Cycling UK Forum

Holy Space 1999,

It is not just cars and bikes that run on electrickery, humans do as well.

I, for one, do and rely upon the pacemaker function of my implanted defibrillator to keep ticking.

If you already have a hub geared bike which is perfectly useable, then consider converting it for a fraction of the price.

The Bafang mid-drive kit I fitted allows the fitment of a gear sensor that cuts power when it detects the slightest gear cable movement.

I never got round to fitting the gear sensor and found that a bit of mechanical sympathy is more than adequate.

I've got a 1984 Pug Equip which was 52/42 up front and high geared at the back with a six speed freewheel (I cannot remember freewheel)

I have been happily running it for a number of years with a triple up front and an eight speed wide range cassette (I think it is an 11-34) on the back. Obviously a long cage derailleur was needed on the back and a new front to accommodate the triple. I also used a UN55 bottom bracket. It all functions perfectly through the Sachs-Huret downtube friction levers. I obviously changed the wheels as well

When I did the conversion I also took the opportunity to fit a pair of Dia-compe modern duel pivot but 'nutted' calipers. These also function very well using the stock / period Weinman levers and Dia-Compe so called 'suicide' extensions.

It stops like a modern road bike, climbs like a mountain bike and rides as beautifully as you would expect of an old steel framed 'racer'.

It did cost a fair few quid to carry out the upgrades, approaching your budget, especially when I added a pair of Blumels, a period correct Pletcher rat-trap rear rack and kick stand. The rack and stand were brand new and are exactly the same as they were in the late 70's / early 80's!

My advice, do up the old Pug!

Didn't Peugeot use a quirky size for seat tubes. I know the saddle stems are a quirky size but not sure if that translates to the external diameter as well?

Tongue in cheek, but...

Surely a £5 note, buy something on route and put any change in the charity box.

stodd wrote:

Colin_P wrote:If you have a perfectly good bike at the moment, I'd seriously consider a conversion kit.

They perform just like a factory built bike and are a lot cheaper. The battery will likely be of a higher capacity and therefore have a better range as well.

The only downside is that of asthetics.

I'm extremely pleased with one of my bikes which I recently converted with a Bafang BBS01b 250w mid motor kit. If you are reasonably proficient at mending bikes they are easy to fit as well.

Cost and ease of repair and getting replacements in a few years time may well be better with a conversion. Most of the higher end bikes use propriety systems and these need matching (and generally very expensive) spares if anything does go wrong. For example if anything goes wrong with a Bosch motor out of guarantee the official answer will probably be a new motor at around £900, though there are specialist firms (e.g. performance line bearings) that have some spares and will often manage repair. A problem with the BMS on a Bosch battery will mean new battery at maybe £600.

A good point, a lot of factory built ebikes are going to go to the scrapper whilst relatively new with minor, uneconomical to repair, faults.

At least with a coversion kit, you still have your bike and can buy another kit, or even parts for the kit you have should a fault develop. You could of course even buy another kit with the latest greatest tech on it.

The biggest one for me though is the eye watering cost of a factory built e-bike verses converting your own bike.

If you have a perfectly good bike at the moment, I'd seriously consider a conversion kit.

They perform just like a factory built bike and are a lot cheaper. The battery will likely be of a higher capacity and therefore have a better range as well.

The only downside is that of asthetics.

I'm extremely pleased with one of my bikes which I recently converted with a Bafang BBS01b 250w mid motor kit. If you are reasonably proficient at mending bikes they are easy to fit as well.

Time moves on...

And all of a sudden I went down again and was shocked back, again.

In the interim period from my last posts in 2017 I thought life had almost returned to normal except for the drugs. Out on the bike almost every day albeit short distances and a low speeds, but I've been out there!

I'm currently sat in my local hospital awaiting a transfer to the Royal Brompton for a cardiac MRI scan and am also scheduled for another attempt at an ablation at Harefield on the 9th of September.

Ho-hum, another six month, minimum, medical driving ban, massive worries about work, money, and the mortgage.

All responses so far are very much appreciated, thank you.

In consideration of them, I'm leaning towards keeping the front as a double but reducing the size of both cogs.

I'm on an elephant tranquilising dose of beta blockers which makes the tallest gears largely irrelevant anyway, I'd rather have, and need, more gear choice at the lower end.

According to this...
https://shop.fullspeedahead.com/en/vero ... nkset-3976
The BCD is 120 with four holes, so the choice is seemingly limited, well at least from a bit of e-bay searching.

About three months ago I bought a Boardman MTX8.8 Hybrid bike which overall I'm quite happy with.
https://www.boardmanbikes.com/gb_en/pro ... x-8.8.html

The exception is the compact double chainset (48/32) which I just cannot get on with. There is just too much of a jump for me when swapping the front cogs. I've given it a fair chance but have concluded that I really don't like it and I'd like to convert it to a triple.

I've done this before on other bikes, the best example being a 1984 Peugeot (what was a 12 speed racer) into a 24 speed racer!

I'm fairly certain I can deal with measuring and working out a revised bottom bracket on the Boardman, the current chainline is very tight so a new BB is a given. I also believe the deore thumbshifter will work with a triple as well and hope the front cog swapper has enough throw! I'm also aware that I may need to change the medium cage rear derailleur to a long cage version also.

The thing I'm not sure about is the front coggage as this is my first 10 speed rear cogged machine which I believe has a fragile narrow chain. I don't know if there is an off the shelf option ready to fit (square taper) but believe it may be difficult to find one that will work with a ten speed chain? I'm therefore thinking about binning the smaller front cog and adding a new middle and small cog.

My plan would be to have a 48/38/28 front cog set where the 48 is already present and where I'd need to source the 38 and 28 along with any bits and bobs. With regard to those bits and bobs, what would I need, spacers, bolts etc?

Any advice or information would be very much appreciated and any links to stuff I can buy to carry out the conversion even better. As above I can contend with the BB and rear derailleur but it is the front coggage I'm stuck on.

It seems that it is solved and will remain open.

https://www.maidenhead-advertiser.co.uk ... -cafe.html

I'm local'ish and it is in the most idealic location on a quiet country lane and does nobody any harm.

This isn't just a cafe that cyclists happen to go to either, it exclusively exists for them, a brilliant place.

That Gents one, I had one that looked exactly the same as your picture.

I got it, I think, when I was about 14 and rode it to school back in the early to mid 1980's.

I had such fond memories of it, I went out and bought another about five years ago.

It is good isn't it and that is an impressive grid !

Couple that with some Trigpointing and it gives some real purpose to otherwise random bike rides.

Those DMR clamp-ons are things of beauty. I've got a pair holding a second bottle on my old road bike.

Do you know what type of long QT your have got, there are many?