SZZS specific CEF50-main thread (initial builds and troubleshooting related only)

[Neeko DeVinchi]

It's been a while since I've used a Bafang proprietary battery.

Gotta be honest, this 43v 410wh battery is heavier than I thought.

My Darfon 36v 504wh battery Is a little bit heavier.

Oh well, let's finish this build

 

[temon10]

It's been a while since I've used a Bafang proprietary battery.
View attachment 127588
View attachment 127589
View attachment 127590
View attachment 127591
Gotta be honest, this 43v 410wh battery is heavier than I thought.
View attachment 127592
My Darfon 36v 504wh battery Is a little bit heavier.
View attachment 127593
View attachment 127594
Oh well, let's finish this build

where did U buy Shimano Darfon battery?

 

[Stephen B]

On my bike the speed sensor wire connector vibrated loose and I had to old fashion it all the way back uphill.
What are you guys doing to keep the connectors from vibrating OFF?

 

[Neeko DeVinchi]

On my bike the speed sensor wire connector vibrated loose and I had to old fashion it all the way back uphill.
What are you guys doing to keep the connectors from vibrating OFF?

I use electrical tape around connectors which are designed to disconnected.

 

[Neeko DeVinchi]

where did U buy Shimano Darfon battery?

Dengfu provided me with my first darfon battery. My second, I was able to source locally from a Santa Cruz dealer.

 

[Phatty]

Well I am all finished with the build for a minute. Will upgrade headset soon as well as 160 carbon cranks and probably the rear triangle to UDH and then eventually SRAM GX transmission. Meet "Mountain Bluebell"

Bafang M820 From Trust-Bikes (SZ CEF50 frame).
36v with 720wh battery.
We are one carbon wheels (i9 hydra),
We are one carbon handlebar stem combo
Dvo onyx 160mm fork
Dvo topaz gen3 rear shock
Oneup v2 dropper 180mm
Oneup composite pedals
Gx axs derailer
Race face half Nelson grips
Ztto xd cassette/chain
34t decker chainring
Random carbon saddle I had in garage
TRP dhr-evo brakes 203/203
MTX gold label brake pads
Specialized butcher t9 grid gravity tires

Will add 160 carbon cranks and better headset soon as there is weight to be saved there

19.8 KG/43.7lbs

Maiden dirt voyage and range testing to follow shortly. For reference it’s over 10lbs lighter than my current setup on the dengfu e10 with m600 (ludicrous v2). I used heavier components in a few places (brakes, shocks, derailer) as I prefer the performance of them to the weight savings of a lighter brake or fox suspension.
I attached a couple of picture of my E10 on my favorite trail to show the type of terrain I typically ride. Its 4000-6000 feet of climbing and 20-30 miles every ride so anxious to see if this bike will be up for it!

 

[Herculesridesebikes]

On my bike the speed sensor wire connector vibrated loose and I had to old fashion it all the way back uphill.
What are you guys doing to keep the connectors from vibrating OFF?

this happened to me a few times, I use 2 small zip ties on the sensor plugs as collars then another zip tieing them together. Haven't had any more issues. Also make sure there is slack on either end for some play.

 

[spokémon]

Well I am all finished with the build for a minute. Will upgrade headset soon as well as 160 carbon cranks and probably the rear triangle to UDH and then eventually SRAM GX transmission. Meet "Mountain Bluebell"

Bafang M820 From Trust-Bikes (SZ CEF50 frame).
36v with 720wh battery.
We are one carbon wheels (i9 hydra),
We are one carbon handlebar stem combo
Dvo onyx 160mm fork
Dvo topaz gen3 rear shock
Oneup v2 dropper 180mm
Oneup composite pedals
Gx axs derailer
Race face half Nelson grips
Ztto xd cassette/chain
34t decker chainring
Random carbon saddle I had in garage
TRP dhr-evo brakes 203/203
MTX gold label brake pads
Specialized butcher t9 grid gravity tires

Will add 160 carbon cranks and better headset soon as there is weight to be saved there

19.8 KG/43.7lbs

Maiden dirt voyage and range testing to follow shortly. For reference it’s over 10lbs lighter than my current setup on the dengfu e10 with m600 (ludicrous v2). I used heavier components in a few places (brakes, shocks, derailer) as I prefer the performance of them to the weight savings of a lighter brake or fox suspension.
I attached a couple of picture of my E10 on my favorite trail to show the type of terrain I typically ride. Its 4000-6000 feet of climbing and 20-30 miles every ride so anxious to see if this bike will be up for it!

View attachment 127635 View attachment 127636 View attachment 127637 View attachment 127638 View attachment 127639 View attachment 127640 View attachment 127641 View attachment 127642

What size frame did you get?

 

[LAnton]

Well I am all finished with the build for a minute. Will upgrade headset soon as well as 160 carbon cranks and probably the rear triangle to UDH and then eventually SRAM GX transmission. Meet "Mountain Bluebell"

Bafang M820 From Trust-Bikes (SZ CEF50 frame).
36v with 720wh battery.
We are one carbon wheels (i9 hydra),
We are one carbon handlebar stem combo
Dvo onyx 160mm fork
Dvo topaz gen3 rear shock
Oneup v2 dropper 180mm
Oneup composite pedals
Gx axs derailer
Race face half Nelson grips
Ztto xd cassette/chain
34t decker chainring
Random carbon saddle I had in garage
TRP dhr-evo brakes 203/203
MTX gold label brake pads
Specialized butcher t9 grid gravity tires

Will add 160 carbon cranks and better headset soon as there is weight to be saved there

19.8 KG/43.7lbs

Maiden dirt voyage and range testing to follow shortly. For reference it’s over 10lbs lighter than my current setup on the dengfu e10 with m600 (ludicrous v2). I used heavier components in a few places (brakes, shocks, derailer) as I prefer the performance of them to the weight savings of a lighter brake or fox suspension.
I attached a couple of picture of my E10 on my favorite trail to show the type of terrain I typically ride. Its 4000-6000 feet of climbing and 20-30 miles every ride so anxious to see if this bike will be up for it!

View attachment 127635 View attachment 127636 View attachment 127637 View attachment 127638 View attachment 127639 View attachment 127640 View attachment 127641 View attachment 127642

Does the gearshift work well in the entire range from 9 to 50?

 

[Phatty]

Does the gearshift work well in the entire range from 9 to 50?

I've got a small issue right now between 6-8 where it hangs a little bit in the shift but i didn't stop to address it. With the Axs app, you can adjust the setting for those gears. But yes, as far as chainline it works from 50 all the way to 9 no issues.

 

[Phatty]

First ride review: 19 miles, 2800 vertical, 1 hour 45 minutes. (strava screwed up but I know the loop stats)
Thanks to everyone who contributed to this thread and put together ideas and went first and contributed knowledge. You all are amazing! I hope this review helps someone else down the line. I would not hesitate to order one of these bikes again.

Oh my word I love this bike. Its playful and fun and planted when it needs to be and easy to throw around. The light weight is so much nicer coming off the E10. The frame geo works great and feels very planted going up and very much like a Rocketship going down. I have some fine tuning on the suspension to do but overall, I am so pleased with the way everything rides. I had 1 pedal strike. Thats awesome. I was worried the 175s or whatever they are would strike a lot, but they didnt. Thats a huge bonus. I have to say the stock headset is garbage. It kept pinching the dropper wire. Need to replace that ASAP.
Motor: This motor is a whiny SOB. Its loud. I mean its really loud. Noticeably louder than the m600 with silent gear. I hope it breaks in or something, I could hear it over my music and people definitely heard me coming up the trail. I did not have any issues with a clunk on the downhills like the ep8. Everything was nice and quiet and tight downhill and that was a pleasant surprise. This motor wants a high cadence and doesnt seem to have much grunt to it in lower assist levels. Im running a 34T chainring to help spin. I initially was going to go with 36T like i have on my m600 but I am glad i went with 34. We need some better tunes, I think i need to figure out how to upgrade to v3 (I have a besst tool, but not a pro account to do the upgrade) and connect the mobile app and adjust some settings. It needs better tunes for sure. The full pedal before motor engages is less than desirable. I think 160 crank arms and app tuning will help out tremendously with this motor. It does come on smooth and natural feeling so big props on that to bafang. Nothing i can do about the noise, but wanted to log my complaints as well as compliments.
Power: Level 1 (eco) is worthless. seriously I could not tell any difference between pedaling the bike off or on Eco. My other analog bikes (ibis ripley and ripmo) I can put down 200-250 average watts on my rides, i consider myself a strong endurance rider. This bike in eco or off felt like a little heavier ripmo (a good thing IMO), but eco seemed to do nothing. It needs some tuning.
Level 2(Trail). I spent 90% of my ride here. It seemed to be more than enough for what I am looking for out of this bike. Just enough to keep me cruising on the longer, steeper uphills. According to the display this was chipping in around 100w? Bike seemed to be very efficient for me in this mode. It really likes a fast cadence on the pedals which was great to help me sustain the higher heartrate.
Level 3(Sport). I did two small punchy climbs in this mode and it seemed to be just a hair faster and more powerful than Trail. Id like to try my next ride in this level and see how it feels.
Level 4(Sport +) I did not use this level at all.
Level 5(Boost) I used this on one big steep climb as a measuring stick. I would compare it to level 3/5 on a ludicrous v2 m600. I didnt quite make the climb and I can usually blast up it on the m600 ludi in level 4/5. On a good note, it never wanted to wheelie over or loop out like the e10 does. It had traction the whole way, just not enough grunt. I think i needed higher cadence here. It will be under a foot of snow tomorrow so wont get a shot at it again until next year. Overall I am pretty pleased with the power from boost.
I should have RTFM because I could not figure out how to engage walk mode and I needed it to push the bike up the rest of the big hill i tried climbing. I ended up hike a biking it, which wasn't that bad.

Battery Performance: I finished the loop with 80% battery left. For reference the e10/m600 I usually finish a bit quicker but with only 60-65% battery left. I am stoked on the possibilities with this CEF50 for range and vertical. I know it wont power over things as easily as the m600 but its still got plenty of juice for almost everything I need it to have.
Overall this bike is an incredible value and I am so happy about it. I will take some side by side photos next to my Large E10 and my XL Ibis Ripley to compare sizes. Supposedly I have an XL frame but it doesn't seem like its actually an XL. I am guessing its actually a large frame. I do have a medium complete build coming supposedly (rest assured its going to get upgraded components rather quickly)

 

[temon10]

First ride review: 19 miles, 2800 vertical, 1 hour 45 minutes. (strava screwed up but I know the loop stats)
Thanks to everyone who contributed to this thread and put together ideas and went first and contributed knowledge. You all are amazing! I hope this review helps someone else down the line. I would not hesitate to order one of these bikes again.

Oh my word I love this bike. Its playful and fun and planted when it needs to be and easy to throw around. The light weight is so much nicer coming off the E10. The frame geo works great and feels very planted going up and very much like a Rocketship going down. I have some fine tuning on the suspension to do but overall, I am so pleased with the way everything rides. I had 1 pedal strike. Thats awesome. I was worried the 175s or whatever they are would strike a lot, but they didnt. Thats a huge bonus. I have to say the stock headset is garbage. It kept pinching the dropper wire. Need to replace that ASAP.
Motor: This motor is a whiny SOB. Its loud. I mean its really loud. Noticeably louder than the m600 with silent gear. I hope it breaks in or something, I could hear it over my music and people definitely heard me coming up the trail. I did not have any issues with a clunk on the downhills like the ep8. Everything was nice and quiet and tight downhill and that was a pleasant surprise. This motor wants a high cadence and doesnt seem to have much grunt to it in lower assist levels. Im running a 34T chainring to help spin. I initially was going to go with 36T like i have on my m600 but I am glad i went with 34. We need some better tunes, I think i need to figure out how to upgrade to v3 (I have a besst tool, but not a pro account to do the upgrade) and connect the mobile app and adjust some settings. It needs better tunes for sure. The full pedal before motor engages is less than desirable. I think 160 crank arms and app tuning will help out tremendously with this motor. It does come on smooth and natural feeling so big props on that to bafang. Nothing i can do about the noise, but wanted to log my complaints as well as compliments.
Power: Level 1 (eco) is worthless. seriously I could not tell any difference between pedaling the bike off or on Eco. My other analog bikes (ibis ripley and ripmo) I can put down 200-250 average watts on my rides, i consider myself a strong endurance rider. This bike in eco or off felt like a little heavier ripmo (a good thing IMO), but eco seemed to do nothing. It needs some tuning.
Level 2(Trail). I spent 90% of my ride here. It seemed to be more than enough for what I am looking for out of this bike. Just enough to keep me cruising on the longer, steeper uphills. According to the display this was chipping in around 100w? Bike seemed to be very efficient for me in this mode. It really likes a fast cadence on the pedals which was great to help me sustain the higher heartrate.
Level 3(Sport). I did two small punchy climbs in this mode and it seemed to be just a hair faster and more powerful than Trail. Id like to try my next ride in this level and see how it feels.
Level 4(Sport +) I did not use this level at all.
Level 5(Boost) I used this on one big steep climb as a measuring stick. I would compare it to level 3/5 on a ludicrous v2 m600. I didnt quite make the climb and I can usually blast up it on the m600 ludi in level 4/5. On a good note, it never wanted to wheelie over or loop out like the e10 does. It had traction the whole way, just not enough grunt. I think i needed higher cadence here. It will be under a foot of snow tomorrow so wont get a shot at it again until next year. Overall I am pretty pleased with the power from boost.
I should have RTFM because I could not figure out how to engage walk mode and I needed it to push the bike up the rest of the big hill i tried climbing. I ended up hike a biking it, which wasn't that bad.

Battery Performance: I finished the loop with 80% battery left. For reference the e10/m600 I usually finish a bit quicker but with only 60-65% battery left. I am stoked on the possibilities with this CEF50 for range and vertical. I know it wont power over things as easily as the m600 but its still got plenty of juice for almost everything I need it to have.
Overall this bike is an incredible value and I am so happy about it. I will take some side by side photos next to my Large E10 and my XL Ibis Ripley to compare sizes. Supposedly I have an XL frame but it doesn't seem like its actually an XL. I am guessing its actually a large frame. I do have a medium complete build coming supposedly (rest assured its going to get upgraded components rather quickly)

View attachment 127655 View attachment 127656 View attachment 127657 View attachment 127658 View attachment 127659

Try this firmware, more power distribution on lower cadence. This is 36v firmware. Now I'm happy using this firmware.

 

[Phatty]

Try this firmware, more power distribution on lower cadence. This is 36v firmware. Now I'm happy using this firmware.

Pretty sure that’s the one I am running.

 

[TCFlowClyde]

Before: (Gen. 1 motor guard)

After: (New Gen. 2 with carbon fiber tab mod).

Nice to have full bottom coverage after 6 weeks of careful, flat trail riding.

Well see how long it lasts...

 

[TCFlowClyde]

3 layers of carbon fiber. Some grinding and sanding. Lastly, all spruced up with a couple coats of black paint.

Not perfect but good enough to deflect rocks and hopefully climb steps with better motor protection.

 

[Neeko DeVinchi]

This firmware feels brilliant for the M820 and a 43v battery. Definitely digging the over-run feature for technical climbing

 

[Txurrispo]

View attachment 127749
This firmware feels brilliant for the M820 and a 43v battery. Definitely digging the over-run feature for technical climbing

Hi!

Have you checked it on a 43v motor and battery?

Regards.

 

[mike_kelly]

IS the PCXX in the number the voltage it was designed for ?

 

[Neeko DeVinchi]

Hopefully, these pics answer your questions

 

[mike_kelly]

I was just speculating. The first serial number for the software is CRX30PC36xxxxxx
The second is CRX30PC43xxxx
I just wondered if the first firmware was designed for 36v and the second for 43v?

 

[Neeko DeVinchi]

I was just speculating. The first serial number for the software is CRX30PC36xxxxxx
The second is CRX30PC43xxxx
I just wondered if the first firmware was designed for 36v and the second for 43v?

It's possible. I haven't hooked up my besst tool yet. When u ordered the M820 system, I asked them to set it up for the 43v battery and for a 29er rear wheel and to set the speed limit to 15.5mph.
This weekend, I'll be able to guage the performance a lot better with the firmware I'm running. But initial tests yielded a punchy motor, which came on strong and quickly. But not to a point where I felt that I had lost control.
The over-run feature was somewhat unexpected. And seems predictable as a pose to it being intermittent like other ebike motors I've tried.
But I'll be playing around with this bike for a bit so I'll happily share my findings

 

[mike_kelly]

It's possible. I haven't hooked up my besst tool yet. When u ordered the M820 system, I asked them to set it up for the 43v battery and for a 29er rear wheel and to set the speed limit to 15.5mph.
This weekend, I'll be able to guage the performance a lot better with the firmware I'm running. But initial tests yielded a punchy motor, which came on strong and quickly. But not to a point where I felt that I had lost control.
The over-run feature was somewhat unexpected. And seems predictable as a pose to it being intermittent like other ebike motors I've tried.
But I'll be playing around with this bike for a bit so I'll happily share my findings

We look forward to your report.

 

[Neeko DeVinchi]

I am impressed everyone.

Very impressed

The M820 is quickly becoming my favourite 250w nominal Bafang motor

Considering this is a 160/150 29er setup, the geo on this xl feels spot on

 

[thaeber]

I think there will be a detailed review soon, Neeko? But I would really like to get Your impression as one of the most experienced Bafang users on the noise level of the M820, compared to M510. Tia!

 

[TCFlowClyde]

I think there will be a detailed review soon, Neeko? But I would really like to get Your impression as one of the most experienced Bafang users on the noise level of the M820, compared to M510. Tia!

. It would be nice to hear it on video. Both POV and 3rd person standing trailside as it passes (simulating a hiker) if possible.

It's open to interpretation of course. But I agree with a few reviewers. It sounds like a soft tea kettle whir/whistle at 4 (S+) and 5 (Boost) when the load demand spikes up.

Overall, a little higher pitched than my M600 for reference--which is fairly lower noise than other comparable full-powered motors. (IMHO).

Just my supplemental data for the record and for what it's worth.

 

[Neeko DeVinchi]

I think there will be a detailed review soon, Neeko? But I would really like to get Your impression as one of the most experienced Bafang users on the noise level of the M820, compared to M510. Tia!

Within the time span of 1hr of that same pic being uploaded to Facebook and Instagram, I've been asked that same question from everyone .
I can whip out my E10 easily enough and compare (XL carbon frame vs XL carbon frame). But more and more people are asking me to compare CEF50 to this bike.

Can't help but notice that it shares a striking resemblance. Even the geo between the two isn't far off.
Rest assured, I'll do a comparison between the M820 and M510. I just need to decide which M510 emtb to use

 

[Neeko DeVinchi]

. It would be nice to hear it on video. Both POV and 3rd person standing trailside as it passes (simulating a hiker) if possible.

It's open to interpretation of course. But I agree with a few reviewers. It sounds like a soft tea kettle whir/whistle at 4 (S+) and 5 (Boost) when the load demand spikes up.

Overall, a little higher pitched than my M600 for reference--which is fairly lower noise than other comparable full-powered motors. (IMHO).

Just my supplemental data for the record and for what it's worth.

The motor can be heard, I'll gladly say that. It's not the loudest motor I've come across. But I've yet to have cracked the M820 open. 9/10, the noise is usually because of the grease used -v- the rpm of the main reduction gear. But the noise the motor gives off in peak output isn't off-putting in my opinion

 

[mike_kelly]

I took mine apart when I got it, knowing they often don't put in enough grease, and the only warning I will give is they use a paper gasket that can stick to one side or the other and when you pry the case off it can tear the gasket.

 

[gido]

I am impressed everyone.
View attachment 127848
Very impressed
View attachment 127849
The M820 is quickly becoming my favourite 250w nominal Bafang motor
View attachment 127850
Considering this is a 160/150 29er setup, the geo on this xl feels spot on

I see you are about mine height, i am 191 cm. How do you feel on the bike, is XL too small...

 

[Neeko DeVinchi]

I see you are about mine height, i am 191 cm. How do you feel on the bike, is XL too small...

At 6foot 3inches (191cm), my xl fits pretty good. I have scope to lengthen my effective reach by dropping my stem (lowering the stack) and using higher rise bars. Currently, my bars have a 27mm rise and I'm running 15mm worth of spacers underneath my 40mm stem.
My 200mm Brand X dropper is ran slammed and I can get maximum leg extension.
Its funny now that I think about it, usually my preferred dropper is one up 210. However, I wasn't able to run it slammed for my long legs. It would have been raised by about 10mm out of the seat tube. A 240mm one up was a bit too long (even after swimming it to 220mm). But the seatpost's collar (in conjunction with the 200mm post of the brand x ascend dropper), seemed spot on in terms of length and drop.
I've left my saddle in a neutral position