Hi - considering a runabout for hilly town

[Peddlin' Pedro]

Hello all.

Been cycling for years, with some XC and DH racing in (distant) youth, along with fitness and general hacking about. Also owned and thrashed most types of bike in that time, other than trikes and pedelecs.

My stable these days is at a low ebb of one general hack in the form of an old CXr with guards and racks thrown on. While it's lightweight (ish) and quick enough for fast training rides it gets a bit twitchy with panniers loaded up for the Sainsburys run. Add in sharpish climbs at both ends of the trip and it makes for a lively, sweaty and slightly too long run into town.

I've considered various options: from 125cc scooters and pedelecs to digging my own bat tunnel. The 'assisted' pedal option looks the most reasonable considering my requirements for cost, environmental impact and versatility. As such, I've got my eye on an old Kona Minute as a starting point and would be very grateful for people's experience of this or similar bikes for conversion.

Cheers... Pete.

 

[Nealh]

Looks like a good work horse only choice you need to make is which e drive to use. In general they all work but for brute force and torque with 18-20mph the Big Bear/201rpm bpm kit with 20a controller has to be very hard to beat.

 

[The Davis Bike]

Sounds like a plan

if you what to use a hub motor i would look for a bike will steel forks. Steel does not fatigue over time as quickly as aluminium and if it does fail it will bend first before snapping where aluminium will just snap without warning.

mid drives are nice, easy to fit, but gears could be an issue overtime with shifting wear, so good quality derailleur gear are a must (mid drive gear sensor probable a bit overkill).

brakes, i would look for cantilevers brakes as they are very good for tandems which have a similar weight and more kits will come with compatible brake levers.

Hope all goes well and post some pic when finished

 

[Peddlin' Pedro]

Looks like a good work horse only choice you need to make is which e drive to use. In general they all work but for brute force and torque with 18-20mph the Big Bear/201rpm bpm kit with 20a controller has to be very hard to beat.

Thanks for that. I'll confess that when searching online I couldn't find that specific model. Is it the hub drive they offer on the 'Big Bear' pre-built bike?

 

[Peddlin' Pedro]

Sounds like a plan

if you what to use a hub motor i would look for a bike will steel forks. Steel does not fatigue over time as quickly as aluminium and if it does fail it will bend first before snapping where aluminium will just snap without warning.

mid drives are nice, easy to fit, but gears could be an issue overtime with shifting wear, so good quality derailleur gear are a must (mid drive gear sensor probable a bit overkill).

brakes, i would look for cantilevers brakes as they are very good for tandems which have a similar weight and more kits will come with compatible brake levers.

Hope all goes well and post so pic when finished

Great input, thanks. Will confess I'd not considered fatigue issues from powered hubs. The Kona is an alloy fork so, as you say, perhaps better suited to mid drive, which appeals as I fancy the idea of hub gearing (with sensor) at some point. Given the planned loads (substantial but not silly) I'll fit hydraulic discs to anything that doesn't already have them.

Should also have mentioned that reliability is more important to me than monstrous power. More interested in sufficient assistance to manage climbs without being a sweaty mess so really only after power while pedalling.

Have built dozens of bikes so looking forward to something different. Sheer choice of drives, batteries, controllers etc. is pretty crazy though. And I thought wheel size options were getting bad!

 

[Deleted member 4366]

Rear motors work fine for what you want.

 

[Benjahmin]

The Woosh kit mentioned is this one:
http://wooshbikes.co.uk/cart/#/product/uid-122-frontbpm-15ah/front-bpm-kit-with-15ah-battery
BPM motor noted for it's pulling power. They also do a rear CST kit.
My bike (as in avatar) has an ezee front hub, as pokey as the woosh. It's in suntour ally forks with no problems in about 3500 miles. So long as you fit a torque bracket, shouldn't be a problem. Powerful front hubs can be 'interesting' on steep climbs if the road is slick. But I do the shopping on mine and never come to grief, occaisional slight wheel slip but no more.

 

[Peddlin' Pedro]

Hello again,

Re-introducing myself as this project got parked when I gave up trying to find suitable bikes to build from. Just bagged myself a mk2 Kona Ute and now ready to get started.

I've just posted in the 'Conversion General Discussion' section so will be drawing on the collective experience you've all worked so hard to acquire. I'll make sure I share my learnings too so anyone doing something similar to me can benefit.

Thanks in advance for all the knowledge I'll be sponging up!

Cheers... Pete.

 

[Fat Rat]

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