Front Hub Motor - Dropouts

[Oldie]

Time that I got round to buying a kit to fit my Claud Butler Legend and I'm looking for something fairly straightforward to provide occasional assistance on hills, but mainly for headwinds as I'll be using the bike mostly in Holland. I reckon that a front hub motor, 8 amp battery and thumb shift will be fine. Not convinced that I need a pedelec fitting although I have no experience without one. The battery will preferably be the bottle type as I may not have room for a frog battery due to saddle height and pannier frame intruding. I would also rather avoid the pannier mounted ones due to the fact that I'm already carrying quite a few kilos of gear in my rear bags. For the required purpose, I think that I'll be happy to live with a 25kph restriction.

The bike has RST Sofi ML forks and are 100mm wide with 10mm wide dropouts (my measurements). I've read on here about the need to file the dropouts in order to accommodate the new axle but a diagram would be a big help. Am I also correct in saying that a torque arm is needed because the forks are alloy?

I've trawled through numerous posts to get a better idea of what I'm after and some of the kits offered by the main dealers on here are very appealing. However, for this project, I'm trying to do it as cheaply as possible (with the associated risks) as my e-bike expenditure continues to escalate Oh, and I'm reasonably handy with a spanner, but no engineer!

 

[banbury frank]

Hi Cyclotricty are getting a good name for kits basic kit can be upgraded

I know they are all going to comment on buy from china direct BUT what arrives is yours working or not then there is the vat and duty to pay UK supplier price they Quote is the price you pay And it comes with SUPPORT and a 12 month warranty I will say that again SUPPORT

Electric Bike Kit - from £399 with brushless 250W motor. Buy online at Cyclotricity

Bottle shaped battery (upgrade option): 36V/9Ah bottle shaped battery providing up to 30% more range than the default option. Exceptionally sleek looking on mountain bikes, hybrids and racing bikes.


Order on monday have it delivered Tuesday / Wednesday

Price from BMS in china $556 usd then there is vat and duty and NO support when fitting and if it fails BIN job look carefully at the deliver charges the only quote one delivery option for batteries


Europe Express Line for Battery Sending EUEXPDC 4-12 $229.57

I think there prices are now Expensive



And please let everybody how you get on

Frank

 

[chris1972]

I'm having same problem with my forks too narrow a local bike shop said why don't you just widen the forks yourself and he got some old ones stood on one fork then pulled the other, so I went home and did the same so my forks are now 110mm but need to know the dimensions of the motor 8 fun or cyclotricty as the forks tapper in. How far up the fork does it need to be 100mm to clear the motor.

 

[banbury frank]

Hi the answer is simple give Cyclotricty a call they speak english great to deal with



Frank

 

[peerjay56]

Time that I got round to buying a kit to fit my Claud Butler Legend and I'm looking for something fairly straightforward to provide occasional assistance on hills, but mainly for headwinds as I'll be using the bike mostly in Holland. I reckon that a front hub motor, 8 amp battery and thumb shift will be fine. Not convinced that I need a pedelec fitting although I have no experience without one. The battery will preferably be the bottle type as I may not have room for a frog battery due to saddle height and pannier frame intruding. I would also rather avoid the pannier mounted ones due to the fact that I'm already carrying quite a few kilos of gear in my rear bags. For the required purpose, I think that I'll be happy to live with a 25kph restriction.

The bike has RST Sofi ML forks and are 100mm wide with 10mm wide dropouts (my measurements). I've read on here about the need to file the dropouts in order to accommodate the new axle but a diagram would be a big help. Am I also correct in saying that a torque arm is needed because the forks are alloy?

I've trawled through numerous posts to get a better idea of what I'm after and some of the kits offered by the main dealers on here are very appealing. However, for this project, I'm trying to do it as cheaply as possible (with the associated risks) as my e-bike expenditure continues to escalate Oh, and I'm reasonably handy with a spanner, but no engineer!

Hi Oldie,

I've just fitted a cyclotricity kit to my Claud Butler Legend. http://www.pedelecs.co.uk/forum/blogs/peerjay56/189-done-nearly.html I'm very pleased with the results! I went for the pannier option for the battery (I needed to fit a rack anyway, the old one being 'worn').
It sounds like you have a different spec. Legend to mine, which is a 1995 model with all steel frame and forks. Filing the dropouts is pretty easy, and is usually a minor job, just to 'ease' the axle in.
Certainly the steel forks don't need a torque arm (yet!)
I would say definitely go for the pedelec option, and splash out on the better controller. The pedelec disc and sensor fit on the left crank side, and was quite simple to fit, compared to an Alien Ocean kit which required the stator plate to be mounted on the cog side! (Looking back, I could probably have done the same with that, and just reversed the stator plate).

How far up the fork does it need to be 100mm to clear the motor?

50mm or so, just to clear the motor housing. If you have a disc brake rotor, it would need to accomodate that as well though.

 

[Oldie]

Thanks Phil

Yes, my CB is a 2012 model but I'll have a good look at your blog later.

I also note your comments on the pedelec option. I've been thinking that might be preferable and pleased to note that fitting is straightforward.

Thanks for taking the time to reply.

Alan

 

[rustic]

Hi Oldie,

Are the brakes & gear shifters all on one combined unit on the CB Legend? If so you will need new gear shifters once the brake's with cut outs have been fitted from the Cyclotricity kit, I think you can keep the same brakes / shifters if you went for an oxydrive kit, but this is obviously a lot more expensive option...

 

[Deleted member 4366]

With your forks, a standard 100mm will fit, but they're definitely on the weak side if you've got those curved suspension forks with the thin ends. A torque arm would be essential, and so would filing the dropouts deeper. If your drop-outs have dimples(lawyers lips), it's essential to get the axle central, otherwise the force of the washer will break the dropout when you tighten the nut before you even fire up your motor. Alternatively you can make some eccentric washers, but you need to be sure what you're doing. I'd be inclined to fit a rear motor to that bike, which is much safer,but it then substantially reduces your choice. It's not any cheaper to buy direct from China, but you get more choices and less guarantee.

If I were doing it, I'd get the stuff from BMSBattery: The Q100 201 rpm motor in a 26" wheel; 10.4v bottle battery with integrated controller and LCD display; wheel-speed sensor; PAS sensor; half throttle (thumb throttle if you have twistgrip gears); 10.4 aH bottle battery that slides . Why can't you buy a kit like that in the UK?

If your bike has stronger forks, any of the UK kits would do.

 

[Oldie]

@Rustic - can't actually check if the brakes and shifter are connected until later in the week, but I know where you are coming from.

@d8veh - trying to upload a picture of my forks which does appear to show the dimples you mention.

 

[Deleted member 4366]

They''re not as bad as I thought from what I can see in the photo, but you definitely need a torque arm and you need to file the drop-outs deeper. The problem is that the motor axle is 12mm dia,, and the top of the drop-out is 10mm dia, which positions the centre of the axle 2mm lower, so you can't get the washers in.

 

[Oldie]

Apologies for reviving an old thread but I now have some spare cash to buy a kit for my Claud Butler.

Just to recap, I'm really only looking for a bit of assistance to counter headwinds on my trips to Holland (plus the odd hill on my way to the ferry on the UK side).

I'm now siding towards a rear wheel kit, so long as it's a simple job of switching my 8 speed cassette onto the new wheel. I'm also assuming that limited use on a rear hub drive will not require a torque arm.

Another assumption, to counter my existing brake/shifter combination, is that a simple thumb shift, with no pedals sensor, will be safe as the motor will cut out as soon as I release the throttle. Therefore, I don't really need to fit the brake levers which come with all kits.

Finally, I can live with a rear rack mounted battery. My previous concern was the combined weight of the motor, rack and panniers although I usually ditch the luggage as soon as I arrive at my base, so that opens up a few more options for readily available kits.

So, does the above sound like a reasonable proposal? If so, are there a number of suppliers for kits?

Thanks

Edit: would it be possible to utilise the 15ah battery/rack from my Sirocco CD with a new kit? I guess it'sdown to compatibility with the existing controller and being able to make new connections.

 

[Deleted member 4366]

The battery will work with any 36v kit,but it's a lot of messing about to keep unscrewing the rack.

There's not many kits with rear cassette motor. This is one though. Just add a bottle battery and you're home and dry:
Q100C CST 36V350W Rear E-Bike Kit with LED Meter - BMSBATTERY
bottle ebike battery

Get a pair of their hidden wire brake sensors and you won't have to change your brake levers.
HWBS - Hidden Wire Brake Sensor 1pcs - BMSBATTERY

You should also get a plain half-throttle, which should fit round your changers.
Half Twist Throttle - BMSBATTERY

I'd recommend brake cut-off switches because your throttle can get a mind of its own if it gets water in or breaks. Fitting the pedal sensor is very easy, and it makes the riding experience much more convenient and pleasant, so I'd recommend it.

Nearly every other cheap rear motor(unless someone can show me different) has a free-wheel motor, which brings complications to the gearing. IIRC Cyclezee Annsmann kits also have a cassette motor, but you need to check.It'll be nearly twice the price of the above, but you get German quality and UK support.

 

[Oldie]

Finally got round to ordering the Q100 CST kit plus brake sensors. Kit comes with 10.4 ah bottle battery and lcd display.

Thanks again for the advice.

 

[Oxygen Bicycles]

Time that I got round to buying a kit to fit my Claud Butler Legend and I'm looking for something fairly straightforward to provide occasional assistance on hills, but mainly for headwinds as I'll be using the bike mostly in Holland. I reckon that a front hub motor, 8 amp battery and thumb shift will be fine. Not convinced that I need a pedelec fitting although I have no experience without one. The battery will preferably be the bottle type as I may not have room for a frog battery due to saddle height and pannier frame intruding. I would also rather avoid the pannier mounted ones due to the fact that I'm already carrying quite a few kilos of gear in my rear bags. For the required purpose, I think that I'll be happy to live with a 25kph restriction.

The bike has RST Sofi ML forks and are 100mm wide with 10mm wide dropouts (my measurements). I've read on here about the need to file the dropouts in order to accommodate the new axle but a diagram would be a big help. Am I also correct in saying that a torque arm is needed because the forks are alloy?

I've trawled through numerous posts to get a better idea of what I'm after and some of the kits offered by the main dealers on here are very appealing. However, for this project, I'm trying to do it as cheaply as possible (with the associated risks) as my e-bike expenditure continues to escalate Oh, and I'm reasonably handy with a spanner, but no engineer!

Hi Oldie.

With Suntour forks you never have to file them off, at least with our motors. If thes eis usually anything to file off it's only the paint on the drop-out so you don't have to worry about it that much.

WHAT is really important is that your motor can easily slot into the drop out without usung any mallets etc etc. Fitting the motor very tight in the drop out will put continious strain the drop outs which may result in an unpleasant crack

good luck

all the best

Andrew