Looking for an eBike conversion kit

[scotterdavid]

Hello,

I've got a (Hewitt built) touring bike that I hardly use these days. Due to a long term (often low level) illness I can cycle at most 20 miles on a good day. I used to be a very active cyclist/tourist and it would be good to get back into day riding and light touring, and so I'm thinking of buying an ebike conversion kit. I gather that a rear wheel kit is quite a good choice for touring. It's better, I suspect, if the traction is provided by the back wheel (where most of the weight is) -- providing the traction via the front wheel might lead to sliding and skidding. I happy to be corrected on those points!

I have come across a few vendors -- for example Vose, the Electric Bike Conversions and Woosh. I think that doing a conversion makes sense (rather than buying a new ebike), however it seems a bit of a minefield out there. It would be useful to hear your recommendations and experiences, please. Any advice and tips would be gratefully received and appreciated, please.

Best regards,
David

 

[Benjahmin]

A front hub can be OK in steel forks (though mine are ally), just make sure to use a torque arm. The dropouts need to be deep enough to take the motor axle. The only time i have problems is on very steep hills with loose or greasy surface. Pushing my weight over the bars normally sorts it out. The only other issue is low speed mavouvering, but this can be overcome by defeating the drive via a brake cutout.
With a battery in the frame you've got good weight distribution if you're carrying panniers.
Rear hubs are almost as easy to fit, might need to alter the dishing on the wheel to centralise it.
Woosh has a constant and well known presence on the forum and I wouldn't hesitate to steer you that way.

 

[sjpt]

One advantage of a front hub is that you have effective two wheel drive. Especially helpful on a tandem where there is a bigger proportion of weight on the front; we've had several cases (mainly wet grass slightly uphill) where the back wheel slipped but the front kept pulling. We'd have stopped if we had a rear (or crank) motor.

Ours is XF07 fro Woosh, who we would highly recommend.

Despite that I think rear is probably better overall.

 

[Jonah]

I’m very happy with the Aikema lightweight rear hub conversion of my tourer purchased from Woosh.

 

[Nealh]

Steel forks drop outs don't need a torque arm like soft ali does.