Carrera Vulcan front hub installation

[BenG102]

Hi everyone,

I was wondering if anyone has ever fitted a 500w 48v front hub motor kit on a Carrera Vulcan before. I have been watching a few videos on other bikes but I am worried that the kit I am hoping to buy will cause the wheel to not fit into the front bracket because of the hydraulic brakes. I have attached a photo of the bike kit I am hoping to purchase. TIA

 

[Az.]

Is it 500W motor? looks like 1.5KW

On front wheel it will look insane. I won't mention problems it can cause...

 

[BenG102]

Is it 500W motor? looks like 1.5KW

On front wheel it will look insane. I won't mention problems it can cause...

It is a 500w

 

[Az.]

Can you post a link please?

 

[BenG102]

Can you post a link please?

27.5" 48V 500w Ebike conversion kit | eBay

Here at ebikes-lanarkshire. com we have our 48V 27.5" 500w Ebike conversion kit. Like for like, possibly the best priced ebike kit in the UK. Scottish Highlands, AB 1 9, 13, 14, 21, 22, 23, 24 - 45, IV 1 - 56, FK 19 - 21, KW 1 - 14, PA 62 - 76, PA 77, KA 28, KA 29.

www.ebay.co.uk

 

[Az.]

Seller does not provide enough information.

...but I would never install anything like that on front fork which is made of aluminum.

 

[BenG102]

Seller does not provide enough information.

...but I would never install anything like that on front fork which is made of aluminum.

Why not?

 

[Az.]

Why not?

It looks very heavy and 500W is a lot. It wouldn't be safe.

 

[BenG102]

It looks very heavy and 500W is a lot. It wouldn't be safe.

Would it be okay with a steel torque arm

 

[saneagle]

You need to change the forks to steel rigid ones to fit that motor. It has a 14mm x 10mm axle, so won't fit in your drop-outs without a lot of filing, which leaves them too weak to resist the torque of the motor.

You' d be much better off with a rear geared motor than one of those boat anchors.

 

[BenG102]

You need to change the forks to steel rigid ones to fit that motor. It has a 14mm x 10mm axle, so won't fit in your drop-outs without a lot of filing, which leaves them too weak to resist the torque of the motor.

Thank you for your help. I tried to contact the seller but he didn't seem to give much info. This might be why.

 

[saneagle]

Thank you for your help. I tried to contact the seller but he didn't seem to give much info. This might be why.

Front hub-motors that size and weight are absolutely terrible. If you must have a motor like that, get a cheap catalogue bike with a steel triangle frame and fit a rear one - about £30 -£100 on Facebook ads. With those motors, you don't want a decent bike because all you need is a frame to hold the motor and battery and a decent seat to sit on. The only important things are brakes, which need to be hydraulic discs, which are an easy upgrade to any donor bike with cable disc brakes. Gears and light weight components are useless.

In case you don't know, police are clamping down on bikes with those illegal motors, so be careful in your choice.

 

[thelarkbox]

View attachment 54692Hi everyone,

I was wondering if anyone has ever fitted a 500w 48v front hub motor kit on a Carrera Vulcan before. I have been watching a few videos on other bikes but I am worried that the kit I am hoping to buy will cause the wheel to not fit into the front bracket because of the hydraulic brakes. I have attached a photo of the bike kit I am hoping to purchase. TIA

What are you looking for in your post upgrade ebike?
Is it speed or perhaps the need to haul heavy cargo that has you looking at 500w+ motors?Or are you looking to tear up muddy banks?

If we knew what you wanted from your ebike it would be easier to suggest options that could satisfy.

For example if required the bafang mid drives are available in larger motor ratings while remaining very similar in size and shape as the 'legal' 250w drive,

Also a simple controller upgrade can have a significant impact on both removing regulated restrictions And providing the capacity to feed even more watts to a stock ebike or conversion kit motor.

But 'invisibility' of a larger motor or controller capacity could become irrelevant should plod clock you at >15mph speeds without pedaling for 5 minutes rolling uphill on the kings highway. Well it might? police complacency isnt something you want to rely on when your driving license could be on the line,

 

[Sturmey]

I put a 26 inch rear hub motor wheel (which are more easy to get than 27.5) on a secondhand Carrera Vengence lately (which I suspect may be similar to the Vulcan in some ways). It looked and handled OK despite the wheel been slightly smaller than the 27.5 normally fitted. There is really only 12mm difference on the rim radius (584 - 559 divided by 2) and one option could be to make up most of the difference by fitting a wider rear tyre.
One difficulty is the very shallow dropouts and you have to be careful with the very light aluminum gear hanger that becomes very weak after I filed/deepened the dropouts with the wheel off. I also needed to add small washers to move up the brake calipers.
Fitting some type of torque arms or homemade retaining brackets may be a better option than filing with a new bike but I did not mind filing as I got the bike very cheap.
I'm not sure how you would work out with the gears as the Vengeance is 8 speed and easier to match.
I did consider fitting a 250W soft start front hub setup on the Suntour XCM 30 forks but I believe the forks can crack if the the wheel is incorrectly fitted or the nuts are not properly tightened.