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A used 27.5 19" e-bike frame (Bosch motor+battery model) (only front half) is advertised under the brand "Kilimanjaro e-tec 2.0", whatever.

Its rear triangle, however, is missing and I have no clue as to the specs of such part I would have to be looking for to match the front. I'm not asking the seller to take measurements, because he doesn't seem competent. I've built hardtails, but have no experience with fullys, so I'm not competent, either.

I would be potentially building the bike with a used rear triangle, Bosch motor (don't know which specific generation motor/battery would fit, either).

I would appreciate any ideas, tips or insight in relation to this highly intriguing and no less exciting question. For example, are such rear triangle dimensions common or are they some proprietary dept. store specs etc.? Thanks in advance.

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    Rear triangles are extremely proprietary, unless you know where to find exactly the same one I wouldn't bother. Judging by "Fuji" on the downtube, "Kilimanjaro" might be related to Fuji bikes, maybe you can source a replacement rear triangle from them.
    – Klaster_1 Нет войне
    Commented Feb 23, 2023 at 15:12
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    Thanks, Klaster, for the comment. You are reinforcing my amateur suspicions, suggesting the roughly 487 different ways those triangles seem to attach to the frames.
    – bozobkr
    Commented Feb 23, 2023 at 16:31

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There are no standards for full suspension rear ends. It's all carefully designed together, and there are many different design variations. The small linkage hardware, rocker arm(s), shock mounting hardware, etc are also all proprietary to a given model, although you might find examples of some brands reusing them for several models.

Among mainstream brands, usually the way it works is for a given bike model and year, some extras of some parts will be produced that the warranty team will receive to resolve issues. This may or may not include complete swingarms; plenty of brands don't go that far. There will be some small number of production runs for these parts for a given model year, probably only one most of the time, and then when they're gone, there are no more. Usually these can only be procured by dealers through the warranty process and can't just be bought over the counter. Some brands with very long-running and popular bike models break this mold, typically ones that do their own production, but that's rare.

How to get a new Bosch drive unit that would work here is a rabbit hole of a topic. The official way would be go to a dealer (it can be anyone with an account with the Bosch distributor in their country) and then there is a process in place to purchase a new drive unit that's programmed to match the original. The dealer selling it to you is responsible for providing Bosch with an accurate rollout (inflated tire circumference) number. It's not an easy over the counter purchase.

For the most part that front end has no value and is done.

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    Thank you, Nathan, for the more detailed rundown. With this neglected, sorry piece of frame, I was hoping to quietly evade the eye-watering, high blood pressure fueling e-bike prices. When I was a kid (70s/80s), bike prices resembled fair value for two rolling wheels, brakes and a frame. I'm afraid the world will never be the same again and current bike standardization is about as consistent as for global sizing of women's underwear. Now that I think of it, the latter is probably more rigorously standardized.
    – bozobkr
    Commented Feb 23, 2023 at 16:49
  • @bozobkr yeah the only use for that piece of frame would be to scavenge the motor mount for some other usage. The only value there is in convenience of not having to replicate the bolt hole pattern. If it came with the motor/battery/controls, that would be a lot more use.
    – Criggie ♦
    Commented Feb 23, 2023 at 20:01
  • @NathanKnutson following up on my question on chainrings, do you know if the chainring size is also part of the settings that a dealer needs to specify when ordering a unit?
    – Rеnаud
    Commented Feb 24, 2023 at 7:38
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    @Renaud Yes it is, but in the sense that the dealer must corroborate that it has the authorized size installed. Not in the sense that the dealer can pick a size.
    – Nathan Knutson
    Commented Feb 24, 2023 at 11:25

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