Wisper Hi Ho, I'm Antonella!

[Antonella]

I live in Manhattan and own two vintage Raleigh three speed bikes made in Jolly old Nottingham!

I would like to electrify one of them in a way that is the lightest and allows the use of the Sturmey Archer rear hub.
I don't want to file the dropouts or have to spread the fork out.

thank you for my membership!

best!
Antonella

 

[vfr400]

The easiest solution would probably be a bafang BBS01 mid-motor kit with a rack battery. You'll probably have to adjust the chain-guard bracket a bit to line up with the new chainwheel, or maybe even trim some of it to fit.

Those old bikes have unusual sized wheels. a front hub-motor could work as well, but you'd have to build your own wheel because all the ready-built ones are modern sizes, so your brakes might not reach the rim.

The brakes are the biggest problem. They're going to struggle with the increased speed and weight, but as long as you don't go nuts, they might be OK.

 

[Antonella]

The easiest solution would probably be a bafang BBS01 mid-motor kit with a rack battery. You'll probably have to adjust the chain-guard bracket a bit to line up with the new chainwheel, or maybe even trim some of it to fit.

Those old bikes have unusual sized wheels. a front hub-motor could work as well, but you'd have to build your own wheel because all the ready-built ones are modern sizes, so your brakes might not reach the rim.

The brakes are the biggest problem. They're going to struggle with the increased speed and weight, but as long as you don't go nuts, they might be OK.

Thank you, Whisper! I always have more and more questions as the answers come in. ‍
Those wheels are 26 inches.
So the would the Bafang motor fit into the unique bottom bracket which is 26 threads per inch?

The motor states that it has an e brake. Does that help enough and if my brakes are not good enough can disc brakes be installed without much difficulty?

thsnk you!

Ant

 

[vfr400]

You can't fit disc brakes to that bike. it has no fixing points for the calipers.

The motor should fit into the bottom bracket. it's the diameter and length that matters, not the threads. The motor doesn't use the threads. it has its own thread and clamping nuts.

Some Raleighs have weird length BBs. You should measure the length of the shell (painted width). Anything up to 83mm will be OK.

The BBSxx shaft is 33.5mm and your BB is 1 3/8", which is about 35mm. if it feels too loose, you can put some turns of PVC insulating tape around it or shim it with some steel sheet cut from a tin can or aluminium from a Coke can.

 

[Deleted member 33385]

You can't fit disc brakes to that bike. it has no fixing points for the calipers.

My bike has no fixing points for disc brakes either. I wondered if a conversion kit would be any good?

Probably not?

I decided against it because the limiting factor on my bike appears to be wheel traction, not stopping them rotating.

 

[sjpt]

The motor states that it has an e brake. Does that help enough and if my brakes are not good enough can disc brakes be installed without much difficulty?

Usually e-brake means a switch on the break lever that detects the brake being pulled and turns off the motor immediately. The brakes themselves are unchanged. You can get a lever with builtin switch (often provided with kits), or glue magnetic switches to existing levers (often needed for hydraulic brakes or integrated break/shifter levers.)

If you have torque sensing e-brake levers are not needed. The are highly recommended for cadence sensing; it can be really bad if the motor turns on or doesn't turn off quickly enough in a tight manoeuvre.

 

[vfr400]

My bike has no fixing points for disc brakes either. I wondered if a conversion kit would be any good?

Probably not?

I decided against it because the limiting factor on my bike appears to be wheel traction, not stopping them rotating.

The problem with rim brakes like yours is that they're inconsistent and often deteriorate rapidly. When they're new, they're often grabby, and they'll send you over the handlebars if you squeeze too hard. A week later, all they do is make noise rather than stopping you. High spec blocks help a bit, but the main problem is tjat that type of brake can't cope with the additional speed and weight of an ebike.

Only hydraulic disc brakes give maintenance-free, consistent and reliable braking on an electric bike.

 

[sjpt]

can't cope with the additional speed and weight of an ebike.

Only hydraulic disc brakes give maintenance-free, consistent and reliable braking on an electric bike.

I've never had a bike with disc brakes (hydraulic or cable); I'm sure vfr400 is right that hydraulic disc brakes are the best and maybe some time I'll have a bike with them.

Still, modern cable V brakes are still incomparably better than many brakes that went before, including older style cantilevers or centre pull. It looks as if OP's bike has side pulls that were the worst apart from rod brakes (is that their proper name?).

Many of us don't ride our ebikes any faster than we used to ride our standard bikes when we were younger; in fact we ride slower now despite the e-help. And the difference in bike weight isn't that much; difference in our weight is probably greater!

 

[Deleted member 33385]

Thank you, Whisper! I always have more and more questions as the answers come in. ‍
Those wheels are 26 inches.
So the would the Bafang motor fit into the unique bottom bracket which is 26 threads per inch?

The motor states that it has an e brake. Does that help enough and if my brakes are not good enough can disc brakes be installed without much difficulty?

thsnk you!

Ant

If you can't find a way to convert to disc brakes, V-brakes would be an improvement - but I can't see any easy way to fit V-brakes to your bike. There was some sort of adapter available at some stage:

https://bicycles.stackexchange.com/questions/15024/is-there-any-kind-of-adapter-to-mount-v-brakes-or-cantilevers-to-a-frame-thats/15083

 

[Deleted member 33385]

The problem with rim brakes like yours is that they're inconsistent and often deteriorate rapidly. When they're new, they're often grabby, and they'll send you over the handlebars if you squeeze too hard. A week later, all they do is make noise rather than stopping you. High spec blocks help a bit, but the main problem is tjat that type of brake can't cope with the additional speed and weight of an ebike.

Only hydraulic disc brakes give maintenance-free, consistent and reliable braking on an electric bike.

Thank you, that's all great advice vfr and I'll bear it in mind when I electrify my next bike. At the mo, with my near 3 stone weight loss, hitting the brakes leaves a black streak on the tarmac - my muscle memory has been trained by way of tarmac faceplants, to use the back brakes first. If I can find a way to add disc brakes to my aluminium framed bike (steel would have to be bolted, can't be welded), braking would leave shorter streaks, but only if I got thicker tyres. Plus it'd all be heavier to carry up stairs between platforms and onto buses, which are currently giving away Covid-19 for free.

 

[sjpt]

If you can't find a way to convert to disc brakes, V-brakes would be an improvement - but I can't see any easy way to fit V-brakes to your bike. There was some sort of adapter available at some stage:

Another choice that is better than old style side or centre pull brakes are dual pivot ones. Unlike cantilever/V brakes they don't need brazings.

My son fitted some to my old Claud Butler (dating from when Claud Butler was more than just a brand) and it is a huge improvement over the Weinman centre pulls that were standard on that kind of bike when it was built (***). Not as good as V brakes, and certainly not up to recommended hydraulic disk brakes, but probably appropriate for the bike the OP is converting.

I think it was these, but ??? ...

dual pivot centrepull brakes - Google Shopping

www.google.com

(***) I think the frame and forks are all that remains of the original.