nabidana

It is a shame; your reputation precedes you, and I know you'd do a great job. There is a community bike organisation near me and I can get them to show me how it's done, hopefully. Going to call in to them today. So, ordering the unit is direct through the factory, or is there a firm offering kits?

Right, that would appear to be the solution I shall go for. Anywhere to buy it already built into a wheel, or is lacing a wheel the sort of thing an absolute beginner should be getting into?

So, I have seen and admired your threads on the Xiongda dual speed motor. It seems logically exactly what I am after. I believe my front fork could be made to take the unit, but I am obviously a novice and any advice you might have would be seriously useful.

Hey d8veh - I've got hydraulic brakes and, araldite and a reed switch aside, I would worry about cutoffs. I think I meant 'I'm going to lose my hydraulics' rather than disc brake. I guess that I'm now effectively ruling out a mid-drive, so I need to take a decision on which front hub I'm after. Looking at the Bafang gear now - I guess I need to get a handle on bang per buck. I want this primarily for hill assistance and lazy trips to the shop - not to shirk my 'pedal it' responsibilities . Your thoughts?

Hmm. It's a bloody big risk to take. Given the excellent geared rear hub, I may simply end up going with a front wheel hub, which is a damnable pity. I wanted the crank drive for a few hills, because I buy the argument about chain drive. Perhaps this will give me the benefits of 2wd... But I guess I'm going to lose my disc brake.

Lol that looks like fun. Srsly tho, what are the clearances for the bbs01? If I pulled the eccentric round to the bottom front of the bracket, would I get enough clearance to fit the motor? It seems to me that if it won't fit, I'm going to be stuck with a motor which after shipping works out more than the bike - and I'll have to sell the bloody bike to go to Decathlon (which is a pretty good shout anyway). Any advice or info very much appreciated!

Thanks peeps - I have looked at the BB in more detail. The width of the bracket is 68mm, as it should be. The eccentricity is for the purposes of tightening the chain, which is necessary for the hub I guess. That should mean it can rotate all around the circular BB - it seems to be tightened and released by the allen bolts at the bottom (just visible). This is the setup: http://www.leisurelakesbikes.com/content/images/thumbs/0033124_cube_hyde_race_commuter_road_bike_2014.jpeg

I have a second hand Cube Hyde Race, which I bought after two thefts of gorgeous Giant Escapes. Anyhoo, I have decided to build a pedelec and have been hovering over the 'buy' button about six times now. I live in Dublin, Ireland. I had a very bad experience with a Cyclematic POS ( http://www.amazon.co.uk/Cyclamatic-FoldAway-Electric-e-Bike/dp/B002WOMLOK/ref=cm_cr_pr_pb_t ) and it's taken me a while to come back to the idea. I'm a somewhat big guy with a bit of a gut - I'm hefty rather than morbidly obese. I find I can cycle well and that I push myself to climb reasonable gradients and manage them with some serious effort. I also find that I can get a solid unassisted speed - my weight is slowing me down, in other words, but not disabling me. Law in Ireland says no more than 250 and pedal assisted. I'm going to stick to that. I have essentially settled on a BBS01 because it looks like a piece of cake to install. However, the Cube Hyde has an eccentric bottom bracket and I am concerned that I could end up having to dump my great bike with its integrated geared rear hub and hydraulic brakes. a) is this a goer and b) is there a recommended import site, because even after duty and shipping, the costs of buying one from the UK are significantly more expensive than any of the Chinese sites I intend to build the motor in myself at the brilliant 'Rothar' community bike shop in Dublin, which rents its workshop for as little as €5 per hour!