Hi, I'm researching whether it would be possible to convert my Pashley Roadster Sovereign 5 gear hub to front hub drive to give me some help on my proposed LeJoG (well I will be 78!). My head is spinning with 'Don't do its', 'buy a bike with a million gears', 'Pashley forks won't stand the brake-force if you add a rim brake instead of the hub brake' (which of course will have to go!) 'It'll make a heavy bike even heavier, forget it!' and the like. So, has anyone converted a Pashley Sovereign and more particularly, what do real people think of the Easi-fit Ebike kit,? It seems simple, controllable, so I need only use it on steep hills if I want to (and get a second battery to overcome range anxiety!) if a tad expensive. Any thoughts, please?
Easi-fit Ebike front hub kit
- Thread starter MikeG
- Start date
Hi Mike
I'm really surprised at the lack of replies to this.
My advice is do leJog! I can't help on the tech ebike side, I have just bought our first ebikes, folders for your campervan, and I've come in here as we had *soo* much fun on the bikes in the 30 mins we've used them for (neither of us are cyclists btw) because I'm now thinking of converting one of my MTBs, keeping it as light and minimally assisted as possible.
Marc
I'm really surprised at the lack of replies to this.
My advice is do leJog! I can't help on the tech ebike side, I have just bought our first ebikes, folders for your campervan, and I've come in here as we had *soo* much fun on the bikes in the 30 mins we've used them for (neither of us are cyclists btw) because I'm now thinking of converting one of my MTBs, keeping it as light and minimally assisted as possible.
Marc
He gave no link to the kit and no link to the bike. That's why nobody replied.
General feelings about Pashley bikes are that they're difficult to convert, so why choose one of them to do the trip on, and second thing is that there are many pifalls when installing a front motor. I cringe when I see names like Easi-fit.
There are thousands of nice efficient and comfortable bikes that are easy to convert and lots of really good kits that we know everything about. Why make things difficult?
Everything is possible if you have enough knowhow, means and motivation.
A lot of posters expect us to do the homework for them, lazy posting with no pics of the bike. Why should we waste time looking for a bike that might be or not be the same.
I must admit, that I have stopped replying to many requests for help when people don't show us what they have. They give a catalogue number, name of something or photo of a label and expect that we know every single ebike product in the world. It's very tedious having to do research to try and figure out what they're on about.
I read OP's post when it was first posted, but I didn't have the motivation to reply.
Because it's there?
I mean he doesn't have to do lejog, and perhaps his bike is an old favourite. I have a very old mountain bike, which, with 30 mins experience of ebikes, I'm now thinking of converting. I have an idea I need a motor, a 1kg battery if such a thing exists (I've tried googling 1.4 kg, 1.3 kg doesn't really work this approach although I did get one 1.2 kg hit) a controller and some wires. It may not be a sensible idea to convert a 20+ year old bike, but why not.
It's a Pashley Sovereign! Would you like to explain how to convvert one? I've been converting every sort of bike for ten years, and if a bloke turned up with one of those to convert, I'd send him away yo find another bike to convert.
A member did one here with a mid-drive motor (not a front hub).
Mid Drive Pashley Sovereign TSDZ2 | Pedelecs - Electric Bike Community
Mid Drive Pashley Sovereign TSDZ2 | Pedelecs - Electric Bike Community
Marc, hi and thank you for your post/response to my original request, very grateful. Sorry I didn't spot your post earlier things have gone apace since my original post (and no responses at all, as you noticed until your post after which there were many, mostly assuming I am lazy, expecting others to do their 'work' for them, not posting pix of the bike etc. I'm not familiar with the etiquette in this posting world and made the obviously unwarranted assumptions that the Pashley was a well-known English bike brand and Easifit a well-known brand in the Pedelec community; obviously wrong! Ah well, I shan't allow the posters who did take a jaundiced view of my request for views to take a similarly-jaundiced view of the general Pedelec community, although I shall be more careful in any future postings not to upset others by being naive!
I did my own research, of course, though it was difficult to track down those who did have a view, and the result was that Pashley's are impossible to front-wheel or rear-wheel convert without considerable re-engineering expense and in the words of the helpful guy I was referred to 'it can be done, but you'd end up with a 'botched Pashley at more expense than it was worth. So I took the plunge and bought an excellent condition Thorn Mercury Mk 2 with discs and a Rohloff hub and will do the LeJoG on that (and with some extensive training and enough time on the trip to do it under my own steam and not at the expense of some Chinese workers!). So, I've taken your kind primary advice and will do the LeJoG!
Many thanks for your post and enjoy your ebikes!
Mike G
So, dear vfr400 Esteemed Pedelecer, my assumption about the community knowing about Pashleys and their challenges to convert wasn't such a stupid expectation after all, was it? But also please see my reply to a kind member whose own post brought out a considerable number of replies and what I did next after no feedback. Enjoy your pedelecing.
I don't have to pedal pedal because I can use the motor that our kind Chinese friends supplied to me. It's you that might enjoy pedalling. I'll enjoy motoring. I'm just out for a ride now while the sun is shining.
Just come across this thread.
The old fashioned sit-up-and-beg ride on my old vintage Pashley is a joy. I use mine mostly around town.
Rod brakes, yes, a bit quirky, SturmeyArcher gearing, full chainguard and rear carrier with panniers means I don't fancy fixing a puncture far from home......so I put on Sch.Marathons to avoid issues.
I laced a Yosepower motor into the old wheel and the big 36v 20 AHr battery is tucked away under the panniers (and underneath the rear carrier which I raised by 10cm.) Weight is not an issue. Hey, what's a few extra Kg when its already 26kg+! Throttle gets me moving off swiftly. I can go 25-30 kph for 40+ miles. Love it. Black wiring on racing green frame is unobtrusive.
I recommend converting and using your vintage bike, if you like your Pashley.
The old fashioned sit-up-and-beg ride on my old vintage Pashley is a joy. I use mine mostly around town.
Rod brakes, yes, a bit quirky, SturmeyArcher gearing, full chainguard and rear carrier with panniers means I don't fancy fixing a puncture far from home......so I put on Sch.Marathons to avoid issues.
I laced a Yosepower motor into the old wheel and the big 36v 20 AHr battery is tucked away under the panniers (and underneath the rear carrier which I raised by 10cm.) Weight is not an issue. Hey, what's a few extra Kg when its already 26kg+! Throttle gets me moving off swiftly. I can go 25-30 kph for 40+ miles. Love it. Black wiring on racing green frame is unobtrusive.
I recommend converting and using your vintage bike, if you like your Pashley.
Attachments
If anyone interested, the way I attached my battery to the underside of the Pashley rear carrier was by using several, 2 inch wide Velcro tapes. Wonderfully strong strapping. Easy to tension and then remove if required.
Can get 5m rolls on ebay quite inexpensive. Velcro was cut down as required to make small bindings to keep the ebike wires in place. Much better and user-friendly than the zip ties supplied in the motor kits.
Can get 5m rolls on ebay quite inexpensive. Velcro was cut down as required to make small bindings to keep the ebike wires in place. Much better and user-friendly than the zip ties supplied in the motor kits.
Big hidden battery is a plus. I wouldn't have a clue how to lace a wheel, did you learn it? Were the spokes ordered as per a calculator or cut your own? Kudos for keeping it so original!
Some really good YouTube tutorials on lacing a motor into a rim. Also free apps to get the right spoke lengths.
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