"Shafty" a shaft driven bike conversion build

[KirstinS]

First post - hope I'm doing it right!

Hi Kirstin - about the shafty e-bike -

I have one of these Dynamics Tempo bikes (since 2014, no problems with it, ever!), but I'm having trouble using it due to failing leg strength so the elec option is very attractive. Please can you give opinions / answers on a few questions

The general construction looks fairly easy and woosh look good people, so I'm sure I can get the motor bit sorted. The PAS sensor looks the hard bit , so ...

What exactly did woosh do to drill it out? Is it just a matter of making a central hole bigger or do you need to make other mods? What shape is the hole? (I guess not circular as it would then turn on the bracket ... or does it attach to a crank?) Basically, is it likely I could I get it done with a daughter who has workshop tools and skills but won't be experienced at this?

Where did you mount the sensor?

Do you need any front fork strengthening for the motor, or a torsion arm? I've seen comments that the forks and/or dropouts are weak, though I've had no trouble

What's a lipo pack? Presumably it's to do with a battery or battery booster, but the only google I can find refers to liposuction. And in same area, presumably 2s, 3s and 4s refer to numbers of banks of cells which would be attached in series to boost voltage. I doubt I'll want to do this but it's interesting. The controller comes with the kit so presumably the connections are explained? I've seen Micah Toll's stuff on the net on battery building so I have some idea of how it all works

And a bit off the wall - why not get a small battery motor to spin the PAS and mount it on the bars? Then the hub motor is pedal-assisting the little battery motor and you don't have to pedal at all. That's almost certainly not legal!

Charli

Nice to hear from another owner Charli!

The PAS ring supplied by Woosh is a split ring style (ie comes into 2 halves). They made the circular hole bigger (presumably with a dremmel or similar). Still circular though

I used sugru to fix in place (a branded silicon putty that cures to hard and is tough)

The motor slots straight into the forks with no filing required. The controller is hidden in the battery mounting bracket

All the wiring is waterproof and very simple to hook up

As for your pas motor idea....just fit a throttle (thumb or twist grip) that's what I have done

Finally the battery booster bit - this is very. Uch DIY area and risks damage, voids your warranty and illegal for public roads. Just FYI, no judgement from me

Lipo is a battery chemistry and used in RC cars planes and drones. They come in bricks of various voltages, capacity and shapes. The do t have a BMS afe the riskiest form of lithium. I would not bother with them usually except I have bunch spare. You are correct about 2s etc. This refers to the number of cell strings and therfore voltage

Hope that helps

 

[Woosh]

the drilled disc is now sourced from King Meter:

 

[Charli]

Nice to hear from another owner Charli!

The PAS ring supplied by Woosh is a split ring style (ie comes into 2 halves). They made the circular hole bigger (presumably with a dremmel or similar). Still circular though

I used sugru to fix in place (a branded silicon putty that cures to hard and is tough)

The motor slots straight into the forks with no filing required. The controller is hidden in the battery mounting bracket

All the wiring is waterproof and very simple to hook up

As for your pas motor idea....just fit a throttle (thumb or twist grip) that's what I have done

Finally the battery booster bit - this is very. Uch DIY area and risks damage, voids your warranty and illegal for public roads. Just FYI, no judgement from me

Lipo is a battery chemistry and used in RC cars planes and drones. They come in bricks of various voltages, capacity and shapes. The do t have a BMS afe the riskiest form of lithium. I would not bother with them usually except I have bunch spare. You are correct about 2s etc. This refers to the number of cell strings and therfore voltage

Hope that helps

Thanks Kirstin, esp for speed of reply! And also Woosh for the helpful pic. A bigger circular hole sounds pretty easy. Looking at the pic (which shows the split in the ring) and my bike, I think I can get a thin circular disk to abut the left crank arm where it meets the crank and then i can attach the PAS disk to that. Space should be enough. Then I can sugru the sensor off the corrugated left side of the bottom bracket alongside one of the tubes there. I've used sugru before, tough and if I break it off it'll be quick to replace

The handlebar motor idea was just a bit of silliness, but I've now learned that a throttle can be used! Maybe the law will change sometime, but I'm happy with the pedal assist - it forces me to get a bit of exercise

Lipo = Lithium Polymer, I discovered after reading about six pages of google liposuction responses

I've got an ebike at present - Halfords Carrera Crosscity. Nice but ... The wheels are too small so 1) going up those steep hill/bridges on the towpath with your centre of gravity nearer the back of the bike means big boost means wheelie means I fell off the back and nearly ended up in the canal! and 2) You feel every road bump and towpath cobble (and no suspension doesn't help). And then 3) it's very heavy, which makes foldability only useful as an adjunct to a car, 4) The single spine geometry makes it practically impossible to get a secure lock through the frame and 5) the kids keep nicking it

And I really like the simple lines of the shafty, and that it's so quiet I can sneak up on squirrels in the local park

 

[KirstinS]

And I really like the simple lines of the shafty, and that it's so quiet I can sneak up on squirrels in the local park

Yes indeed, most seem to assume it will be noisy. Here in Brighton we have shared bike scheme (like the London santander bikes). Boy are they made to last. They weigh as much as a motorbike, hub gears and a shaft drive. And they are ARE oddly noisy. It isn't the same shaft drive manufacturer though (I checked)

The Sussex drive that we have does seem to be one of the best. All I hear is the motor (especially if overvolted, this does make noisy

Also, FYI, I have bought a new but cheap set of suntour suspension forks as I do find the lack of suspension hard on my wrists in particular. Boy are they heavy though and might alter the geometry to much even for a road/light path commuter

I will let you know how it goes if interested

Also I belive that a throttle is legal as long as it is on a kit. Not on a ready made or OEM bikeike a Bosch but don't quote me. Call Woosh they'll confirm the situation for you

 

[KirstinS]

There is. Just one issue on this bike. The cranks are a very unusual and rubbish design. Not square taper or octalink but shimano powerspline (10 spline). Google this failed proprietary design!

If you can find a right hand crank let me know!

 

[KirstinS]

Had to change a rear tire today which I had been fearful of to say the least!

It was a doddle in the end and no harder than any other alfine hub bike (and Ive had a few!)

This helped

 

[KirstinS]

Had to change a rear tire today which I had been fearful of to say the least!

It was a doddle in the end and no harder than any other alfine hub bike (and Ive had a few!)

This helped

Hmm, I take it back. The tire is just fine but the shaft drive is now very noisy and I can't work out why

Maybe I overtightened the axel nuts causing a bit of twisting

 

[Nealh]

Kirstin shame on you tire ? Surely tyre .

Yes surprising how all works wonderfully then when you make a change it never settles back the same, maybe a bot of lube ?