Rear hub with rack battery?

[Proboscis]

I'm looking to convert a 700C step-through hybrid bike, I think it might be a Ridgeback Motion or something similar. I already have a 36v rack battery, so just looking for the motor and controls (specifically a KT controller - I'm not a fan of the Lishui). Budget is £200-300. For some reason it seems to be much easier to get 700C wheels with rear hubs from the usual Chinese suspects than it is to get 700C with front hub motors (at least those with European stock - not sure I want to risk them putting it on the train through Russia, and sea freight is too long). I don't really want to mess with the front derailleur so a bottom bracket motor doesn't appeal so much.

So it seems my options boil down to:

1. Buy a rear conversion kit, and live with both battery and hub being on the back
2. Buy a front wheel kit in a 26" wheel, and rebuild the wheel on a 700C rim
3. Bite the bullet and deal with the derailleur disruption for a mid drive

For example, for #2 I'm looking at an XF07 26" front kit from PSWPower for $220. For #1 they have an XF08 700C rear kit for the same price. I haven't looked into mid drive kits much. I built a wheel about 15 years ago but it was a fairly slow learning process - local ebike shop will do it for £90+parts, I might be able to find someone locally do it for less (if they don't grumble at being an ebike).

The rider is about 12 stone so not super heavy, but not very strong and sensitive to vibration (might be worth investing in a suspension seatpost, but doesn't help with wrist vibration).

How bad would it be to put all the weight on the back? Or should I stick with front drive?

 

[Nealh]

If terrain isn't very hilly then a front hub shouldn't be an issue. The new generation of light hubs look to be good, my G370 Bafang I absolutely love and it also has no issue towing my laden trailer or carrying 110 - 120kg of rider inc a load of 30kg.

 

[Nealh]

For front without suspension try a set up change, generous swept bars up up to 40o and decent GP grips with thumb palm rest.

 

[Proboscis]

If terrain isn't very hilly then a front hub shouldn't be an issue. The new generation of light hubs look to be good, my G370 Bafang I absolutely love and it also has no issue towing my laden trailer or carrying 110 - 120kg of rider inc a load of 30kg.

It's not very hilly. I'd much prefer a front hub for weight distribution and general serviceability, but I can't buy the right one at present. So wondering how bad things would be with a rear hub and rear battery, or would I be kicking myself not to get a front hub?

Good idea about the bars - will look into that if I get complaints about the conversion.

 

[Nealh]

My only other F hub was Bafang BPM but that was a 4.4kg lump at 20a and was a beast, torque steer and some wheel spin was the main issues as well as the low reduction gearing which made it quite an effort to ride far unpowered. The light weight G370 is about 1.7kg and has a much higher reduction gearing and is a delight to ride unpowered so much so the other day I towed the trailer without power to see how the set up rode.
Generally though most hubs available whether F or R are all 4.4.1 reduction which makes them not unrideable but hard work sometimes if one wishes to extend range without a heavier battery, for the most part finding a hub that suits ones requirements does mean buying from China where the choice can be better.

That said the Yose hub I bought four years ago or so rode quite well with no power.

 

[Proboscis]

Thanks. Not really worried about riding unpowered - can always swap a wheel if we want to go back to that.

Sounds like a rear hub has better traction/etc - how bad would balance be with the battery also on the back? (This rider doesn't have much arm strength, so a bike which is tends to overbalance could be troublesome. I'm not sure if a rear hub would be better or worse for that)

 

[Nealh]

I use to ride with a 5kg battery in a rack bag over the rear hub wheel and had no handling issue whilst riding.

 

[Proboscis]

Thanks. I decided to give the rear wheel option a go (it's only 3kg more of hub anyway, and traction is probably better)... now ordered.

 

[AndyBike]

local ebike shop will do it for £90+parts,

Sorry, are you saying they charge 90 quid to build a wheel, and the parts-hub/spokes/rim they want extra for.
Last wheel I had built, I supplied the rim, the shop got the pro4 hub and spokes and charged me a tenner to do it.

 

[Proboscis]

Apologies, I have slightly maligned them. £90 includes rim and spokes, unless you want something special then it's extra. Even so, not cheap which is why I don't go there. (They do have a stand of part-exchange bikes outside which are reasonably priced - bought one for a friend once. It was fine).

 

[Bonzo Banana]

Good video here that explains in detail about all the different types of motors and their advantages and disadvantages. One thing he didn't state was heavier riders have less issues with front hub motors but apart from that its pretty detailed. In some situations front motors have more grip purely because you have two powered wheels. It's also written from a Canadian perspective who would typically use more powerful motors than the 250W legal limit in the UK.