Dengfu E10 - The CHEEB V1.0 - Discussion

[Rob Rides EMTB]

Is that with the monster battery? Pretty impressive if it is

Yep.

 

[Stretch40]

How about a decal kit on the fork to match frame someone like slik graphics ? Looks mint how's the motor ?

 

[jimbob]

Yes. Original cost as in the first couple of posts. But I added paint, so £150 for the flip paint.

Thanks. Not too bad then. Most of my projects end up rather more expensive than anticipated...

Thats some expensive paint! Worth it though. Looks ace.

 

[routrax]

Brilliant job, it looks fantastic!

 

[Pyr0]

No idea! I’m waiting for a Bafang chainring lock nut ?

Didn't it come with the motor?

 

[GrandPaBrogan]

Feck that! Never painting a frame again ? A lot of work. Also I like the slab grey Zeb / purple contrast ?

Paint the forks?
Nah, nah, nah... you don't need to paint the forks... ?

 

[jbrown15]

Feck that! Never painting a frame again ? A lot of work. Also I like the slab grey Zeb / purple contrast ?

Some purple Zeb stickers on the forks would really set it off!

 

[Zimmerframe]

Well, it goes! Really well. Very brief ride round the 'hood. Mrs not happy for obvious reasons today!!

Talk about dedication, he even brings us updates on XMAS day ! ???

 

[Mteam]

Well, it goes! Really well. Very brief ride round the 'hood. Mrs not happy for obvious reasons today!!

Motor response is pretty good, I tested it in the highest mode, just for a laugh. Seems punchy. Obviously only a very quick test and no real hills here.

Really quiet under load. Possibly quieter than all the gear driven motors (Bosch / Yamaha / Shimano etc) and comparable to belt driven Brose, maybe quieter, although no experience yet under strain / heat buildup etc...

Screen is pretty crap in sunlight. Mode selector is proper plastic feeling, bit cheap, but works OK.

Brief bike feel: with the 170mm fork might have screwed around with the geo a bit. I have ordered an offset bushing and will try with my 160mm Lyrik and with the offset bushing hopefully I can reduce the BB height (its pretty high in my setup with the mullet / 170mm fork - around 355mm). Moving down on the fork height, with the offset bushings should maintain the 64 degree(ish) Head Angle but also reduce the BB height.

I will let you know how I get on.

Fabricate a custom mount to lower the motor and hence bottom bracket by 20mm.

A bit of steel plate and a drill should do the job

 

[GrandPaBrogan]

Well, it goes! Really well. Very brief ride round the 'hood. Mrs not happy for obvious reasons today!!

Aren't children supposed to play with their toys on Christmas day? Yeah, that's it... tell her that...

 

[smtkelly]

Good job on the painting. Its a fickle and nerve racking in my experience without the ability to control temperature and humidity. I've experienced how fickle the mystical science of temperature/humidity/paint is. I've had to clear coat a few things (and sand back more than one), There's always touch of dread on that last step!

 

[Zimmerframe]

the cable for the mode selection switch seems to be quite short. Mine is only 300mm - meaning I have to run the control quite far away from hands

Normally there's one of these included in the box :

 

[GrandPaBrogan]

I already added some really thin (1mm) 3M rubber tape on each side of the battery compartment to reduce any battery rattles, as well as on the underside of the battery cover itself. I also filled some parts of the frame with bubble wrap to reduce any cable slap inside.

Not saying that this is applicable for your particular situation, but be aware that packing or filling up every bit of air space inside the battery compartment is not necessarily a good thing. Batteries do get very hot sometimes and may need some of that internal air space to ventilate somewhat. Also not sure at what temperature bubble wrap would melt. I mentioned this because I read an article where some Class2/4 DIY eBikes eventually caught fire because they packed the battery compartment solid with sound insulation material which overheated the batteries.

 

[Mteam]

Its prob designed around a 150 fork and 27.5. I have totally butchered it.

I'm going to try a single offset bushing, that'll reduce the BB height by 5mm (so it'll be 347mm, for comparison, the Santa Cruz Bullit is 349mm BB height). It'll also slacken the HA to around 63.3 degree (not that I want that, but a side effect of offset bushing).

Obviously a 155/170 travel bike weighted with rider sag will have bigger sag drop (proportionally) than a shorter travel bike, so I think BB height not going to be too far off when loaded with rider.

I guess you've checked that the wheel has enough space for full travel without hitting the frame at full compression with the offset bushes?

You probably already know this but Offset bushes can sometimes also move the sag point of the suspension to an unoptimum point in the leverage curve giving odd suspension characteristics, and you can get some really odd effects towards the end of the travel, but it's hard to know whether that will be the case without just trying it.

Interesting experiment...

 

[Rob Rides EMTB]

I guess you've checked that the wheel has enough space for full travel without hitting the frame at full compression with the offset bushes?

Not yet, I haven't received them but will be sure to try this

 

[Blue Moon]

Another quick ride today. Only 15 mins, nothing technical.

Bafang M500 Motor

So far its pretty impressive:

• Motor is smooth and progressive in delivering the power, pretty instantly engaging and assisting
• Seems like there's not as much 'instant kick' power as Bosch, takes a couple of revolutions to really punch, perhaps having a more natural feeling
• Once you get going it feels like a nice chunk of power, between 5-15 mph it really pulls
• Very very quiet on load under full power. Not tested on rough stuff yet to see what its like under coasting / unloaded noise
• Instant engagement from the motor / zero crank play before engagement

View attachment 48345

Dengfu E10 Frame

Feels pretty good so far but early days. At the moment I'm just making sure it is set up correctly rather than focussing on performance aspect. With the 170mm travel / 155mm rear its super plush as you'd expect.

View attachment 48342

Again, frame is totally silent, no creaks, knocking or noises. I already added some really thin (1mm) 3M rubber tape on each side of the battery compartment to reduce any battery rattles, as well as on the underside of the battery cover itself. I also filled some parts of the frame with bubble wrap to reduce any cable slap inside.

View attachment 48343

Some Stats / Geometry on my setup

• 505mm Reach
• 63.8 degree head angle with the RockShox 170mm Zeb
• 29er front, 27.5 rear
• 455mm chain stay
• 352mm BB height
• 24.5KG

View attachment 48346
Got to say so far I'm pretty impressed. Although I have only been riding around paved stuff. But I have a feeling it's going to be a proper capable enduro ebike.

Things to do:

• Fix display to the 35mm bar. Bafang display is setup for a 31.8mm bar, clamp is too small
• Get a longer cable between the remote control and display. Its too short
• Find 2x bolts to fix the bash guard
• Sort out chain length. 116 link chain seems to short (I think its a 40t chain ring)
• Try with 29er wheels front and rear and 160mm fork, offset bushings in the RockShox Super Deluxe to drop BB
• Ride some actual trails

Have you got a purple fetish. It looks very similar to your Rail!

 

[Rosemount]

I have tried in 29 and the bike working so wel, that i think i will stay with it, if i install 27.5 rear, i will reduce forks angle, lower BB, Not the right direction for me. The only problem is in short corner, it is the only point where dengfu is less efficient than spectral on (my other bike). The only solution for me could be reduce arms lengtht.

About remote wire, alike power supply wire, i does increase the legth, they are to short.

Today in classic ride with my friends (1400 D+ 40 km), where i return with +- 30% of battery with shimano, with dengfu i have 75%, without noise, with a lot of control and trust on the bike, less tired. I appreciate a lot this bike

I was thinking to myself .
Hmmm high bottom bracket , long chain stays , slack head angle , long wheel base . Not suited to slow and or tight turns .
May feel twitchy in the air off jumps with a high BB too .

 

[HGmtb]

A 40t chainring is pretty large - unless you want to ride as fast as possible with no restriction. Changing it to 36t would give you more actual ground clearance and lower gearing too, so you could use a smaller lighter cassette.

 

[Gary]

May feel twitchy in the air off jumps with a high BB too .

a 500m reach 1300mm WB 55lb bike twitchy in the air?
Do pass that bong monsieur?

 

[Rosemount]

a 500m reach 1300mm WB 55lb bike twitchy in the air?
Do pass that bong monsieur?

Raise up the BB and the centre of gravity the rider perceives rises too .

Just like the old Mongooses that were built before you were born . Low BB is more stable .

Bong ? I`d prescribe some DMT to quell that ego of yours ... ?

 

[Gary]

No Mongooses were being built before I was born Son.
but if we're going to use 20" BMX as an example...
Go and take a look at the size of jumps decent BMX riders actually do... Compare those the what you (and most other middle aged Ebikers) deem big... yeah... We're generally not going very big at all are we?
Now go and take another look at how much BB drop there is on Rob's frame set-up as he has it now.
Next compare Rob's BB drop with that of any BMX ever used to jump 70ft+ jumps. The BMX BB height is ABOVE axle height. They all are.
You're being ridiculous. Again.

 

[Lexinoo]

I've been watching this thread with interest, but after the last page or 2 I'm glad I stuck my 3 grand on a canyon Spectral . Rides perfectly (for me ) and I haven't got a clue what angles,reach ,stack etc it has!
Beautiful looking bike though Rob?

 

[Rob Rides EMTB]

I've been watching this thread with interest, but after the last page or 2 I'm glad I stuck my 3 grand on a canyon Spectral . Rides perfectly (for me ) and I haven't got a clue what angles,reach ,stack etc it has!
Beautiful looking bike though Rob?

Yeah; there’s a LOT of benefits buying a fully built, tried and tested bike vs doing it this way. I’d definitely not recommend doing it this way to everyone.

it’s more of an experiment for me?

 

[Lexinoo]

I absolutely love my spectral, I got it for a steal I reckon. Just under 3 k brand new in June, with pretty good components I think.
However, if / when it fails its probably gonna be a nightmare to get it sorted so I'm always interested in what else is around for similar money. Seems to me like I'm going to struggle to get anything anywhere near as good for the same money! Even doing it the way Rob has here.

 

[Pyr0]

Yes it came stock with a 40t - these Bafang motors usually are paired with crazy high speed derestricted bikes with 1000-1500w power. So assuming a 40t works well on those.



only thing I have is a 32t so that’s going on for the time being.



also I managed to correctly get BB height -I’d say more like 348mm looking down the barrel of the bottom bracket



FFCB2A4C-7F2E-419F-9A44-5E75A8B1573C.jpeg

That's about the same BB height as a levo.
Specialized say 347.5mm

 

[Lexinoo]

A base Levo level is around £4500? and comes with basic suspension etc though .
Can't beat a Specialized for back up and warranty though.?

 

[Zimmerframe]

A base Levo level is around £4500? and comes with basic suspension etc though .
Can't beat a Specialized for back up and warranty though.?

You're completely discounting the advantages offered by "Robs matching carpets inc".

 

[CRFan1]

Another short ride today on some actual trails.

Bafang M500 Motor:

• Power delivery feels stronger than the Shimano EP8 / E8000, but less than the Bosch / Brose. The display registered a peak of 580 watts on a short climb
• Motor software is good - no spikes / surges, feels good from a stop
• Characteristics feel more like the Yamaha PWX-2 (no power surges, just linear power)
• Super super quiet. I'd say its slightly louder on power than the EP8 and significantly quieter than the Bosch Gen4 and Brose
• I didn't notice any clunking / rattling from the motor
• I'd think this will be a mile monster, with the 840Wh battery, depending on motor efficiency I think it'll out last most ebike systems (all other things being fairly equal)

Dengfu E10 Frame

• I want to find something I don't like but at the moment its pretty faultless
• Feels stiff, very quiet. I think they only thing I may find is the frame is too stiff (will see as soon as I get to Surrey Hills)
• Was soaking wet today. I've already applied some ACF50 to the internal electrics areas. Will see how I get along with water ingress

View attachment 48430

Thanks for the update Rob! All in, how much money do you have into this bike out of curiosity?

 

[dobbyhasfriends]

Spray. Didn't realise they did a grease to be honest!

Im asking because i need to do something with my Levo, Wales is pretty wet right now!
I used to use an old tub of ??????(name missing) dielectric grease / electrical cleaner - found in a farm building that was used for keeping the shit out of JCB and tractor electrics, but thats all gone now. you could spread the stuff everywhere, messy but worked really well.. not found anything like it since and looking for a replacement.
so did you simply spray the connectors etc?

 

[patdam]

I agree with most of your appreciation rob but this "I may find is the frame is too stiff (will see as soon as I get to Surrey Hills)". Are you sur about your suspension setting ? have you any sag (mini 30% rear) ?