Stingray EBike.

[slickdude]

I have been pondering whether to get a stingray with 20" wheels and mod it with a nice lithium system, front hub. The main problem here is there a battery rack I can mount under the banana seat? I was able to locate this pic of one to show what I am after, maybe an older Orange Krate which has a 16 front wheel. I did find 16" motorized kits available online. Raise the seat and handlebar neck and this would be awesome.

http://www.justbicycles.com/img/large/StingrayRed.jpg

Thoughts on an underseat battery mount of some type for this??? That would be the main issue with a front hub brushless setup.

http://images.craigslist.org/5I75Gf5Fd3F93If3N5c4a3af687d71b6716ad.jpg

 

[wheelbender6]

You could make a battery shelf under the seat using an old skateboard deck, trimmed to fit and refinished. Attach it to the seat tube bolt in the front and sissy bar in the rear. Use the hardware from an old cargo rack to attach the shelf.

 

[slickdude]

Excellent idea WB6, appreciate it. I think this is just doable. Am considering maybe a front brushless wheel 20" with a motor at 550watts maybe bigger. Battery with a Lipo4 for range and speed. The new stingray I found is about 200 though an Orange Krate Schwinn would be ideal. Those seem to vary greatly in price as collectors items these days. A 16" electric wheel hub I think is also out there too.

 

[wheelbender6]

if yours comes out good, I may build one myself. I had thought about getting a folding bike to make some space in the garage, but a stingray is much cooler and still takes little space.

 

[slickdude]

Here is who is selling new Stingrays at a good price. http://justbicycles.com/bike_category.php?item=10 I thought about doing one of these with a 20" wheel and hub motor. Seems there is a fair selection of 20" setups out there, fewer of the smaller 16" wheels that a Schwinn Krate would traditionally use. But doable. I found new Krates at about 500 bucks, they are the reissues though, not the original 60's and 70's Krates. The stingrays up top look cool. Raise the sissy-bar and handlebar neck add what you mentioned a Lipo4 battery and a good brushless motor and it could be a great deal. What makes the stingrays above in thje link a better choice of the Krates is that the older Krates had a front drum brake on the 16" wheel. That would mean motorizing them would essentially eliminate that front brake leaving only one brake. Check out the pics and you'll see what I am getting at here. And yeah, the stingray fastbacks do look very cool, modern and speedy just looking at em. They are also easier to sit on then being stretched out on the mountain bikes.

Schwinn = http://www.retro.net/keywords/schwinn_orange_krate/schwinn_orange_krate_1.jpg

Other Stingray a better choice and cheaper too = http://www.justbicycles.com/img/large/B14.LOWRIDER F4 Green Banana Seat Bicycle (500 x 375).jpg

Reissued Schwinn Stingray, brakes will work for front then = http://gearjunkie.com/images/6687.jpg

 

[slickdude]

Good news on the hilltopper kit.

I talked to Chris last week and he said they were looking at adding both 20 inch and 16 inch motorized wheels. This means that an easy to install stingray or Schwinn Krate electric hub system would be easily and cheaply doable. For battery mounts, I found a short battery rack for under seat mounting. The Orange Krate Schwinn uses a front 16 inch wheel with a drum brake. The motorized hub wheel from Hilltopper or Clean Republic looks very very similar. Means you would only have the rear brake on a Krate but that should still work out okay.