Marin Gravel ebike for commuting - Quick Charge!

'What could I have done better?'  That's always the theme when builds come and go and this ebike for 'Fat Tony' was no different.

After seeing an instagram post of Giuseppe's e-Ogre, he asked 'how much?'.

That always depends on the length of the string, and with a budget of $3-4k I hunted around for a chassis that would nail the brief and budget.

I'd previously used the Pine Mountain model for a custom ebike build and found this flat bar 'gravel' bike from BikesOnline.  

I told Tony to order it in his size (medium), where to send it.  In record time a big cardboard box arrived at FYXO Hq.

His eagerness to get it rolling was matched by chance that I had the Bafang BBS02 motor and kit ready to go.

A click of the fingers and BAM - transformed into another sleek looking e-commuter thanks to some lucky colour coding of bike and the Blackburn Outpost Elite frame bag (Medium-Tall shown).  

Blackburn bidon cages on the forks to carry water or wine, a Nice Bike bell, Ibera rear rack, full panniers and integrated lights were the optional upgrades.

Clean cable management is always dish of the day - never spaghetti bolognese!

Lights ( front and rear ) and activated from a switch on the bars, thanks to a motorcycle relay.

I have previously wired the light OUT cable from the motor to a relay so I could use the Bafang display to toggle the lights.  I was soon to discover that not all Bafang units come with the light cable and since then independantly wire lights from the battery.

Always nice to build bikes that are going to get more use than the second car.  Ride safe, Tony!

Don't forget to grab a bidon on your way out!