Next Project - mum in law bike

[Peter.Bridge]

So, becoming a bit of a pedelec missionary after converting my Boardman 29er mtb, my wife getting a second hand Wisper 705 and sorting out my sister's 10 year old KTM Macina Cross so she can ride it again (Thanks @soundwave - got the NX branded battery from allbatteries.co.uk)
Next project is my mum in laws bike - she cycled miles and miles - would do 50 or 60 miles in a day no problem on her very old and very heavy (22kg) stepthrough "manual" bike, but was complaining it was hurting her knees and she was gradually using it less. We found a really lightweight women's modern Boardman hybrid secondhand, she gave it a go but she couldn't get on with the "racy" geometry so has sold it on. She has now inherited my wife's 10 year oldish Raleigh Pioneer step through, which she really likes and has been using, but still has to push up hills. She got caught up in the excitement of our ebikes and asked about the possibility of converting. She is very small and light and very fit - both hiking and cycling. She would want something that is more on the 'bit of assistance up hills" but still pedalling and adding her own effort rather than "ghost pedalling" level.
Wondering what the possibilities were - I was thinking a fairly big rear rack battery (to give her the range if she needed it) that she could take off before carrying the bike into the house, so the bike didn't become too heavy and unmanageable. The question was front hub, mid drive or rear hub ? I think the bottom bracket looked ok to convert - maybe a Bafang BBS01B - can you program the assit levels and speed limits in the same way as the BBS02B ? Front hub ? - someone mentioned having to change the forks when they did that on their Raleigh Pioneer. Rear Hub ? It has rim brakes - don't know if that makes a difference ?

Thanks

Pete

 

[Cadence]

How about this rack and battery:-
36V13Ah E-Bike Lithium-ion Rear Battery fit for 26"-28" Bike – YOSE POWER UK
I already had a pannier rack, so I got the downtube battery and screwed it to a piece of 9mm marine plywood fixed to the top.
You don't say what the wheel size is or whether the Pioneer has cassette or freewheel, but assuming 700c :-
36V350W26"/27.5"/28" Rear E-Bike Conversion Kit for Cassette – YOSE POWER UK
Yose also do similar for a freewheel, but showing out of stock.

Their 350w. kits have a full throttle function and top speed setting. The 250w. kits are restricted to 15.5mph and the throttle is "walk assist" only. I've got a 250w. and a 350w. and there isn't a lot of difference performance-wise. If anything, the 250w seems slightly better on hills - possibly lower reduction gears. So far I've been quite impressed with them. They seem good value for money. You'll need to sort out the over-long cables. I did mine by running them up the back legs of the carrier racks on both bikes with cable wrap.
Are the rim brakes cantilever or v-brake? If canti's i would recommend changing them for v-brakes (straight swap on the existing mountings). You can then use the supplied brake levers with motor cut-outs as well. I did this on a 1992 Giant rigid steel-framed MTB and the brakes are a perfectly adequate.
Your Mum-in-law sounds a bit like me. I needed a bit of help on the hills, but thought ebikes were "cheating". At 72 years I'd started to realise my limitations but didn't want to get rid of two of my favourite bikes. I took a gamble on the Yose kits as I thought they looked a bit "cheap". Well, so far so good. With careful cable routing they are still "my bikes" and I can ride them without assist as before if I want to - albeit they are inevitably a bit heavier (but not more than if fitted with a couple of loaded pannier bags). They arrived within 3 days and were quite straightforward to fit. Email support is also good.

 

[Peter.Bridge]

How about this rack and battery:-
36V13Ah E-Bike Lithium-ion Rear Battery fit for 26"-28" Bike – YOSE POWER UK
I already had a pannier rack, so I got the downtube battery and screwed it to a piece of 9mm marine plywood fixed to the top.
You don't say what the wheel size is or whether the Pioneer has cassette or freewheel, but assuming 700c :-
36V350W26"/27.5"/28" Rear E-Bike Conversion Kit for Cassette – YOSE POWER UK
Yose also do similar for a freewheel, but showing out of stock.

Their 350w. kits have a full throttle function and top speed setting. The 250w. kits are restricted to 15.5mph and the throttle is "walk assist" only. I've got a 250w. and a 350w. and there isn't a lot of difference performance-wise. If anything, the 250w seems slightly better on hills - possibly lower reduction gears. So far I've been quite impressed with them. They seem good value for money. You'll need to sort out the over-long cables. I did mine by running them up the back legs of the carrier racks on both bikes with cable wrap.
Are the rim brakes cantilever or v-brake? If canti's i would recommend changing them for v-brakes (straight swap on the existing mountings). You can then use the supplied brake levers with motor cut-outs as well. I did this on a 1992 Giant rigid steel-framed MTB and the brakes are a perfectly adequate.
Your Mum-in-law sounds a bit like me. I needed a bit of help on the hills, but thought ebikes were "cheating". At 72 years I'd started to realise my limitations but didn't want to get rid of two of my favourite bikes. I took a gamble on the Yose kits as I thought they looked a bit "cheap". Well, so far so good. With careful cable routing they are still "my bikes" and I can ride them without assist as before if I want to - albeit they are inevitably a bit heavier (but not more than if fitted with a couple of loaded pannier bags). They arrived within 3 days and were quite straightforward to fit. Email support is also good.

Thanks - that looks very good value - wondering about the range with 36V/13Ah - I guess I could use any rear rack battery with that - e.g. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/134183994093?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=4cvcpjzisv-&sssrc=2047675&ssuid=e7wJGK-DRD6&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY ?

 

[Cadence]

Thanks - that looks very good value - wondering about the range with 36V/13Ah - I guess I could use any rear rack battery with that - e.g. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/134183994093?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=4cvcpjzisv-&sssrc=2047675&ssuid=e7wJGK-DRD6&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY ?

You'd need to carefully check the dimensions to make sure it fits and you'd need somewhere to put the controller. I managed to fit mine on the forward supports of the rack with a small plastic box.
The 13Ah downtube battery seems to have plenty of range but I've not given it a good long run yet. 7-8 miles at full PAS 5 and using full throttle to move off used less than a quarter of the capacity. As always it will depend on how much assist is used and the terrain/wind. I'm planning an approx. 30 mile ride around undulating country lanes and cycle paths in the next few days. Just waiting for a rain-free day!

 

[Peter.Bridge]

 

[Peter.Bridge]

42617"]

 

[Peter.Bridge]

So I'm thinking rear hub (700c wheels)
Battery, was thinking rear rack, maybe downtube
Change cantilever for v brakes!

 

[Peter.Bridge]

 

[Cadence]

Just to let you know, as a follow up to Post #4, I managed the long test ride with my hybrid that has the 350w Yose rear hub kit fitted (700c wheels) on Saturday.
Plenty of undulating country lanes mostly using PAS 2. Covered 35.6 miles and had about a quarter of the charge left on the 13Ah battery. Averaged 14mph. Towards the end of the ride I decided to use PAS 5 up some of the hills and a spell with full throttle (no pedalling) just to see what it was like. No voltage lag and accelerated up to the 20mph limit that I have set it to.
No problems and well pleased with it. On balance, I think the 350w. kit is a better buy than the 250w. due to being able to set the top speed and having a full thottle. The 250w. kit on my other bike is still pretty good though.

 

[Peter.Bridge]

That sounds brilliant

Can anyone tell from the photos whether it is freewheel or cassette? Does it look like a rear hub motor will fit ?

 

[Benjahmin]

Most rear hub motors are 140/144mm between dropouts.
6 speed is likely to be freewheel but can't tell from photo.

 

[Cadence]

That sounds brilliant

Can anyone tell from the photos whether it is freewheel or cassette? Does it look like a rear hub motor will fit ?

Both of my bikes have are 135mm between dropouts and both hubs fitted without any problems. If your Raleigh Pioneer is a 6 speed then it is likely to be a freewheel. My hybrid is cassette (8 speed) and the old Giant MTB is a 7 speed freewheel. Hope this helps.

That Pioneer is just the sort of bike I would like to convert for my wife. I'd go with a rack battery to keep the "step-over" clear. I fitted the downtube battery onto a rack on my hybrid witha piece of plywood. With the controller integrated into the battery holder it makes for a neat instal.


There is still room to clip pannier bags on with the battery fitted:-

 

[Nealh]

All my rear hubs have been 135mm inc the yose cst hub.

 

[Peter.Bridge]

It

...2. Covered 35.6 miles and had about a quarter of the charge left on the 13Ah battery. Averaged 14mph. ..

That sounds exactly the sort of riding my mum in law would do, I suspect she would use level2, just a bit of extra help

 

[Peter.Bridge]

Still deliberating, that 350w Yose power kit that @Cadence linked to seems very good value, maybe with a larger battery. Just wondered about 48v rear hub rather than 36v, struggling to find any which supports rim brakes

 

[Nealh]

You can fit any kit to a bike with rim brakes , just because they are for disc brakes doesn't mean you need to fit a disc brake.

 

[Peter.Bridge]

Thanks @Nealh ,

Do you think the Bafang seller misunderstood ?

 

[Cadence]

I've looked at the ebay listing and it is hard to tell if the wheel rim has any braking surface for rim brakes or not. It might have but it's all one colour.
I can't see any details of what the contoller is - brand or amp rating.
I'm not familiar with Bafang hubs, but "suitable for 135-142mm dropouts" suggests that you might have to spread the dropouts if they are 135mm - not a good idea if the frame is aluminium.
Also, this is a cassette kit -I suspect your 6 speed will be a freewheel?

 

[Peter.Bridge]

Thanks @Cadence , yeah, this is from about a week ago. Since then when I see a drum kit and it mentions suitable for disc brakes I have been thinking it's not suitable for rim brakes. Probably safest if I ask the seller explicitly . Think I have seen mentioned by someone else here that the motors on the yosepower hubs are Bafangs. Yes, 6-speed so I think it is freewheel but will check before I buy

 

[Cadence]

The hub motors in my Yose kits are both Aikema.
The 250w. is a 95RX. RC 250 Cassette (freehub).
aikema HUB MOTOR
The 350W. is a 95RS (R1) Freewheel
aikema HUB MOTOR
The above is only listed as a 250w on Aikema's website, but mine is clearly marked as "AK95RS. 350w." (and certainly performs like one!). I suspect it is a version made specifically for Yose.
Both slotted straight into my 135mm dropouts.