My name is Stuart

[StuartsProjects]

And I am from Cardiff.

Now a retired Electronics enginner and Computer support guy. Hobbies are long distance communications with Arduinos and the like but still plenty of time to fiddle with bikes.

I recently fitted a Swytch kit to my Brompton which I bought almost 20 years back for commuting to Bristol and back on the train. The electric setup is OK for short commuting type trips, but in the area where I live the roads are so bad the ride is a bit harsh to be fun for long. The extra stiffness of the front wheel cannot help.

I have an old style Mountain bike, its a 26” wheel custom Titanium Rock Lobster, with mostly Shimano Deore XT stuff, Hope mini Hydraulics and Marzocchi front shocks. The ride is a lot more comfortable on the roads than the Brompton. I thought to do an ebike conversion on it and have a Bafang 250W rear hub motor kit due to arrive in a couple of days.

I can see that the PAS is not straightforward on the Hollowtech cranks, I have ordered one of the PAS disks with the large hole, so I hope to avoid having to replace the cranks.

The Hope hydraulics are not working so well, and the levers wont really take the brake sensors, so they are going to be replaced with cable operated disks.

I was hoping to keep the 9 speed index of the transmission, but the Bafang hub needs a 7 speed freewheel so I may end up replacing the shifters with 7 speed ones, which is not the end of the World.

The frame triangle is fairly small but fortunatley a 36V 10Ah bootle type battery does fit.

 

[sjpt]

Good luck with it. Are you sure you can't connect sensors (hydraulic brake sensors) to the brake levers? They were really easy to connect to my levers (very different from yours but the principle is the same), it seem a big shame to downgrade your brakes.

e.g. https://wooshbikes.co.uk/cart/#/product/uid-104-hdbs/pair-of-hydraulic-brake-sensors-for-bbs0102
though they suggest they'll only supply with a kit. There are lots for less on ebay as well.

 

[StuartsProjects]

Good luck with it. Are you sure you can't connect sensors (hydraulic brake sensors) to the brake levers? They were really easy to connect to my levers (very different from yours but the principle is the same), it seem a big shame to downgrade your brakes.

e.g. https://wooshbikes.co.uk/cart/#/product/uid-104-hdbs/pair-of-hydraulic-brake-sensors-for-bbs0102
though they suggest they'll only supply with a kit. There are lots for less on ebay as well.

I have looked at the levers quite a bit, but they are hinged in just about the worst place, with the magnet on the lever, it barely moves (relativly) when the lever is operated, see picture.

 

[vfr400]

Your hope brakes are the best thing about your bike. it seems a shame to have to replace them, especially for cable disc brakes, which are generally pretty useless. It sounds like you haven't bought the best kit for what you need. A cassette motor kit only costs a few quid more and would have worked with your present gears. Maybe next time you van sort it.

Let's think what to do about the brakes. There are several options.

1. You can buy complete hydraulic brakes with switches for not too much. Tektro do them, or there's these. I don't know if theyre any good but I'd takre a punt on them:

UK eBike Hydraulic Disc Front+Rear Oil Brakes Aluminium Alloy Braking 1 pairs | eBay

Using international standard mineral brake oil, the brakes are flexible, the hand feels comfortable, and the brakes have no abnormal sound. 1pair of Brake oil disc. legnth of the housing: 800cm (front) / 1500mm (rear).

www.ebay.co.uk

2. Add switches to your present ones. This can always be done, but it requires a bit of ingenuity to figure out how to get the bits mounted in the right place with or without additional parts. There's also an inline pressure switch. some are only compatible with certain brake fluids, so check that if you install one:

Pressure switch for eBike, for all rim and MT disc brakes until MY2014, closer

Pressure switch for eBike, for all rim and MT disc brakes until MY2014, closer

scuffwheels.com

3. KT controllers have a fast enough response that you don't really need brake switches. If your kit doesn't come with a KT controller and has a too long cut-off, rather than buy stupid cable brakes, you could spend your money on a KT controller, which might be a lot better than the one that comes with your kit. They cost about £70 and can vastly improve your riding experience if your kit comes with a crappy controller.

Show us what kit you ordered.

Finally, you need a DNP freewheel with an 11T top gear to put on your motor, otherwise the gearing will be too low. You can normally find them on Ebay or Aliexpress.

 

[StuartsProjects]

Well I cant give you a link, but there is a picture attached, although I ordered the 36V 250W version. Granted it might not be the best choice, but there are a lot of supply issues at the moment, so not so much choice.

I would like to get the Hopes working at some point, they are a bit of history after all, but I will need to check if the pistons etc can be replaced, this set date from circa 2002 ish. When they were bought they cost around £140 each.

Thanks for the tip about the freewheel, there are 11-28 ones on eBay, around £22. I would have bought a 14-28.

 

[vfr400]

It's a KT controller, so no problem. You can forget about brake switches if you want. If your pistons/calipers are knackered and you want to replace the brakes, those ones with switches above might be worth a punt - definitely better than cable ones.

The kit looks OK, but it wouldn't surprise me if they do a slightly more expensive cassette version, which would have been the better option because of the gears. Anyway, that kit with 7 speed gears is going to be better than any bike with no motor and 9 speed gears.

 

[StuartsProjects]

I have bought a sensor to try out, and a spare is always handy.

Its possible that the sensor could be put an an extension plate, so the end of the sensor vertically is above the brake lever and about 25mm out from the hinge, then the magnet would fall away from the sensor, drawing attached.

 

[StuartsProjects]

The kit looks OK, but it wouldn't surprise me if they do a slightly more expensive cassette version, which would have been the better option because of the gears. Anyway, that kit with 7 speed gears is going to be better than any bike with no motor and 9 speed gears.

I did try to find a geared rear hub Bafang for cassette, when I was looking a month or so back, but no stock.

Do Bafang make a geared rear hub motor that will take a 9 speed cassette ?

 

[vfr400]

I have bought a sensor to try out, and a spare is always handy.

Its possible that the sensor could be put an an extension plate, so the end of the sensor vertically is above the brake lever and about 25mm out from the hinge, then the magnet would fall away from the sensor, drawing attached.

Where there's a will theres a way.

Incidentally, it is possible to fit the kit's pedal sensor on your bike to the left side crank as long as you have a 68mm bottom bracket, which you probably have.

Assuming that you have a normal 25mm Hollowtech crank, You take the crank off and remove any spacers behind the bearing holders, drill out the centre of the magnet disc to 25mm, then reassemble everything with the magned disc trapped between the pedal arm and bearing.

Whichever one that you use, test that it works before you assemble the left hand crank to make sure that you have the correct direction. If it works when you turn the pedals backwards, flip the disc.

 

[vfr400]

I did try to find a geared rear hub Bafang for cassette, when I was looking a month or so back, but no stock.

Do Bafang make a geared rear hub motor that will take a 9 speed cassette ?

Yes, loads. There are other motors to, some of which are better. You don't see Bafang motors in kits these days. they're more OEM. Most of the resellers deal in smaller quantities so buy the motors from factories that make clones.

If your kit is this one, the close up of the motor shows a cassette motor, but it might be a mistake in the listing, which would normally have the word cassette in the title., so I'd wait to see what you get before ordering any gears or shifters. On the other hand, that picture might be just their attempt to get a photo of a motor with Bafang written on it, when what you really get is one of the unbranded clones. Let's hope. Good luck.

Pardon our interruption...

www.ebay.co.uk

 

[StuartsProjects]

On the other hand, that picture might be just their attempt to get a photo of a motor with Bafang written on it

Surely your not suggesting someone selling on ebay would attempt to misslead people ....................

 

[vfr400]

Surely your not suggesting someone selling on ebay would attempt to misslead people ....................

No, they just make a lot of mistakes in their listings, especially ebike stuff. it'll be great if you get a cassette motor.

 

[StuartsProjects]

Your hope brakes are the best thing about your bike. it seems a shame to have to replace them, especially for cable disc brakes, which are generally pretty useless.

I have tried the (cheap) cable brakes, and whilst they work and do stop the bike they definetly dont have the feel or control of the hope hydraulics.

I contacted Hope, and although these brakes date back to circa 2002, the spares are still available. They will also carry out a complete overhaul for £50 a brake, which considering the cost of these dual cylinder brakes is not bad at all.