Since the whole idea here is Do It Yourself, it would be much appreciated to get the complete components list + retail cost and do a comparison to a similar prebuilt machine.
Hi Rob. I am hammering lce930 frame for nearly a year. 1800km done over Enduro trails. Frame is premium quality, all bearings are Enduro brand, metal inserts in all bearing and motor mounting points. Frame is really solid. Motor with 43V software outputs about 580W. Highly recommended. Regards
Hi there, I also have the 43V version of the motor. But I think I only get 250W power. Did you change your firmware in order to achieve more power? Best regards Marcel
what range are you getting? With a 700w/h battery, in S+ which averages a (reported) 400 watts output, I only get about 3500 feet of climbing. My friends on Bosch & Shimano full power ebikes that weigh 12 pounds more, with smaller batteries, still have a few bars when I'm limping along with a near dead battery.
@@MrHamncheez I get around 1200 meter of climbing with approx 50 km in the highest support level S+. My weight is about 90 kg with gear. I was wondering if you could improve the power output by changing firmwares because I thought the M820 was limited to 250W output coming from the factory? At least it says 250W on the bafang website... I also have a 26 kg Haibike with Yamaha PW ST motor which is also rated at 75 Nm. With this bike I am so much faster in the uphill even though it is pretty heavy
@@Laube92 Yes, both @borysgo2 and I have the "unlocked" firmware, so my S+ is going to put out a lot more power than yours. I also can go up to 26 mph/ 41kph (instead of 19mph) before power cuts out.
There is a huge following on building these cheap chinese bikes. Brand names like Markhor, light carbon, dengfu, 4leaf, Hybridizer are all paving the way for this new fun hobby! Nothing is “cheap” about these builds. I built 3 of these bike from the frames and they are like assembling legos and each one had its challenges but in the end they were so rewarding and they were a customizable to our own liking. The m560 and 820 bafang motors has been a game changer. We have choices. This is a great video and i appreciate this is becoming more mainstream!
My problem with these bikes thus far is getting proper information. Most of these companies are hosted on alibaba or aliexpress and the generic information about the specs and sizing is usually horrendous. It's as if whoever wrote the copy had zero idea about the bikes whatsoever. What sort of fork and how big are the actual wheels as they had pictures of said bike but with completely different specs listed to the photos,and even a fatbike that said the wheels were 29!! So hard to forge ahead when the communication seems to be so poor off the bat and doesn't instill great confidence
I've been running a dengfu for a few years now. And I will never buy another legacy brand MTB again. Atleast not unless they start offering frame only options and realistic pricing
Yo, when is the review vid coming for this bike? I’ve been looking forward to it. It’s one of the better looking Chinese builds. Interested in seeing some riders that can actually show its capabilities.
I can see eMTB frame builders as being a solid side hustle for a lot of skilled bike mechanics in the coming years. Loving the DIY content too, not as scary to assemble as one would believe.
Nice job on the build! I love my LCE930. Looks like I no longer have the best (aka only) LCE930 build video on UA-cam. I can't wait to see it in action!
I love this sort of stuff. The ebike manufacturers have had it their own way for too long with closed systems and none user repairable motors - hopefully this will change.
You guys are such an inspiration! I think lots of people will follow this build, and again perhaps creating another popular method to owning an Ebike. You should give the bike a name, Cheeb light?
That internal routed headset is a PITA!!! It basically requires you to go wireless dropper or shifter. There is not enough room for a brake hose, shift cable, dropper cable and the electronic wire for the motor.
Something quite therapeutic watching this come together, nice walk through. Would of liked to hear you guys talk about electrical safety, in regards to sourcing the frame to be comparable etc. assuming as made to fit for the bafang m820 etc. I know you’ve used quality parts. Can see a nice synergy carrying over one of you other awesome insightful pieces of great content from the perspective as a mechanic asked to service non-branded e-bikes/BSO’s etc. So much great education and knowledge shared across these vids, everyday a school day with you guys. Love it, so nice seeing Adam, the master at work ❤️ thank you for sharing, would love to know final market build estimate. Great content guys 🥰❤️
I've seen that frame in the flesh a few times, and really like it. The one thing that grinds my gears, is the little rubber flap attachment. It would have taken 1 hour to make a better plan, and that's actually the only thing that detracts from the look and quality feel.
Congrats, you found the only shop mech in the world who doesn't think headset cable routing is a terrible thing. That, or he's very good at holding his tongue!
I’m used to it unfortunately. I deal with a lot of high end road bikes that have headset/handlebar routed hoses and cables. It’s becoming so normal, it’s a case of getting with the times or being pissed off most of the time.
@@Adam_and_eeb It's definitely more common now, but I disagree that we should roll over and accept it as the "new normal" - if we're not vocal about how shit it is, then designers and brand managers will keep speccing it. Mechanics need to feed it back to bike companies, and customers need to vote with their wallets. We *can* win - just look at the resurgence of BSA BBs on MTBs!
@@Adam_and_eeb as another mechanic - internal routing in road bikes - fine, in MTB's, it's really unnecessary. I'd simply not buy one, but I'm still interested in how this rides/how the motor feels vs something like a Bosch.
hi Rob, would be good if you can give us a heads up on the main costs for the build .Would be useful to see what we need to pay upfront. makes it easier to compare with shop bikes too! Cheers
Pretty darn cool to see options like this becoming available to the general public. Appreciate this video!! Im still completely against headset cable routing though LOL The mention of "acros" headsets for through the headset cable routing is unfortunately not very comforting IMO. Acros headsets seem to have a ton of issues.
Hi, greets from Spain! Just found your channel, very informative, love it: to be honest, it's time to take a sharper glimpse on the quality and designs that lately come from China, a well made e-frame for 800$ makes me re-consider the idea of mounting an e-bike ....18.9 kg, wow.
Great job, the Cheeb SL looks awesome especially achieving a sub 20KG without really trying!! It'll be good to know how it stacks up against the SLs from the main brands using the usual metrics!!
Cant wait for a review of the m820. Also, as cool as this frame is, the battery is tiny. Maybe try a second extral battery, or a custom internal battery to see what you can really fit in there and how that process goes.
@@bobjacksob I have it. I just like to have Rob's discerning take in it. Been using about it 14 months now for 1300 miles (on the CEF50 🤟). The torque feels accurate at about 75 Nm. It's not too far off from my gf's 85 Nm EP8. I really enjoy it and would label at 3/4 powered. I've got to work a little harder than on my full powered Bafang M600 motor rig, But that's ok, because the M820 is the lighter weight bike and is more fun and agile overall. Plus, it's better exercise.💪
@@fironwoow/720Wh battery for me 20-40 miles (boost - trail) depending on terrain and elevation. Plus, I'm heavy and built a burly 45.5 lbs, enduro, big travel with weightier wide plus tires.
After its all said and done you'd wind up paying a comparable price for a similar spec'd Canyon without the security of having the warranty and liability assurances from a western company.
The only reason why you’d do this, is if you want a Bafang motor as it’s much more open in comparison. You can customise the firmware, unlock the speed, and play with the settings without tamper software getting in the way.
Would be really interesting if you would spec this bike with even more chineses parts like the the wireless gearing from wheeltop and brakes from Lewis. Anyway: nice build and really good looking bike. Greetings from an Orbea rise owner… 😊
In terms of expected maintenance, how difficult is it to source things like new bearings? Most main brands today will provide a “blue paper” assembly guide with their bikes so you know bolt sizes, torque specs, order of assembly for various components etc. I’d venture to guess a frame up like this wouldn’t have anything like that? I think these types of behind the scenes details also may hold a buyer back from thinking of something like this. Also, perhaps in a future video you could go into the other motor and battery options that one could go with? Lastly, this harks back to a video Rob did about industry standards for emtb motors and battery fitment. I’d love a frame option like this that could work with whatever motor I wanted to buy and use and then give me options on battery sizes etc I like this one, now thrash it and let’s see how it holds up :)
This frame is built specifically for the Bafang M820, no other motors are compatible with it. Some of the other Bafang motors do have common mounting patters, (Like the M510/M600/M560), but the M820 is a unique one to itself.
You’d have no problems with bearings, as they’d all be off the shelf bearings. Also, as you have to put it together yourself, you’d know exactly what you put on it.
I wish ebike motor manufacturers would just stick to a standardised size and shape of body for motors so we can install any brand we wanted to a frame when the original starts failing!
So... where do I get the Bafang M820 motor and battery? I only see offers on Aliexpress, but they endup more expensive than getting a Bosch motor from Germany. Not to mention the small problem of having access to the diagnostic software if some update breaks things.
17:56 Amazing bike, looking to build something similar but was planning a kit on enduro bike but this looks WAAAAY better but would like a 1kw motor :)
Frame 799, battery 350 and motor m820 complet kit 750 (cranks, wiring, controls and cranks) =1899 then add othe components you may end up with 3200 with high end components. Comparable to 10k Yeti
No hate, but since when is sram xx transmission and fox factory considered budget or am I missing something? I know prices have been dropping but so much?😂 Beautiful build though.
C’mon Rob, let’s see that ride review! Going on three months now.
Yes please!
Been waiting on that review for 3 months now!
Since the whole idea here is Do It Yourself, it would be much appreciated to get the complete components list + retail cost and do a comparison to a similar prebuilt machine.
Hi Rob. I am hammering lce930 frame for nearly a year. 1800km done over Enduro trails. Frame is premium quality, all bearings are Enduro brand, metal inserts in all bearing and motor mounting points. Frame is really solid. Motor with 43V software outputs about 580W. Highly recommended. Regards
Hi there,
I also have the 43V version of the motor. But I think I only get 250W power. Did you change your firmware in order to achieve more power?
Best regards
Marcel
what range are you getting? With a 700w/h battery, in S+ which averages a (reported) 400 watts output, I only get about 3500 feet of climbing. My friends on Bosch & Shimano full power ebikes that weigh 12 pounds more, with smaller batteries, still have a few bars when I'm limping along with a near dead battery.
@@MrHamncheez I get around 1200 meter of climbing with approx 50 km in the highest support level S+. My weight is about 90 kg with gear.
I was wondering if you could improve the power output by changing firmwares because I thought the M820 was limited to 250W output coming from the factory? At least it says 250W on the bafang website...
I also have a 26 kg Haibike with Yamaha PW ST motor which is also rated at 75 Nm. With this bike I am so much faster in the uphill even though it is pretty heavy
Could you please tell me how the Power Output from the 43V M820 is compared to a Shimano EP8 or Bosch CX?
@@Laube92 Yes, both @borysgo2 and I have the "unlocked" firmware, so my S+ is going to put out a lot more power than yours. I also can go up to 26 mph/ 41kph (instead of 19mph) before power cuts out.
There is a huge following on building these cheap chinese bikes. Brand names like Markhor, light carbon, dengfu, 4leaf, Hybridizer are all paving the way for this new fun hobby! Nothing is “cheap” about these builds. I built 3 of these bike from the frames and they are like assembling legos and each one had its challenges but in the end they were so rewarding and they were a customizable to our own liking. The m560 and 820 bafang motors has been a game changer. We have choices. This is a great video and i appreciate this is becoming more mainstream!
My problem with these bikes thus far is getting proper information. Most of these companies are hosted on alibaba or aliexpress and the generic information about the specs and sizing is usually horrendous. It's as if whoever wrote the copy had zero idea about the bikes whatsoever. What sort of fork and how big are the actual wheels as they had pictures of said bike but with completely different specs listed to the photos,and even a fatbike that said the wheels were 29!! So hard to forge ahead when the communication seems to be so poor off the bat and doesn't instill great confidence
no man. alibaba has some very knowledgeable sales people. @mattweaver3632
@@mattweaver3632That doesn’t sound to far off from Trek Fuel Ex experience 😂😂😂. At least you’re not getting shafted for overpriced stuff.
I've been running a dengfu for a few years now. And I will never buy another legacy brand MTB again. Atleast not unless they start offering frame only options and realistic pricing
I'd like to see the final price of the build using MSRP pricing.
Yo, when is the review vid coming for this bike? I’ve been looking forward to it. It’s one of the better looking Chinese builds. Interested in seeing some riders that can actually show its capabilities.
Yes please 👌🏻🤞🏼
give it to us Rob!
Cant wait for the full review, awesome job on the build. Hope it rides as nice as it looks!
I can see eMTB frame builders as being a solid side hustle for a lot of skilled bike mechanics in the coming years. Loving the DIY content too, not as scary to assemble as one would believe.
Nice job on the build! I love my LCE930. Looks like I no longer have the best (aka only) LCE930 build video on UA-cam. I can't wait to see it in action!
This channel just gets better and better you guys are smashing it loving the new content
It was better before the guy with the ugly tattoos.
Get that ride review done :)
yes please!!
Great video with the right amount of talking and music balance.
I love this sort of stuff. The ebike manufacturers have had it their own way for too long with closed systems and none user repairable motors - hopefully this will change.
You guys are such an inspiration! I think lots of people will follow this build, and again perhaps creating another popular method to owning an Ebike. You should give the bike a name, Cheeb light?
I especially like the handlebar you used. Nice Bike.
Are we ever going to get to see the full review???
That internal routed headset is a PITA!!! It basically requires you to go wireless dropper or shifter. There is not enough room for a brake hose, shift cable, dropper cable and the electronic wire for the motor.
Yes, this is what i wanted to see
Such a cool build. At last using Adam’s key skills.
I have the LCE971 model and I love it!
Looks so good!! You wouldn't even know it's an E bike!!
Honestly, it's not an inernally routed headset unless you drop half the bits in the frame and the other half roles under the cabinet.
Super clean and more power than my 25kg bike with an e8000. Can't wait to here how it rides
Looking forward to the full review, any ideas when it will be out?
Something quite therapeutic watching this come together, nice walk through. Would of liked to hear you guys talk about electrical safety, in regards to sourcing the frame to be comparable etc. assuming as made to fit for the bafang m820 etc. I know you’ve used quality parts. Can see a nice synergy carrying over one of you other awesome insightful pieces of great content from the perspective as a mechanic asked to service non-branded e-bikes/BSO’s etc. So much great education and knowledge shared across these vids, everyday a school day with you guys. Love it, so nice seeing Adam, the master at work ❤️ thank you for sharing, would love to know final market build estimate. Great content guys 🥰❤️
Looks great! Total cost?
Great build guys looking forward to see it getting a hammering on the trails.
I've seen that frame in the flesh a few times, and really like it. The one thing that grinds my gears, is the little rubber flap attachment. It would have taken 1 hour to make a better plan, and that's actually the only thing that detracts from the look and quality feel.
Congrats, you found the only shop mech in the world who doesn't think headset cable routing is a terrible thing. That, or he's very good at holding his tongue!
I’m used to it unfortunately. I deal with a lot of high end road bikes that have headset/handlebar routed hoses and cables.
It’s becoming so normal, it’s a case of getting with the times or being pissed off most of the time.
@@Adam_and_eebI have it on two bikes now and it sucks. I’m pissed off all the time.
@@Adam_and_eeb It's definitely more common now, but I disagree that we should roll over and accept it as the "new normal" - if we're not vocal about how shit it is, then designers and brand managers will keep speccing it. Mechanics need to feed it back to bike companies, and customers need to vote with their wallets.
We *can* win - just look at the resurgence of BSA BBs on MTBs!
@@Adam_and_eeb Also, doesn't being pissed off most of the time come with the territory of being shop mech? :)
@@Adam_and_eeb as another mechanic - internal routing in road bikes - fine, in MTB's, it's really unnecessary. I'd simply not buy one, but I'm still interested in how this rides/how the motor feels vs something like a Bosch.
Any ride reviews?
I use a headlight when routing cables. It frees both hands to work instead of holding an awkward cellphone.
Did something go horribly wrong with the bike since we have not seen the follow up video?
Very cool looking bike and you have so much fun in building it. Great!
Absolutely love it! Great job guys.
Rob when is the review coming? I'm curious about Your opinion on the frame and especially the Bafang M820 engine
Wow, what a brilliant bike...
If only I could find a hardtail with 120-130mm travel for this engine!
hi Rob, would be good if you can give us a heads up on the main costs for the build .Would be useful to see what we need to pay upfront. makes it easier to compare with shop bikes too! Cheers
They also sell a frame that takes the Bafang M600 and Luna Cycles in the US makes and sells a ludicrous controller for it. Much more power.
Yeah. I got the LCE971 frame with m560 750w. Love the bike!
great work this is super interesting, can wait to see the test ride
Where is the ride review on this?
Pretty darn cool to see options like this becoming available to the general public. Appreciate this video!! Im still completely against headset cable routing though LOL
The mention of "acros" headsets for through the headset cable routing is unfortunately not very comforting IMO.
Acros headsets seem to have a ton of issues.
Hi, greets from Spain! Just found your channel, very informative, love it: to be honest, it's time to take a sharper glimpse on the quality and designs that lately come from China, a well made e-frame for 800$ makes me re-consider the idea of mounting an e-bike ....18.9 kg, wow.
Great job, the Cheeb SL looks awesome especially achieving a sub 20KG without really trying!! It'll be good to know how it stacks up against the SLs from the main brands using the usual metrics!!
YESSSSSSS, I needed this.
Will this ride review video be another one that never comes? 🤔
Love the paint job
Cant wait for a review of the m820. Also, as cool as this frame is, the battery is tiny. Maybe try a second extral battery, or a custom internal battery to see what you can really fit in there and how that process goes.
Excellent video. Great to see Adam in this context on the channel. Can't wait to see the ride video 👍
Cheers dude! ❤
Ok i clicked on the video.. waiting for the ads to finish. Something tells me you version of cheap will be expensive.
Rob, don't forget Part 2 of this bike review! 😢
Very cool build
Can you fit a larger battery in the frame? Would be awesome if it can take a +/- 600wh battery. Ideal bike!
Bottle bat extension would be ideal
Yes I have a 700wh battery in my frame. Came in around 19.5kg/42.8lbs.
I have a 500Wh and a 720Wh battery, plus a 260Wh bottle extender.
@@fredrikerickson5579for the same frame? Can you please share the info on where to get it?
@@phattysnow can you share the info on where to get or how to diy?
Now for a M820-75Nm motor review?😊
stronger than it is rated at
@@bobjacksob I have it. I just like to have Rob's discerning take in it. Been using about it 14 months now for 1300 miles (on the CEF50 🤟). The torque feels accurate at about 75 Nm. It's not too far off from my gf's 85 Nm EP8. I really enjoy it and would label at 3/4 powered. I've got to work a little harder than on my full powered Bafang M600 motor rig, But that's ok, because the M820 is the lighter weight bike and is more fun and agile overall. Plus, it's better exercise.💪
@@tomcagle5324 what's the max range for your CEF50?
@@fironwoow/720Wh battery for me 20-40 miles (boost - trail) depending on terrain and elevation. Plus, I'm heavy and built a burly 45.5 lbs, enduro, big travel with weightier wide plus tires.
What happened to the ride video???🤷🏻♂️🤦🏻♂️
I definitely want to see how it rides. See it hit some big jumps
Nice video. This is my back up plan if I break my Cube's frame. It has already almost 10k kilometers behind.
Awesome. Would love to see a long term review - hear your thoughts after a few hundred miles use
After its all said and done you'd wind up paying a comparable price for a similar spec'd Canyon without the security of having the warranty and liability assurances from a western company.
The only reason why you’d do this, is if you want a Bafang motor as it’s much more open in comparison. You can customise the firmware, unlock the speed, and play with the settings without tamper software getting in the way.
Another great show.. What a build
Would be really interesting if you would spec this bike with even more chineses parts like the the wireless gearing from wheeltop and brakes from Lewis. Anyway: nice build and really good looking bike. Greetings from an Orbea rise owner… 😊
In terms of expected maintenance, how difficult is it to source things like new bearings?
Most main brands today will provide a “blue paper” assembly guide with their bikes so you know bolt sizes, torque specs, order of assembly for various components etc.
I’d venture to guess a frame up like this wouldn’t have anything like that?
I think these types of behind the scenes details also may hold a buyer back from thinking of something like this.
Also, perhaps in a future video you could go into the other motor and battery options that one could go with?
Lastly, this harks back to a video Rob did about industry standards for emtb motors and battery fitment. I’d love a frame option like this that could work with whatever motor I wanted to buy and use and then give me options on battery sizes etc
I like this one, now thrash it and let’s see how it holds up :)
This frame is built specifically for the Bafang M820, no other motors are compatible with it. Some of the other Bafang motors do have common mounting patters, (Like the M510/M600/M560), but the M820 is a unique one to itself.
You’d have no problems with bearings, as they’d all be off the shelf bearings. Also, as you have to put it together yourself, you’d know exactly what you put on it.
Beautiful build!! How about a contest to win the bike 😊
Yes please!
So how's it ride and what's the range like? Curious how it compares to be CEF50 DIY build.
Nice build, but the headset looks like a Duracell battery 😳🤣👍
This looks amazing
Hi Rob, this display is better mounted on the left side of the handlebar. It might be not that comfortable to use on the right side.
Is this available with a aloy frame ? I would want one of that . With carbon i'm still sceptic
Hey guys what chainring did you put on there? I can’t figure out how to find a T-Type compatible chainring. Thanks in advance!!
When will we see how it rides?
Can we get a ride test for 1million subscribers or something? Not sure how else to motivate lol
We built an affordable ebike, but we won't tell you how much the build cost. What's the point?
The only thing affordable on this build is the Frame, lol
Yeah, Fame = $850, suspension = $2000
I wish ebike motor manufacturers would just stick to a standardised size and shape of body for motors so we can install any brand we wanted to a frame when the original starts failing!
looks mint mate
Well done!!
I built a CEF50 with the m820 motor. The m820 is a beast.
which battery did you choose for your CEF50?
@@fironwoo 700w
@@dirtycurty6113 720wh
Hey, I'm interested on buying the CEF50 from 4Leaf. I would love to know about your experience with it
Im happy with it!
Beutiful bike!
Nice and beautiful machine,I saw the link for the frame but they do not make frames compatible with Bosch motors 😪😪😭
Peatys Monarch grips 🤤
Any ride impressions yet @Rob? Bike looks really great!
Hello Rob. Get DPC245 colour display instead. They inspired by Shimano. :)
Hi, you must do the Sann Hybridizer build 😊
Yes please!!
When is review of the build coming out?
Been waiting to see the breakdown cost and how it rides (speak for all of us lol).
So... where do I get the Bafang M820 motor and battery? I only see offers on Aliexpress, but they endup more expensive than getting a Bosch motor from Germany. Not to mention the small problem of having access to the diagnostic software if some update breaks things.
I bought my m560 750w from Greenbikekit. Very good customer service!
CEF50 frames, size S, M, L and XL are there
That looks decent, even for an eMTB. If only it didn't have headset cable routing. Would cutting some holes in the side be bad :)
So, what is the total cost of the frame, motor and battery?
The T type transmission and full factory suspension is pretty expensive...
Back here again to beg for the review vid. Did Karbon bikes make a fuss or something? gonna make their brand look like what it really is
Same here. Been waiting for 3+ months at this point. Just need info to decide whether I should follow this route.
I guess @robridesemtb is busy lol
What was the total cost of the build loverly bike
Nice Bike !!!
17:56 Amazing bike, looking to build something similar but was planning a kit on enduro bike but this looks WAAAAY better but would like a 1kw motor :)
i’ve just built the same bike, was that the supplied headset ? mine is not like yours
Is there a link to buy the kit with the frame, battery and motor in US$$??
Frame 799, battery 350 and motor m820 complet kit 750 (cranks, wiring, controls and cranks) =1899 then add othe components you may end up with 3200 with high end components. Comparable to 10k Yeti
we define affordable differently :). You start with an $800 frame and i'm like - you're already at max cost of "affordable"
These are dudes in their 40s who have been working for decades.
Hi, what type of Crank and Chainring does the M820 uses? Saw on website that its 53mm chainline but does not mention both crank and chainring type.
Does Lightcarbon have a non-lightweight, full power, big battery version? I'd be more interested in the full power build but I love the DIY approach.
They do
They do. LCE971. Built mine few months ago. So freaking awesome. I went with m560 750w motor
@@WHTFSayonara Nice, I'll check it out. What fork and rear shock did you go with?
@@TC-hl1ws fox 36 performance elite 160mm and rockshox super deluxe ultimate rct2 with HBO. The HBO is awesome!
@@WHTFSayonara What does HBO stand for? I'm coming XC racing and never heard of HBO.
I saw that you also have built a dengfu e10. Which of these two bikes you prefer most? Thank you
How much power m820 compare to m560?
I'd love someone to make a decent aluminium frame for an M510. Sad vitus went out of business.
is the fox shock off the shelf with no special ebike tube?
Really nice work gentlemen. What brand are the handlebars ? Ty. Happy Trails
How much did this whole build cost?
No hate, but since when is sram xx transmission and fox factory considered budget or am I missing something? I know prices have been dropping but so much?😂 Beautiful build though.