Hi, thanks to what I've read on these fora and after trying out examples on display at the NEC recently I'm looking to convert my touring/city bike (a Dawes steel frame with Nexus rear wheel hub gears) to electric. I have a 30 mile round commute which is quite hilly in parts so looking for high capacity battery (17AH). Feeling a bit hesitant about the reliability of crank drives and the additional wear put on the chain with a central motor so a front hub motor is looking a safer option. At the NEC I tried front hub bikes with cadence sensors and torque sensors and much preferred the torque option. Of the kits I've seen so far the Whoose torque sensor front hub kit most closely fits the bill given the compromises needed in converting an existing bike. The only downside is that wouldn't allow me to run a front hub dynamo nor draw current off the battery to power lights (according to Woosh) so I'll be forced to carry on using the bottle dynamo the bike already has - not a deal breaker.
Just a few questions therefore, with experience of front hubs particularly appreciated prior to putting in an order.
1. Battery voltage - Woosh mention both 36V and 48V batteries, are there any advantages to going for 48 or is it a case of one is for road legal bikes and the other is too powerful and therefore not an option for commuting? I've no intention of breaching the 250W/25kph rules.
2. Battery placement and security - my downtube is 61cm measured internally from headset to bottom bracket with a couple of drinks bottle lugs about 10cm and 20cm from the bottom bracket. Would I need to fit additional rivnuts? I saw a link to someone who had drilled through the metal plate in the battery controller unit which I guess I'd have to do if I was to reutilise the existing lugs - any thoughts on that? Alternatively I could go for a rear rack battery, but I already carry about 8kg of work gear in rear panniers so lots of load at the back. How secure are batteries attached - I'm aware they have some sort of barrel lock and key but the downtube attachment looks like a couple of rivets going through a plastic body that could easily be snapped off. A battery in the rear rack could be removed with just an Allen key.
So if I go with a downtube battery is it possible to lock or clamp batteries more securely to the downtube, especially if you have to leave the bike in an open space all day? If I go with a battery at the back, has anyone tried keeping both the battery and the controller it clips into inside a rear pannier bag, or would it be too fiddly to disconnect the combined controller and battery each time I wanted to stop somewhere? Without actually looking at a conversion I can't tell how many wires run into the controller and whether they could be repeatedly pulled apart from the controller (I assume the thing the wires feed into that the battery clips into is some sort of controller)?
3. Any other lighting options that I've not considered or would a bottle dynamo and LED lights tick the box? I tend not to cycle with daytime lights so it would only be needed when dark.
4. With a front hub motor and torque sensor what's the longest I could expect to climb without the motor cutting out? The worst hill of the commute reaches 1 in 10 in parts for half a mile.
5. Do torque sensors also measure cadence? If I was unfortunate enough to snap the chain but had a cadence sensor I could just spin the pedals and the motor would get me home if battery juice allowed. Would that happen with a torque sensor and wheel motor too or not?
Just a few questions therefore, with experience of front hubs particularly appreciated prior to putting in an order.
1. Battery voltage - Woosh mention both 36V and 48V batteries, are there any advantages to going for 48 or is it a case of one is for road legal bikes and the other is too powerful and therefore not an option for commuting? I've no intention of breaching the 250W/25kph rules.
2. Battery placement and security - my downtube is 61cm measured internally from headset to bottom bracket with a couple of drinks bottle lugs about 10cm and 20cm from the bottom bracket. Would I need to fit additional rivnuts? I saw a link to someone who had drilled through the metal plate in the battery controller unit which I guess I'd have to do if I was to reutilise the existing lugs - any thoughts on that? Alternatively I could go for a rear rack battery, but I already carry about 8kg of work gear in rear panniers so lots of load at the back. How secure are batteries attached - I'm aware they have some sort of barrel lock and key but the downtube attachment looks like a couple of rivets going through a plastic body that could easily be snapped off. A battery in the rear rack could be removed with just an Allen key.
So if I go with a downtube battery is it possible to lock or clamp batteries more securely to the downtube, especially if you have to leave the bike in an open space all day? If I go with a battery at the back, has anyone tried keeping both the battery and the controller it clips into inside a rear pannier bag, or would it be too fiddly to disconnect the combined controller and battery each time I wanted to stop somewhere? Without actually looking at a conversion I can't tell how many wires run into the controller and whether they could be repeatedly pulled apart from the controller (I assume the thing the wires feed into that the battery clips into is some sort of controller)?
3. Any other lighting options that I've not considered or would a bottle dynamo and LED lights tick the box? I tend not to cycle with daytime lights so it would only be needed when dark.
4. With a front hub motor and torque sensor what's the longest I could expect to climb without the motor cutting out? The worst hill of the commute reaches 1 in 10 in parts for half a mile.
5. Do torque sensors also measure cadence? If I was unfortunate enough to snap the chain but had a cadence sensor I could just spin the pedals and the motor would get me home if battery juice allowed. Would that happen with a torque sensor and wheel motor too or not?