Hello,
After having received help from the forum, I wanted to share my own experience.
First, let's explain why I decided to build my own bike :
- On every bike I tested I felt some friction coming from the motor when assistance stops. Which made it very difficult to reach a speed higher than 25Km/h on flat. Even when assistance is 0, I felt some friction. BoschCx was the worst, Brose, Yamaha and Giant were better but still had some friction. On the Bafang I don't feel any friction when assistance is 0, and the assistance limit being at 45km/h I cannot tell if there is friction afterwards as this is much fast enough anyways.
- The 25km/h limitation on bikes I tested in stores was frustrating
- The challenge and pleasure to build and fully understand my bike
- The price. But this is matter of discussion. It was risky, I had to buy tools.. In the end the bike cost me less than some bike with equivalent specs but I don't have much warranty on frame/motor and overall bike build.
In this post, I will list all the parts I bought, with price and weight information, links to buying place, and some explanation on my choices I made based on information I gathered either from forums, manufacturers and dealers web sites. This is kind of information I missed when trying to gather parts.
I will also try to discuss what I could have made differently.
Finally I will tell about the tools I had to buy.
Of course this is one setup, that fits for me, but there are many options. At least this one is consistent as I'm very happy with the bike !
Find more pictures on my user album.
// -------------------------------------------------
// Summary
E10L, BafangM600, 768Wh bat, 29", front Lyrik 160mm, rear Fox 210x55mm
- full bike price / weight (fully equipped with lights) : 5530 euros / 24.7 Kg
- tools price : 380 euros
// -------------------------------------------------
// List of parts
Frame Dengfu E10 size L (19’’), weight : ~4kg
I'm 183cm tall, 76Kgs. I tested some bikes in local stores, L was always good.
Motor Bafang M600 48V 500W, weight : ~4kg
The frame also accepts M500 which would have been better regarding local law.
But in any case, M500, M600, or whatever, local law won't be happy because I'm building the bike by myself...
So I went for the M600 to get more power.
Battery Dengfu 48V, 16Ah, 768Wh, weight : ~4kg
Had not much choice, this is what Dengfu were able to produce at the time of ordering.
I may think about building my own battery pack in the near future.
Headset Dengfu (included in Dengfu package)
Denfgu package price (Frame+Motor+Battery+headset+chainring+crank arms+rear axle) = 2063 euros
_note_: I recommend directly buying some spare parts (like derailleur hangers) along with the initial order. I will soon update with the ones I'm about to order...
Wheels DT SWISS H 1700 SPLINE HYBRID 29" 680 euros 2210 grams
front 15x110mm, rear 12x148mm Boost, 30mm inner width, HG freehub
I chose theses because :
- HYBRID is DTSwiss models name for E-bike
- good reviews of the brand and model
- DTSwiss H line goes from bottom to top : 1900, 1700, 1500, 1200.. starts at 340euros (for the 2 wheels) and then x2 for each level !
=> I went for 1700 to compromise weight, price and bearings quality
- 30mm inner width to fit the 2.60 tires I chose (I found some charts somewhere saying it would fit)
- HG freehub to fit the 11 speed cassette I chose (microspline would have been required for 12 speed)
Fork Rockshox Lyrik Ultimate RC2 2021 29" 900 euros 2030 grams
160mm travel, Boost15x110mm, Offset 42, Black
I chose this model because :
- the frame geometry is designed for 150mm, but I believed +10mm would not break it (and it is actually fine with 160mm)
- very good reviews on internet (youtube), sometimes even better than Fox36
- Fox 36 Factory (with beautiful kashima coat) was very interesting, but +600 euros.
Now I'm using it I find it very very impressive. Much better than the Rockshox 35 Gold RL on some bikes I could test in stores : that's obvious because not the same price, but I think this is worth saying that you really have something better with the money you pay. With the Lyrik, no multiple rebound oscillations after an obstacle.
Rear shock Fox DPS Factory 2018 342 euros 283 grams
210x55 to fit E10 frame requirements
I believed it would do the job for my mixed terrain usage. It is lightweight, has many possible settings, and good price/quality.
It does the job but I don't have much to compare with.
Rear shock bushings 39 euros,
16.5mm x 8mm linkage, 32mm x 8mm frame mount to fit E10 frame
Pedals MDH Spyder flat : 61 euros, 312 grams
I consider I don't need click pedals on an e-bike. For my usage, flat are perfect
Theses MDH pedals are very lightweight, very large and comfortable, lot of grip. I like the look.
Brakes Shimano XT 262 euros 560 grams
Front 8120 (4 pistons), Rear 8100 (2 pistons)
Combo included hydraulic cables with oil and the levers.
Disc brakes XT SM-RT86 6-hole Disc Rotor front 48 euros, 187 grams rear 47 euros, 154 grams
front 203mm, rear 180mm
Front brake adapter SM-MA-F203P/PM Adapter 7 euros
to fit 203mm rotor disc on RockShox fork (default to 180mm)
I chose this brakes setup because :
- this a quite heavy full suspended 500W e-bike, so I wanted more brake on the front (203mm and 4 pistons).
- 180mm 2pistons on the rear is enough and allows to mitigate the price. It is sometimes said that 2 pistons are more reliable than 4...
- Shimano XT is very well built and is good reference.
I'm very happy with this setup so far.
_note_ : Theses brakes levers are I-Spec-EV (the last evolution of Shimano mounting). This not a big deal
but they are designed to accept the 12 speed XT combo shifters, not the 11 speed XT (which are I-Spec-II), so I had to
order the 11 speed shifter with Collar mount instead. too bad Shimano does not propose I-Spec-EV on 11speed shifters...
Chainring STRONGLIGHT E-Bike 40T 26 euros 51 grams
Chainring STRONGLIGHT E-Bike 42T 26 euros 57 grams
Aluminium 7075-T6 40T
The chainring provided in Denfgu's package was a heavy (186g) 38T.
I wanted a bigger chainring, to maximize usage of the middle sprockets instead of using too much the smaller ones.
I prefer keeping the chain straight most of the times.
With the powerful motor, the bike can go fast and I don't like having to move legs too fast on flat.
With my 11 speed 11-46 cassette, on the bigger sprocket I can still climb anything.
The 38T was quite close to the frame so I started buying a 40T. Even if 2T difference do not make much difference, I feel it is slightly better.
Then I bought a 42T, it fits with the frame (44T would not) and I'm very happy with it : really lets me make better use of all middle gears. I don't think going forward (44T) would be necessary for me, so that's perfect with 40T or 42T depending on the program of the day.
Cassette 11speed SHIMANO XT M8000 11-46 113 euros 450 grams
I wanted Shimano because I prefer it to SRAM, for overall quality.
XT is slightly better than SLX, but remains much cheaper than XTR.
I wanted 11 speeds : 12 speeds adds a 10T smaller sprocket which I would be not comfortable to use with powerful motor. I believe that the 11T of the 11 speeds is already too small : the chain works on 3 or 4 teeth only.
Note : You have to make sure the choice you make here is consistent with the wheels (12 speeds would have required microspline)
Derailleur SHIMANO XT RD-M8000 11speed SGS 90 euros 300grams
SGS required for 46T largest sprocket of the cassette.
Shifter SHIMANO XT 11speeds SL-M8000 63 euros 130 grams
Note that the shifter is sold with the cable and housing, so no need to buy an extra one (I made the mistake so..
)
Chain SHIMANO E8000 E-BIKE 11speeds 60 euros 257 grams
I ordered 138 links size, but I had to cut it to fit. I removed 14 links, which makes a 124 links chain in the end.
Tires Schwalbe Nobby Nic Evo Super Trail 29"x2.6" 100 euros 2230 grams
Addix E-50 Folding Tyre
I had seen good reviews on the brand.
I went to Schwalbe website to compare tires models they offer : Chose the Nobby Nic for my mixed terrain usage.
Chose the exact model for the Ebike-50 capability.
Dengfu recommends 29er*2.6" (or 27.5er*2.8")
Tires Sealent Schwalbe doc blue 500ml 16 euros
Dropper post ONE UP COMPONENTS DROPPER V2 200 euros 600 grams
diameter: 31.6mm, travel: 210mm
Read great reviews on this model.
Diameter 31.6 to fit in the E10 frame.
I had measured (using an old fixed post) that I was comfortable with 230mm between the frame and the saddle mount.
This dropper post has the lowest height between frame and saddle mount when in (33mm).
So I required 200mm travel. This dropper post travel can be adjusted by 10mm (210, 200, 190, if you need less take the 180mm model)
So I bought the 210mm and adjusted the travel to 200mm. With this setup I can put the saddle really low.
I could have taken the 180mm model and set it up so that when out it also goes to 230mm : I would have had less travel, but less weight too...
Dropper Post Remote V2 45 euros
I took the I-Spec-EV mount version to fit with my left XT brake lever.
I could have ordered a compatible one from another brand but I prefered sticking with the same brand for now.
Saddle Ritchey Comp Skyline V2 46 euros 265 grams
I already had a bike with Ritchey components I was happy with..
Stem Ritchey Trail 45mm 30 euros
for 31.8mm handlebars
Decided to have a stem length close to the fork offset (42mm)
I feel this is quite ok for my position on the bike
Handlebar Ritchey WCS Rizer 60 euros 275 grams
760mm, 20mm rise, 31.8mm
I did not knew exactly what would work the best for me.
I read some advice on how to choose a handlebar (depends on shoulder size, what you want to do with the bike), and tested a few bikes in stores.
I'm happy with this setup, but I would need to compare handlebars with this bike to have a better understanding.
Grips Ritchey WCS Ergo Locking True Grip 17 euros 133 grams
Headset spacers Ritchey WCS Carbon Spacer 1 1/8" matte UD 7 euros 20 grams
10mm large (2 pcs)
Chainstay Cube Protection Neoprene L 11 euros
Rear light KNOG COBBER M 53 euros 44g
Front light KNOG BLINDER ROAD 600 51 euros 150g
A friend of mine had this brand and told me the models are very bright and durable.
As of today, I agree
Handlebar Mirror The Beam Corky Urban 27 euros 24g
Very discreet, but still very useful. I recommend it.
Mudguards
The front one comes with the fork.
I bought two other front mudguard which I used on the rear, to prevent small rocks to slide in the suspension mechanism.
For now I'm happy with this setup.
I might add a bigger mudguard to prevent water in my pants
// ------------
// List of tools
Elite Team Decathlon 99 euros
Allen keys facom
Torque Key Wera 127 euros
Wera tools 60 euros
Quick link tool 10 euros
carbon grease 10 euros
bushings tool 16 euros
Tire Pump ZEFAL PROFIL MAX FP20 22 euros
Shock high pressure pump 19 euros
Radon Tool Adapter 14 euros
- For HOLLOWTECH II Bottom Bracket
Radon Cable Tie 200x3.6mm 4 euros
(100 pieces)
After having received help from the forum, I wanted to share my own experience.
First, let's explain why I decided to build my own bike :
- On every bike I tested I felt some friction coming from the motor when assistance stops. Which made it very difficult to reach a speed higher than 25Km/h on flat. Even when assistance is 0, I felt some friction. BoschCx was the worst, Brose, Yamaha and Giant were better but still had some friction. On the Bafang I don't feel any friction when assistance is 0, and the assistance limit being at 45km/h I cannot tell if there is friction afterwards as this is much fast enough anyways.
- The 25km/h limitation on bikes I tested in stores was frustrating
- The challenge and pleasure to build and fully understand my bike
- The price. But this is matter of discussion. It was risky, I had to buy tools.. In the end the bike cost me less than some bike with equivalent specs but I don't have much warranty on frame/motor and overall bike build.
In this post, I will list all the parts I bought, with price and weight information, links to buying place, and some explanation on my choices I made based on information I gathered either from forums, manufacturers and dealers web sites. This is kind of information I missed when trying to gather parts.
I will also try to discuss what I could have made differently.
Finally I will tell about the tools I had to buy.
Of course this is one setup, that fits for me, but there are many options. At least this one is consistent as I'm very happy with the bike !
Find more pictures on my user album.
// -------------------------------------------------
// Summary
E10L, BafangM600, 768Wh bat, 29", front Lyrik 160mm, rear Fox 210x55mm
- full bike price / weight (fully equipped with lights) : 5530 euros / 24.7 Kg
- tools price : 380 euros
// -------------------------------------------------
// List of parts
Frame Dengfu E10 size L (19’’), weight : ~4kg
I'm 183cm tall, 76Kgs. I tested some bikes in local stores, L was always good.
Motor Bafang M600 48V 500W, weight : ~4kg
The frame also accepts M500 which would have been better regarding local law.
But in any case, M500, M600, or whatever, local law won't be happy because I'm building the bike by myself...
So I went for the M600 to get more power.
Battery Dengfu 48V, 16Ah, 768Wh, weight : ~4kg
Had not much choice, this is what Dengfu were able to produce at the time of ordering.
I may think about building my own battery pack in the near future.
Headset Dengfu (included in Dengfu package)
Denfgu package price (Frame+Motor+Battery+headset+chainring+crank arms+rear axle) = 2063 euros
_note_: I recommend directly buying some spare parts (like derailleur hangers) along with the initial order. I will soon update with the ones I'm about to order...
Wheels DT SWISS H 1700 SPLINE HYBRID 29" 680 euros 2210 grams
front 15x110mm, rear 12x148mm Boost, 30mm inner width, HG freehub
I chose theses because :
- HYBRID is DTSwiss models name for E-bike
- good reviews of the brand and model
- DTSwiss H line goes from bottom to top : 1900, 1700, 1500, 1200.. starts at 340euros (for the 2 wheels) and then x2 for each level !
=> I went for 1700 to compromise weight, price and bearings quality
- 30mm inner width to fit the 2.60 tires I chose (I found some charts somewhere saying it would fit)
- HG freehub to fit the 11 speed cassette I chose (microspline would have been required for 12 speed)
Fork Rockshox Lyrik Ultimate RC2 2021 29" 900 euros 2030 grams
160mm travel, Boost15x110mm, Offset 42, Black
I chose this model because :
- the frame geometry is designed for 150mm, but I believed +10mm would not break it (and it is actually fine with 160mm)
- very good reviews on internet (youtube), sometimes even better than Fox36
- Fox 36 Factory (with beautiful kashima coat) was very interesting, but +600 euros.
Now I'm using it I find it very very impressive. Much better than the Rockshox 35 Gold RL on some bikes I could test in stores : that's obvious because not the same price, but I think this is worth saying that you really have something better with the money you pay. With the Lyrik, no multiple rebound oscillations after an obstacle.
Rear shock Fox DPS Factory 2018 342 euros 283 grams
210x55 to fit E10 frame requirements
I believed it would do the job for my mixed terrain usage. It is lightweight, has many possible settings, and good price/quality.
It does the job but I don't have much to compare with.
Rear shock bushings 39 euros,
16.5mm x 8mm linkage, 32mm x 8mm frame mount to fit E10 frame
Pedals MDH Spyder flat : 61 euros, 312 grams
I consider I don't need click pedals on an e-bike. For my usage, flat are perfect
Theses MDH pedals are very lightweight, very large and comfortable, lot of grip. I like the look.
Brakes Shimano XT 262 euros 560 grams
Front 8120 (4 pistons), Rear 8100 (2 pistons)
Combo included hydraulic cables with oil and the levers.
Disc brakes XT SM-RT86 6-hole Disc Rotor front 48 euros, 187 grams rear 47 euros, 154 grams
front 203mm, rear 180mm
Front brake adapter SM-MA-F203P/PM Adapter 7 euros
to fit 203mm rotor disc on RockShox fork (default to 180mm)
I chose this brakes setup because :
- this a quite heavy full suspended 500W e-bike, so I wanted more brake on the front (203mm and 4 pistons).
- 180mm 2pistons on the rear is enough and allows to mitigate the price. It is sometimes said that 2 pistons are more reliable than 4...
- Shimano XT is very well built and is good reference.
I'm very happy with this setup so far.
_note_ : Theses brakes levers are I-Spec-EV (the last evolution of Shimano mounting). This not a big deal
but they are designed to accept the 12 speed XT combo shifters, not the 11 speed XT (which are I-Spec-II), so I had to
order the 11 speed shifter with Collar mount instead. too bad Shimano does not propose I-Spec-EV on 11speed shifters...
Chainring STRONGLIGHT E-Bike 40T 26 euros 51 grams
Chainring STRONGLIGHT E-Bike 42T 26 euros 57 grams
Aluminium 7075-T6 40T
The chainring provided in Denfgu's package was a heavy (186g) 38T.
I wanted a bigger chainring, to maximize usage of the middle sprockets instead of using too much the smaller ones.
I prefer keeping the chain straight most of the times.
With the powerful motor, the bike can go fast and I don't like having to move legs too fast on flat.
With my 11 speed 11-46 cassette, on the bigger sprocket I can still climb anything.
The 38T was quite close to the frame so I started buying a 40T. Even if 2T difference do not make much difference, I feel it is slightly better.
Then I bought a 42T, it fits with the frame (44T would not) and I'm very happy with it : really lets me make better use of all middle gears. I don't think going forward (44T) would be necessary for me, so that's perfect with 40T or 42T depending on the program of the day.
Cassette 11speed SHIMANO XT M8000 11-46 113 euros 450 grams
I wanted Shimano because I prefer it to SRAM, for overall quality.
XT is slightly better than SLX, but remains much cheaper than XTR.
I wanted 11 speeds : 12 speeds adds a 10T smaller sprocket which I would be not comfortable to use with powerful motor. I believe that the 11T of the 11 speeds is already too small : the chain works on 3 or 4 teeth only.
Note : You have to make sure the choice you make here is consistent with the wheels (12 speeds would have required microspline)
Derailleur SHIMANO XT RD-M8000 11speed SGS 90 euros 300grams
SGS required for 46T largest sprocket of the cassette.
Shifter SHIMANO XT 11speeds SL-M8000 63 euros 130 grams
Note that the shifter is sold with the cable and housing, so no need to buy an extra one (I made the mistake so..
)Chain SHIMANO E8000 E-BIKE 11speeds 60 euros 257 grams
I ordered 138 links size, but I had to cut it to fit. I removed 14 links, which makes a 124 links chain in the end.
Tires Schwalbe Nobby Nic Evo Super Trail 29"x2.6" 100 euros 2230 grams
Addix E-50 Folding Tyre
I had seen good reviews on the brand.
I went to Schwalbe website to compare tires models they offer : Chose the Nobby Nic for my mixed terrain usage.
Chose the exact model for the Ebike-50 capability.
Dengfu recommends 29er*2.6" (or 27.5er*2.8")
Tires Sealent Schwalbe doc blue 500ml 16 euros
Dropper post ONE UP COMPONENTS DROPPER V2 200 euros 600 grams
diameter: 31.6mm, travel: 210mm
Read great reviews on this model.
Diameter 31.6 to fit in the E10 frame.
I had measured (using an old fixed post) that I was comfortable with 230mm between the frame and the saddle mount.
This dropper post has the lowest height between frame and saddle mount when in (33mm).
So I required 200mm travel. This dropper post travel can be adjusted by 10mm (210, 200, 190, if you need less take the 180mm model)
So I bought the 210mm and adjusted the travel to 200mm. With this setup I can put the saddle really low.
I could have taken the 180mm model and set it up so that when out it also goes to 230mm : I would have had less travel, but less weight too...
Dropper Post Remote V2 45 euros
I took the I-Spec-EV mount version to fit with my left XT brake lever.
I could have ordered a compatible one from another brand but I prefered sticking with the same brand for now.
Saddle Ritchey Comp Skyline V2 46 euros 265 grams
I already had a bike with Ritchey components I was happy with..
Stem Ritchey Trail 45mm 30 euros
for 31.8mm handlebars
Decided to have a stem length close to the fork offset (42mm)
I feel this is quite ok for my position on the bike
Handlebar Ritchey WCS Rizer 60 euros 275 grams
760mm, 20mm rise, 31.8mm
I did not knew exactly what would work the best for me.
I read some advice on how to choose a handlebar (depends on shoulder size, what you want to do with the bike), and tested a few bikes in stores.
I'm happy with this setup, but I would need to compare handlebars with this bike to have a better understanding.
Grips Ritchey WCS Ergo Locking True Grip 17 euros 133 grams
Headset spacers Ritchey WCS Carbon Spacer 1 1/8" matte UD 7 euros 20 grams
10mm large (2 pcs)
Chainstay Cube Protection Neoprene L 11 euros
Rear light KNOG COBBER M 53 euros 44g
Front light KNOG BLINDER ROAD 600 51 euros 150g
A friend of mine had this brand and told me the models are very bright and durable.
As of today, I agree
Handlebar Mirror The Beam Corky Urban 27 euros 24g
Very discreet, but still very useful. I recommend it.
Mudguards
The front one comes with the fork.
I bought two other front mudguard which I used on the rear, to prevent small rocks to slide in the suspension mechanism.
For now I'm happy with this setup.
I might add a bigger mudguard to prevent water in my pants
// ------------
// List of tools
Elite Team Decathlon 99 euros
Allen keys facom
Torque Key Wera 127 euros
Wera tools 60 euros
Quick link tool 10 euros
carbon grease 10 euros
bushings tool 16 euros
Tire Pump ZEFAL PROFIL MAX FP20 22 euros
Shock high pressure pump 19 euros
Radon Tool Adapter 14 euros
- For HOLLOWTECH II Bottom Bracket
Radon Cable Tie 200x3.6mm 4 euros
(100 pieces)
Last edited:
