Felt cruiser

toro1978 · Nov 29, 2018

The rims and tires arrived today.

I used the oportunity to order a second fender strut:

I am waiting for my ride and I will bring the rims and tires to the shop to get them laced. We do the front wheel first so I can install the new fork. Will try to bring the bike there, tomorrow should be dry. Then we will know what hub would fit the rear.

toro1978 · Jan 15, 2019

After what felt like forever I finally got a call that my wheels were done. I had the rear wheel installed (it has a 7 speed hub now) and front wheel laced. Then I swapped the forks and installed the front wheel. I decided to replace the hydraulic brake caliper for a cable operated I had lying around in order to be able to install the other Bafang brake lever, so I can have two identical levers. I might replace it with a caliper that is hydraulic and still cable operated, but will probably just leave it like this.
As always there were minor setbacks - I had installed the fork when I realized that it had an adapter for a tapered shaft on it, so I had to dissassemble the front end to get rid of it. The old knife trick helped me remove it in about 5 minutes.
I also have a direct mount stem (came with the fork), but it is ugly, not quite the angle I would prefer and since they all have 31,8mm clamp diameter (or 35mm) I had to shim it. The shim must work great on straight bars, but on cruiser bars it didn't quite hold (too much leverage) and before I stripped bolts or holes I decided to rather install a regular stem.
I peeled the stickers off my old fork, but I kind of like how they look so I don't know, I might keep them on this one. Haven't decided yet. I am also hesitant about the front light position. Can't decide if I like it like that or higher.

toro1978 · Jan 16, 2019

The hub is wonderful. I switched back to the original 46t chainring that came with the motor. It turned out that I need to remove 3 links from the chain. Oops. So I removed two links and in order to get rid of the slack I have to pull the wheel way too far back in the dropouts. Decided to stay positive and ordered a half-link chain. I must admit I was tempted to get one in gold color, but in the end was able to restrain myself, knowing perfectly well that it would look way too fake.

I rode this quite long stem for a few weeks on my other bike and loved how rider friendly the steering got, so I put it on the Felt. It is massive and I think it fits the overall vibe pretty well.

I also took the time to make two decals with one of the Felt logos and put them on the battery housing.

You can also stare in awe at the marvel of online marketing, one of the wonders of the orient - chinese produced saddle bags that cost "0 $, shipping only" and obviously I still terribly overpaid. These must be the smallest saddle bags in the world and their usefulness is arguable at best. To tell You the truth these are frame bags, they were half the frame length on the pic, so must have been a pic of a kid's bike - You could only really see a section of the frame. I obviously am just showing them, removed them already.

I must admit though, the triangle bag under the frame was a similar bargain, but turned out perfect for what was needed (the front light electronics are stashed in it).
I also went to pick my old rear wheel from the shop and used the oportunity to get these new cork grips.

toro1978 · Jan 19, 2019

I got the new chain - extremely fast by the way, it arrived in 38 hours considered I ordered it at 10 o'clock in the evening.
I was stretching a bit too much for the handlebars and I moved the seat back closer to the them. Right pic before, left pic now.

I also put the new grips on, salvaged the grip caps from the old ones and put them on another bike that was missing them.

toro1978 · May 5, 2019

I made some small changes. I installed the chrome handlebars from the green boomer bike. They are perhaps an inch longer which makes them perfect for me. I also like how they look on that fork. The fork actually came with a direct mount stem, but I don't much like the look of it and the handlebars position, so I use the original Felt stem that came with the bike.
I also removed the stickers from the fork. I moved the fork crowns and dropped the fork about two inches.
I also moved the display and the on-off switch positions.

toro1978 · May 26, 2019

Well, I finally did some work on the Felt.
Something I wanted to do for a while - my new Inter7 came with the newer plastic black gear interface , but I have this awesome metal gear interface form an older Inter7 hub:

Before:

After:

I used the opportunity to swap the 19t rear cog with a 20t. Now, look closely and you will see just behind the left yellow dot there is a bolt (it takes a 2,5mm allen key) - its purpose is to hold the gear cable in place.
In the next pic you can see where the cable comes out, just behind (beneath) it is the holding bolt:

To tune the gearing you match in 4th gear the two red notches (by turning the tuning bolt at the end of the cable housing), just like usual, nothing new here. I don't have endcaps and today is sunday, so please excuse the cable ends.

The gears interface swap was only a side effect of having to shorten the cables because I couldn't look at how long they were anymore. I thought it was actually embarassing after all the work on this bike not to bother to shorten the cables to a normal length.
I also was irritated by the electric cables on the Bafang cut-off brake levers - when I had the black handlebars on the bike I just taped the cables to them and you kinda didn't exactly see them and I was good, but with the shiny chrome bars I couldn't do that. So they were hanging which was even less pleasing to the eye. I installed some Shimano levers I had lying around, took me a while to find both of them of course, as always. But I think the front looks much cleaner now:

Next update would probably be a regular through achsle, so one that doesn't have a quick release. Yes, I suppose the regular ones are actually the quick release ones, but you know what I mean

P.S. I forgot to show my bell:

It rings just like an old telephone!

Klunkruiser · Jun 13, 2019

Very cool.
I hadn't owned a bike in about 15 years. My only bike as an adult.
And hadn't built a bike since I was 13 years old.
But in the past year have bought 6 or 10 bikes (most in the past couple of months), with the intention of doing a bunch of parts swapping to get just what I want in 2 or 4 bikes. I got a couple of cruisers. Four mountain bikes that will transform into a couple of cruisers, maybe a single speed, and a road bike (and one will most likely stay stock except for a layback seatpost probably.
And I got a gas engine bike in the works.

But I really want a cool e-bike. Once I get all these sorted out and send half or more down the road, I'll get started on one.
Keeping an eye out for a cool frame still. Probably something aluminum to keep weight and price down.
Thinkin a Bafang bb kit. But all options are open, within reason...and my budget.

toro1978 · Jun 14, 2019

You should have a look at TSDZ2 (aka Tongsheng) - also a midmotor, very similar to the Bafang (internally a bit different perhaps) - it comes with a torque sensor (as opposed to speed sensor in the Bafang) and some people prefer it. What's more important they have a coaster brake version. I had to have a wheel relaced with a roller brake hub to work with the Bafang.
It was also cheaper than the Bafang last time I checked.

toro1978 · Jul 20, 2019

I remodeled the front end a bit.
The bracket for the on-off +- switch broke (it must have hit the frame or fork while hanging on the cable while I've been working on something else) so I took some of that metal tape with the holes and made a display and switch holder that could be bolted to the headlight bracket openings:

I actually always wanted to relocate the display and the switch behind the headlight, like those old motorcycle headlights with integrated tacho, I feel that bar mounted instruments disrupt the lines a little.
I reused an old concept of mine - I installed the crown over the stem:

I found in my parts pile the original Felt cable housing for the front brake. On this pic you can clearly see my headlight solution - I took an "old" modern headlight I had, removed the plastic lens and ran two cables from the contact points to the bulb contact points in the moped headlight. It was hidden in a frame bag before, cables taped to the underside of the tank, hideous really, but I was able to tug it behind the headlight, I also have much easier access to the on-off switch now:

I also replaced the brake levers with these black levers which are a bit longer and thus easier to reach with my fat fingers. The old aluminium ones were I think to be actuated with two fingers (I mean finger position, not pulling strength) and while working perfectly well, did not feel or look quite right. You can see them on the full pic:

That's it for now, I guess. I will be looking for some cool screws to put in the openings for the direct mount on the top crown, but if I don't come up with anything it is ok.
After putting achorn nuts on anything I could I think finally outgrew them

Klunkruiser · Jul 20, 2019

The new bars look way mo better.

toro1978 · Jul 20, 2019

They were the first option I went with after the original moto bars. I rode a while with the seat lower and further back, so I had those moon bars, but they are simply way too low. A shaft extender didn't look right (it was installed on the bike when I got it). These give me more rise and the angle between grips is better for the wrists. The moon bars are so close to paralel it felt like a wheelbarrow.
Too bad here in Germany the thumb throttle is not legal. I would have otherwise slammed the seat lower, installed both cranks facing forward, and immobilized them (fastened to the frame via bracket), put pegs instead of the pedals in combination with clip-ons or boardtracker bars (or flipped moto bars).

toro1978 · Aug 11, 2019

Browsing the web I found a shop selling the Brooks B190 for 107 Euro (ebay sells it for 150 Euro, Amazon 189$). This is the biggest seat Brooks makes. I didn't hesitate long.

I was able to mount the seat in a way similar to the Lepper seat, a liiittle different though.

The seat turned out to be worth every cent, it is indeed quite comfy. The surface is very smooth so I don't recommend wearing sports shorts/pants, I was sliding around for a few minutes before I got used to it. It looks pretty too. It came in this bag:

I also got this awesome bell, which has an even nicer ring than the one with the crown, but I decided it was a bit too ratty for this particular bike, so I preserved it for another build:

The one with the crown has a black underside which matches the black handlebars better so in the end it stayed. Hm, it just occured to me that the parts are probably interchangeable, will have to see if I can swap the bell "hood" and the actuation lever.
I also got rid of the grip shifter (or revo-shifter as Shimano calls it) - despite functioning without an issue for me it was very limiting as far as brake levers position goes. So I scored a used ST-7S20 which finally enabled me to put the brake levers where I wanted them. I looked also for the ST-7S60 (which I think looks gorgeous) but could not find any for sale

Also torpedo grips:

The shifter can be unscrewed from the bar clamp, which is very convenient and also can be attached to it in a number of positions, so really awesome.

A bonus pic of this monstrosity I put together from parts I had around:

SS hub (coaster brake, but when I roll it backwards the pedals don't move, cool, I hate getting a pedal in the shin) and 635mm rims. It is "purpose built" because its only purpose is to take me to the train station or the supermarket. :21:

Klunkruiser · Aug 11, 2019

This has got to be one of my favorite builds on this forum!

How fast does the Felt go with the 7-speed?

I have a couple of bikes to finish up, my Schwinn cruiser build-off bike and a lighter more BMX-y aluminum frame Kona. And am looking for a cool frame for an E-bike.
But we are limited to 20 mph (32 kph) on e-bikes before it would have to be registered as a motorcycle.
I have a Nexus-3 and a Nexus-8, both freewheel. But think I will use the Nexus-8 on the Scwinn Cruiser as it would likely put me over the 20mph limit on an e-bike.

toro1978 · Aug 11, 2019

Klunkruiser said:
This has got to be one of my favorite builds on this forum!

Thank you for your kind words! It means a lot.

The bike is not built for speed because the limit here in Germany is 25 km/h before you need a registration.
http://www.gear-calculator.com - this site is quite the beaut, it gives you a lot of options to choose from different gear types, hubs, cassettes, different chainring sizes, rear cogwheel sizes, different tire size, even different cadence.
So you have many variables to influence your top speed. I think 25-30 km/h is more than enough, especially after my last crash at 10 km/h almost led to a broken wrist.
But if anyone wants a rocket... well, a few KW motor with a chainring/rear cogwheel 52/16 at a cadence of 120 would give 80 km/h in 7th gear (provided the hub doesn't get destroyed).

toro1978 · Oct 11, 2019

Update

I got a KMC Kool Knight half link chain. I of course didn't bother to count the links and was shocked to see I have 4 links less than needed. My drivetrain takes 116 and the kk has 112.
So, I ordered a second one, to take the 4 links from and to use the rest on another build that has short chainstays and a 38t chainring. And I waited. After 3 weeks of laughable excuses from the dealer he canceled the order and gave me the money back. I saw he still had it listed so I ordered again. Obnoxious as I am I gave him a negative review on the first deal. He promptly canceled the second order and gave me the money back. Ha ha ha ha. Then he had the nerve to ask me to change my review. I checked his site and he did not have it listed anymore. I guess he had some availability problems he hoped to sort out but couldn't. Since I am human and also make mistakes I changed the review to neutral and let it go.

I had to order from the UK and that cost me 20 bucks more

Then I waited and... Nothing. I gave these folks some time, but the day before yesterday was the last possible date, so I asked them for a tracking number, which they quickly sent me, claiming that it was delivered 10 days ago.
So I checked online and indeed, UK mail said "delivered September 30th".
The option to check the local carrier site showed they did not find anybody, so they left it in the parcel shop. I must have missed the notification, I guess it was between some advertising material and I unknowingly threw it away. So I jumped on my bike and rode there - it is in the next village, and my package was waiting for me. So positive review for these guys, it was actually delivered from the UK to Germany in 5 days. A real Odyssey it was.
So I rolled up my sleeves today and installed it.

toro1978 · Nov 19, 2020

Some say size doesn't matter, I will disagree:

I bought a real bike pump. The small one some of you will recognize as an air fork pump. It is light, effortless and it takes forever. So with this new pump I began to realize a plan that with the fork pump would have been a sisyphean task - to change tires. The fully got the berm masters and the Felt got the thick bricks:

I had underestimated how tricky is to get a 7sp hub in a 3sp aluminum frame. I huffed and I puffed and after half an hour I gave up. Then got a big flathead screwdriver and carefully opened each side (between dropout and roller brake on the left side and between the dropout and the rear cog on the drive side) and I had the wheel inside the dropouts in no time. I held the wheel between my knees for this procedure so I can have my hands free.