Help! Looking for folding ebike, a bit worried about power and hill climbing

[pip48]

I basically wanted a lightweight folding bike that I could easily convert to an ebike. I am 75 and do get back ache as I have spinal stenosis, this makes walking now a problem. But as I love cycling, I wanted a bike to pop into the car and use off road. I researched lots of 20 inch models which had adjustable seat and handlebar heights as I am 6' 2". I found one a British model which was only 13kgs and had accessories I needed, a Dawes Jack. Found a company selling it for £100 less than everyone at £400. Researched ebike kits and not wanting to spend more than necessary chose Yosepower. I ordered the 250watt front hub motor ebike kit along with a 36v 15.6Ah battery. This bike came with a rear carrier which I purposely wanted to mount the battery on. For this Hailing battery I needed a combined battery carrier and controller which had to be ordered separately. The ebike kit arrived from UK in just 3 days and the battery carrier in 10 days from Italy.
The bike had city tyres and I had read elsewhere that traction using a front wheel motor can produce wheel spin on non tarmac surfaces, so I changed the front tyre for a Michelin Country J which was recommended by tyre distributors.
Connecting everything together was very straightforward and the resulting weight excluding the battery is 17.5kgs.

 

[pip48]

This is my Dawes Jack Ebike.

 

[Az.]

This is my Dawes Jack Ebike.

Very tidy conversion. Well done.
I expect it is easy to put in car boot after you remove battery.

...also cheap. I guess total price was under £800

 

[saneagle]

This is my Dawes Jack Ebike.

You should fit at least one torque arm to forks like that. Also, which way does the motor wire exit the axle? It should exit downwards.

 

[pip48]

Dawes Jack Ebike .

 

[saneagle]

Dawes Jack Ebike .

I'm sure you have the motor in upside down. You need to rotate the axle 180 deg to get the cable exit downwards.

 

[pip48]

I'm sure you have the motor in upside down. You need to rotate the axle 180 deg to get the cable exit downwards.

It does exist downwards, just though you cannot see it from this side.

 

[pip48]

You should fit at least one torque arm to forks like that. Also, which way does the motor wire exit the axle? It should exit downwards.

Why do I need a torque arm?

 

[saneagle]

Why do I need a torque arm?

Your drop-outs don't have enough meat around them and aluminium suffers from metal fatigue. They're probably be OK if made from steel.

 

[saneagle]

It does exist downwards, just though you cannot see it from this side.

Are you sure you understand what I mean? The cable normally extends 10" from the axle to the end of the connector. Your photo shows the connector near the rim, which would be 10" from the axle. That doesn’t allow anything to go down then back up again.

 

[pip48]

Your drop-outs don't have enough meat around them and aluminium suffers from metal fatigue. They're probably be OK if made from steel.

I selected this Dawes Jack based on all my prior reading on fitting an ebike kit. What type of bike to buy etc. Although this bike has 6061 tubing, the front fork is made from Hi-Tensile Unicrown Steel.
I purposely read up about torque arms and discovered that they are not needed with 250 watt motors in steel forks.

 

[pip48]

Are you sure you understand what I mean? The cable normally extends 10" from the axle to the end of the connector. Your photo shows the connector near the rim, which would be 10" from the axle. That doesn’t allow anything to go down then back up again.

For starters the cable coming from the hub axle does not have a connector within 10 inches, so you cannot see a connector near the rim. All I can see near the rim is cable. The connector is 1.8m away!!

So satisfy your curiosity here is exactly what is going on here.

 

[pip48]

Hub cable.

 

[AndyBike]

Folding bikes always climb better than ones with big wheels because the motor gets a higher mechanical advantage. basically, they trade speed for force up the hill. If you put the same mptor in bikes with 29" and 20" wheels, the bike with 20" wheel will climb a 45% steeper hill, i.e. if the 29" can do a 10% incline, the 20" can do 14.5%.

So while 20 v 29 will go better up a hill, as long as that is smooth track, it will do better.
If the terrain is rough, the 29er will roll over those obstacles, the 20" won't. It's why larger wheels are used in offroad settings

 

[Az.]

As much as I like your conversion Pip, I must say folder wouldn't be my first choice for off-road cycling. Lack of front and rear suspension is not good for your back either. I would also advice against front hub, small wheels and rim brakes.

Are you happy with how your bike perform?

 

[pip48]

As much as I like your conversion Pip, I must say folder wouldn't be my first choice for off-road cycling. Lack of front and rear suspension is not good for your back either. I would also advice against front hub, small wheels and rim brakes.

Are you happy with how your bike perform?

The routes I will be taking are smooth, not off-road mountain bike trails. I have taken them before on my normal bike. It has to be a folder to put into the boot of my car. I do not have a different choice now the work is done. The actual electric part is purely for assistance when my legs need a break, ghost pedalling. I have an indoor cycle that I use every other day for a 30 minute workout. So cycling is not a problem for me. There will be times when the motor will not be switched on as this is my only exercise I can do now, cannot walk any distance to save my life. I will soon find out how it performs once we get some warmer weather.

 

[Sturmey]

So while 20 v 29 will go better up a hill, as long as that is smooth track, it will do better.
If the terrain is rough, the 29er will roll over those obstacles, the 20" won't. It's why larger wheels are used in offroad settings

You can sometimes get the best of both worlds by fitting a large front wheel and a smaller rear wheel. I always liked the more 'relaxed' or 'comfort' geometry that results from this.(Front higher, easier to put your feet on the ground, more stable etc). I am riding at the moment a Carrera Vengence with a 27.5 front and a rear 26 hub motor (XF15).

 

[lenny]

So while 20 v 29 will go better up a hill, as long as that is smooth track, it will do better.
If the terrain is rough, the 29er will roll over those obstacles, the 20" won't. It's why larger wheels are used in offroad settings

 

[guerney]

I found one a British model which was only 13kgs and had accessories I needed, a Dawes Jack. Found a company selling it for £100 less than everyone at £400.

The 20" wheeled Illuminati gains another member! There's a secret foot shake BTW. I hope you'll write about your hilly experiences. If you get front wheel skidding uphill, maybe you try a lower front tyre pressure? What's it's rider weight limit? I converted the bike I already had, but if I was converting a 20" wheeled Dahon again, I'd choose a Dahon HIT - it's 137kg weight limit bodes well for a non-snappy hinge. Some older Dahons like mine have a reinforcement bar over the hinge, the HIT has cable reinforcement under it. I've seen second hand Dahon HITs on ebay going for about £250. Steel forks:

Folding Bikes by DAHON | HIT

eu.dahon.com

Your drop-outs don't have enough meat around them and aluminium suffers from metal fatigue. They're probably be OK if made from steel.

Fortunately for the OP, it's steel:

Fork: Dawes Hi-Tensile Unicrown Steel Fork

https://fawkes-cycles.co.uk/dawes-jack-folding-bike-in-black-p11788

 

[MikelBikel]

Or just One big wheel? Hehe. Good luck with braking tho!
('Elektrek.co')
"So far..crashed 15 times but no injuries.. needs gyro to stabilise in traffic", no kidding.