Which bike to convert?

[RegularGuy]

Hi Guys,

After having received some really great advice and a steer towards some good ready made bikes I've done my research and sadly it seems they are just that little bit too big for me so it looks like I'll have to go down the custom route. My current bike which fits perfectly has a 15" frame (it's a hybrid with a diagnally mounted cross bar).

So what should I be looking for / to avoid in a bike to convert? to make the process a little easier for myself? I'm Ok with a spanner and screwdriver for most regular bike maintenance, but not done anything like this before.

Thoughts / Influences:

I want an MTB style - I have an unpowered hybrid for the 25 mile commute (mostly flat but can be moderately rough trail along a canal) for the summer, but want wider, chunkier tyres to deal with the muddy patches in winter which the hybrid doesn't cope with.

Am I right in thinking I should avoid hydraulic disk breaks if I want to have cut offs in the brakes?

Are disc breaks much harder to deal with than standard V brakes? I tend to ride through winter and found last year the v brakes on my old bike kept freezing leading to a few hairy moments.

Probably want a front wheel hub motor as easier than rear wheel to fit?

250 watt easier than 350 wat plus because it's narrower and should require less filing down of dropouts? Less hill climbing but should be fine along relatively flat canal?

Any further thoughts to add or steers in the right direction?

 

[FJJ]

In terms of winter, you can just put wider, chunkier tyres on for winter - as long as there is clearance - I can just get 26x2.35 tyres on my Carrera Subway Hybrid 2011.

You can get hydraulic disc brakes with cut offs from Juicybikes I believe but they are a lot more expensive, for mechanical disc brakes you just need to replace the brake levers. Disc brakes are supposed to be better for all weather use.

250w shouldn't need torque arms on a steel fork either, simplifying the install. I didn't have to file my dropouts at all for my 250w 8fun motor. Front wheels are a bit easier to fit especially if you currently have an 8 / 9 / 10 speed cassette and shifter.

 

[kitchenman]

Re: Am I right in thinking I should avoid hydraulic disk breaks if I want to have cut offs in the brakes?

I think its more to do with the type of brake lever. On my CX700 I had a normal brake lever which accomodated the sensor and magnet. However, on my Street machine I have a different style of lever which is not so easy to work with and I am currently riding without a brake sensor!

 

[kitchenman]

You can get hydraulic disc brakes with cut offs from Juicybikes I believe but they are a lot more expensive, for mechanical disc brakes you just need to replace the brake levers. Disc brakes are supposed to be better for all weather use.

I had forgotten that. I wonder if the sensor and magnet can be installed on the disc caliper?

 

[Deleted member 4366]

If you want a front motor, just check that your forks don't come inboard of your drop-outs. The bafang 250w motor doesn't fit between some of the cheaper forks.

Cable brakes are a lot easier to deal with than hydraulic ones unless you want to spend some money. A good solution is to have a cable back brake with cut-out switch and a hydraulic on the front for good stopping without a switch.

25miles is quite a long way: Think about a full suspension bike for comfort - especially if you're on rough tracks. the hammering of the saddle on your bum can make it very tedious after about 10 miles. If you can afford it, get proper air suspension front and rear - not the cheaper pogo sticks.To save money, I bought a used frame with its rear suspension and then a reasonable quality used hard tail bike and swapped all the bits over, so I got myself a Giant NRS for about £500.

 

[Cyclezee]

Hi RegularGuy,

Please excuse me butting in here, but before or after choosing a bike, you might want to think about which kit to fit.
eZee conversion kits fronm Cyclezee have never been better value for money.

 

[RegularGuy]

Sorry, should have said 25 mile round trip. It's 12.5 each way.

It's actually not too rough. There is 1 section maybe half a mile or so which is pretty rough and for that it's just a case of standing on the pedals and using 'leg suspension', the hard tail hybrid is ok on the other more moderately rough bits and a good portion is pretty good, still get a sore bum though!

Good idea about mixing cables and hydraulics, never thought of that. If there is a solution to use hydraulics, it's more how easy it is to setup that's the problem. None of my local cycleshops seem enthusiastic on doing a conversion even if I buy the bike from them.

I'm getting the bike on cyclescheme (it's not ride2work after checking) so with tax breaks the bike bit a signicant saving and the monthly savings on the trade are about 3 times the net salary sacrifice if I get a £1k bike so if it's an extra £100 or so it's not the end of the world, it's still less than a monthly train ticket!

Now I just need to figure out what a drop out is and how to tell if the forks come inboard of them or not!

 

[flecc]

The drop-out is the slotted section at the bottom of the forks that accepts the wheel/motor spindle.

Some fork tubes start fairly narrow at the top and widen as the go down, with the tubes above the drop-out rapidly narrowing closer. It's this narrower part that can obstruct the sides of a hub motor.

 

[Deleted member 4366]

The drop-outs are the little slots at the bottom of the forks into which the wheel axle goes. Most front hub motors are 100mm wide to match the distance between those slots. Sometimes the slots are central to the fork when viewed from the top so that the gap between the fork tubes is less than 100mm. Therefore to narrow for the motor.

Fitting a hydraulic brake is the easiest thing in the world: Buy it on Ebay (making sure its a ready-to-fit one); bolt the lever to the handlebars (2 screws normally); put the caliper in place and bolt the caliper to the fork making sure that you squeeze the lever when you tighten the screws; thats it - about 5 mins max.

 

[andyh2]

Avid BB7 cable operated disc brakes work well.

 

[RegularGuy]

cheers guys, it's all starting to sound a bit more feasible now!

 

[PhilYerBoots]

Good luck with finding the right bike and kit.
I've just finished my conversion after lots of research, mostly asking questions and listening to the experienced members on this forum.
I went for John's eZee kit in the end, which although over my initial budget for a kit, ticked all the boxes and after using it for only a couple of days now I'm glad that I listened to the advice given.
Mine is a more of a comfort/commuter style bike frame with a 700c front wheel kit that required no adjustment to fit into the 100mm dropouts. The eZee motors are not what you'd call stealthy but I'd guess the larger narrower dimensions help them fit most forks with sufficient clearance.
Another good option with the eZee kit is the ability to de-restrict the motor from 250W to the US spec 350W, purely for offroad use of course.. ;-)
Im leaving mine standard for now as the power and torque feel strong even at 250W tbh.
This is honest feedback btw and I'm not receiving any bungs from John, Harry Rednapp style..!

 

[RegularGuy]

Thanks for the feedback on your experience of the build (and to everybody else)

I've been reading your thread with interest as part of my research.

 

[Deleted member 4366]

Another good option with the eZee kit is the ability to de-restrict the motor from 250W to the US spec 350W, purely for offroad use of course.. ;-)
I'm leaving mine standard for now as the power and torque feel strong even at 250W tbh.
This is honest feedback btw and I'm not receiving any bungs from John, Harry Rednapp style..!

If anybody wants to use the higher power, you'd be better with the bigger 14aH battery. It's asking a bit much of the 10aH one.

 

[RegularGuy]

wow, just been on bmsbattery to have a look, very competive prices even with import duty.

will probably stick with the 36v 250watt bafang front hub for ease of installation but now swayed between a little bottle battery or a big fat 15amp one. Ive got a fair commute, so maybe the bigger battery is better suited.

 

[FJJ]

I had a similar bottle battery from 8fun, ended up changing it as they had limited the amps on the controller as the battery doesn't have a very high C rate (ability to deliver current). I went for a 15Ah Ping Battery as it comes highly recommended and was a lot lighter than BMS Battery's LifePO4. I went LifePO4 over Li Ion due to the extended life on LifePO4. Really happy with the battery so far.

wow, just been on bmsbattery to have a look, very competive prices even with import duty.

will probably stick with the 36v 250watt bafang front hub for ease of installation but now swayed between a little bottle battery or a big fat 15amp one. Ive got a fair commute, so maybe the bigger battery is better suited.

 

[PhilYerBoots]

wow, just been on bmsbattery to have a look, very competive prices even with import duty.

will probably stick with the 36v 250watt bafang front hub for ease of installation but now swayed between a little bottle battery or a big fat 15amp one. Ive got a fair commute, so maybe the bigger battery is better suited.

I don't think you can go wrong with a Bafang motor from what I gather, at least bang for buck wise.
If I hadn't got the eZee kit I was going to go for a 350W front BPM kit and likely a Ping 15ah.
If you don't mind waiting a bit for delivery, paying extra on VAT/duty and long distance email support/warranty then I doubt you can get better value than a BMS/Ping combo.

 

[Deleted member 4366]

wow, just been on bmsbattery to have a look, very competive prices even with import duty.

will probably stick with the 36v 250watt bafang front hub for ease of installation but now swayed between a little bottle battery or a big fat 15amp one. Ive got a fair commute, so maybe the bigger battery is better suited.

The bottle battery looks nice, but don't forget that it can only give about 16amps max - and that's pushing it. If you have a long way to go, or steep hills, you'd be better with a bigger battery. Plus, a bigger battery will give you the chance to tweak the amps up to about 20, which makes steep hills much easier.

Don't forget to add on the rather large shipping costs to the BMSBattery prices. You don't see them until you get close to the final payment page.

 

[RegularGuy]

Cheers for that. I went through the process of ordering to get an idea of cost and even with shippping and import duty it seems like a good deal.

 

[RegularGuy]

After doing a bit of research it seems I should be looking for a bike with:

Cable rather than Hydraulic disc brakes front 180mm rotor or larger.
rear rack mounts
forks 100mm wide and not inbound of drop out.

not to say I couldn't do a bike without these features, but probably easier to do with given the choice.