Voodoo Zobop 2016 conversion to electric .

[bradman54]

Hi all new to the site .G etting a bit old to keep up with the grandkids so thinking to convert my Voodoo Zobop 2016 to an electric bike any advice would be welcome thanks .

 

[cannon]

I did my Zobop about 18 mths ago and it has been great. Depending what size frame battery you have (mine is a medium) you may have to mount the battery under the down tube, there is a theoretical clash of wheel and battery dependant on fork pressure but in 1000 miles of on and off road there have been no problems. Having said all that, as a precaution I've recently limited the max fork travel.

 

[bradman54]

I did my Zobop about 18 mths ago and it has been great. Depending what size frame battery you have (mine is a medium) you may have to mount the battery under the down tube, there is a theoretical clash of wheel and battery dependant on fork pressure but in 1000 miles of on and off road there have been no problems. Having said all that, as a precaution I've recently limited the max fork travel.

Thanks your bike looks great . i have a medium frame 17 inch . I havent got the conversion kit yet , i think i will need to mount the battery like you have . what motor and battery did you use . thanks

 

[cannon]

It's a Bafang 250w with a 17Ahr battery and a 42t Precialps chainring, it helps with gearing and chain alignment. I have thought of a triangle battery but so far the underslung mount has been fine.
Range wise it varies a lot depending on terrain but 60-70 miles is very very easy with mixed riding and I think for on road only 80 plus is achievable. The battery has never run out on a ride.
For winter I made a cover/shield from some rain gutter offcuts (heated, flattened, then shaped) that goes under the battery and motor to reduce water and mud collection as the gap between battery and motor is a perfect mud trap.
The bike is used on road, bridleways and gravel tracks etc so fitted some 50/50 tyres, 2" Schwalbe Landcruiser.
Over the 18mths, I've also added a gear shift sensor to help smooth the shifts, living in Wales it is rarely flat so end up changing gears quite a bit, and just recently a hydraulic brake sensor. The brake sensor was mainly to momentarily cut power on slow tricky maneuverers.

 

[bradman54]

It's a Bafang 250w with a 17Ahr battery and a 42t Precialps chainring, it helps with gearing and chain alignment. I have thought of a triangle battery but so far the underslung mount has been fine.
Range wise it varies a lot depending on terrain but 60-70 miles is very very easy with mixed riding and I think for on road only 80 plus is achievable. The battery has never run out on a ride.
For winter I made a cover/shield from some rain gutter offcuts (heated, flattened, then shaped) that goes under the battery and motor to reduce water and mud collection as the gap between battery and motor is a perfect mud trap.
The bike is used on road, bridleways and gravel tracks etc so fitted some 50/50 tyres, 2" Schwalbe Landcruiser.
Over the 18mths, I've also added a gear shift sensor to help smooth the shifts, living in Wales it is rarely flat so end up changing gears quite a bit, and just recently a hydraulic brake sensor. The brake sensor was mainly to momentarily cut power on slow tricky maneuverers.

Thanks will start on the conversion in the new year is there any difficulty or mods to do to fit the motor to the bottom bracket

 

[peter.c]

Have fitted both bbs01/2 into a zobop the older green version frame size large the hailong 1 battery will fit in the triangle 90mm and a tsdz2 into a 2017 version the bbs motor fits ok but the tsdz2 needs an anti turn bracket

 

[cannon]

Have fitted both bbs01/2 into a zobop the older green version frame size large the hailong 1 battery will fit in the triangle 90mm View attachment 39416 and a tsdz2 into a 2017 version the bbs motor fits ok but the tsdz2 needs an anti turn bracket

That looks very interesting, I see you have reversed the shock...neat. I almost bought a large size but was concerned about the stand over height. Have you a better photo showing the battery in the frame please?

 

[cannon]

Thanks will start on the conversion in the new year is there any difficulty or mods to do to fit the motor to the bottom bracket

The only potential issue is the 73mm width of the bottom bracket, the second locknut only just engages so it needed loctite. I'm not sure if this is good practice being newish to this, but I also put some blue loctite (semi permanent) inside the bottom bracket to take up the small amount of slack in there. I also have a lump of metal epoxy between the frame and motor as support.

 

[peter.c]

Does this help the case is modified at the front cut and fibreglassed

 

[cannon]

Thanks Peter, that looks very tidy.

 

[Nealh]

Modified Peter, looks like your pet rat has had ago at it.

 

[peter.c]

No it was the angle grinder or perhaps the dog chewed the front corner

 

[Ricky100z]

Very interesting I’ve just came across this.. did anyone else managed to make a build work on the Zobop or Canzo with the battery central in the frame in the end or was it just Peter?
Anyways here’s my bike.



for what it was it was worth it was an absolute pain and huge amount of work, time and fabrication to get my bike (2015 Zobop Large / 52v 20ah Pack) to what it is and I’m still looking for a better fitment of a battery, one where I don’t have to Frankenstein a battery and use a bag, I did originally want a case and a cleaner look, the suspension does work with the battery within a 1.5 - 2cm clearance fully bottoming out.. but oh boy does my butt pucker when I hit a heavy drop or pot hole thinking whether the battery will slip back then crunch, then BOOM lmao.

Any suggestions on how we can get a perfect battery for these frames anyway ? Hope this thread ain’t dead yet.

 

[saneagle]

Very interesting I’ve just came across this.. did anyone else managed to make a build work on the Zobop or Canzo with the battery central in the frame in the end or was it just Peter?
Anyways here’s my bike.

View attachment 54379

for what it was it was worth it was an absolute pain and huge amount of work, time and fabrication to get my bike (2015 Zobop Large / 52v 20ah Pack) to what it is and I’m still looking for a better fitment of a battery, one where I don’t have to Frankenstein a battery and use a bag, I did originally want a case and a cleaner look, the suspension does work with the battery within a 1.5 - 2cm clearance fully bottoming out.. but oh boy does my butt pucker when I hit a heavy drop or pot hole thinking whether the battery will slip back then crunch, then BOOM lmao.

Any suggestions on how we can get a perfect battery for these frames anyway ? Hope this thread ain’t dead yet.

They're not very good bikes for that sort of motor. Both the mass and torque of the motor will stop the suspension from responding correctly. You'd probably get a better ride with a hardtail. Also, the gearing is too low for the pedals to keep up with the motor. You need at least 48T on the chainwheel, but your frame doesn't allow that.

 

[Ricky100z]

They're not very good bikes for that sort of motor. Both the mass and torque of the motor will stop the suspension from responding correctly. You'd probably get a better ride with a hardtail. Also, the gearing is too low for the pedals to keep up with the motor. You need at least 48T on the chainwheel, but your frame doesn't allow that.

This build is for off-road and steep hills/bumpy grassland areas, has pedal assistance set up on it so the torque of bike doesn’t matter so long as the suspension functions, and this bike is not for on road useage I have land for this bike but I would’ve liked a mid drive build on this one but decided against it at the time due to them being so expensive and fiddly. It’s a little explorer bike to me haha I do get what you’re saying though.