greetings earthlings

[bigearsbilly]

Hello there ladies and gents.
Some herbert pilfered my commuting motorbike a few weeks ago and now I have the plan of replacing it with an e-bike.
As I already have 5 bicycles I reckon I will make my own out of what I have. I'm a tinkerer anyway.
I have a nice Specialized Sirrus all aluminium I believe, not carbon forks anyway which
would make a lovely commuter I reckon. It is however converted to single speed. (I don't like gears

I have been reading up a lot in here and elsewhere and it seems to me a nice front hub will do the job.
I am used to single speed and fixed hubs so spinning my legs is not a problem. I am not averse to a bit of
pedaling so it should be OK yes?

My commute is only 6 miles on flat South London. But I like to pop home for lunch so total day is 25 miles or so.

 

[flecc]

Sounds good and ideal for an e-bike, four shortish trips each day. A front hub motor in a light fixie should be ideal for total simplicity.

Perhaps even better would be a rear Direct Drive hub motor, no gears even in the motor for maximum reliability. Organising it as a fixie would be a bit tricky though.
.

 

[bigearsbilly]

Not a fixie a single speed. A fixed wheel would be suicidal! I don't really like the look of a rear hub. No logical reason. Now to choose which one

 

[flecc]

Not a fixie a single speed. A fixed wheel would be suicidal! I don't really like the look of a rear hub. No logical reason. Now to choose which one

Seems I misread your posting "fixed hubs".

The simpler and very reliable direct drive motors are normally rear only, hence that suggestion. No problem with a single speed freewheel attaching either and they're quite silent.

Lots of choice for the front wheel geared hub motors and any of them would do your flat running short range job.
.

 

[bigearsbilly]

a single-speed has a free-wheel so you can coast. A fixed-wheel is solid. If you pedal backwards you go backwards. Momentarily lose concentration it smashes your face into the tarmac. If you hit the kerb with your pedal it catapults you into a bus queue. They are good fun!

 

[stumpy150]

welcome aboard

 

[Cooper]

When I were a lass, kids' bikes were always fixies in the States. And I have the knee scars to prove it. I admit, I shuddered a bit when I read your first message (I misinterpreted it to mean a fixie, too).

I didn't know there was such a thing as a onesie, though! That's probably for me, for my next bike. I'm way too stupid for gears.

 

[cosybike]

My first bike was a fixie. You could do wheelies really easily and cycle backwards like a unicycle. Can't do that anymore. :-( Training my Nephew to outclass me though.

 

[bigearsbilly]

yes I would park it in a tight corridor at work so I always used to cycle backwards on the way home (because I couldn't turn it round)