Having electrified my old Saracen back in the summer, I was so pleased to be back into cycling that I decided to treat myself to a new bike.
I spent ages looking for a suitable bike (with 26" wheels so I could keep the same motor wheel) : the secondhand ones were either overpriced (to my mind) or looked difficult to fit the battery within the frame.
I finally came across a brand new 2012 model Forme Stag which had been lost in the back of a warehouse - perfect! Not particularly light at around 13.5kg (the same as my 25-year old steel MTB!), but with all the right bits : 26" wheels, Rockshox Recon forks, 27-speed Deore SLX gears and Shimano disc brakes.
I have transferred my existing Woosh XF08 CST kit, only having to buy a pair of hydraulic brake sensors.
First of all it was white bike day - the Forme and an ebay purchase for my grandson arrived simultaneously.
I was in despair with the brake sensors - the supplied magnet was too strong or too weak - depending on which way it was oriented - and impossible to do a neat job with. I remembered that I had some tiny magnets left over from another project and these turned out to be perfect : three together provided just the right strength. Thanks to DC on this forum who introduced me to Sugru, the job has turned out pretty neat.
The pedelec disc was fun too. The granny cog is so near to the seat tube that I ended up with a 2mm acrylic spacer glued to the cog. It is JUST enough to clear the chain! I had tried a 3mm thick one, but there was not room to fit the sensor. The spacer is shaped to clear the bolts which hold the granny cog on - and hold it in position whilst the glue sets. The pedelec disc is in turn glued to the spacer with impact adhesive.
I was worried that the motor was going to foul the brake caliper - I had measured as best I could and thought that I would probably have to get a bigger disc rotor. It turns out that it just fits with the standard 160mm rotor : about 1.5mm clearance between the "shoulder" of the motor and the edge of the caliper. Added a couple of thick washers to the axle to get the rotor in line with the caliper and job done.
Neither of the bottle cage bolts was right for the battery holder, so I ended up putting three rivnuts in.
I bought a cheapy rivnut tool this time as I didn't want to risk damaging the frame or paintwork inserting them using the bodgo method.
I made a mistake - I was so keen to get the battery down low that I didn't leave enough room for the spare cables to go up behind it, so these are now on the side of the seat tube which looks a bit unfortunate.
I have a cunning plan to hide the spare cabling in tubes under the battery, but haven't had time to try this yet.
Even so, the bike has ended up looking pretty good and it rides well too -
Many thanks to Andy Hall at Woosh for putting up with all my emails and giving me lots of advice!
I spent ages looking for a suitable bike (with 26" wheels so I could keep the same motor wheel) : the secondhand ones were either overpriced (to my mind) or looked difficult to fit the battery within the frame.
I finally came across a brand new 2012 model Forme Stag which had been lost in the back of a warehouse - perfect! Not particularly light at around 13.5kg (the same as my 25-year old steel MTB!), but with all the right bits : 26" wheels, Rockshox Recon forks, 27-speed Deore SLX gears and Shimano disc brakes.
I have transferred my existing Woosh XF08 CST kit, only having to buy a pair of hydraulic brake sensors.
First of all it was white bike day - the Forme and an ebay purchase for my grandson arrived simultaneously.
I was in despair with the brake sensors - the supplied magnet was too strong or too weak - depending on which way it was oriented - and impossible to do a neat job with. I remembered that I had some tiny magnets left over from another project and these turned out to be perfect : three together provided just the right strength. Thanks to DC on this forum who introduced me to Sugru, the job has turned out pretty neat.
The pedelec disc was fun too. The granny cog is so near to the seat tube that I ended up with a 2mm acrylic spacer glued to the cog. It is JUST enough to clear the chain! I had tried a 3mm thick one, but there was not room to fit the sensor. The spacer is shaped to clear the bolts which hold the granny cog on - and hold it in position whilst the glue sets. The pedelec disc is in turn glued to the spacer with impact adhesive.
I was worried that the motor was going to foul the brake caliper - I had measured as best I could and thought that I would probably have to get a bigger disc rotor. It turns out that it just fits with the standard 160mm rotor : about 1.5mm clearance between the "shoulder" of the motor and the edge of the caliper. Added a couple of thick washers to the axle to get the rotor in line with the caliper and job done.
Neither of the bottle cage bolts was right for the battery holder, so I ended up putting three rivnuts in.
I bought a cheapy rivnut tool this time as I didn't want to risk damaging the frame or paintwork inserting them using the bodgo method.
I made a mistake - I was so keen to get the battery down low that I didn't leave enough room for the spare cables to go up behind it, so these are now on the side of the seat tube which looks a bit unfortunate.
I have a cunning plan to hide the spare cabling in tubes under the battery, but haven't had time to try this yet.
Even so, the bike has ended up looking pretty good and it rides well too -
Many thanks to Andy Hall at Woosh for putting up with all my emails and giving me lots of advice!
