Suitable candidate for electric conversion?

[djnotts]

..... for front wheel drive electrification conversion?
Although no noticeable symptoms at the time, covid has clearly accelerated my copd progression. Electric assist soon an imperative.
My '96 Fire Mountain has been ideal for my then max 35-40 mile rides, now 20-25!
Any reasons why a poor choice for conversion?

[stodd]

Looks OK as long as the forks are steel.
Aluminium ones should be ok with carefully mounted torque arms, but I'd ask for more advice on that.

I'd recommend Woosh for decent prices and excellent service. Yose may be a bit cheaper and mostly people seem to have good experience. Whatever, do NOT go for the cheap big heavy direct drive motors. They aren't that good at hill climbing and need expensive batteries to get any decent performance out of them.

[djnotts]

Thanks. Yes, steel Project 2s - not the light weight triple butted version.
I shall have to learn about "direct drive" and alternative(s)!

[hemo]

If the hub motor is 250w rated then one can simply fit into steel dropouts with no Torque arms just use the alfine type locating tabbed/ torque washers that come with the hub.
A DD hub is one with no gears/freewheel inside so cycling without power if one wishes becomes very hard work, typically they are 1kw rated or more, if fitting a DD hub then one will also need torque arms even with steel forks to be on the safe side.
Bare in mind that most geared hubs use a 12 x 10 hub axle & may well need the drop outs deepened by file or light dremmel use by 1.5 - 2mm so the axle flats fully sit in correctly.

If one doesn;t line in too hilly an area then one may find a lightweight 1.5 - 1.7kg hub motor will be more then adequate, but would require buying form a China ebike parts store/shop. These motors typically have a 10mm axle so should be a snug fit in QR drop outs, my hub simply fitted my Surly forks perfectly.

I use a 1. 7kg Bafang hub in the front of My Cotic Roadrat, the hub weighs the same as my alfine 8 in the rear and is the same diameter. My use is for towing up to 200lbs with a trailer and for shopping with heavy panniers. If one is about 13st or less then the motor is very capable and will even do moderate inclines with rider input. The advantage of lightweight hubs is they have higehr internal gearing so riding them with no power is and advantage if one only wishes to carry a light weight battery to keep bike weight down.

[bikes4two]

Apologies for re-inserting your picture in a different orientation but I was getting neck-ache. And yes, a perfect candidate for a conversion - I love to see older bikes put to this use. It's so nice to see a 26" wheeled machine without those blessed suspension forks too!

In my own case I put a mid-drive motor (TSDZ2) into my Dawes Galaxy (along with straight handlebars) as this was my most favourite and comfortable bike - why risk multiple £100s on another bike that might not be as comfortable as your unpowered machine?

[djnotts]

Thanks. I clearly have much to consider/learn (including how to rotate photos - thanks!).
I weigh 9 st, will not be carrying anything and not attempting any big hills.
My objective for now at least is to be able to do 40-45 miles rather than 30-35, on easy routes, at my own gentle pace!

[stodd]

XF07 with 17ah battery should do the trick
https://wooshbikes.co.uk/cart/#/product ... ah-battery
We've got one on our tandem. It's underpowered for that (more like 22 stone between us). We were warned but was what was available when we got it. It will be more than enough for you on a solo. I still makes all the difference to what hills we can climb.

You should be fine with a lighter motor as well, as hemo suggested. You'll just have a little less help.
A summary of several motors (biased of course to those they supply) at https://wooshbikes.co.uk/?hubkits
Search down to the 'WHICH MOTOR' section.

A useful guide to range at https://www.bosch-ebike.com/en/service/range-assistant.
For Bosch bikes. Crank drive with cadence sensors can be a bit more efficient, but generally there isn't a huge difference in range between different motors. Put in their least powerful motor and set the other parameters for your kind of riding. For other settings fixed range is directly proportional to battery capacity. The Woosh 17ah 36v is 612wh, just a tad below the Bosch 625.

One slight problem with hub bikes is the lack of variable gears for the motor, which means if you are travelling slowly (eg 8mph) uphill they are probably at 50% efficiency, compared to peak efficiency of 80-85%. The high current can make battery voltage sag. When you hit a hill towards the end of a ride when you are tired and so is the battery (*) this can be an issue. The bigger capacity reduces this problem in various ways. If you are into the technical details see https://ebikes.ca/tools/simulator.html? ... 0&axis=mph

There are a few lighter kits from the likes of Cytronex. They tend to be expensive and fairly low capacity batteries; expecting the rider to most of the work if you are going to get any decent range; mainly to provide assistance on the hills. Good for their target audience, but I don't think they would be suitable for your Electric assist soon an imperative

(*) A nominal 36v battery is around 42v charged, and cuts out near empty around 30v to protect the battery. If you are nearing empty, say 33v, pulling full power can easily drop the battery 3v to 30v, and it will cut out,

[hemo]

Tony Lee told me once that the xf07 is a bit weedy when I enquired of it several years ago, the small light bafnag I have is 30nm rated but has no problem with my 13st and a CF Y large + 200lb cargo load in tow.

[djnotts]

All very helpful, stodd. My thanks - and to all.
My other candidate is my S6L Brompton! Less options there, so I shall pursue alone! The folding may be an advantage in case rescue should ever be called for!