BikeSnail

Hi, a 5.3ft tall female here: Woosh for a petite frame, Wisper 705 with 24” wheels or a Tern HSD would do you good. Folders might also be good. My mother, 69, is 5ft tall and recently bought a cheap folder with a hub motor and she’s ecstatic about it. Do test rides and consider the bike’s weight - in this respect a folder might win. Whatever you pick I hope that it helps you recover!

There is always the option of mounting it on a rack. Someone at my work has a full suspension bike with a down-tube type battery mounted at the rack. Not ideal for balance, but could become a viable plan B.

Thank you!

Thanks, I agree. Worse case scenario I can buy a second one for longer trips and carry it in the pannier bag but at this stage of family life I doubt I will need one for a while. The key barrier to cycling here was my nemesis hill from city center to home - 1 km of 10% average incline with a 17% bit. I reckon a fully charged battery will allow me to climb it around 4-5 times at least, which is plenty.

Sixty miles in it’s time to share this conversion story. REQUIREMENTS I was looking for a bike with a step through frame to carry my toddler and some shopping up and down 15-20% inclines. Short trips to town, playground, some short country rides plus a 2 mile commute to work. All on mixed terrain (road, mud, gravel) in a very hilly town. DECISION TO CONVERT I could not find a suitable bike in the 1-1.5k price range. In the summer of 2021 step through frames with Performance Line engines for a 5.3 ft female seemed rare and eyewateringly expensive. Shopping in a sellers’ market was proving quite a frustration (e.g. “Pay deposit to have a test ride” Trek salesman said). DONOR BIKE Raleigh Voyager GLX 2008. Very comfortable ladies bike but with not the most appropriate specs (v brakes, no bottle cage mount). An extremely chipped frame, worn out front tire and broken shifter. Local mechanics were not eager to take the job on, especially when kiddo was mentioned (liability). But… I have been riding this bike for 12 years and find it very comfortable and feel sentimental about it. I also did not want to splash out on a new bike as we don’t have dry or theft-proof storage. Conversion with a mid-drive kit seemed like the best option. MOTOR TSDZ2 250W, no throttle, VLCD6 (£234, AliExpress) because of the torque sensor and less wiring. Essentially I was looking to have a natural cycle experience but be able to climb those massive hills with a lot of cargo. BATTERY UniPowerPack Mini Bottle Battery 36V 6Ah (£144, Aliexpress). ~200W is enough juice for my humble needs and the battery is light and small enough not to overwhelm the downtube. I did not want a rack battery as this would lead to balance and weight issues with toddler at the back. BIKE PREP As breaking is paramount with kiddie, I bought and installed Magura HS33 hydraulic rim brakes (£130 for a pair on Bikester). This was a large investment and worth more than the donor bike but the frame has no disc mounts so my choice was limited. For those who find this bike + specs combo odd, note that ladies bikes with disc brakes are extremely hard to come by. The closest to my needs would be a new TREK Verve 1EQ for £675 which is expensive and… currently unavailable. Anyhow, the new brakes are awesome and I have no regrets. I also purchased a new tire and shifter but I would count this as a bike maintenance and not conversion cost. CHALLENGES (1) The bottom bracket was stuck. I spent over £30 on tools but ended up removing the BB in my local repair shop for £15. (2) Battery-engine connection kept coming undone. My husband bought some connectors with pigtails, shortened the cables and soldiered on a watertight & easy access plug system. It’s hiding inside the cable tidy on the small horizontal tube. Easy access means I can take it out of the tidy and disconnect the battery whenever I fancy. No need to cut shrink wrap or unwrap sticky electric tape. (3) Fitting the motor alongside an URSUS Jumbo double kick stand had me head scratching. Kickstand is awesome and very much needed with toddler who likes to bounce up and down (Jelly on a plate! Jelly on a plate!), but I had to rejig the motor mounting plate to fit it all in. Currently the mounting bracket pushes against the kickstand but is not bolted to the frame. Time will tell if this works in the long term or whether I need to modify further. I keep checking the bolts after every ride. (4) The cable guide at the bottom of the frame had to go. I unscrewed it and the cable now resides in a narrow gap between the motor and the frame. It has nowhere to go and sits snugly in its place — I hope this will be alright in the long term. (5) I was seriously scared of drilling the downtube for the battery mount but in the end this wasn’t that hard, especially using new and sharp drill bits for the job. Slight curve to the tube was a non issue. After drilling 3 x 7mm holes I installed M5 rivet nuts using some simple tools (see YouTube installation hacks). While the rivet nuts are firm they do look a bit ugly and misshapen (I can live with that). I might have overtightened them or messed up in some other way. Oh, If you’re drilling a bike at home put some plastic underneath the bike & vacuum well after. I got an aluminium splinter in my foot 24 hours later — not fun! (6) The left crank arm came undone twice so far, and I’m now moving onto a better hex key and some Loctite. Time will tell if this helps resolve the issue. RIDE I love my new bike! It eats 10-20% inclines like candy. It’s quite heavy but the balance is excellent. The tweaking & testing has taken 2 weeks so far and I might take another week before riding with the sprog. FUTURE I’d like to address the black spots eaten by (now removed) rust on my stanchions. Once that has been dealt with a local enamelling company will do a sand blast and powder coat for £90. What colour should i get?

Thank you for the update. I hope you are still enjoying your motor!

Thank you!

Thank you. I will try to tighten with a better tool but if unsuccessful in the long term I will try different crank arms. Does damage from riding with loose crank arms (aside from inconvenience of retightening) affect arms only or motor as well? Wondering what the risk is in holding off a little longer…

BUMP Could we pls have an update on the OPs crank arm situation? I’ve done 50 miles on my newly converted bike with TSDZ2 and the left crank arm is coming loose constantly :-)

Hi, I installed a TSDZ2 in my old Raleigh ladies bike and while converting my gear shifter (holding up by the power of hot glue) gave up the ghost. I picked an inexpensive Shimano 8 speed Altus shifter to replace the old Sram TRX and match my Shimano Acera Derailleur. Will this be sufficient? Are there any ebike constrains I should consider? I prefer a click shifter and have just installed Magura HS33 hydraulic rim brakes. The chain has been replaced around 100 miles ago. Many thanks,

I converted my Raleigh Ladies bike with a TSDZ2 engine yesterday, yay! The bike rides great but unfortunately I lost the mounting space for the Ursus Jumbo double kickstand that I really needed for transporting my toddler on the rear rack. I'm looking for alternatives and among those I see the following: 1) Prewar style drop kickstands from the US which, including shipping costs and VAT, will bust the bank. 2) Steco Dutch style rear rack with kickstand which I assume won't work with my 26 inch wheels. Just to be sure I inquired with the producer. Both options are risky due to #1 cost and #2 sizing issues. Can anyone suggest alternatives? Many thanks,

Hi, just a quick update to say that I bought a hydraulic Magura HS33 rim brake on Bikester (£65) and installed it on my back wheel. The positioning and hose cutting was quite a faff but now that all is done I’m super pleased. The braking is instantaneous and requires very little force. Performance in dry weather is excellent. In rainy conditions the brake still works but is, expectedly, less efficient. Before installation I still toyed with the idea of a new fork & front wheel with disc brakes, but given how complicated & expensive that would be, and how nice the HS33 is, I decided to get a second set for the front. This should be more than sufficient for my short work commute and uphill-downhill adventures with the sprog - all in dry weather. Thank you for suggesting this solution [mention=24931]Stanebike[/mention] .

Thank you [mention=4809]vfr400[/mention] - you are being most helpful. I will reconsider the front brake issue and engine type (though I root for the torque sensor). Q: Can I pretty much add a chain guide now and do the engine later, or would you recommend first fitting the engine? I have little bike repair skills so I’m taking things slowly starting with easy jobs. E.g., I cleaned the rust of the fork a couple of weeks ago and today I got new pedals on. I realise installing the engine may necessitate further changes to what I’ve already done but I prefer to do a bit of tinkering first to build my confidence. It took me 3 separate attempts to get those stubborn worn out pedals off, hahaha. Fortunately a proper pedal wrench and mallet did the job today :-)

I’m increasingly keen on fitting a TSDZ2 into my trusty sold Raleigh. It’s not a high spec bike but I’ve had it for 13 years and love the ride and the frame geometry. Taking things forward: I ordered Magura HS33 hydraulic rim brakes for the back wheel and after I test them next week I will decide whether to put another set in the front or upgrade the fork and wheel and get a front disc break instead. I identified a 250W motor kit shipped from the UK by this seller for ￡234.11 https://a.aliexpress.com/_mP091Hh I identified this mini bottle battery to mount on the down tube. I realise this only gives me 216W but all I really need on a normal trip is enough juice to push 80 kg up a 1 mile long 10% average 17% max incline hill. The main function of the motor is to enable me to take my kid for occasional leisure rides in a very hilly city. Other than that I’m happy using muscle power especially given my short, flat and occasional work commute (hence TSDZ2 and not Bafang)￡143.74 https://a.aliexpress.com/_mPDXuDz Note that I don’t want a rack battery mount as this will make the bike too heavy at the back (I have 15 kg of seat and toddler on the rack already) Question 1: What can I use to temporarily mount the battery cage on my downtube before I pluck up the courage to drill my frame and make things permanent? Zip ties? Hot glue? ;-) Question 2: The bike has recently acquired a massive double Ursus Jumbo kickstand (top photo) which is an absolute must with my son at the back. I assume this won’t be an issue as the kickstand points in the opposite direction than the engine? The chain was neglected for years and I used to deal with it occasionally falling off by putting it back on again (in other words - I did nothing). When I started riding with my kid I took the bike for an MOT with my local mechanic. I’ve done about 50 miles on various terrain since a new chain was put in but it recently fell of again. Fair enough, I was mistreating it changing gears uphill on a gravel canal path on a solo and a bit unusually aggressive ride. Question 3: What steps do I need to take to minimize chain problems? Learn how to clean and maintain my derailleur? Get a Lekka chainring for the TSDZ2 like people do with Bafang motors? Buy a gear shift sensor? Learn to change gears correctly? I do believe the initial problems have to do with my zero maintenance attitude which I’m happy to relinquish. Question 4: Can I have a chain cover after engine installation? The bike is also used for a flat 2 mile long work commute so cleanliness is an issue. Question 5: My tyres are many years old. The front one is original (2008), the back one is a big apple put in at least 7 years ago. I’d like something more suitable for ebike use that will work well on roads with massive potholes, in mud and on gravel. Any suggestions? Many thanks to you lovely people! You are an incredible and very helpful crowd.

Thank you for this, I’m glad your wife is enjoying this bike. I was actually looking at the Woosh Serena with a mid drive but have just heard from the producer that this model was discontinued. Perhaps it will pop up somewhere second had - it does tick nearly all of my boxes.