Canadian
Stealth commuter with torque sensor
North Vancouver, BC, Canada
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32
Published: 2024-04-15
A drop bar bike with minimal wiring and controls.
This is my third Grin e-bike build. My AWD cargo e-bike, and high powered 72v bike offered me little fitness, and were very obviously powerful e-bikes. For my third build I wanted a bike that offered more fitness that wasn't obviously an e-bike. By not having a throttle, and relying only on a torque sensing PAS it requires me to put in effort when e-biking, while still giving me extra power to help with the steep hills on my commute.
With a digital AUX attached to the seat bag, it keeps the handlebars clear while allowing me to be able to control how much assist I get. I set this up to go from 0% to 150% x the watts (effort) I put in. This allows me to determine how much fitness I wasn't on any given ride. With no assist the bike rides like a normal, just heavier.
The only downside is that the clutch is not welded, so there is no regen on this build. Regen is the best, as it saves you time and money on brake militance.
Torque sensor
Adding the Fischer AG Torque Sensing bottom bracket seemed daunting, but was surprisingly easy. The included instructions were easy to follow. Just be sure to measure the bottom bracket width to make sure it is compatible. you also need a chainring that uses a square taper.
This torque sensor is left side only, so it does some strange things when using Cycle Analysist firmware 3.2.b. I recommend staying with CA V3.15.
Although a torque sensor is far nicer that using a cadence based PAS, the power application isn't as smooth as far more expensive mid drive e-bikes
