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!

You might be able to fit the BBS. Take the cranks off and remove the bottom bracket and measure the shell diameter (needs to be 33.6mm or greater) and ideally 68mm in width. You can fit a BBS to a 73mm wide BB shell but it will affect the chainline, which 'might" be an issue with a non derallieur based system like on the Cube.

 

As for buying - http://www.custom-ebikes.com/ for a UK supplier or http://www.emissions-free.com/store/ if you want to order from China.

for a bit less:

BBS01 250W kit with brake sensors and thumb throttle costs £330 for UK, £345 for Dublin from Woosh.

http://wooshbikes.co.uk/?cdkit

36V 15AH square bottle battery with Samsung 2900mAH cells, charger and fittings £315 for UK, £330 for Dublin

http://wooshbikes.co.uk/?batteries#batkit

Have a look at this link - if the offset exceeds the maximum diameter of the bafang then it probably won't fit without modifying the eccentric device:

 

http://pedelecs.co.uk/forum/threads/custom-cruiser-build.16533/#post-203386

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

You think that's eccentric?...

 

I've just bought a GT I drive bouncer and methinks I'll bung a rear hub motor on ☺

http://tapatalk.imageshack.com/v2/14/08/22/2910e45661299c0b642f71d00411ea3a.jpg

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!

At best there is about 7 to 8mm unobstructed clearance from the BB to the motor side wall, so maximum o/d 33.5mm + 2 x 8mm = 49.5mm diameter

 

There is a fillet on the base of the motor casting and a draft angle which gives the impression of a larger gap. You might be able to squeeze another 4mm on the diameter (i.e. 53.5mm diameter) if you radius the adapter to blend with the fillet. Anything larger than this will not fit.

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.

But I guess I'm going to lose my disc brake.

Why do you say that? Most hub-motors have fixings for a disk. If you go for a big motor, you'll have to get a bigger disc and adaptor.

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?

Edited August 22, 201411 yr by nabidana

Have a look at the dual speed Xofo front motor and see if you have a enough space between the front drop outs to fit one, it could solve your hill climbing ability while only being a 250w motor.

 

http://xiongdamotor.en.alibaba.com/product/1557267270-220560510/New_Invention_Double_speed_Motor_for_Front_Wheel.html

 

http://pedelecs.co.uk/forum/threads/dual-speed-motor.16634/

Edited August 22, 201411 yr by shemozzle999

Your thoughts?

Forget that bike and get one that's suitable for the conversion kit that you want. You don't have to buy an expensive one. Come to Redbridge on Sunday and try my £5 Trax bike to see if it goes well enough for you. Saneagle and I built this from a £90 Carera Kraken with 500w Bafang CST motor:

 

http://i451.photobucket.com/albums/qq236/d8veh/Bikes%20I%20Built/CarreraKraken_zpsb6b241a6.jpg

 

I built this touring bike with a GNG crank motor from a £15 Diamondback:

 

http://i451.photobucket.com/albums/qq236/d8veh/Bikes%20I%20Built/gng21_zpsad5dfc78.jpg

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.

The front Xiongda motor should be easy to fit into a non-suspension fork. It's wider than 100mm, so can't be fitted in a suspension fork. I wouldn't put in in aluminium forks unless they're very strong in the drop-out are because the torque is very high. Even with steel forks, I'd use a torque arm. Two torque arms for alloy forks.

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?

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?

It's a good skill to learn. It's not that difficult if you have a basic mechanical bent. It's a shame that you don't want a rear one, otherwise I could have done one for you.

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?

Best to order direct from Xiongda's website.