u/Critical-Lettuce5564

Converted an REI Co-Op bike this summer with a Tongsheng TSDZ16 kit. I was inspired to build it with hidden battery inside an REI trunk bag.

/r/ebikes hated this and told me I was fucking stupid and gonna catch myself on fire and die in an explosion 😂

It’s been hot as hell in the MidWest this summer and i have taken this on a multiple 20+ mile rides and this battery hasn’t even been hot to the touch.

What conditions do I actually need so watch out for?

If you are looking for a small fanny pack for peak G(r)ay man carry, the Vertx Everday Fanny holds:

- subcompact RXM with the 12 round mag
- OSight X
- TQ
- Quickclot (back pocket)
- with a very small amount of room for keys, wallet, etc in the front pocket

TriggerSafe trigger guard cause I keep one in the pipe and don’t trust the nylon “holster” that was included

My home defense, subsonic only, SBR.
PSA 7.5” with a YHM R9.

My Sig Romeo gen 1 seems to have stopped holding zero. Trying to be financially responsible and wait till Black Friday or Christmas for a new rifle optic.

I had this Holosun on a pistol that I’m not carrying and an ADM RMR picatinny mount.

Other than the mismatched spray paint and tolerance stacking of a Holosun K cut on an adapter plate on a mount, is there any reason not to run this?

I have been out of the biking world for a bit. Got the urge to get back out there this summer. So, i put together my first ebike project last week. Took it out for a few rides this weekend and I love it!

REI was having a great sale on their commuter bikes and I couldn’t pass it up for $550.

In case anyone need to know, the REI trunk bag can perfectly fit a battery. Specifically I have 960Wh 30A (SAMSUNG INR21700 50E 5000mAh)
- Cut a small hole with an exacto knife
- run battery wires
- apply “gear repair” tape over the hole
- put as many zip ties as your can to secure the bag to the rack

Components List:
REI Coop CTY 1.1
REI Coop Trunk Bag
Iberia rear bike rack
Varstrom Electric mid drive Motor kit
LOTS of zip ties
Tenacious Tape Repair Tape
XFasten silicon tape (to protect the areas where the wiring connects to the motor)

Time Estimates:
- 4-5 hours watching YouTube videos and taking notes on how to assemble
- 12 hours to complete the motor install and wiring.
I bought the bike already assembled. If I was to do it again I would call REI and ask if they can skip the drive train and and front chainring shifter install

Missing:
- might need a longer and or stronger chain at some point