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First Ride on my DIY eBIKE Hardtail - Can I Make One That's Actually Good?

MTB Party

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My Stanton Slackline eBike (made with a CYC Photon Conversion) is about to get dusty on the trail. Today we take it out to see if hardtail eBikes make any sense. There aren't many great eMTB hardtails out there, so I decided to make my own using a CYC Motors photon kit. You can add this kit to almost any bike to convert your analog bike into an ebike. I'm extremely impressed with the quality, form factor, and performance of this kit. Fortunately they have a discount code for hardtail party fans. Use discount code: "BBP5OFF" at https://cycmotor.com for your 5% discount on your order.

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20 Comments

@hardtailparty Creator 1 year ago (edited) Pinned

A few more thoughts and takeaways...

1) this was way more fun than I expected

2) One thing that really stood out was the speed I can go while seated. On an analog hardtail you climb so slow that little bumps don't matter. With a motor, you can now climb 2-3x faster, which means it's a bumpier ride. That doesn't matter if you're standing, but if you're seated on a hardtail, that means more jostling and vibration transferred to the rider. A suspension seatpost/dropper would solve this.

3) after this ride I ended up drilling a hole in the side of my seat tube at the bottom near the bb junction. This allows the motor to rotate fully up to touch the dt, and aloes the dropper to exit out the side and not get pinched. It was the best solution I could come up with.

4) for mountain biking, the 34t was just fine, but for city commuting I'm going to try a 38t.

@ReeferCheifer13 1 year ago

I bought my first mountain bike (hardtail) two years ago in inspiration of this channel! Riders love! 💗

@zethjugos1250 1 year ago

Just hearing u laughing during ur ride is so good to hear! Have fun!

@ajdgx2 1 year ago

I generally disliked e-bikes, but seeing how they can benefit people has completely changed my viewpoint. Thanks for encouraging us to be better people 😊

@farmallf12 1 year ago

I am very glad you are out riding, I have always enjoyed the channel, being I am a hardtail lover. I very much understand having compromised health, I suffer from severe migraines, and having the support of an ebike has been awesome. I live in Chattanooga and we have some truly world-class stuff around here. Anytime you want to come to Chattanooga, I know all the trails we can do some e hardtailing.
Sincerely, Jeremy

@mikejones420 1 year ago

Loved the video Steve, great to see you riding, and smiling, enjoying life. I don't get the gatekeeper mentality at all, I view our sport of mountain biking as a sport for who ever wants to ride, no judgements from me. I ride just to get out in the woods and enjoy nature, stop by a river or pond, have a snack, maybe a camp fire, and just love life.

@brendanford4850 1 year ago

Took me a while to watch this video. I watched the build when it came out and thought awesome. I think we need to watch our language and how we speak around emtb. Even saying cheating is wrong and the words we use are negative. For people with health issues, these bikes are so inclusive and as you say game changer.
I also thought this kit on a Jones HD. That is my dream EMTB.
Love your sheeit. Love your reinventing and ability to overcome. Keep going Steve.

@Rekon2005 1 year ago

I appreciate what you do and your content is so great. I’m not an e-mtber but I have no issue with them. If it allows someone to experience what I get to experience on the trails then that’s fantastic.

I’m sorry people leave cranky comments, there’s better things to do with our energy.

Take it easy, Steve!

@ec63580 1 year ago

It’s great that you were able to move somewhere that officially allows e-bikes on the trails! I rented an e-bike on a visit to Bentonville because I’ve been struggling with some fatigue and how to build back fitness (not major chronic issues like yours, but it’s still discouraging), and it was amazing to be able to ride everywhere and go exploring without totally wearing myself out!

@rohangayle9130 1 year ago

So good to see you on the bike again and riding trails similar to my local terrian in the UK..not quite Sedona,but happy to see a UK bike getting you out there in the wild,one day I shall have a Stanton,
Most likely pre owned but it will be fine
Take care of you,I owe a lot to your know how,and have no interest in full suspension
Stay blessed Steve🤎

@50whatnomadtravelnursemtb5 1 year ago (edited)

Hmm, you've really opened my eyes to this kit, instead of buying a complete bike this seems like a great option. Glad to see you enjoying more rides out on the trail, thanks for sharing always.

@hallstewart 1 year ago

So glad pedal assist is keeping you riding and making fun videos for us.

@JayPeters-o7j 11 months ago

I got the Cyc x1 pro on a Marin Elroy Grande size with a mix wheel rear 27.5 w 2.8 & Cushcore e-mtb inserte so I don’t have to have the pressure really high also the seat is a Cane creek Thudbuster LT G4 medium inner. I actually forget that I’m riding a hardtail. I highly recommend to everyone! buy a CYC any of that e-bike kits

@thereisnospoon1979 1 year ago

So much fun to see you having so much fun with this bike! 🤩

@ChrisHouseHobby 1 year ago

Steve. My buddies and I love your channel. You are the go to for hardtail reviews. I am building a kona into right now and have a bunch of surlys. Thanks for all your content and views 😊

@shawnclone5143 1 year ago

Steve, as others have said it's so good to see you able to be out riding again. Your enthusiasm for just having fun riding has been one of the biggest draws for me personally. But, since you moved to Bentonville, I've found the added bonus of seeing trails in Bentonville I feel like I could ride. The Sadona stuff usually looked intimidating to me, and so much of what i've seen in Bentonville is the more hardcore stuff and had me hesitant to go try it. But i've seen you riding stuff that reminds me of the stuff we have in central IL and it has me thinking I may need to try and fogure out a yrip after all. Thank you for that!

@MTB.Trials.Student 1 year ago

Glad to see you out and having fun! I can see where an eMTB is an enabler for you at this time. If I was in your position, I would definitely be riding one. Fortunately I don’t have to right now. I completely agree with your comments on riding MTBs. There is a perception that you need to go fast or big if you ride an MTB. You don’t have to do that to have fun. Keep up the great work!

@shaunroach7829 1 year ago

Great seeing you enjoy the ride Steve!!! Great break down and informative on how the motor helped you but the bikes riding capabilities were still great with some adaptation. Looking forward to you showing us more trails in Bentonville on this bike !!!

@RebBoySF 1 year ago (edited)

Awesome review, I appreciate this so much. It's exactly how I felt when I bought my first ebike, a steel hardtail Marin Pine Mountain E1 (Shimano E7000 motor with 27.5 x 2.8 plus tires). After months searching, I found it "old stock" (2020-2022) at a local bike shop. One ride in, and I immediately felt a lot like your review here. As a hardtail and steel enthusiast, it was actually my perfect intro to ebikes (I now also have a full suspension carbon ebike for when I want to push my limits). Reviews like this will hopefully renew interest in steel hardtail ebikes. So, if you ever want to take out a Marin Pine Mountain E1 for a test ride, let me know.