congrats on finding a bike. I believe you’re right could not pass that deal up. I rarely use the motor in first gear, but I’ve never had that as a problem. I believe it can be done but I’m not crazy about the chain line when it gets that far off. On the plus side I have never seen an area that I could not climb in second or third gear with the assistance of the motor. So in the end it balances out. Again congrats and let me know how the conversion goes.
Hi, Did you have any trouble mounting the battery pack? Looks to be too tight to use the standard bottle mount fixings? Did you use anything different? Many thanks,
Hello Richard, it is a tight fit. I machined out the slotted mounting holes just a bit. Very easy to do with just a drill. The battery does go on and off easily. I could have went with a smaller battery, but was not sure of the mileage I would get. Looking back a 14 amp would have saved weight, been easier to mount, and still given a range of maybe 50 or more miles. This is judging how I ride. Thanks for watching, let me know how your build goes.
Thanks for watching. Normally I have a 48 tooth on the front chain ring. I also have a 44 tooth if I will be doing mostly single track for a long time.
Hello Mike, and thanks for watching. It’s really not very difficult as you have a pretty good range of flexibility on it. You’re just stick it on the lever close to what I assume is a reed center. When the magnet pulls away, it breaks the circuit. My guess would be, it is a normally open circuit. The magnet closes it, and when the lever pulls in the magnet releases, and opens the circuit back. Understand this is just a guess of how I believe it works. But I will say they are not difficult to install.
Good observation. This is a 17.5 amp hour battery. The frame is a large. It is a tight fit, but you can put the battery on and off pretty easily. I had to reset the screws several times early on, but once they were seated, they stayed put sense. of course everyone rides differently, but I believe I can get close to 100 miles on this battery. we also have a 1000 mile review on the channel. May need to do a 2000 mile review very soon as I believe. I’m getting up around that right now. Thanks for watching.
I believe the marlin seven started out with a 34 tooth sprocket. So you may be able to use some spacers and get away with a 44T. I believe it is the Bafang website that has some 1 to 1 templates that would let you tell if it would work. I’m not real familiar with a stache 9 so I can’t speak to that particular model. Thanks for watching.
That will be very tight. If you will be leaving the battery on most of the time, I think it will fit. I take mine off after he tried, and would not want a larger battery than what I have. This is the large frame and it is 17.5 hour battery. Thanks for watching.
@@southernebiking ok thanks I’ll measure it and see if it will fit with the shark mount I had originally ordered the Marin rift zone 1 but it won’t work with that motor it hits the rear dual suspension
Flawless DIY build! Nice routing the wires clean and streamline! Very nice customer build the stats compared to the store buy! blows it out of the park! Love the customer tuning plus your hi end components is that a 11-42 or 11-50 rear ⚙️? Nice Customer diy e bike! Go Green!🇺🇸
Thank you for noticing. It is an 11 by either 48 or 50 in the back and a 48 tooth in front. I also have a 42 tooth front chain ring for some off-road single track. I am always trying to make it better yet.
Hey bud, great video! I'm looking to get the same setup as you and have ordered the BBS02B and a Marlin 7. I've done some extensive research online which indicates that converting this bike can be a bit challenging. Could you provide any details about how you installed the motor? A rough idea of the info I'm having a hard time finding: - Did you have to use any longer screws to secure anything? - Does the default Bafang chainring fit? I'm looking at a Lekkie 40t or 36t based on what I've been reading online. You have an awesome build, hopefully you can give me some solid pointers. Thanks!
I use the stock kit with no spacers. I have a 44 tooth and a 48 tooth bafang chain ring. You do have to use about a 2 mm spacer so that the chain ring does not hit the chain stay. I have also installed a torque arm that goes back to the chain stay to keep the motor from coming loose. I would highly recommend that. Otherwise it’s a pretty straight build. I can use all 10 gears but typically do not use first and second gear with the motor set on at all. The chain line in those gears are pretty rough and usually I only use them on single track without the assistance. I think the lekkie chain rings could possibly throw the chain line farther out. Of course they are narrow deep so it may not be a problem but I am not sure. Just make sure your sprocket is not touching the chain stay (swing arm). And you should be fine
@@ptdJ3KyKzLPr No problem. California E bikes carry a spacer for the chain ring. In a pinch you can use brass washers but you have to grind down one edge and they can be a pain to put on. Ask me how I know lol. Good luck with your build.
Ive heard people have problems with the bbs02 and hd not fitting in the marlins bottom bracket, because the BB is narrow in the middle, due to internal cable routing perhaps?
I had not heard that, but had no problems putting the BBS02 On the bottom bracket. I have heard some people have problems installing a dropper post but that is all I’ve ever heard about the Marlins. If I’m not mistaken all the marlin frames are the same. So I’m not sure I can answer any better than that. Thanks for watching.
Just wondering if anybody could help me with this, just went to my local dealer and they have the Gen 3 version of the Marlin which I prefer because of a slacker head tube angle, but it looks like the a 42 tooth or even smaller would not fit on the bafang motor, it looks like the angle from front sprocket on the motor to back sprocket on the gears will be at much too much of an angle for it to workout, they did have a Gen 2 which does look like it flares out last less on the gen 2 which is probably why it can't work on the Gen 3 anybody know anything about this
First off, thank you much for watching. Let’s see if I can answer this without it being an entire video. Lol. I’m not sure about the GEN three version. My marlin seven is a 2022 I believe. I use a 48 tooth front chain ring. I had to put some spacers in it so that it will not hit the swing arm, or as I say in the cycling world chain stay. That does have the chain at a bad angle in the top two gears. so I very rarely ever use first or second gear with the motor engaged. I will use first and second with motor set at zero sometimes. That being said, when I have the motor even in PA S one, I have never seen a problem, climbing any hills in third gear. I’m not sure if the GEN 3s are still 10 speed or if they bumped him up to a 12 speed. The chain line is something that has bothered me because I know it could be better. That said, I have never broke a chain. I did get an E bike chain from California ebikes. It is a much heavier duty chain. But I have over 2000 miles on the chain and sprockets and the worst problem I have had is, sometimes the chain would come off if I was in say third gear and come down a fast downhill with a Lot of roots. I believe it was three times that the chain came off because of that type of a scenario. I’m not gonna hold that against the bike as I should’ve been in a higher gear at the speed I was traveling. I hope this answers to some degree to help you out. Again thanks for watching.
@southernebiking thank you so much for the reply, indeed you did answer the majority of my questions. When I was at the bike store, and I put the generation 2 and a generation 3 side-by-side there is a difference at the angle of the chainstay on the Gen 3, you were worried about 1st and 2nd gear in the Gen 2, I think a gen3 would have an issue with even more gears for that reason I'm glad I actually didn't take the bike out of the store, I'll go get my refund tomorrow, once again thank you so much for the response
It is certainly safe for advanced trails. You do have to ride it a bit differently than a non Ebike. One issue with it is the ground clearance if you’re jumping logs and rocks constantly. Aside from that you just have to be aware that when you start to pedal the motor will kick in if you have it turned up. Typically I ride with one finger on the brakes so that I can cut the power as there is a sensor on the brake lever. You should check out my videos on the Cape fear mountain bike trails and also the video about changing the handlebars for better brake lever position. But once you get used to it yes it is very safe.
@@C_dublYu so sorry, I started a channel after I made the build. But there are quite a few videos online. It is a straightforward build. You might use one spacer on the BB. I did not, but use the spacer on the chain right. Other than that, everything is a straight, add on and wire management. Good luck with it if you decide to do one. I definitely have been enjoying my period
Nice video. I'm getting a 750w bafang bbso2. Should I get a 48v or 52v battery? Which one and how many amps of the one I get? Thank for your video and help.
Nice build. I installed a BBS02 on my Trek 4500 and it is my new favorite ride. I went with Luna 500 display and put a rear cargo rack for occasional grocery store runs. I also ride mountain trails and enjoy the power boost. I ride almost exclusively pedal assist. The bag and mid drive conversion kits are the most cost effective EBike alternative to the factory made products.
I have considered a rear rack. I also have a flat tire bike that has a rear rack and that is why I have not yet. But this is definitely my go to bike. I looked at your Bike as well. Good job on it.Thanks for watching. There will be a 1000 mile review coming soon.
Just posted up the 1000 mile review on the trek marlin seven. Might check it out if you get a chance.
Really nice presentation! Lots of great ideas here.
Thank you much. Fun bike to ride, I also have a 1000 mile review on it. Thanks for watching
@@southernebiking I am currently in Chiang Rai, Thailand. It is a place I love and the biking around here is world class once one understands the layout and logic of the traffic. Lots of beautiful rural roads that are paved, albeit roughly, and full of interesting terrain. The situation is perfect for a bike like yours. On this and previous trips I have rented hardtails and they have been perfect. I am in my seventies and have just bought property here so I will need an electrified version. Off the shelf Ebikes are hard to find here so a local shop will do a Bafang conversion for me. Your excellent videos have helped get my head around the project! Keep them coming! There area million videos on ebike conversions but all too often they are too long winded, disorganized and too full of TH-cam“ influencers” waving their flags. Many thanks for your good work.
@@taijiclassicist4017 thank you very much. I really do appreciate the kind words. I have some other E bikes that were purchased as finished products, i.e. Rab power bike, Eco trick etc. but I always go straight to this bike as it is by far the best. Don’t know if you watch my thousand mile review or not, but I would suggest a Torque arm be installed with a bafang. It really stabilizes the motor. Thanks and good luck, enjoy the ride.
Didn’t know you built your own. Cool
Yeah I really like this bike. The 1000 mile review show some updates that I made on it. I also have a fat tire factory made. I do like it but it’s in a different league than this one.
Nice ride! I was looking hard at that bike for my first mid drive conversion, but came across a Polygon Xtrada 6 on sale for $649, couldn't pass it up. Just ordered the BBS02 kit today. My main concern is getting a decent chain line where I can use all the gears.. happy riding!
Congrats on finding a bike. I believe you’re right could not pass that deal up. I rarely use the motor in first gear, but I’ve never had that as a problem. I believe it can be done but I’m not crazy about the chain line when it gets that far off. On the plus side I have never seen an area that I could not climb in second or third gear with the assistance of the motor. So in the end it balances out. Again congrats and let me know how the conversion goes.
Hi,
Did you have any trouble mounting the battery pack? Looks to be too tight to use the standard bottle mount fixings?
Did you use anything different?
Many thanks,
Hello Richard, it is a tight fit. I machined out the slotted mounting holes just a bit. Very easy to do with just a drill. The battery does go on and off easily. I could have went with a smaller battery, but was not sure of the mileage I would get. Looking back a 14 amp would have saved weight, been easier to mount, and still given a range of maybe 50 or more miles. This is judging how I ride. Thanks for watching, let me know how your build goes.
Nice job with your project. Could you tell my how many T do you have on your front sprocket?
Thanks for watching. Normally I have a 48 tooth on the front chain ring. I also have a 44 tooth if I will be doing mostly single track for a long time.
Any comment on how easy to fit the hydraulic brake sensor?
Hello Mike, and thanks for watching. It’s really not very difficult as you have a pretty good range of flexibility on it. You’re just stick it on the lever close to what I assume is a reed center. When the magnet pulls away, it breaks the circuit. My guess would be, it is a normally open circuit. The magnet closes it, and when the lever pulls in the magnet releases, and opens the circuit back. Understand this is just a guess of how I believe it works. But I will say they are not difficult to install.
What size battery is this? In the process of building on a marlin 7 but concerned about the battery not being able to slide out.
Good observation. This is a 17.5 amp hour battery. The frame is a large. It is a tight fit, but you can put the battery on and off pretty easily. I had to reset the screws several times early on, but once they were seated, they stayed put sense. of course everyone rides differently, but I believe I can get close to 100 miles on this battery. we also have a 1000 mile review on the channel. May need to do a 2000 mile review very soon as I believe. I’m getting up around that right now. Thanks for watching.
i have a trek stache 9 with a 30T sprocket - Because of the design i dont think i can use this.
I believe the marlin seven started out with a 34 tooth sprocket. So you may be able to use some spacers and get away with a 44T. I believe it is the Bafang website that has some 1 to 1 templates that would let you tell if it would work. I’m not real familiar with a stache 9 so I can’t speak to that particular model. Thanks for watching.
I have a bbs02 52v 1000 watt motor with a 19.2 amp hour battery do you think it would fit this frame ?
That will be very tight. If you will be leaving the battery on most of the time, I think it will fit. I take mine off after he tried, and would not want a larger battery than what I have. This is the large frame and it is 17.5 hour battery. Thanks for watching.
@@southernebiking ok thanks I’ll measure it and see if it will fit with the shark mount I had originally ordered the Marin rift zone 1 but it won’t work with that motor it hits the rear dual suspension
Flawless DIY build! Nice routing the wires clean and streamline! Very nice customer build the stats compared to the store buy! blows it out of the park! Love the customer tuning plus your hi end components is that a 11-42 or 11-50 rear ⚙️? Nice Customer diy e bike! Go Green!🇺🇸
Thank you for noticing. It is an 11 by either 48 or 50 in the back and a 48 tooth in front. I also have a 42 tooth front chain ring for some off-road single track. I am always trying to make it better yet.
Hey bud, great video! I'm looking to get the same setup as you and have ordered the BBS02B and a Marlin 7.
I've done some extensive research online which indicates that converting this bike can be a bit challenging. Could you provide any details about how you installed the motor? A rough idea of the info I'm having a hard time finding:
- Did you have to use any longer screws to secure anything?
- Does the default Bafang chainring fit? I'm looking at a Lekkie 40t or 36t based on what I've been reading online.
You have an awesome build, hopefully you can give me some solid pointers. Thanks!
I use the stock kit with no spacers. I have a 44 tooth and a 48 tooth bafang chain ring. You do have to use about a 2 mm spacer so that the chain ring does not hit the chain stay. I have also installed a torque arm that goes back to the chain stay to keep the motor from coming loose. I would highly recommend that. Otherwise it’s a pretty straight build. I can use all 10 gears but typically do not use first and second gear with the motor set on at all. The chain line in those gears are pretty rough and usually I only use them on single track without the assistance. I think the lekkie chain rings could possibly throw the chain line farther out. Of course they are narrow deep so it may not be a problem but I am not sure. Just make sure your sprocket is not touching the chain stay (swing arm). And you should be fine
@@southernebiking That's brilliant, thanks so much. Happy riding!
@@ptdJ3KyKzLPr No problem. California E bikes carry a spacer for the chain ring. In a pinch you can use brass washers but you have to grind down one edge and they can be a pain to put on. Ask me how I know lol. Good luck with your build.
Ive heard people have problems with the bbs02 and hd not fitting in the marlins bottom bracket, because the BB is narrow in the middle, due to internal cable routing perhaps?
I had not heard that, but had no problems putting the BBS02 On the bottom bracket. I have heard some people have problems installing a dropper post but that is all I’ve ever heard about the Marlins. If I’m not mistaken all the marlin frames are the same. So I’m not sure I can answer any better than that. Thanks for watching.
@@southernebiking I figured the person that had that issue ,also has trouble screwing in a light bulb.
I am experiencing that issue right now. It is narrow in the middle because the welding in the brings all bars closer together.
Just wondering if anybody could help me with this, just went to my local dealer and they have the Gen 3 version of the Marlin which I prefer because of a slacker head tube angle, but it looks like the a 42 tooth or even smaller would not fit on the bafang motor, it looks like the angle from front sprocket on the motor to back sprocket on the gears will be at much too much of an angle for it to workout, they did have a Gen 2 which does look like it flares out last less on the gen 2 which is probably why it can't work on the Gen 3 anybody know anything about this
First off, thank you much for watching. Let’s see if I can answer this without it being an entire video. Lol. I’m not sure about the GEN three version. My marlin seven is a 2022 I believe. I use a 48 tooth front chain ring. I had to put some spacers in it so that it will not hit the swing arm, or as I say in the cycling world chain stay. That does have the chain at a bad angle in the top two gears. so I very rarely ever use first or second gear with the motor engaged. I will use first and second with motor set at zero sometimes. That being said, when I have the motor even in PA S one, I have never seen a problem, climbing any hills in third gear. I’m not sure if the GEN 3s are still 10 speed or if they bumped him up to a 12 speed. The chain line is something that has bothered me because I know it could be better. That said, I have never broke a chain. I did get an E bike chain from California ebikes. It is a much heavier duty chain. But I have over 2000 miles on the chain and sprockets and the worst problem I have had is, sometimes the chain would come off if I was in say third gear and come down a fast downhill with a Lot of roots. I believe it was three times that the chain came off because of that type of a scenario. I’m not gonna hold that against the bike as I should’ve been in a higher gear at the speed I was traveling. I hope this answers to some degree to help you out. Again thanks for watching.
@southernebiking thank you so much for the reply, indeed you did answer the majority of my questions. When I was at the bike store, and I put the generation 2 and a generation 3 side-by-side there is a difference at the angle of the chainstay on the Gen 3, you were worried about 1st and 2nd gear in the Gen 2, I think a gen3 would have an issue with even more gears for that reason I'm glad I actually didn't take the bike out of the store, I'll go get my refund tomorrow, once again thank you so much for the response
Will this be safe for advanced trails?
It is certainly safe for advanced trails. You do have to ride it a bit differently than a non Ebike. One issue with it is the ground clearance if you’re jumping logs and rocks constantly. Aside from that you just have to be aware that when you start to pedal the motor will kick in if you have it turned up. Typically I ride with one finger on the brakes so that I can cut the power as there is a sensor on the brake lever. You should check out my videos on the Cape fear mountain bike trails and also the video about changing the handlebars for better brake lever position. But once you get used to it yes it is very safe.
@@southernebiking thank you! Just subscribed. I'll check it out!
Nice, frame size ?
yeah I really like this bike
Frame size is a large. I am 5-10 And it fits me great.
What size is the frame?
The frame is a large
You may want to also take a look at the 1000 mile review I did on this bike. We are at over 2000 miles now. Thanks for watching.
@@southernebiking do you have a video on the build or bafang install?
@@C_dublYu so sorry, I started a channel after I made the build. But there are quite a few videos online. It is a straightforward build. You might use one spacer on the BB. I did not, but use the spacer on the chain right. Other than that, everything is a straight, add on and wire management. Good luck with it if you decide to do one. I definitely have been enjoying my period
How much was your bike brand new before?
If I recall correctly it was just under $1000 brand new. This was the bike only.
Nice video. I'm getting a 750w bafang bbso2. Should I get a 48v or 52v battery? Which one and how many amps of the one I get?
Thank for your video and help.