FRONT HUB KIT.

[rayg]

I am thinking of putting a Front wheel hub kit onto my touring bike.
Has anyone done touring with a front hub ?
I understand about a Mid drive and a Rear drive maybe better, but has anyone done it with a front hub and if so what distances and with what weight. ?

 

[vfr400]

Can you explain why you want to fit a front motor and what bike you want to install it in?

 

[rayg]

Because its cheaper. The bike i have is a 10 speed touring bike.

 

[Jonah]

I haven’t yet done any great distances (max 40 miles) with my latest front hub tourer but don’t see any problems with it. I have previously done some 60 mile rides on my front hub Brompton. I have moved the battery / controller into a frame bag rather than as originally located in a front bag.

 

[vfr400]

You have to be careful with some of the cheap kits, especially the ones with an LED type control panel or no control panel at all. Those ones often have no power regulation. Not all kits are born equal and it's worth paying a bit more to get a smoother quieter motor and decent power regulation.

Don't even think about getting one of those big direct drive motors to a 10 speed racer type bike.

Rather than give us cryptic clues, why not show us what bike you have and tell us wat you're trying to achieve, then we can give you proper advice?

 

[rayg]

I have a Country Revolution Premier Touring bike 10 speed which i originally had from Edinburgh cycles.
I had a Mid Drive 250 watt byfang 8 fun motor fitted, and i did the Coast to Coast twice with it with panniers and camping gear and I have done over 8000 miles with it in 2 years. It has now packed up on me..
I would have the same again but my supplier has discontinued them. So then had a I Pendix fitted (mid drive) last month which was supposed to be far superior but that developed a fault in less than a month. Ive taken that back now and Im looking around for something different. My intentions are to be doing around 40/50 miles round trips 3 times a week. I wont be camping or carrying heavy gear.
P.S i did 90% of my riding in Eco Mode.

 

[vfr400]

I would have thought that a rear cassette motor would be ideal. They're very reliable and easy to fix if anything does go wrong. Front motors work, but are noiser than rear ones and they make the bike's handling worse, so only fit one if there's no alternative.

The mk1 BBS01/02 motors weren't very well sealed against water and the white nylon gear was a bit weak, but they fixed that on the mk2. It's just the main spindle that's vulnerable now, but that's serviceable. Which one did you have and what went wrong? I still think a rear hub-motor would be better anyway, especially if you run one with 48v.

 

[Woosh]

I don't see anything wrong with a small front hub motor for a touring bike.
The OP uses his previous bike mostly in eco mode, it sounds perfectly appropriate for a lightweight front hub conversion like the XF07.

The advantages are:
- easy to fit. No dishing. No worries about spreading the rear triangle.
- easy to take the wheel off.
- probably lighter in weight and lighter on the pocket too.

http://wooshbikes.co.uk/cart/#/product/uid-192-xf07kit-13ah/xf07-front-hub-kit-with-13ah-battery

 

[rayg]

I would have thought that a rear cassette motor would be ideal. They're very reliable and easy to fix if anything does go wrong. Front motors work, but are noiser than rear ones and they make the bike's handling worse, so only fit one if there's no alternative.

The mk1 BBS01/02 motors weren't very well sealed against water and the white nylon gear was a bit weak, but they fixed that on the mk2. It's just the main spindle that's vulnerable now, but that's serviceable. Which one did you have and what went wrong? I still think a rear hub-motor would be better anyway, especially if you run one with 48v.

I find that interesting about the back hub, but i was a bit concerned that if i did have panniers the back would be too heavy ?

 

[KirstinS]

I am one of few , it seems, who quite like a front hub. For touring I see no issue - you may argue it better balances weight and is certainly more reliable than mid drive

Speed is your issue. Mid drives can easily exceed 15mph limit with a few button presses and sensible gearing. Hubs require more effort and hassle

For large scale touring a hub with separate controller is far cheaper to carry a spare controller or cheap led handover readout. I always think the controller is most likely to let go. Carrying a spare mid drive controller is possible of course but expensive

 

[Nealh]

Rear panniers with a rear hub I find doesn't affect motor, the only noticeable affect is the weight and handling/ balance if used for shopping as I often do. If groceries are heavy then handling like an unpowered bike is noticeable but weight wise a good motor/power deals with the weight quite nicely.
Touring wise distribution of weight at front and rear is the answer or a also think about a single wheel trailer.