I remembered there was a commuter bike thread.

I scoured local classifieds threads for a while... building up something that is super cheap but still high performance with mostly parts from my bucket of leftovers or cheap local parts.

Bike as I picked it up. $ investment? FREE (LOL, you think... so did I)
https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1457016643


Took it down to the frame, since the whole drivetrain is old, heavy and generally not desirable. Put a pair of $50 wheels (with 10 speed 12-28 cassette) on it with some parts bin tires that may or may not get changed out since they ride like bricks.
https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1457016643


Not shown because I don't have a stem/quill adapter is the drop handlebars I picked up with 105 10 speed 5600 STI levers - Price FREE "for being a nice, honest guy"


Lots of little stuff to do still.
-the water bottle cage it came with is coming off... if there isn't any provision for a standard bottle cage I will add riv-nuts for one without bands.
-need to clean and re-pack the headset
-going to see if the local bike project will take some of the components I have removed in trade for a set of full length fenders
-going to weld up an 8"x12" (or so) stainless front rack for a lunch bag or similar.
-I have in my bin a sram rival compact crankset and BB, so im going to put that on.
-hopefully my old mtb 7 speed derailleur in my bin will work with the new road levers... if not I can figure out something else.
-going to use wellgo spd pedals I have in the bin too. they probably could use a greasing lol.

its kind of fun building bikes, especially trying to do it ultra cheap.

Hi, can you tell me how you made that basket - what did you use for the tray - thats exactly what I need. I have a mountain bike but the basket from my old Hybrid just doesn't fit the look of a MTB. This looks rugged and ideal to clamp to my pannier for when i carry tools etc on trails. Many thanks

Here's my e-bike I built at the end of Christmas and was my daily commuter to work to downtown San Fran. Sick and tired of public transpo, I started using the electric scooters around town, then decided to go ebike to save my sanity. Exercise + sanity + saving time = winning

It's somewhat hilly, so decided I had to go with a ebike, essential for surviving this commute after a long day. After looking at what was available, got some serious sticker shock at $4k price tags. A friend of mine said something about Bafang.. and so the research started there. Read up more about it and seems like this kit would do the trick and not to mention it was programmable for some serious added power. This kit isn't cheap ~$1600, but can outperform anything else out there for a commuter setup.

It started with this $80 donor off of craigslist. It had the essentials ... namely disc brakes and rode just fine.

https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...0a36bcb13c.jpg
Finished product below...
Had to make it commuter friendly with addition of lights, fenders, etc.

It's a mid drive 750W Bafang Motor BBSHD from Lunacycle. It goes 32mph pedaling like a squirrel. I could have changed out gears for more top end, but I do have hills to contend with.
I re-programmed it to run at 1000W, 750W is the street legal limit.
What hills? It flattens out most hills on my commute. It goes 20mph up hills with pedaling moderately. Its got tons of torque.
You stay with the same gearing as it replaces your crankset with the motor. (mid-drive as opposed to rear hub).
Battery is good for about 21 miles.
My commute has gone from 50 minutes to around 25 minutes and get some exercise + energy boost at the end of the day

https://lunacycle.com/bafang-bbshd-1000w-middrive-kit/

https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...5d25018d74.jpg

https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...394c621e14.jpg