eBike Conversions - Go on, show us yours!

Electrically assisted bikes, trikes, etc. that are legal in the UK
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willcee
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Re: eBike Conversions - Go on, show us yours!

Post by willcee »

Ian, i understand what you say, however with 2 bafang equipped road bikes I can tell you that you don't need double rings, if you choose the correct front gearing you'll really only need perhaps 4/5 gears in normal usage.. the 250w mid bafang comes with a 46T ring, mine is now down to 42T Lekkie on the lesser powered bike and a 48 T new 110bcd with a USA made 110 convertor to hang it on the stronger one.. one is 7 sp other 8 speed. 7/8 speed is stronger cassette wise and chain wise. and i do use the gearing, but never above a 23/25 at the rear that said i have a 28 if i decide to pedal or if something happens causing power loss.. will
iandusud
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Re: eBike Conversions - Go on, show us yours!

Post by iandusud »

Thanks for your input. Please bear in mind that this is for a cargo bike which might have an all up weight of 160+kg with rider and goods. With a 42t chainring I think I would have to be looking at a 10s cassette with a 42t large sprocket just to get a 1:1 bottom gear. To be honest I was hoping to go lower than that, (mtb gearing) although I appreciate that with electric assist that may not be necessary. High gears are not of interest for such a bike. An 80" top gear would be more than enough. I have other bikes for going fast - this one is for carrying loads.

Ian
kwackers
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Re: eBike Conversions - Go on, show us yours!

Post by kwackers »

iandusud wrote:I haven't discounted mid-drive as it would be the best solution for hill climbing. However there other considerations that make a powerful hub drive attractive. Advantages of a hub drive are simplicity and cost. Disadvantages of mid-drive are cost, extra wear on drive train and limited gearing, particularly low gears. I'm thinking of Bafang where you are restricted to a single chainring, with a limited choice of sizes and all sorts of chainline problems using the the larger rear sprockets as I understand it. Vulnerability of the motor as it will have to sit underneath the main horizontal spar.

Cheers,

Ian

It's all swings and roundabouts, I was simply curious because you made a big point of hills.

Couple of points.
There is more wear on the drive train without a doubt. In 10,000 miles I've gone through 3 cassettes, a chain wheel and 4 or 5 chains - although I commute throughout the winter, salt, crud and all.
(I also have a better system now which should reduce wear significantly and at some point I'm going to get rid of the derailleur and fit an IGH - better chain line, fatter chain etc.)

You can get an adaptor spider for the chainwheels which will let you use any 4/5 hole chainwheels.
Single chainwheel imo is irrelevant. I use 3 (occasionally 4) gears on my cassette which is one of the reasons they wore so fast. If you had hills you might even get more miles by virtue of using more of the cassette!
hemo
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Re: eBike Conversions - Go on, show us yours!

Post by hemo »

Woosh bikes in Southend re now selling tsdz2 48v 250w mid rive kits which are Torque sensor instead of cadence sensor similar to Bafang BBS, they will except a double front ring set up. A Bafang will but chain line is a bit out ok if you use IGH.
iandusud
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Re: eBike Conversions - Go on, show us yours!

Post by iandusud »

hemo wrote:Woosh bikes in Southend re now selling tsdz2 48v 250w mid rive kits which are Torque sensor instead of cadence sensor similar to Bafang BBS, they will except a double front ring set up. A Bafang will but chain line is a bit out ok if you use IGH.


Funnily enough I just noticed that and it looks interesting. I'm still concerned about the smallest chainring it will accept and the chainline to the larger sprockets.

Cheers, Ian
hemo
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Re: eBike Conversions - Go on, show us yours!

Post by hemo »

Woosh area very helpful email or phone them and they will tell you the smallest T size that will fit.
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willcee
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Re: eBike Conversions - Go on, show us yours!

Post by willcee »

Yes they could approximate what size will fit.. But it depends on how the motor fits and clears the driveside of your likely wider than normal cargo bike chainstays..and thats never an exact science.. afaik it mounts same as a Bafang, on some frames they, Bafang cannot get lower than 42 unless you space at the driveside bracket, that of course has more issues with chainline especially when wanting 2 chain wheels..will
iandusud
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Re: eBike Conversions - Go on, show us yours!

Post by iandusud »

willcee wrote:Yes they could approximate what size will fit.. But it depends on how the motor fits and clears the driveside of your likely wider than normal cargo bike chainstays..and thats never an exact science.. afaik it mounts same as a Bafang, on some frames they, Bafang cannot get lower than 42 unless you space at the driveside bracket, that of course has more issues with chainline especially when wanting 2 chain wheels..will


Hi, Rear dropout width is 135mm (std mtb). As you suggest I don't think you can go below 42t without making the chainline even worse.

Ian
iandusud
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Re: eBike Conversions - Go on, show us yours!

Post by iandusud »

hemo wrote:Woosh area very helpful email or phone them and they will tell you the smallest T size that will fit.


Thanks. Once I've got the bike built and working I'll get in touch with Woosh to discuss options.

Ian
hemo
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Re: eBike Conversions - Go on, show us yours!

Post by hemo »

I use a 32 /48 double with my BBS01 and use Alfine 8 IGH, though chain line is a bit crap there is no changing issues which a derailleur would have.
iandusud
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Re: eBike Conversions - Go on, show us yours!

Post by iandusud »

hemo wrote:I use a 32 /48 double with my BBS01 and use Alfine 8 IGH, though chain line is a bit crap there is no changing issues which a derailleur would have.


Your comments compound my concerns about chainline issues on a derailleur set up.

Ian
Canuk
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Re: eBike Conversions - Go on, show us yours!

Post by Canuk »

I can see ebike technology becoming as ubiquitous and cheap as led lightning. As soon as cheap volume, fast recharge batteries catch up with the mechanical connection its game over for LiPo, a technical solution I hate more than any other.

LiPo was always going to be a poor man's solution for bicycles. Roll on the supercapacitor battery. Its already made inroads into automotive and aerospace industries.

Its all about the batteries, folks!
kwackers
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Re: eBike Conversions - Go on, show us yours!

Post by kwackers »

hemo wrote:I use a 32 /48 double with my BBS01 and use Alfine 8 IGH, though chain line is a bit crap there is no changing issues which a derailleur would have.

Any pictures?

I've an alfine 8 I'm going to use and I still haven't decided what chainwheel(s) I'll be using so I'm interested in how you've set up your double and whether the chainline is a problem because it's a double, whether it still exists with a single and if so would a 'custom' adaptor work with the BBS.
iandusud
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Re: eBike Conversions - Go on, show us yours!

Post by iandusud »

The cargo bike project is coming along nicely. All the major welding is done and I hope to find the time this week to fit wheels, bars etc to test ride it. I then need to build the box and weld up the supports and make up a centre stand. Then it's a strip down and paint and we're done. That will still probably take a few weeks of spare time.

I have been in touch with Tony at Woosh who is very helpful. I asked his opinion on whether I should go for a SWX02 48v rear hub or a Tongsheng 48V 250W TSDZ2 mid drive, which looks very tempting. He is of the opinion that I should go for the SWX02. This did surprise me as I stressed my concern that it should cope with hills with a full load, but he is confident that it is up to the job. This is good news as I prefer the simplicity of the set up and the ability to retain a useful range of gears (ie triple front with a wide range freewheel). I also suspect that reliability should be better with a hub motor but time will tell.

Cheers, Ian
hemo
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Re: eBike Conversions - Go on, show us yours!

Post by hemo »

kwackers wrote:
hemo wrote:I use a 32 /48 double with my BBS01 and use Alfine 8 IGH, though chain line is a bit crap there is no changing issues which a derailleur would have.

Any pictures?

I've an alfine 8 I'm going to use and I still haven't decided what chainwheel(s) I'll be using so I'm interested in how you've set up your double and whether the chainline is a problem because it's a double, whether it still exists with a single and if so would a 'custom' adaptor work with the BBS.


Must have missed your post.
I will take a pic or two and see if I'm able to load them up, previous attempts at loading pics has failed because it say's file size to big. Not being a techy geek have no idea how to resize pics to up load.
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