Cycling UK Forum

The wife's

Tongscheng TSDZ2 with custom firmware

voodoo hoodoo bafang convertion

my Kettwiesel with front hub motor:



The first battery died last winter, I think it was a case of neglect and deep discharge. Not wanting to go guddling about in its innards I bought a bigger bottle battery (13Ah) which I’ve mounted forward of the seat... this makes for better weight distribution, the original one lived in the seat bag. The front wheel of the Kett is relatively lightly laden, paradoxically on really steep hills I have to back off on the power setting to avoid wheelspin but it will handle most “normal” hills (up to B road standards) without a hiccup.

I did think about mid drive, but from what I could see it would inevitably mean that something or other would be fouled if it would even fit the frame shape. I’d also lose the breadth of gearing and wanted to retain the ability to ride without assist. As it is with the two rear wheels human powered via a differential, I have a three wheel drive machine!

Unpowered the Kett is a steady but not quick performer, e-assist has made it much more comparable to my faster machine.

A few years ago we were kindly loaned a Raleigh BOB, an aluminium-framed 26" wheel MTB-style bike. At the time it was so much lighter than anything my wife had ever ridden, and meant both of us were now taking bikes on holidays, and using them for pub outings - evenings AND sunday roasts...... We ended up buying two more for our daughters (a standard BOB and an "S" small-frame version), because their light-ish frame and straightforward mechanics meant I could learn how to service and repair.

With the children getting older and moving to road bikes, two of the BOBs have languished in the shed for the last couple of years. Additionally, my wife has not been keen to use hers to do long-ish rides, owing to pain in one knee on exertion.

Above is a spare BOB conversion (I sold the "S" in the summer, new rider apparently delighted with their new bike) using a throttle-based 48v TSDZ2 kit. I fitted AXA and B&M front and rear lights, and a 14Ah HL battery to the rear rack. I'm making a cover for that, to keep the rain off, but that should still allow panniers to be clipped on either side. I think provided they aren't fully loaded (normally it's just waterproofs), we'll have no problem. Repair kit on one side, stay-dry pannier on the other. Lights on and off via the VLCD5 controller. Throttle option recommended by Woosh in Southend, so my wife can have the option of not pedalling if the knee starts to play up. Fantastic !

So, it seems there are 3 kinds of conversion: front hub, rear hub and bottom bracket.
What are the pros and cons of these methods.
I've got a Trek T30 Hybrid about 10 years old and thinking of a conversion to help me get fit after bypass surgery so will need assistance up hills etc.

Front hub. Easy to fit (not that much difference, depends on the bike). Weight on front wheel slightly upsets steering. Can slip on hills with less weight on wheel. Weight distribution good if you need to fit battery on rear rack. Be very careful with suspension or aluminium forks; may need torque arms or just be unsuitable. You have two wheel drive: motor at the front, you at the back.

Rear Hub. Fairly easy to fit. Make sure you get right cassette/freehub version or you will need to change those.

Mid drive. Motor drives through the gears so better for hills and slightly more efficient. More wear on drivetrain. You may have to compromise on front rings.

Also, there is a choice of torque sensor (usually associated with crank drive but not always) and cadence sensor (usually front/rear hub). Torque sensor more 'natural'; just like having stronger legs. Cadence sensor usually a bit cheaper, and you can 'ghost' pedal very slowly and get the motor to do all the work rather than just lots of it.

Ask on Pedalecs (https://www.pedelecs.co.uk/forum/forums ... ussion.42/) with details about yourself and how you like to ride; and ask advice from Woosh (http://wooshbikes.co.uk/)

Just to add quite often the drop outs will need filing/dremelling 2 or 3mm deeper to accommodate the 12 x10 mm axle, you can't fit a hub to thru axles. Front hub only if you really have to.

I've written up my first ebike conversion project, which may be useful for anyone considering converting their bike: DIY e-bike conversion - how hard can it be? https://untroubledtravel.blogspot.com/2020/04/diy-e-bike-conversion-how-hard-can-it-be.html

It covers my views on some of the pros and cons of crank and hub drives, batteries and suppliers. Some of the technicalities and tools needed for fitting a rear hub kit are described in detail. I'm not a professional bike mechanic, but I have changed cassettes and bottom brackets before and thoroughly enjoyed doing this project.

Rocky (needs a wash)

Hello,

Anyone used Swytch? Any problems ?

Cheers

welshpaddler wrote:Hello,

Anyone used Swytch? Any problems ?

Cheers

Your in the wrong thread for a question like that but from what I've seen Swytch kits are pretty reliable, it takes a standard geared motor hub and uses their own proprietary bagged battery and bracket. It's a nice simple kit but the battery's aren't huge capacity for their pricing so can be under-powered or short range compared to other more complicated kits for the price. Ok to good value rather than excellent value in my humble opinion. Some of the reviews on youtube are from people who were sent the Swytch kit for free and so often these people are less than critical I find about the price point even if they are very fair about the product itself and how it works. Someone sends me something free and I would struggle to be critical of it, my impartiality would go out the window especially if its as valuable as a ebike conversion kit, I would have such a feel good factor for getting something like that for free.