I built my electric cycle - for free!
Back towards the end of 2018, I was deeply dissatisfied with my travel situation; Bengaluru’s traffic problems had gotten batshit crazy, and I was spending up to 4 hours a day inside my car, to drive about 40km. I quickly exhausted my audiobooks as well as my zen music, and had started resorting to Rage Against the Machine et-al to make a haze out of the obnoxious traffic situation.
Why I went electric
One such return journey home, I started thinking wistfully of my Trek 4300 - the cycle that blessed me with freedom for 10 years, before I foolishly donated it to my family’s driver. That vehicle was so perfect in every way; it was light (even 12-year old me could carry it on his shoulders), it was nimble, it had 21 gears, it was incredibly easy to maintain, it went anywhere, and it cost literally nothing to operate. It was perfect! It also occured to me that if I was on my cycle - instead of my car - I could easily commute those 20km there and back, in significantly less than 2 hours. I was already an adept cyclist at this point, and the more I considered it, the less outrageous the idea seemed. I already had 20+ years of cycling experience - in India, no less, where literally everything that can go wrong, will go wrong, and definitely try to take you out with it. By this point, I was fully cognizant of the behaviour of my fellow motorists, and was confident that I could handle anything they’d throw at me.
The only real problem was, for at least 8 months of the year, I’d be a really sweaty guy. And as much as I don’t mind it… I’m certain my clients would be none too pleased about my arrival at their fancy offices. So, the obvious answer here was to electrify my cycle, and use it to propel me, sweat-free but well-exercised, to and from my client visits.
How it was accomplished
First, I set myself a generous budget of Rs. 50,000, justifying it by saying this was no mass-market project, and that I would build it to the very best of my ability . Then I set about acquiring everything I’d need. I already had access to a ridiculously overpowered, 500W mid-drive motor (made by Bafang), from a previous project that never took off (₹25,000). With it came a massive, 30Ah battery pack… but it was far too large to shunt into a cycle ad-hoc. So for the initial build, I decided to acquire a modest-sized 8.4Ah battery pack (₹10,000), and determined to learn my lessons from it, before ‘upgrading’ to the monster under my bed. Finally, I had to get the correct donor vehicle - something at once strong and lightweight, preferably with a proven track record of excellence.
I spent about a month or so scouring the internet for a donor cycle that wouldn’t break my bank, and eventually, my perseverance paid off. I found a Trek 6500 in horrible (visual) condition, with an asking price well below its true worth (₹14,000). Of course, it did need several parts replaced and refurbished, but the frame was in good shape, and all the parts on it were of extremely high quality. Clearly, this cycle once belonged to a proper enthusiast, who wasn’t afraid to shower it with love! I set about acquiring it, replacing destroyed components and servicing the rest (₹8,000), until it was once again a handsome, functioning bicycle.
Finally, I gave my friend and fellow DIY enthusiast, Vijay Sharma, a call. Together, we spent an afternoon dismantling the ol’ Trek and rebuilding it into a motorcycle. It proved to be significantly easier than I had expected; from stripping the cycle down to rebuilding it with its enhancements and upgrades, the entire process took us a single afternoon - that too, despite running into a couple of difficult, unforeseen situations. By about 3pm, we were busy taking the electric cycle for several spins around the block, and returning with big, goofy grins on our faces each time. The motor delivered above and beyond our expectations, with power delivery feeling natural and effective.
Extremely delighted with our days’ efforts, we cycled off to the pub to have a pint or two, and then we parted ways. I then rode my frankencycle back home, squeezing as much of the 500 Watts of power as I dared, and spent the next 2 weeks or so having an absolute blast with it, learning that this was, by far, the single best expenditure I had ever made. But this was only the beginning.
Over the course of the next few months, I poured in considerable efforts (and finances) into enhancing the practicality of my steed, so that I could really use it all across the city. I sourced effective rear-view mirrors, a motion-sensing brake light, lightweight rims, disc brakes (this was extremely important, due to the maniacal speeds my cycle could reach), powerful, adjustable headlights, anti-glare glasses, a loud horn, 3 different throttle types, better pedals, a seat-post suspension, auxiliary-battery pack, ergonomic handle grips, and two sets of tyres (semi-slick road tyres & knobby mtb tyres), 2 helmets, and several hobby-class electronics.
What it really cost
Somewhere inside, my mental accountant was perspiring heavily, knowing that I had well exceeded my budget for this project and that, if I wasn’t careful, I would be cycling towards some kind of financial ruin. So one day, I stopped to really think about what this cycle meant to me. To begin with, I did the math on my creation; what had it really cost to make this beautiful, freakishly fast, unbelievably satisfying motion machine? Here’s a look at the stats;
Cycle - ₹14000
Service - ₹8000
Motor - ₹25000
Battery - ₹10000
Accessories & Upgrades - ~ ₹15000
TOTAL: ₹ 72000
Wow. Despite estimating the cost to be roughly around here, actually looking at the numbers was a bit sobering. The good news, was that I was consistently using the cycle, shortening my time in traffic and escaping the angst associated with being stuck in it. However, I wanted a little bit more. I wanted to see if there was some way for me to recover at least a portion of this money, so my internal accountant would considering speaking to me again. After pondering over the math for a few days, I was hit with an epiphany; an answer so simple that it must, de facto, be the best answer to my conundrum.
Making it Free
First, I began by reviewing the monthly operating cost of my car. Including the cost of 2 tanks of gas each month, as well as bi-annual service charges, and some personal tinkering costs, my monthly expenses worked out to ₹7,000. Next, I divided the cost of my cycle by this figure, giving me a value of just over 10 months. So, all I had to do was replace my car with my cycle for 10 months and, effectively, I would have saved enough in operating costs to nullify the opportunity cost of my creation. So simple! The real challenge, of course, was actually doing it. It was relatively easy to stay motivated; the mere thought of getting on my cycle reminded me of the days before adulthood, which were full of adventure and self-reliance whilst exploring my slice of the city. The closer clients were no-brainers. I started with these visits, learning how the cycle behaved on different terrains, and indeed how traffic behaved at different junctions. Eventually, I understood the all-electric range of the battery pack (45km), and started augmenting it with my own muscles. Steadily, my distance-per-charge grew for about 4 months, till I was consistently achieving a range of 95km without breaking a sweat. At this point, I knew I had mastered the motorcycle. All that was left, was to keep using it for another 6 months - just 6 months now! - and it would be indistinguishable from driving around. Of course, summer was on its way in. This would doubtless increase the pollution in the air, and make the breeze that much less delicious... but hey, I was committed now. Then came March 2021… and just as spring was turning to summer, all the traffic disappeared. I know that COVID was horrible for the world, but somehow it set up conditions that were beyond ideal for my cycling goals. While cops would mercilessly stop any regular ‘traffic’… they seemed to take pity on the ‘poor’ cyclists who still had to get to wherever it was that they were going, and so they left me alone to explore the entire freaking city on my monster-bike! The summer of 2021 pretty much fast-tracked my plans, enabling me to put over 1000km on my cycle, and leapfrog ahead in terms of months of dedicated usage. The finish line went by and I didn’t even realise it had happened; I had gotten so used to moving around this way, my car had become a decoration in the basement of my home… and I am pleased to say that to this day, my cycle continues to be my primary mode of transportation!
What I learnt
Living in Bangalore meant that the weather was mostly my friend. As long as I could keep moving, there would always be enough breeze to keep me cool. The slimness of my vehicle compounded my ability to pick a line through (or around, or entirely divergent from) the traffic and keep me in motion. The next thing I worked on was clothing; I ensured that I picked hard-wearing jeans, and paired them with linen shirts to wick away the little perspiration that did make it to the surface. I also packed in a lightweight, reflective jacket, for when it should rain, or the roads become mucky, or I should be caught on the roads at night. And finally, I looked into the contents of my backpack. As it turns out, sticking a bag on my back makes it very sweaty (my back, not my bag) , and so I wanted as little weight in there as possible. To this effect, I stopped carrying my laptop’s charger, nor did I carry a pencil box, nor my book, nor did I leave any stray pieces of paper, metal, or anything else in my bag. All that was left behind was the bare essentials… and a heavy-duty U-Lock. There was no way I was losing my frankencycle to thieves. By the end of 1 month, I had built up the courage to do a 112km return-trip across the city.. and it went flawlessly. My clients were astounded that I had arrived on a cycle from my home; they literally didn’t believe it, and had to come down to see it for themselves… and once they did, they couldn’t resist riding it… and returning with goofy smiles plastered all over their faces :)
Building this bike kicked off my journey to be the change that I wished to see in the world.
Not only did these measures greatly improve the usability of my bike as an everyday destroyer-of-angst, it also had the additional benefit of bringing joy and light to anyone that had the guts to approach me and talk about it. Casual passers-by, clued-in observers, clients, friends, neighbours, security guards… anyone and everyone that rode the cycle came back with a big, goofy grin on their faces, and we all knew what they looked like as pure children. The act of sharing my creation with the world was almost as satisfying as riding it myself to destinations far and wide. It never failed to impress, and it gave me the opportunity to plant the seeds of revolution in the minds of the public. I was a no-one, with no special training (other than my own desire to teach myself what I needed to know), and yet I had managed to build a vehicle from the future, that rode exactly like the vehicle from their past. And… if I could do it… so could anyone.
Should you attempt this?
The short answer is a resounding “YES!”. It’s simple to do, and satisfying to use. It also builds confidence in your ability to do it yourself - a trait that I feel we all need to aspire towards more, in these difficult times. It also requires very few tools, not too much time, and no specialized electrical knowledge. Note that it does require you to be paying attention to what you are doing, because pairing the motor with the wrong battery will mean that you will likely destroy one or the other, and all your effort will be wasted… but I guess that goes without saying, when you are learning something new, right?