Any disadvantage with a front wheel hub ?

[flecc]

With that inside leg measurement you'd be a lot happier with a 17" frame and 26" wheels Mike.

 

[jerrysimon]

the crossbar on my bike is is 30" from the ground and my inside leg measurement is 28.5"

Yikes

When you stand over the crossbar there should be about an inch maybe a little more gap between the bar and your n..s

When sat on the saddle, with the pedal at the lowest point, your leg should be almost but not quite straight (easily adjusted by saddle height).

I find saddle height critical for comfort.

Regards

Jerry

 

[Cyclezee]

Hi Mike,

Firstly, I am not going to tell you what bike or frame size to get.

I will only tell you about a friend of mine who seems to make a habit of falling off his crank motored bike.
So far this has only happened at low speed and he has not suffered any serious injury to date other damaged pride.
In my opinion, he is riding a bike that is too big for him and he is not able to control it if met with an obstacle that needs to be steered around or has to stop suddenly.

Please don't be offended Mike, but is your balance what it used to be?
Maybe you try a bike with a smaller frame, powered or not and see how you get on with that.

 

[Scottyf]

When sat on my bike i can't touch the floor. I can if i place my feet on a curb.
Just if sat on the seat I cannot.

Mines a 19inch frame and 700c wheels and i'm 5'10 I think its right. Might be slightly to big but as its straight line road riding I dont have to turn so sharply.

It does make it more difficult to jump though as the wheel base is longer.


Smaller bikes are much easier to chuck about.

 

[catsnapper]

I'm around 5' 11" and ride a 54cm 700c wheeled road bike, but for fast 'chuckability' around our narrow streets with no pavements and a mixture of cars and pedestrians, I much prefer a smaller framed bike. I use a 16" frame Inbred and a BMX as e-bikes, both with front motors.

We tried 2 tandems of different size with front and rear motors, the front wheel driven smaller frame won by a considerable margin.

Alan

 

[Mike63]

Thanks everyone....my next bike certainly needs to be a 17" frame and a rear wheel drive.
....unfortunately seems to discount any of the Kudos bike.
...I always thought that at 5' 7" I was average

cheers....Mike

 

[flecc]

...I always thought that at 5' 7" I was average

cheers....Mike

I've shrunk a bit with age now but was 5' 7" and the same inside leg as you Mike. We used to be the average years ago, but later overfed generations have grown much taller. A neighbour's 14 year old and all his friends tower over me, goodness knows how tall today's kids will grow to.

 

[Kudoscycles]

Mike....don't forget,as per your request,the Kudos Eco bike is ready for your test ride at your chosen dealer in Lincolnshire,the dealer has PDI the bike especially for you.
Dave
KudosCycles

 

[RegularGuy]

Hi Mike,

I’m 5’7” and have a 29” inside leg so pretty similar to you.

I ride a 15” Mongoose Hybrid on 700c Wheels which is about right for me.

As a baseline you should be able to just touch your toes of both feet at the same time on the floor when sat on your seat on a level service. When standing over the crossbar on flat feet you should have roughly a 2” gap between your knackers and the crossbar which become a blunt instrument if you collide with it at speed!

When pedalling your thigh should be less than 90 degrees at the highest point, otherwise you put too much pressure on your knees. If the frame is right but your legs are too high, you can change this with smaller crank arms.

You also need to look at the length of the top tube, on a taller bike they tend to be longer which means you are stretched out and putting more weight on your hands. Shorter frames tend to have smaller top tubes which bring the handlebars nearer to your body.

Every bike manufacturer is different, but as a rough guide:
A 15” frame will often fit a rider from something up to 5’7”
A 17” frame will fit a rider from 5”7” up to some figure I can’t remember as I’m too short for it to matter!

I looked at Kudos but believe they only do a 17” frame, I can’t confirm that as I asked the question on their website but I never received a reply.

 

[Scottyf]

My marin is probably a bit big then since my nuts scrap the cross bar.
As I get older there probably be like saddle bags. All be it small ones... lol

I do like bigger bikes though. I only realise it when I come across another bike any i'm sitting up right a good foot taller than the next rider...

 

[RegularGuy]

yes, it's a personal preference thing. I like smaller frames because they have slightly less weight but more importantly for me the top tube is a bit shorter, so my hands are closer to my body making for a more upright riding position.

 

[jerrysimon]

Me too I always end up modifying my bike handle bar set up, finding most to be too low and too far away.

Its usually pretty easy to do though may require extending cables.

Regards

Jerry

 

[oldosc]

Hi Mike,

I’m 5’7” and have a 29” inside leg so pretty similar to you.

I ride a 15” Mongoose Hybrid on 700c Wheels which is about right for me.

As a baseline you should be able to just touch your toes of both feet at the same time on the floor when sat on your seat on a level service. When standing over the crossbar on flat feet you should have roughly a 2” gap between your knackers and the crossbar which become a blunt instrument if you collide with it at speed!

When pedalling your thigh should be less than 90 degrees at the highest point, otherwise you put too much pressure on your knees. If the frame is right but your legs are too high, you can change this with smaller crank arms.

You also need to look at the length of the top tube, on a taller bike they tend to be longer which means you are stretched out and putting more weight on your hands. Shorter frames tend to have smaller top tubes which bring the handlebars nearer to your body.

Every bike manufacturer is different, but as a rough guide:
A 15” frame will often fit a rider from something up to 5’7”
A 17” frame will fit a rider from 5”7” up to some figure I can’t remember as I’m too short for it to matter!

I looked at Kudos but believe they only do a 17” frame, I can’t confirm that as I asked the question on their website but I never received a reply.

My first bike was at age 13, a Halfords (this was 1951) I was measured at the Halfords shop in Bristol on a mock up Bike..My feet must be flat on floor and the cross bar to be 1 inch below my "privates" (not called that in those days for children, only girls had privates). the saddle height was tippy toe when sitting. (but that was adjustable.)that was about it. Some things never change.
At 80 I really need a step thro, as you would not believe untill you are there how slow reflexes can be, I have ordered a Gtec, mainly for lady J like me 80, and not the most rebust. I fancy the Emu, because of the gears at the back, ride more than Lady J but Cornwall is a bit of a bitch hill wise, so will give that a trial. Once you stop off road, most places are a bit flat.
I still thinK my Aggu is magic, but have been forbidden to lift it.
Oldosc

 

[fishingpaul]

When getting onto tow paths etc it often involves getting off the bike,to access gated areas, steering the handlebars with one hand and lifting the rear end round with the other is much easier with the weight at the front wheel,and a light rear wheel.

 

[eHomer]

Focusing on the front or back powered wheel question, I prefer front wheel hub motors myself. I've tried several front and rear, but I go with the comments on here about better weight distribution.

I'm glad I don't have to decide on having a single bike, the compromises would make it a difficult choice. Thankfully, they're relatively cheap to buy (DIY conversions), small to store, and have no overhead running costs like tax and mot.

I'm not a power, offroad, or hillclimb enthusiast, so power and wheelspin on loose surfaces is not a problem for me. My cycling is country lanes and byways, and the newer generation of physically small front hub motors is ideal for my needs. Most of my bikes (and the recumbent trike) have Q100 front motors from BMS. They're not much bigger than dyno hubs, and very light, yet have plenty of power for me, as long as the right RPM for wheel size is selected.

I tried a 350 watt rear hub in my Giant Trance full sus bike, but it made it very tail heavy, and unwieldy on country paths, even when being pushed or manhandled.

Another consideration is the ease of puncture repairs. I found it much easier to do a roadside repair with a front hub motor than a rear hub motor. The combination of the weight, power cable, derailleur chain and torque arm can make removal and refitting tricky at the roadside, compared to an un-powered rear wheel and a straightforward front wheel motor.

All of my conversions have meaty torque arms, and I would imagine that forks, steering heads and bearings are built to withstand considerable forces from the riders weight during braking deceleration from the front wheel, greater than any loading from 15-20 mph front hub motors.

 

[Ruadh495]

My experience is that loss of front traction under power is a pretty minor issue. It only happens at very low speeds and doesn't cause significant loss of control. In fact my impression is that power to the front wheel improves steering control on loose surfaces. Personally I like the idea of spreading the drive across both contact patches.

Bikes vary quite a bit in weight distribution, depending on the rider position. I like an upright position and did find a front motor / rear battery layout rather light on the front and prone to slip. My preference is a front motor / front battery, but with a more front biased riding position that would probably put too much weight on the front.

 

[Deleted member 4366]

Yes, for normal 250w motors, there's not a lot in it. For very steep climbs, I find that a rear motor gives more traction and less noise. The front motor can be better in the snow, but only if it's the right type of snow. There's no problem of stability with a front motor. Even if it spins or washes out, you won't fall off contrary to popular belief. In fact, I'd say that it has more stability than a rear or middle motor.

 

[anotherkiwi]

I don't like the weight in the front wheel it feels un-bicycle like.