Newbie looking for help

[Minicheff]

Hi there! First of all, I apologise for possible misspelling as English isn’t my first language.
Well, I have a decathlon riverside 500, hybrid bike, 28” wheels and I bought a yose power kit, the rear motor wheel one to install it myself (never touched a bike in my life, I know, wtf was I thinking)
The main problem is that the wheel doesn’t fit in my rear fork, it is too narrow.
Is there anything I can do to fix this?
In which models of bikes could I use this conversion kit without any problems if I decide to buy another bike?
Thanks in advance for any advice on this!

 

[vfr400]

Can you show us what you've got? Is it a front motor kit?

What is "it" that's too narrow, the motor or the fork?

 

[Minicheff]

Sure, I’ll try to explain better. It is a rear motor kit, it seems that the wheel itself is too wide for my frame and it doesn’t fit, the cassette bumps into the frame because the rear fork isn’t wide enough.
Thank you!

 

[vfr400]

OK, thanks, that makes sense now. Cassette motors are about 10mm wider than the frame, so you have to spring it in. You might need a big screwdriver or something like that to help lever the motor in.

Another thing you can do is get a piece of 10mm threaded rod, a couple of nuts and a couple of washers. Put the nuts inside the dropouts and unscrew one so that it jacks the drop-outs further apart. you have to go beyond the elastic limit to get permanent widening, which means you might have to jack them out to 160mm or more to get them to spring back to 145mm. If you permanently adjust them like that, it'll be easier to get the wheel in and out in the future. Last time I did that, I used lengths of wood to lever them apart using one piece as a wedge:

 

[Minicheff]

thanks a lot for your reply, very informative.
By spring it in do you mean inserting the wheel pulling the frame from both sides? With brute force? Lol. Sorry I dont really know the expression “spring it in”

do you reckon this kit could fit better in a mtb? I think they’ve got wider rear forks, isn’t it?
Thanks very much!

 

[vfr400]

Yes, just pull or lever the forks apart to get the motor in. All bikes have the same 135 mm wide rear forks. Its a standard. There are some exceptions, but those are mainly unsuitable for motors. The amount of force you need to put the motor in depends on the construction and stiffness of the frame. Bikes with 20" wheels are the worst.

 

[Benjahmin]

Yes, that's what he means. It does mean that, once you've got the wheel in, it is gripped tightly by the frame. This makes getting it in and out (for maintenance, puncture repair etc) very difficult.
Better to permanantly bend the frame as described, using threaded rod and nuts.
I've done this on folding bikes (where the rear forks are much shorter) without damage. So your bike should be fine.

 

[Minicheff]

Thank you! Actually I managed to put the wheel in and all sorted for now.
I have a problem though, my calliper is way too big to fit where it was before so I’ve got no rear brake...what could I do to fix this? I’ll illustrate with a pic of the situation so you can understand what I’m saying. I’ve been thinking in just leave it without a brake until I find a solution but I don’t know if I should.

 

[MontyPAS]

You will probably have to fabricate some sort of custom bracket.
You can be pretty sure that by bending out the frame to accommodate a different OLD size, that caliper mounting stub will not be be square to the disc

 

[Minicheff]

Would something like this work? https://www.amazon.co.uk/Black-Bracket-Adaptor-Mounting-Holder/dp/B073PVPV8K
Thanks for your help and patience

 

[MontyPAS]

Looks a little flimsy and uses the frame and wheel to clamp in place in addition to clamping to the seatstay!
Every time you remove rear wheel you may have to remove bracket = A real pain!
Also existing mounting stub may be in the way.

Others may have used bracket, I have not. Just my observations!

 

[Minicheff]

So I don’t know how to proceed then I think this is the end of this project then.
Thank you all anyways

 

[MontyPAS]

So I don’t know how to proceed then I think this is the end of this project then.
Thank you all anyways

Hold fire. Others will advise!

 

[Nealh]

First thing when fitting /spacing the hub axle in the drop out is to start with the brake side first. If necessary fit the tabbed AR washer in board of the D/O and extra spacing washers if needed so calliper mounts and sits correctly then look at the other side. It may be that the drop outs need to be spread a bit more.

 

[vfr400]

That's it above. You need a couple of washers or some sort of spacer on the axle between the motor and the drop-out. Arrange the spacers so that the caliper is in the middle of its sideways adjustment.

That will make the motor even wider and the frame will have to be stretched further, but there is nothing you can do about that.

Every time I fit a rear motor, I fit one extra 12mm washer inside the tab-washer to get the caliper in the right position relative to the motor/disc. The tab washer should be installed inboard of the drop-out. The complete sequence is therefore motor, 12mm washer, tab washer, drop-out, 12mm washer nut, plastic cover.

 

[Minicheff]

That's it above. You need a couple of washers or some sort of spacer on the axle between the motor and the drop-out. Arrange the spacers so that the caliper is in the middle of its sideways adjustment.

That will make the motor even wider and the frame will have to be stretched further, but there is nothing you can do about that.

Every time I fit a rear motor, I fit one extra 12mm washer inside the tab-washer to get the caliper in the right position relative to the motor/disc. The tab washer should be installed inboard of the drop-out. The complete sequence is therefore motor, 12mm washer, tab washer, drop-out, 12mm washer nut, plastic cover.

I see! Wouldn’t this affect the frame too much?

are tab washers this?
thanks a lot!

 

[esuark]

tab washer

 

[vfr400]

Like the third or fourth in this picture:

 

[Minicheff]

Brill! Thanks a lot for your help, I’ll keep this thread updated with my future concerns