Old Carrera Vulcan Bafang rear hub conversion

[Peter.Bridge]

OK - this is how far I've got with it



It's a bit Heath Robinson in places, but it all works - please let me know any glaring mistakes !

Started off with the donor Carrera Vulcan £75, the SWX02 kit without battery was £252 - I'm just using the battery for my mountain bike that came with the BBS02B kit ( keeping the BBS02B for off road) - which is one of these (with the slightly unusual 5 pin output).

Put some more road orientated puncture resistant tyres instead of the knobbly ones.

Seems great - plenty of oomph up the hills (it is winding code 12, which I saw described as the high torque rather than the high speed)

Conversion was very straightforward (needed some help from my bike friend to swap the disk rotor and cassete) - lhs PAS sensor - think these slightly older / more basic bikes are good candidates for donor bikes

Having ridden it, the only thing I notice is the PAS levels (and surprisingly throttle levels) seem to be voltage controlled rather than current based.

I have set it to 9 levels of PAS, and I can usually find a level I am comfortable with in terms of peddling / assist but I may change it at some point (I guess that would need changing the display and controlller)


Anyway seems an option for a budget long range 48V electric bike

More planned - got some hydraulic brakes to fit, kickstand, suspension seatpost and comfy saddle, lights, swept back riser handlebars

 

[Nealh]

Muduard set up is aweful and tbh they aren't going to protect much of anything from wet or mud inc the rider. For any guard protection the close the fit to the tyre the better unless mud plugging in which case none or minimalist is best.

Rear rack is way to high to be of practical use , one is better mounting a rack using the frame tappings so it is very low over the wheel. A longer std type mudguard could be mounted beneath the rack still

 

[Peter.Bridge]

Thanks - yes - I tried to re-use some mountain bike mud guards (that I think were intended for a 29er) that I bought for another bike years ago - which got in the way of the rear rack normal mounting points. I'll add some normal mudguards to the list !

 

[saneagle]

I'd like to know why you fitted the LCD off-centre. I couldn't have that on one of my bikes. It's like only having one pannier. It offends my sense of the perfect form.

 

[Peter.Bridge]

I was just thinking the same, I'm sure I saw it on the instructions somewhere to install it on the left, will correct it when I fit the new handlebars. The cockpit is getting a bit crowded, I can see why you go for combined shifters/ brake levers. I was also wondering if I could go to one cog at the front and get rid of the front derailleur and shifter

 

[FastFreddy2]

Muduard set up is aweful and tbh they aren't going to protect much of anything from wet or mud inc the rider.

My experience suggests otherwise. That front mudguard is identical to the one I put on all my bikes, which are generally used on mud trails, hard pack and woodland. It provides space for mud filled offroad tyres, and is easily removed for washing post ride. While I would agree a closer fitting "mud" guard is typical for a road bike, (the proposed use for this project) the one shown here has an MTB fork which don't usually lend themselves to a roadie style mud rainguards. 'Roadie' style guards go lower at the rear of the front wheel of course, to help protect the riders feet from the wet, but there's no mounting points for this style on a modern suspension fork I'm aware of.

The rear mudguard is not dissimilar to one I use, and again, I've not had one drop of mud, water, dog or geese poop splashed up my back using it. The seat tube gets muckier than it would with a 'roadie' guard, but that would be the case if there was no mudguard - which is more typical of an MTB anyway.

I'm sure there is an example where someone has managed to assemble close fitting guards to an MTB somewhere, but I have never seen close fitting 'roadie' guards on an MTB, not least because the mountings are just not there on a modern off road bike, at least not on the front.

There are two things about this build though ......

Silver coloured duck tape on a black controller.....

And the owner (Peter) must be a giant, to ride a 22" MTB .....

 

[Peter.Bridge]

..
Silver coloured duck tape on a black controller.....

And the owner (Peter) must be a giant, to ride a 22" MTB .....

Yes - this was all the wires that come out the controller, especially the battery xt90 connecter - there wasn't room / battery wire connector wasn't long enough to stuff it all into the controller box, so I cut the end off an old tennis racquet cover and taped that on to the bottom of the controller box - is there a better solution ? or should I order some black duck tape

I'm 6'4" and in geometry terms, this is the best fitting bike I've had !

 

[saneagle]

I was just thinking the same, I'm sure I saw it on the instructions somewhere to install it on the left, will correct it when I fit the new handlebars. The cockpit is getting a bit crowded, I can see why you go for combined shifters/ brake levers. I was also wondering if I could go to one cog at the front and get rid of the front derailleur and shifter

Probably an old instruction left over from a previos LCD that had the buttons on it rather than separate.

 

[FastFreddy2]

should I order some black duck tape

For my sanity, the answer has to be "yes".

I'm 6'4" and in geometry terms, this is the best fitting bike I've had !

I'm a minnow compared to your stature, but I'm still more comfortable on a 'Large', despite my height. There's not a cyclist or salesperson doesn't look at me and say "You're a Medium." But when the saddle has to be pulled up so far I'm leaning downhill on a Medium, they concede I need a Large for my legs. I don't have long legs, just very high cheeks. Note how high the seatpost is on this bike, and I don't have to wiggle my backside to pedal either.

This is my usual ride, and the one I would prefer to use for the same conversion you have done, except a 250w version. I can't use it, because one of the rivnuts for the water bottle mounting spins so I'm going to use a road bike for a conversion instead.

Anyway, bike showing my typical off-road mudguard configuration. Been using the same, for years and years on different bikes.




It's sorta of styled as an MX motorbike, one of which I used to ride in my younger days.

 

[Peter.Bridge]

That looks great - would there be enough room to fit a battery/ controller box ? I guess you could drill the downtube if the rivnut was the only problem ?
Yes, the same supplier had lots of 250w / 36 volt kits - I did wonder if I could have fitted one of those and attach a 48v battery. They do seem to market the 36v SWX02 as nominally 250w and the 48v as nominally 500w. I suspected they were identical motors with different laser etchings ! But Tony @Woosh said the 48v one did have heavier grade wiring. My one came assist limited to 25km/h and with 36v/250w silver stickers but the laser etching on the hub says G020.500.DC.12. I think @Woosh do a SWX02 48v kit with battery with manufacturers 250w nominal rating, with an even higher winding code, that must be a beast up hills !

 

[FastFreddy2]

I think @Woosh do a SWX02 48v kit with battery with manufacturers 250w nominal rating, with an even higher winding code, that must be a beast up hills !

If Woosh did that hub in black, with black spokes and black rims, I would be happy to buy that system. For some reason, they only seem to stock silver/unpainted hubs?

 

[esuark]

If Woosh did that hub in black, with black spokes and black rims, I would be happy to buy that system. For some reason, they only seem to stock silver/unpainted hubs?

Why not ask. I have had the Woosh SWX02 48v kit for nearly 4 years with 8500 leisure miles to date and it came with a black hub and rim but shiny spokes probably stainless.
As for me I am not fussed with colours as my bike is a mixture of parts.
I can`t compare it to anything else as this is the only e bike I`v ridden and am satisfied with it. The reason I got that kit is because there are some steep hills I ride in my area.

 

[Peter.Bridge]

I have had the Woosh SWX02 48v kit for nearly 4 years with 8500 leisure miles to date ..

That's impressive ! how has the battery lasted over that mileage ?

 

[FastFreddy2]

That looks great - would there be enough room to fit a battery/ controller box ? I guess you could drill the downtube if the rivnut was the only problem ?

On that bike, yes. But you might have identified a problem I hadn't foreseen with the road bike.... More on that tomorrow. (Bit busy today.)

 

[esuark]

That's impressive ! how has the battery lasted over that mileage ?

Difficult to say other than I still do the 30 to 40 miles sometimes more. It`s the one thing I look after most.

 

[Peter.Bridge]

Tried riding up a biggish hill ,(1/2 mile with a 1/3 mile over 10% gradient, peaking at 17.3% -according to mapometer.) It was fine, put in quite a bit of pedalling effort (which I don't mind) and slowed to 8mph at the steepest point.

Added a mirror (it's great!), kickstand, suspension seat post, attached the "free gift" front light, added swept back riser handlebars , pannier bags, centred the display and replaced the silver duct tape with black ! Have ordered some velcro cable ties to tidy up the front, rear light (thanks @saneagle ) and still need to fit the hydraulic disc brakes. Thanks all, most of the suggestions have come from here

 

[Az.]

Copy/paste Nealh's post:
"
Muduard set up is aweful and tbh they aren't going to protect much of anything from wet or mud inc the rider. For any guard protection the close the fit to the tyre the better unless mud plugging in which case none or minimalist is best.

Rear rack is way to high to be of practical use , one is better mounting a rack using the frame tappings so it is very low over the wheel. A longer std type mudguard could be mounted beneath the rack still "

 

[esuark]

Your throttle maybe upside down ready to ingest some rain? I have my throttle on the left under the bars and use the simple SHIMANO Tourney SL-TX30 shifters that are all above the handle bars so it is easy to fit the throttle lever under the bars. I am sure that the shimano and sram left 3 speed front shifters are interchangeable unlike the right. I have never used my 3 speed shifter and have only left the front 3 speed system on in case of an emergency. Takes a little while to get used to throttle on the left once done all is ok. I use throttle like some others on here as a saftey device at road junctions to get moving quickly and for a little additional help at times.

 

[Peter.Bridge]

Copy/paste Nealh's post:

Wasn't ignoring Nealh's advice, don't think it is a fitting issue as such, it's just the design of those MTB mudguards (which I had lying around) I think they have been fitted as per the instructions. I did actually find some front MTB mudguards for sale that fit a lot closer to the front wheel, I might try these ones out first and see how they work and if they are rubbish get some of those instead.
Similar story on the rear mudguards , I think that is how they are designed. Again I might see how they go, a quick search didn't find alternative MTB rear mudguard design that are close fitting. There were 2 problems around using the proper rear pannier fixings, 1) the rear mudguard, 2) the disc brakes gets in the way of the pannier rack leg - are there specific pannier racks for disc brakes?
Fortunately I don't have to use the bike in the rain, just if I get caught out in a shower

 

[Peter.Bridge]

Your throttle maybe upside down ready to ingest some rain? I have my throttle on the left under the bars and use the simple SHIMANO Tourney SL-TX30 shifters that are all above the handle bars so it is easy to fit the throttle lever under the bars. I am sure that the shimano and sram left 3 speed front shifters are interchangeable unlike the right. I have never used my 3 speed shifter and have only left the front 3 speed system on in case of an emergency. Takes a little to get used to throttle on the left once done all is ok. I use throttle like some others on here as a saftey device at road junctions to get moving quickly and for a little additional help at times.

Thanks, yes, I was wondering about getting rid of the front derailleur completely and fit a single cog at the front to reduce the congestion. In the meantime I will swap the throttle the other way up !