College Student Builds 2.5 kg Removable E-Bike Motor For $300

Jan 10, 2023
by Seb Stott  

We get a lot of press releases for e-bike conversion kits in our inbox. Most are hub-drive motors, which aren't ideal for mountain biking. Recently we got an email from an Italian college student called Davide Zanetti who has made a DIY mid-drive motor that can be fitted to a regular MTB, and he says it only cost around $300. The advantage of a mid-drive motor is that it utilizes the bike's gearing, so it can provide more torque to the rear wheel when climbing in the lowest gears. It also improves the sprung-to-unsprung mass distribution for better suspension performance.

photo
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Davide's DIY unit uses a skateboard motor which he's limited to 300W of power. This isn't far off the output of commercial e-bikes, and Davide says it's enough to roughly double his climbing speed. It's paired with a DeWalt 5ah 21v power tool battery. These only provide about 100 Wh of energy, which he says is enough for about 500 m (1600 feet) of elevation gain, but because these batteries are relatively cheap and light and commercially available, it's possible to carry a spare or two to extend the range. You could even pop into a hardware store if you run out of juice!

The motor uses a belt drive on the left-hand side to provide a 4.5:1 reduction gearing. This is connected to a 12-tooth sprocket on the right, which drives the crank via a chain and a larger sprocket welded to the chainring. This should provide an overall reduction gearing of about 12:1, meaning the motor's torque is multiplied by 12 times at the crank. The skateboard motor is only rated for 2 Nm of torque so that works out to about 24 Nm at the crank - about half the assistance of the lowest-torque commercial e-bike motor, the TQ HPR 50. But still, if you use a high cadence that should still be a meaningful amount of assistance. Davide says his drive unit weighs 2.5 kg including the battery. That compares to 3.7 kg for the TQ (the lightest on the market) with its 360 Wh battery.

Best of all, it can be removed with a few bolts to return to a regular bike.

There doesn't seem to be a pedal sensor but rather a throttle on the handlebar to control the motor. This technically makes it different from pedelecs (which we usually incorrectly call e-bikes), because the bike can move without the rider pedaling. This may have certain legal implications depending on the country.

But whatever the case, it's really cool to see what can be done on a budget with a bit of ingenuity. While this is just a hobby project, the idea of a lightweight, removable motor that can be fitted to regular bikes with interchangeable off-the-shelf batteries is something I think plenty of people would be interested in.




Author Info:
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Member since Dec 29, 2014
295 articles

177 Comments
  • 264 5
 Forget it. I'm a Milwaukee guy. Wink
  • 80 7
 im in the Makita camp myself
  • 14 52
flag WRCDH (Jan 10, 2023 at 9:30) (Below Threshold)
 The girlfriend told me to forget that bike...she says I’m The Energizer Man.
  • 20 42
flag Compositepro (Jan 10, 2023 at 9:43) (Below Threshold)
 Second time this year a student has built something !!! why arent they all getting smashed and stoned, have they realised those educations are expensive.

interesting that no f*cker has identified as or owned up to being a dewalt guy ( or gal) yet
  • 36 2
 STIHL is REAL!!!
  • 15 1
 @BEERandSPOKES: STIHL in the shop Razz

jk I loved my Stihl chainsaw
  • 127 3
 @Compositepro: Dewalt guy till I die over here. Ultimately most people just devote their whole lives to whatever tool company they were gifted for Christmas decades ago.
  • 2 3
 @nskerb: Yep my wife is responsible for my switch from the Red Mil to the Yellow Dew. At the time M was not even at 20v.
  • 44 1
 @nskerb: i think the real question that needs answering is which powertool forum has the best comments section, there must be one somewhere called pinktool.com , im not even going to google that
  • 3 2
 @suspended-flesh: When did you switch? I'm late to the party (only 26 years old) so all I can remember is Milwaukee being very good. I've heard it used to be complete dogshit though lol.

I'll always be DeWalt but I must say Milwaukee has an astonishing variety of random and very specific tools, and it seems to be increasing daily. Also the storage packout system thing is the undisputed best of the field from what I can see. They have to have an entire section of the HQ office staff on acid just brainstorming insane stuff that nobody else is thinking of.
  • 12 3
 All this battery shit. I just plug straight into the mains. Yes I stick with local trails. Very local.
  • 22 0
 @WRCDH: I don't believe you have a girlfriend..
  • 5 1
 Dewalt Gang

#TeamYellow
  • 8 4
 Wow all those poor dewalt people
  • 2 4
 @nskerb: Milwaukee is awesome and is really killing it with innovation and selection. these days. There's a reason everyone still calls any reciprocating saw a Sawzall. I have one of their Fuel ratchets that works nearly everywhere in my engine bay. Back in the day they were a little late to the 20v game and the wife happened to get me a new cordless drill for father's day and I never looked back. I like DeWalt for the big iron. My 60v 6" angle grinder and 1/2" HD impact driver and pretty unstoppable. The 20/60v Flex batteries are very good, too.You can run all kinds of stuff with them.I have a few DeWalt odds and ends, too, and may add a recipro saw when the time comes. A lot of the DW stuff tries hard to be 'Made in USA with Global parts' Not sure about MiWa.
  • 3 0
 @j-p-i: RE: Stihl: I have their home-duty cordless chainsaw and not only does it work well, it's made in Austria!!
  • 6 2
 I'm an acoustic tool user power tools are something something.
  • 5 2
 @nskerb: Yes, Milwaukee has Ryobi and Ridgid to mooch off of. That being said, I have had products from all three brands and have found Ryobi to have the most reliable product. Milwaukee's quality seems to be really taking a dive the last couple of years.
  • 4 1
 @suspended-flesh: Milwaukee, Ryobi, and Ridgid are all made in China and are all owned by the same Chinese company.
  • 1 0
 @gnarnaimo: Milwaukee and Ryobi are owned by the same company; Ridgid is not.
  • 2 4
 @Compositepro: you can make pinktool.com a real thing for the low price of $3395 USD.
  • 1 0
 Also, 2.5kg? Good lord, what a travesty
  • 4 2
 @nskerb: Milwaukee was never “dogshit”. Milwaukee used to a much more heavy duty tool for professionals, so it wasn’t as consumer friendly.
It is now firmly a prosumer tool, with a marketing budget that likely far exceeds anything else out there.
Many moons ago Milwaukee was bought by the Asian conglomerate TTI, they also own Ryobi, Dirt Devil, Hoover. www.ttigroup.com/our-business/brands

Check out “Boltr” tool review, tear downs by a slightly crusty French Canadian lib=vying in Northern BC, his videos are pretty funny, and very informative.

Makita is one of the only remaining independent tool manufacturers, and they come in a great anti-theft teal.

Hard to beat Hilti tools, Makita is a good prosumer tool
  • 1 1
 @gnarnaimo: check out YouTube videos by “boltr” great stuff!
  • 1 0
 @Mngnt: Hm... I was pretty certain all three brands are all owned by Techtronic Industries CO LTD (TTI). I am no expert, this is just from what I have read. Can you show me an article that says different?
  • 3 4
 @Compositepro: look up "dangerous grinder attachements" on fb. You're welcome.
  • 7 0
 @onawalk: interesting regarding Milwaukee… I honestly have no opinion. I looked some stuff up and I guess it legitimately was sold at harbor freight for quite a while. I equate hazard fraught to complete shit. Not a bad thing, half my garage is HF stuff, but the stuff I use on a regular basis is high end, but yeah, few times a year I’ll run HF all day.

Makita stuff does seem pretty sturdy, I manage industrial construction projects and my company is full blown makita unless they need a tool they don’t make, it sure seems to hold up well because we have some pretty old stuff that still works great and our guys just beat the absolute f*ck out of anything they can touch.

Hard to beat hilti for sure, and they charge accordingly. Their sales reps can also be just a nightmare. You either cannot get a hold of them if your life depended on it, or you can’t get them to shut the f*ck up. This is first hand experience.
  • 3 0
 @suspended-flesh: I got 2 6AH 20/60v flex batteries and they are awesome. I just hogged holes to wire my new house with my atomic impact and probably only had to charge the battery 3 times lol. However it probably killed the impact. That thing is in dire shape after drilling a house worth of holes for electrical.
  • 3 0
 @Mngnt: Ah, I see now that TTI only manufactures power tools for ridgid. Apologies for being misinformed.
  • 2 4
 @Compositepro: you can buy pinktool.com for $3400 dollars. I clicked on it with eyes closed though.

I think purple tool or so could cost more or burn your eyes.
  • 1 0
 Ridgid guy here. Can't wait for their chainsaw to come out in a month.
  • 3 2
 @dcreek: never understood why people use the term acoustic for things that have nothing to do with acoustic. a tool or a bike are not musical instruments. I understand the need for a single adjective. analog is a bit more accurate but you could still technically build an analog ebike. human powered, mechanical, unassisted, or even pedal bike all sound better to me unless you're using sound waves to generate thrust ?
  • 3 1
 @geemy: From what I understand, cars need to make sound. So electric cars have their engine sounds electronically generated whereas cars with an ignition engine make their sounds acoustically. Maybe people have drawn this logic towards bikes too.
  • 1 1
 Don't worry - you can buy a Milwaukee battery to Dewalt tool adapter from the Amazon
  • 1 1
 @onawalk: His channel is called AvE
  • 1 2
 @pdxkid: I’m aware, but his tool reviews come up when you search boltr, (bored of lame tool reviews) AvE gets you all his stuff, which isn’t necessarily what we were discussing here, and isn’t always everyones cup of tea
  • 4 0
 Pick a tool brand and be a dick about it.
  • 2 1
 Pick an activity forum and be a dick.
  • 2 1
 Be Dick Pound.
  • 1 0
 I’ll take Husky petro please. Electric for peace loving hippies and your unshaven spouse I slept with last night - whose battery operated toy died and I got the desperate call. Note this statement is gender neutral, please don’t down vote it.
  • 4 0
 @trollhunter: Electric chainsaws are pretty great for trail building for several reasons. ..but the main reason I prefer electric to gas for trail building, is the stealth. Most trail building I have done with my saw is illegal, and I don't want a screaming two stroke engine directing the security folks to me.
  • 2 0
 @gnarnaimo: I love the violence, smell, and BRAAAAP of a moto-sierra but realistically, E-saws are the way to go. I still dislike battery power but I'm not all-or-nothing. Way quieter
  • 71 0
 I thought this was going to be a "Things that didn't happen in the cycling industry" article. This is fantastic. I would LOVE to be able to slap this onto my stumpy to go and assess/ do trail work, and then take it right straight back off! Great Idea Minchia!
  • 26 36
flag Compositepro (Jan 10, 2023 at 9:45) (Below Threshold)
 Second time this year a student has built something !!! why arent they all getting smashed and stoned, have they realised those educations are expensive.
  • 8 0
 I agree, this is an excellent idea and lots to go forward with. Get it patented!!!
  • 2 0
 What's the IP rating of these batteries?
  • 3 0
 Check out the company Bimotal, they make a removable ebike motor that bolts on to your rear disc brake mount. It is also throttle driven which is pretty cool
  • 5 1
 Game Changer. motorcycle on....motorcycle off.
  • 16 4
 @Compositepro: Just keep posting this same comment about students getting smashed until you get some upvotes. lol
  • 9 18
flag Compositepro (Jan 10, 2023 at 18:15) (Below Threshold)
 @gnarlysipes: er nope it was something to do with copy and paste unfortunately i phones don’t let you edit it seems you have to be on a computer for that edit box to appear , who the f*ck cares about up or down votes anyway I rarely ever do and when I do I tell people they are a c*nt son it has very little meaning ….
  • 13 5
 @Compositepro: I'm just here to downvote you
  • 4 5
 @thegoodflow: Easy, he clearly can’t take a joke.
  • 1 0
 @vinay: they're generally IPX4
  • 1 1
 @elitipton: I got to wonder what adding 3 lbs of un-sprung weight to your rear suspension will do for the bike's behavior. Also, can the rear disk mount take those kind of inertia forces? It will be interesting to see how it plays out.
  • 1 0
 @E30: true. I think the main idea the company has is if you're using the system for serious mountain biking, you'd ideally take the motor off and stash it in your pack for the downhills. I've tested it out a few times (I know someone who works at the company) and it takes about five seconds to flick two quick-releases and pop it off the mount. I was able to fit it in my waist pack with a bit of work. I also rode some downhills with the motor still attached, though I ride a gearbox bike so the extra unsprung weight made it feel like a standard derailleur bike. So I can't really say what it would be like with a cassette and motor
  • 1 0
 @elitipton: Thanks for the insight
  • 47 2
 Engineering/design/consumer companies - take note. This is why you should consider hiring more Engineering Students during their degree. A job opportunity for them, and novel, out-of-the-box ideas from the students encourages a great symbiotic relationship. Internship programs are so valuable all around.
  • 22 0
 My experience was the opposite. There are plenty of internships for STEM students but the entire internship is about putting the student INTO a box. The way to encourage experimentation is to make "shareholder value" the 4th or 5th most important thing for a company. Is that better? Maybe!
  • 3 1
 @Sardine: I don't really understand what you are trying to say. Companies that put $ towards R&D (any successful company allocates a decent amount of dollars to this) can use these departments to foster Student innovation and keep them out of the box. Cookie cutter EPCs might be a different story. Not sure what industry you have experienced this in.
  • 6 0
 @steflund: There is a difference between internships and early in career hires. Ive worked with interns in several industries and their experience is unfortunately the same. they are brought on for a short period of time where the whole point is to help them understand what it takes to apply the knowledge they have gained through education. This is almost always done by assigning them a project that they have to complete and present by the end of their internship that has real impact to the team / org / business, or whatever.

Using this as an example, it would be a poor internship project because the student has not had to factor the economics required for production ( a key part of being an engineer) and the end result as it is wouldn't be something usable by a company. Where a new college grad could get hired in to an R&D team and spend significant time prototyping and developing a manufacturer-able version that would meet company profit goals. That would take more than 6-12 weeks (most internships in the US last that long.)
  • 3 1
 @Sardine: This was exactly my experience with my engineering internship 20 some years ago. I spent 6 months creating 3D CAD models of seals, grommets, packing crates, etc. that already existed but the company didn't have 3D models for.
  • 2 0
 @dpars63: I would agree with you for placements in that timeframe then there is little work they can get. The best ROI for student and employer is definitely >8months. Up in Canada, many students do 8, 12 and 16-month Co-Ops/Internships, which are great.
  • 1 0
 @steflund: 16mos? Yeah that would be a totally different experience. I wish that was the experience that was common down here.
  • 3 0
 A lot of great ideas come out of students and interns. One of Giro's best goggles was a student project. One of Blackburns and Topeaks best pumps was a student project. Etc. Lot of great minds that haven't been limited by budgets, marketability or the current sales market. Just people creatively solving problems or building what they personally need or would like to use.
  • 29 2
 Loving the student showcases recently. Between this and the guy who built his own shock for his grad project, it's incredibly refreshing to see the ingenuity of individuals who have limited resources and capital but still find genius ways to get their projects done. Hoping these articles will become more regular!
  • 5 4
 I don't think you can reasonably describe the engineering student's shock as coming from "limited resources".
  • 8 1
 @barp: I'll clarify I'm talking in relative terms. He didn't have the tools, learned knowledge, team, or budget that a suspension manufacturer would have. It was about the most "limited resource" a suspension product project could have still be functional
  • 13 2
 That's good feedback - thanks. I'll keep an eye out for more stories like this.
  • 32 5
 pinkbike post stuff like this but when i post my home made 1500watt aliexpress jank-e-bike that goes 60km/h+ in the buy and sell my add gets flagged and removed.
  • 10 0
 E-inquisition
  • 2 5
 prob cuz 1500w and 60km\h are not legal unless you are trying to kill yourself on your own private land
  • 6 2
 @valrock: Dude in the video is using a 1800w motor. I also don't care about you or pinkbike's opinion on safety or ethics. I'm just pointing out the irony that you and pinkbike are not consistent within the self proclaimed moral authority you claim. Me and this guy are both in the legal black zone but for some reason I am a liability but this guy is a innovator.
  • 2 7
flag valrock (Jan 11, 2023 at 13:44) (Below Threshold)
 @theredbike: you don't care, mate? Oh well then f*ck off
  • 3 2
 @valrock: You cant make me f*ck off and you cant stop me from having a good time. You have no power here and your opinion means nothing. If i wanted wanted to kill myself the "moral" way i would ask my doctor for maid.
  • 3 2
 @theredbike: neat bike you built I looked at the pics. Does it have a throttle? If it does, thats the difference, the bike this guy built is pedal assist only.
  • 3 2
 @rjmogul: oh heck yes mine has a throttle its a great time. 1800 watts is still illegal tho. illegal is illegal. Pot doesn't get to call the kettle black.
  • 2 2
 So an ali express bike with shitty brakes and components (already a disaster) and you add more weight and a motor.. and wonder why pb doesn’t want that deathtrap in the buy/sell? Are you serious
  • 1 2
 @emptybe-er: Did you look at my other bikes when you were enjoying my photo history? You might be surprised to know the Jank-e-bike is by far my favorite and has the most utility out of all the bikes i have built, ridden and sold. Problem is the Jank-e-bike is a man's bike and noodlely armed trendy boys would fold under the raw unrestricted power. You are probably right that it's not for yourself or the pink bike buy and sell.
  • 18 0
 Love the idea of using off-the-shelf power tool batteries. So smart to let someone else who's bigger than you sweat the battery tech, and it makes charging and changing batteries so simple. Also worth noting this motor only costs $300 if you assume the student's time is worthless. The main input in almost any consumer durable is labor.
  • 4 1
 That CNC'd aluminum part was especially impressive if it was included in the $300 figure. And like you said the amount of time he must have spent designing it for spec. wasn't part of the price.
  • 4 0
 I had this thought when i noticed that bike co's are just raping consumers on battery cost to kwh. I thought it'd be cool if someone 3D printed and wired up a battery jig where you could chain together a few cordless drill batteries.
  • 17 0
 He'll disappear tomorrow under not so suspicious circumstances.
  • 2 5
 Watch your back Davide, Bosch & Shimano are probably looking for a hitman as we speak.
  • 1 0
 I hear there are plenty of people laid off from the the goberment alphabet departments that freelance that type of stuff…
  • 12 1
 Making that $18,000 Sworks Levo SL sweat
  • 9 0
 Thanks to all of you for the appreciation!
  • 2 0
 awesome work. Is it possible to see pics from the other side where cranks and chain can be seen? I dont understand how it works re chain deployment Smile
  • 10 2
 Fantastic shed tech. Anyone else cringe when we he was sticking his fingers all through the drive gears?
  • 6 0
 That's a great term "shed tech".
  • 4 0
 Similar innovation here, bimotal.com

I was really excited about his product when it was announced at Sea Otter a few years back. Trying to see if any early adopters have any real world experience with it. Looks like it is throttle driven at the moment but pedal-assist is in development. No I am not affiliated or an employee of this company. Just trying to see how I can add some juice to my beloved stumpjumper evo without getting a levo and having to maneuver a 50+ pound bike.
  • 3 0
 $2k is pretty steep for this. Regardless, very cool.
  • 3 0
 @re22: I hear you about the $2k purchase price, but with the bimotal system you're getting a click on/off ebike conversion. That means you can ebike up the hills, throw the bimotal unit in your back/fanny-pack and descend with only 200g of extra weight on your bike (plus water-bottle battery I guess). Personally, I see massive advantages - and that's before they start selling 'frame kits' that let you prep a few bikes so you can switch the bimotal unit between them.
  • 4 0
 @mwysel: probably the most appealing ebike option to me so far
  • 7 0
 the big mtb companies will soon be copying his idea and charging 2 grand for the same thing.
  • 2 0
 like this? bimotal.com
  • 3 0
 The tq50 is not the lowest torque on a commercially available ebike motor. Levo SL and I believe Roseanne some of the other brands offer only 35 newton meters so this isn't crazy far off from that. Certainly plenty of power in my opinion and I imagine for 300 clams 25 Newton meters is solid bang for buck.
  • 6 0
 Please sell them or post the plans!
  • 5 0
 Suddenly makes you question how bike companies are selling ebikes for 13k?!

$6000 bike plus $300 motor......
  • 2 0
 Between this and the e-bike modding community…
I feel most mtb trails will be full of bikes with throttle s and asshats riding them. Bought or built they are coming for the trails. And the only real answer is enforcement and that sucks too…. Should have left pandora in the box.
  • 1 0
 I'm eager to learn more about the technical details and the materials used in creating this innovative motor. Such initiatives play a vital role in making electric biking more accessible and affordable for a wider audience, which is crucial for reducing our carbon footprint and promoting eco-friendly transportation solutions. Kudos to this talented student for their engineering prowess and cost-effective approach!
Read more about
outdoorelectricbike.com
  • 5 0
 Hats down, this is brilliant
  • 1 0
 It's like the boost fin of mtb ( boostsurfing.com)

In all seriousness though. If someone can get batteries to store more energy in a lighter package a more polished version of this and bikes that are made to accept it would be the future.
  • 1 0
 definitely looks like something I'd wanna buy if it was sold. reusable motor and controller, standard battery, and removable.
that thing with adapters sold for different models.
it could be taken to the next level by
1 implementing torque sensing, motor cut out during shifting or braking
2 moving the freewheel from the rear hub to the bottom bracket, letting the motor apply Regen when needed (you could also shift without pedalling)
3 make it even even easier to pop in/out of the bike. ideally just to gears that would engage when you lock the power unit in place, removing the belt and providing gear reduction at the same time. The only downside would be having the large gear permanently on the bike but that would be an acceptable compromise, or you could still dismount it when you know you're going to use the bike for a while without assist/racing...
4 have different battery sizes and multi battery configurations, depending trails. you don't want to be carrying dead weight. lockers at the trailhead or even jus locking your battery to a fixed point
  • 1 0
 Well done. There is a space for very lightweight lower powered ebikes at a better value that is getting missed in the market today. Right now it is either analog or full ebike.
  • 1 0
 awesome solution. Not an ebike guy myself. With any luck this kind of solution will be more accessible than the $10G price-tag that a solid ebike is going for in australia. Nice work.
  • 1 0
 You have a lot of mid-drive kits on the market, like that www.cycmotor.com/product-page/x1-stealth-gen-3-1500w-mid-drive-conversion-kit over powered if you compare with stock ebike
  • 2 0
 Waterproof? Not sure I’d trust that through a creek crossing, but it’s a good start.
  • 1 0
 You could make a waterproof housing out of a discarded plastic 1 gallon milk jug...?
  • 1 0
 Very nice solution! I am working on a similar e-drive on my MTB, hopefully I can finish it this year, can't wait to show you my version.
  • 3 0
 Any plans to sell these?!?!?
  • 1 0
 I switched to the Dewalt Flexvolt 20/60v batteries on my grinder and impact. Wonder if those would work any better here, or if not, go with a 60v motor?
  • 1 0
 This is really cool. I think the hard part with these is getting the pedal assist to feel natural, but I'm sure that could be added to this system.
  • 1 0
 Sorry folks, not an E hater but this….his words “ Best of all, it can be removed with a few bolts to return to a regular bike.”
Nicely done bit of engineering Davide!
  • 1 0
 In principle, you can use a two- or three-row crank and screw a smaller sprocket from the inside onto the inner top. Awesome tech, great job!
  • 4 4
 Modular Pedal assist IS THE FUTURE. In 5 to 10 years, we will all be riding some version of this concept. Even the people that hate e-bikes now.
  • 3 0
 How much you wanna wager on that assertion?
  • 1 0
 Saw something similar a while ago that was commercially available
bimotal.com
  • 2 0
 2024 product of the year right here.
  • 1 0
 Super cool. Nice to have a self contained unit, instead of running wires and sensors everywhere.
  • 1 0
 Why not use an 'old' 3x or 2x crank for the extra chainring to drive the motor on?
  • 1 0
 Davide Zanetti needs patent and a Kickstarter page. Bring it to the masses!
  • 1 0
 Now put a Shimano sticker on it and sell it for 1300
  • 4 3
 if i tried to build that i would get arrested for making a bomb.
  • 6 1
 It's a clock!
  • 1 0
 That’s awesome! Great work!!
  • 1 0
 Firing up the 3D printer now!!
  • 2 0
 He has not published any plans. But redoing it might be low effort.
  • 1 0
 @zoobab2: hey if you print don’t forget to go on the new forum

m.pinkbike.com/forum/3d-printing
  • 2 1
 I would be worried about overheating
  • 9 0
 You might say you have some qualms about the design?
  • 3 2
 yeah it's my understanding that dewalt stuff has the low voltage protection and battery overheat circuitry built into the tool, not the batteries. So, when you use dewalt tools with adapters or retrofit them into other applications you are going to kill the batteries by overdischarging them unless you account for that with circuitry or by manually monitoring the battery level and stop using them when they are getting low. I wonder if he accounted for that... if not, that 5ah will be a paperweight before long.
  • 3 0
 @somebody-else: I would be worried if somebody else told me I had qualms
  • 1 0
 @thegoodflow: my qualms were more about that little motor with super high rpm's. I think actually some vlogger built an ebike with a little cheap high rpm motor using not the same but similiar theory and it burned out pretty fast. But the dewalt point is valid
  • 1 0
 The future is in good hands!
  • 1 0
 Bravo Man. It's not my dope actually but you're brilliant. Bravo!
  • 1 0
 ...now fit it to the Acer bike desk for the win \m/
  • 1 0
 You get just as good of a workout with it on or off
  • 1 0
 Should have used the 60v 9amp probably easily double the range
  • 1 1
 student builds 2.5 kg Gasoline Bike Motor and calls it motorcycle.
Has anybody already thought of that??
  • 1 0
 This guy should work along with LALs bike
  • 1 0
 Love it! more sh!t like that pls
  • 2 2
 Would the XC version be a Pedialyte?
  • 2 1
 Awesome!!!
  • 1 0
 This is so cool!
  • 2 2
 I have a hard time believing you can dewalt that for $300.
  • 1 1
 the pedals remain engaged when on the throttle?
  • 2 0
 Yep. The motor just drives the cranks. If you installed this on a bike with a front freewheel, then you could hold your pedals still while you ride your motorcycle.
  • 1 0
 Brilliant!
  • 1 0
 MacGyver!
  • 1 0
 21v cool!
  • 1 1
 Dewalt? Milwaukee or Hilti please then we talking.
  • 1 0
 Pedelec haha
  • 1 3
 Borat just B!@#$Slapped Bike Industry..
Seriously-.Nice Work Davide!!!!
  • 4 7
 conversion kits like bafang have been around for ages, how is this news?
  • 7 0
 It is more about a college student doing interesting engineering.
  • 1 5
flag f00bar (Jan 10, 2023 at 12:43) (Below Threshold)
 ah, got it, so it's "interesting" because a college student did it...
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 I love my Bafang mid-drive conversion commuter bike. It's pretty cool that this guy actually designed and built this from scratch though.
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 @f00bar: It's interesting that anyone made a working frame mount ebike drive system using a Dewalt battery by themselves with a small budget and no real experience like Bafang.
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 @dirtmcleod: your definition of "interesting" differs from mine
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 @f00bar: Your cynical view of life differs from mine.
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 @dirtmcleod: I love the idea and find it interesting to see different versions but hundreds of college students have strapped motors to bikes to get around campus. It isn't new. Motor spins rod. Attach cog to rod. Attach chain to cog and cassette. Motorcycle. Its not the most complex engineering.
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