E-bikes & conversions

I've been wanting some type of motorized bike to putt around town and do some singletrack. The town is hilly with dirt roads. I looked at a few ebikes, then started researching conversions. I decided to go with a mid-drive for better weight distribution. I went with the Bafang BBSHD kit. This kit has plenty of power. In the stock mode 20mph, or you can modify the computer and get up to 40mph on the flats.
My donor bike is my '96 Intense Uzzi. I quit singletracking about 10 yrs ago, and I've only ridden it a few times since. I went singletrackiing last year with a few guys 20 yrs younger. I did fine with the flats and downs but was really huffing on the ups, they graciously waited.
I installed the kit last week and have been riding it on the street to get use to it and dial it in. What a blast. I set pedal assist (I still like to pedal) and exert the same energy going up as I do on my road bike on paved roads. I can also use the throttle if I don't want to pedal. Thought I'd pass this along as another option.
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Just ordered a Gravity Bullseye Monster (love these names) fat tire bike for another conversion. This one will be for the snow and summer cruising. I got the basic single speed, rigid frame with disk brakes, 4" tires with 80mm rims from Bikesdirect ($400 including shipping). This will be another mid drive with a 3 speed igh hub. I will also up grade the brakes.

 

That's why I went with the GBM, I figure most of the stuff will get swapped out. The Specialized is very cool.
How about posting some photos of owners rides?

 

Finished the Gravity Bullseye Monster w/BBSHD mid drive. Swapped in a pair of Surly Nates, and made some quick disconnect fenders. Just need some snow.
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The weight is approximately 55-60 lbs. The GBM was around 35 lbs.
A 3 speed igh would help alot with the speed and climbing. There is a Sondors forum on the Ebike forum.
I rode the GBM around with the single speed, a heavy dog. Since converting to the 3 speed I've done rolling single track, and rode the 4 miles home, a combination single track and road (rolling hills)with throttle only using the 52v mighty mini cube 30q, 6ah at 3 lbs. because I'd forgotten to tighten the left crank arm. The battery still had about 1/4 charge.

 

Correction, the fat bike weighs 51.6lbs without battery. I use the 3lb. mighty mine cube 52v 6ah. I did my usual 11 mi. rolling road & trail ride at pas2 and used slight less than half the charge. Top speed at full throttle on flat asphalt was 29mph. I'm running the tires at 7&9 psi, as a compromise road & trail.

 

Here are a couple more conversions. My wife's Specialized Myka hard tail. The second one was a bit more involved. I started with a Diamondback Catch 2 frame (27.5 plus), and widened the rear triangle to accommodate a fat tire. The wheels are 26" x 80mm, and the tires are Surly Bud & Lou measuring about 4.3" wide. All 4 bikes use the Bafang BBSHD kit from Luna Cycles (no affiliation).
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The conversions continue. I sold the GDM with the Shimano 3 speed igh to build more of a trail fat bike for my wife. I bought a Gravity Pro frame with a Renagade RST suspension fork on Amazon for $265.00, a great deal. I paid $380 just for the Renagade RST fork a few months earlier.
This one is set up with a Sram 9 speed twist shift, 12-34t cassette, Shimano M675 disk brakes. Currently set up with a 42t front chainring which is getting swapped out for a 32t. This frame had a 5" head tube, so to lower the handlebar height I'm changing to a Ritchey adjustable stem and flat bars. It will be lower than the one in the photo.

I decided to return the Intense Uzzi f/s bike back to stock since I was riding it more as a hybrid, 20 mile road & trail bike. To fill that niche, I picked up a Litespeed Unicoi titanium softtail. These came with a Rock Shox SID 80-100mm front air shock and a 1" travel rear shock. This one has a Risse Racing rear shock. I'm figuring the weight should be less than 40 lbs with the motor. To lower the weight even more, I may pick up a carbon fibre rigid front fork and suspension stem. Fun stuff.
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Very cool! There is a lot of great stuff coming out.

 

Up and running at a svelt 39 lbs. including the 3 lb. battery.

 

Forgot the photo.
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No regenerating brake system. This diy system is pretty basic.

 

Once or twice a week my wife and I do a 20 mile ride consisting of road, gravel and trail. I'm using this bike as a road/gravel bike that also works on single track. Our bikes are mid drive for better balance vs the front or rear hub set ups. This particular kit adds about 13 lbs. including a small battery, so not all that nimble compared to a non ebike.
The ebikes can be programmed for as little or as much pedal assist with a over ride throttle. We have ours set up at the lowest pas settings as we both like to pedal. Most of time we ride in either no assist or pas 1, and use more assist going up steep hills.
This is the best bang for the buck diy kit, but pretty basic compared to what's available in the ebike world. There are a lot of boutique builder as well as big bike manufactures producing ebikes. There are also ebike expos traveling around the U.S. Check out ebike magazine on line, you'll be blown away.
What we like about the ebikes is the freedom to explore and go further, and a leisurely ride. We have a number of set rides on our road and mountain bike rides based on the terrain.
I understand about weight, I use to use a gram scale for weighing components for my mountain bike and road bike.
We each have 4 bikes, a road bike, f/s mountain bike, efatbike (for mud&snow trail riding, and the road/gravel ebikes. I have the soft tail Litespeed and my wife has a hardtail Specialized.

I'm seeing guys using mountain ebikes at the ski areas as a way to get to the top, as you mentioned.
There is a lot of cool stuff out there!

 

Pretty cool, but I still prefer the diy kits for versatility. Swapping out the 1,000 w (way overkill) to the 750w and switching from the suspension fork to a carbon fork on my Litespeed Unicoi, and retaining the 30a mighty mini battery would put me in the 34-35 lb weight range. I also swap out the motor for a 1x10 crankset and ride it as a pedal bike.
Either way, all fun stuff.