Need a trustworthy source for a front wheel kit?

Rawly Old

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Bin burned twice on kits, one out of Walmart. I naively thought Walmart might screen it's sellers, (silly me:eek:)
Whose got a front wheel kit that worked perfectly the 1st try? Anyone got a front kit they'd highly recommend?
 
on the cheaper side have you looked into Voilamart 1000w ebike kit on ebay?

I havent tried a front wheel kit of theirs but i have had a 1500w rear wheel kit on a bike since 2018 that i just this year replaced.


Looking through ebay here would be a choice of mine, since i've used them for a few builds of rear wheel kits....






Just remember..what works for me may not work for you.
 
Links to eBay may include affiliate code. If you click on an eBay link and make a purchase, this forum may earn a small commission.
Okay, but 25 pounds of 1000w front hub motor? I'm inclined toward a 500w geared hub. Their prices vary widely from
site to site which makes it a shot in the dark. Dun dat already.
 
on the cheaper side have you looked into Voilamart 1000w ebike kit on ebay?

I havent tried a front wheel kit of theirs but i have had a 1500w rear wheel kit on a bike since 2018 that i just this year replaced.


Looking through ebay here would be a choice of mine, since i've used them for a few builds of rear wheel kits....






Just remember..what works for me may not work for you.
Have had a second thought about your Violamart suggestion. My initial reaction was a 25 pound kit was way too heavy, but
got to thinking about it. That weight would probably give a front whl better traction & would certainly serve as a flywheel if
nothing else. Hu, I think I'm gonna do it. At worst it can't be more costly than previous mistakes.(y):) I'll try one more
time to crack the non-functional bafang kit, (screws seem to be epoxied in), I think it must need a hall sensor; the harness
& display all check out. A 1000w Voila + the 2.2 hp. Tanaka would make for an awesome long range gas/electric hybrid
with a solar charging trailer. Had to trash the initial alum. Kent Raleigh; found a frame crack at the BB. It's now built on a bomb-
proof, (heavy), chromoly 80s Giant mtb. Got it for $35 from a gal getting rid of her ex's bike,( indestructible for long range
touring! ) Of course with battery it'll probably weigh 80 pds., but think of all that kinetic energy....braking could be interesting?
Think I'll need 2 torque arms, one on each side of the fork
 
Links to eBay may include affiliate code. If you click on an eBay link and make a purchase, this forum may earn a small commission.
Before deciding on a mid drive kit, I strongly considered a hub drive kit from Golden Motors, a Canadian eBike vendor. I liked that the controller is built into the hub, which makes their hubs larger than most others, but it is one less thing to mount on the frame. I did buy my Eggrider display from them and received it in less than a week.
 
Before deciding on a mid drive kit, I strongly considered a hub drive kit from Golden Motors, a Canadian eBike vendor. I liked that the controller is built into the hub, which makes their hubs larger than most others, but it is one less thing to mount on the frame. I did buy my Eggrider display from them and received it in less than a week.
I'll look into it.
 
They are also on youtube, is how I discovered their products. They have many good general eBike build and maintenance videos.
 
Something also to consider is its not difficult to roll your own from scratch, so to speak. At that point you have control over all the parts and there's no issue with junk parts. Here's what one of mine worked out to be. This is all off the top of my head, Here's a pic of the wheel for the sake of reference, and yes this is a 20" wheels so I'll suggest a different rim below.

20240108_163915.jpg

  • Bafang G020 500w front geared hub motor. The 500w motors are designed to use 48v batteries which means you can do 48v or 52v batteries/
  • The pictured wheel is a Stranger Crux XL, which is the widest rim you can get hold of for 20" that is not a fat bike wheel and will fit 100mm dropouts. For 26" I would use a SunRingle MTX39. Bear in mind to do a hub motor you need a rim with 36 holes which is a lot harder to source.
  • Sapim strong spokes and brass nipples. Have your local bike shop build the wheel and they will figure out spoke lengths. You can buy them cut to the LBS' specs at Stoic Wheels via their web site.
  • KT 25 amp controller from electro bike world
  • Throttle from the same vendor
  • PAS sensor from the same vendor. You'll need to pull off the right crankarm to install the magnetic disk which is pretty standard.
  • You could get the big color KT-LCD8H display from the same seller, spend a little less for the black/white KT-LCD3 or go tiny and inexpensive with a KT-LCD4 from Amazon or AliExpress, which is my personal preference.
  • You could do brake cutoffs but on a front wheel kit I wouldn't bother. Just close up the connections with silicone tape.
  • Battery from Bicycle Motorworks. A quality USA manufacturer. Not priced like a UPP pack but then again UPP has been forced off the market in the UK and in the USA the CPSC just issued a Stop-Use advisory, both due to dangerously cheap construction leading to fires.
Grin Technologies is another properly reliable, quality vendor that sells good stuff in kit form, and they will do a good wheel build as a part of a kit purchase. One thing I have seen firsthand is the built wheels of these Far East sellers are... well, they're not the sort of wheel you'd want to rely on. Either they use cheap components or they are not well thought out (for example they commonly use rims that are WAY too narrow).

Neither of these options (Grin or DIY) are going to be costing Walmart level money. Buy once, cry once.
 
These experts can match you with the perfect kit and even install it for you. Look for shops with good reviews and knowledgeable staff.
Major sporting goods stores and online cycling retailers often have a wide variety with clear return policies and good customer service. Read reviews and compare prices before buying.
 
These experts can match you with the perfect kit and even install it for you. Look for shops with good reviews and knowledgeable staff.
Major sporting goods stores and online cycling retailers often have a wide variety with clear return policies and good customer service. Read reviews and compare prices before buying.
Which experts, don't see any listed?
 
I have same question. I need to get 20 inch front electric wheel. it have to be 1000W motor.
 
 
Links to eBay may include affiliate code. If you click on an eBay link and make a purchase, this forum may earn a small commission.
Since I made the detailed DIY kit post above in April, I actually built another wheel. For the first time I did it totally myself including stringing the thing.

Some changes from my parts list above, that I would always recommend:
  1. Buy a 30a KT T12S controller from greenbikekit. greenbikekit.com sells them directly, with PAS and throttles and a 1T4 wiring harness, but when you buy from them directly you pay shipping and the ship cost is enormous. Instead, you can buy via their seller on ebay and get free shipping. The items cost more but you more than make it back from the free shipping for multiple items.
  2. Grin Technologies has a Spoke Length Calculator tool you can use to determine how you will string your wheel, and what you will use to string it with. https://ebikes.ca/tools/spoke-calc.html This gave me the ability to determine my own spoke lengths, as well as a blueprint for stringing my wheel. Then I bought the spokes I measured direct from Grin who got them to me in a week or so.
  3. I used a Weinmann DHL65, also bought from Grin. A 36H double-wall rim with no cutouts was perfect for my plus-size strong wheel build.
  4. And here's the big one: I bought a Park wheel truing stand. Big money, but I trolled ebay for awhile until a really good used example popped up and I spent less than half of retail for it. 20 minutes with a wet sponge and it looked brand new.
I probably spent at least a couple of hours watching hub-motor-wheel-building videos. NOT bike wheel building vids. Bigass hub motors create a different build process (that is simpler to execute). Grin Tech's wheel guy does the best ones.
 
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