Moto

When I upgraded to a conventional battery on the bike above I screwed a 5mm thick plastic mounting plate to the frame in the triangle and then mounted the batery holder on to that at a slight angle so it could slide in and out. Aesthetically it did not look good but I had plenty of clearance for my feet and legs and worked perfectly! No photos unfortunately and have since swapped this kit onto another bike....

I did find the bottle battery vibrated a lot and found a good solution having it rest against a mudguard as per pic below. I don't ride particularly rough trails but with an electric motor fitted it is easy to travel at quite a brisk pace and hence any bumps hit harder. I do feel that seat post mounted batteries are perhaps better suited for road use unless you ride at a relatively gentle pace.

I fitted a BBS01 to an older Specialized FSR and it is brilliant, in my mind! Done nearly 2000 miles in the last year. Main problem was the battery as my shock is in a different position and the standar battery wouldn't fit. I used a bottle battery at first stuck on the seat post, which worked surprisingly well. But check your inner triangle space carefully as that is the best place to fit a battery. What I really like is how quiet the motor is, you don't hear it at all normally. I would like to try some hub motors as I'm curious how well they would work off-road, I don't have any huge hills round here but sometime you want to go slow but with plenty of power if the trail is rough and steep for example, the crank drive in a low gear obviously works well then.

Just for interest, I have found that as my fitness increased the need for lower gears has gone and I quite often want a higher gear! Well, downhill anyway. One thing of note with the BBS01 is that it's power curve peaks at quite a low rpm, or at least quite a bit lower than my normal cadence. This means that to benefit from the motor on a steep hill needs a gear or two higher than you would use in unassisted mode. I did swap to a 34 tooth cassette when changing the chain recently, 2nd gear now is plenty low enough without any nasty chain noises. 1st gear works reliably but does make a little noise due to the chain angle, but I never need it anyway.

Ah, yes my mistake. At that price, and made from softer aluminium I think I will look at other options

Well.... actually the standard ring has quite a pronounced dish inwards to help the chain-line, so I can only assume a Bling ring would just move it out as its flat?

Interesting idea. I had a quick look at an old cassette and its easy enough to do, will have to look at the teeth spacing as I think only have 11t so would be a relatively big jump, I can see having a 13t top gear on the lock ring would be good.

I have fitted a BBS01 to an old Specialized Stumpjumper FSR and it's working well! I want to lower the gearing for off-road, but there doesn't seem to be a simple way to purchase a smaller chainring in the UK - I see 44t on eBay, but that is only 2 teeth down so not much help. The chain line will not allow to go any further out as 2nd is a worrying angle, 1st I just don't use. Any suggestions? I'm thinking 40 or 42t... Thanks Steve

OK... thanks for the reply. I think I am now perhaps more confused whether to go crank or hub.... Hub for road, crank for off-road I guess, just need to find a good compromise?

OK, so a 1000W direct drive is not really what I need, understood. Thank you for the very detailed and helpful reply Woosh. So I am curious why you suggest hub drive rather than crank, for my hilly stuff? I would prefer a hub for simplicity and the freedom to retain my front gears, but do need something that will cope with a walking speed climb at times? And you mention "noload speed at around 23-24mph" - what does that mean exactly? That the motor is unrestricted in some way? -Steve

So, from the lack of further replies am I going to have to actually talk to a few suppliers rather than confuse myself with 10 wildly different opinions from a handful of prominent poster on the internet ?? !

Ah a voice of reason has spoken. Let me back-track - much that I would like 1000W of raw power, as I will be riding on public bridleways, and realistically some road, my aim is for a bike that still looks like a bicycle at this stage. I would like to buy a kit, from a UK seller, as I don't have the knowledge or experience to go completely DIY, and I would also like some kind of warranty! So, Mr Woosh, the Bafang G06 is there a kit, or at least a 26" wheel available? What would be the disadvantage of this compared to a "normal" 250W motor, heavier? less top speed? Thanks all for the replies so far, interesting stuff..... Steve

Thanks all for the replies, lots of things to consider then! I must admit that a hub drive was not in my head originally, but has me pondering.... Some of my hills are real nasty, see pic, but that's the exception. This bridleway out of Swanage I can only make it perhaps one 1 out of 5 attempts as its quite loose. Point is, would this, or another I can think of about 1/4 mile bottom gear, sat on the nose of the saddle to keep the front down, overheat a hub motor? Or stick to the crank drive option... Steve

I've been reading the forum for a while now, and considering my next move. I ride pretty much only off-road and am looking to convert one of my bikes, either a Specialized Rockhopper or GT Avalanche, from around 2008, both 17.5" frames. They are both very good bikes and to me makes sense to use one rather than buy a complete bike which would be lower spec unless I spent a lot of monies... My experience so far is limited to riding a Scott E-Aspect, which was good fun but way out of my budget! But I did feel as though I wanted more power at times, on big hills and the like, so am pondering options a little bit over the normal legal 250W, without going too far and having an obviously “powered” bicycle rather than “electrically assisted” should I end up on a road. So maybe a 350 or 500? Range would ideally be a couple of hours, 20-30 miles, with pedalling obviously. Both bikes are 9 speed derailleur, will the chain be OK? The Scott was a torque-sensing mid-drive but I definitely want a throttle option, and would I be correct in assuming a rear hub drive would not be so good for climbing steep slow stuff? I’m also curious, at what power chain and sprocket wear becomes an issue as I see 750W and 1000W drives available, surely at that power the chain and sprockets must be under some strain?! My immediate thoughts are a 500W 36V 25A BBS02B kit c/o Woosh, but open to suggestions and advice! Steve

Thanks! Here's my well-used GT, which *might* be the basis for a conversion....

Hello, a quick intro before I dive in with some questions. Live in Hampshire, am no longer “young”, and have ridden bikes and motorcycles for many years. Even when “young” and much fitter I never seemed to have a lot of power in my legs, though could spin away for hours quite happily, it just means that hills have always seemed a bit of a drag, slogging away in low gears at low speed. Having said that I love a big hill, or at least when I get to the top! And I will never walk, unless it becomes so steep its un-rideable. So, yeah, riding mainly off-road, my favoured areas are the Dorset coast, Purbeck Hills, Black Mountains, Brecon Beacons. These areas are very much out of bounds for my main passion, motorbikes, and one of the reasons I also have mountain bikes. Obviously bicycles have many advantages and offer a very different riding experience, but riding a bicycle can feel quite painful at times in comparison! Anyway I have ridden an electric Scott and was instantly converted, so here I am and ready to consider what to buy, standby for another post.... -Steve