Need advice on buying front wheel kit

[Robiker54]

After looking around the web to see what is available, I decided to come here to see if those with experience can give me advice on what would be a good front wheel conversion kit to get. I'll start out by stating that I have no experience with electric bikes. This will be my first one. I don't have any special bike tools accept for a set of allen wrenches that fit most of the bolts on my bike. I know how to remove the wheels and change an inner tube, but not much more. That tells you my mechanical experience, so I'd like the simplest to install kit to start out, one that doesn't have unnecessary gadgets like a display screen since I don't want my bike to become too much of a theft target. Just the bare basics. My biggest fears are buying a kit and then being overwhelmed with what it takes to install it, and also having the bike either stolen or parts stolen off of it while parked (an easy to remove battery is a must!) Top speed would be fine at around 25 MPH. Beyond that isn't really safe, in my opinion.

My bicycle that I'd be mounting the front ebike front wheel kit on is a Specialized Hardrock, which is a 26" wheel size mountain bike. I also have a Giant Boulder, which is another mountain bike the same size. I'd consider that one for the project instead if something about it proved to be more suitable for the job.

So, what do you guys think is best? Amazon seems to be where the kits are. No place around me sells conversion kits.
OTOH, if installing one of these front wheel kits sounds like something I'm unlikely to be successful with due to my lack of tools and bike mechanic experience, feel free to let me know that too. I'd rather not shell out $400 or whatever and end up totally frustrated. I looked at Youtube vids to see the process, but it's not always easy to see what tools are being used or what is being done.

 

[Annieolnie]

Hello, I've built some kits but mostly midrive and rear. I do have some recommendations for you. I would make sure you get a Bafang motor. They are dependable and have a certain standard for their controllers. Off brand models might give you a controller they bought in bulk and only know if it works at the moment ( this can also be true for actual generic ebike companies). If you are worried about getting into the weeds, you might want to get a rear rack battery, that way you won't have to be concerned with frame fitment or rivnuts. Battery connections are pretty standard with most adapters readily available and they are simple plugs, so feel free to look around for a better deal on the battery if you wish to. The listing I'm showing you is without the battery but you can add what you like. I'm posting a kit from Bestmotor on Ebay. I have dealt with them before and have had no problems. You can also use Amazon, but it is harder to actually make the choices and usually costs a bit more. I picked a kit with the 500c display because I know it and it is very good for the cost but there are other choices available. Most of these kits are plug and play with a whole lot of zip ties, but you might need to pull your cranks for the Pas sensor. It is very easy to do and there are many videos on it. You will just need your bikes crank puller and cheap ones work fine. So, have a look a this and see what you think.

 

[Robiker54]

I didn't think I would have to pull the crank arms unless I bought a kit that used pedal assist. That's one of the reasons I wanted to go with a front wheel kit- to eliminate that possibility. What does the pas sensor do?

 

[Annieolnie]

The Pas sensor is your pedal assist it measures your cadence as you turn the pedals and gives you the assist for the level you have set it at on your display. I don't think you will be very happy without it. Having only a throttle will eat up your battery and I don't think you will be able to set up your display without the sensor being on there. May I ask what year your Hardrock was made? That will tell me the puller you need. There is a Bafang clip-on Pas sensor which goes around the cranks that you can get that would get you out of this predicament. I'll post a pic here. You can also go to Ebike Essentials website. They have the parts list for this sort of kit, with explanations for the functions.

 

[kmccune]

you can use the the "swytch" kits a little over your budget an "Imortor" within budget very easy to install friction drive clip on integrated like the "Imortor"( self contained battery) and the first couple of suggestions seem pretty good you can get an "hailong battery that hangs from the top tube,have used and for a 10 ah worked real well also have used the "Imortor" and it worked great,look around a bit more,good luck.

 

[Robiker54]

you can use the the "swytch" kits a little over your budget an "Imortor" within budget very easy to install friction drive clip on integrated like the "Imortor"( self contained battery) and the first couple of suggestions seem pretty good you can get an "hailong battery that hangs from the top tube,have used and for a 10 ah worked real well also have used the "Imortor" and it worked great,look around a bit more,good luck.

Thank you! Both of these look nice and simple, especially the Swytch. I wonder how many other companies will go that route.

 

[kmccune]

you can probably get an "Imortor of 350 watts with a self contained 7.8 ah battery for a little over $400.plus you can sync it with your Iphone.

 

[Annieolnie]

If this is the direction you want to head in there are a number of YouTube videos out there. GCN had a little challenge with them, which shows you how quickly they set up. It isn't going to give you a ton of power, but it may be the simplest place to start, if it suits your budget.

 

[r3volt97]

Hi , i come from the bmx ground so i had to learn to fix my entry level road bike and mtb's as well . Not hard if you don't make any attempts and you will win some and loose some unfortunately like stripping pedals into a Sora crankset .

Roughly 3 years ago i came across Analog Motion and their bottle styled 7Ah battery which is pretty much stealthy given that i've been using it this bike for deliveries across London , backpack strapped on the back with few more of these 1.5-2kg batteries with padded foam to spread the weight . I've been on and off into this and given i bought my bike and batteries refurbished from this Nothing company when they went bust since Gopuff given up on them ( not sure what really happened all i noticed is that the grocery company switched to gig economy system instead of having employees and a bike fleet ) i wanted to preserve the cells and the bike since it has Gates CDN sprocket and belt and they cost some money when replacement is due .
I was scavenging the internet for potentially future parts replacement both mechanical and electrical and came across Topbike kit and B Five stores on Aliexpress and i can tell you it's the way you should go as they have very decent pricing on these parts and i read good stuff about KT ( Kunteng ) controllers , these batteries have a lock instead of a strap like mine has just a strap that i keep healthy by spraying some silicone which you use on your car's window seals during winter time (btw i'm still yet to get me some of those Hiplock silicone Z locks with them fork alike keys to secure the mounted battery of course even more ) .

Have an email sent to Topbikekit and see if they can do you a deal if you buy more than a battery , and by the way if you sort of like any display from their catalogue they are able to do a custom wiring and give you the one you like more . I done this recently with my Lishui controller which i've custom ordered thanks to their good support ( Lishui not KT ) so if you check TBK they have one display with integrated throttle which you might like . Let me know if you require accesories and other stuff for the bike like back rack or any other stuff , got some stuff in my Aliexpress wishlist and decent shops to order from all in one place almost .

 

[bigoilbob]

Don't know if they're even sold any more, but avoid the Xiongdang 2 speed. A terrific, non implementable, idea. The motor turned in 1 direction up to a point, then automatically reversed. With tricky innards the bike wheel then went the same direction, only 1.8 times as fast. I ran it on the 16" front wheel of my old BikeE2 tandem recumbent, and even with 250 watts it would pull up steep hills at 6-7 m/h, 2 on board, no pedaling. Too bad the 1 way clutches had only girly boy strength and wussed out sooner or later. 2 rebuilds and it is just taking up garage volume now.

 

[Robiker54]

you can probably get an "Imortor of 350 watts with a self contained 7.8 ah battery for a little over $400.plus you can sync it with your Iphone.

When I look on Amazon, all the Imortor kits are now $549. Seeing their simplicity and how the whole thing is a single unit (and even seems to have a tire already installed on the wheel), I'd go for it it was really $400.

 

[kmccune]

try "Ali Baba". or Google "I Mortor 3.0,several under $500

 

[Annieolnie]

I think you are running into tariffs. 350w and a tiny battery isn't much of a kit. At that sort of price, why not just buy a good used ebike? As we get closer to fall, prices will come down even further. Upways is very reputable, you could finance part of it and you won't have to build a thing. Compare the motor and battery on this to your kit.

 

[bigoilbob]

Late to this thread, and won't fully peruse it, so forgive me if I'm repetitive. But a front mount motor requires a burley front end that won't break when effectively bent forward, for long periods of time. I would not power a suspended front end. Yes, I know they get a similar load with breaking, but for not as often, and not as long.

I don't have data to back this up, and am open to opposing views. Also interested to learn of any warnings front suspended bike sellers give about powering them.

 

[Annieolnie]

Late to this thread, and won't fully peruse it, so forgive me if I'm repetitive. But a front mount motor requires a burley front end that won't break when effectively bent forward, for long periods of time. I would not power a suspended front end. Yes, I know they get a similar load with breaking, but for not as often, and not as long.

I don't have data to back this up, and am open to opposing views. Also interested to learn of any warnings front suspended bike sellers give about powering them.

I hadn't heard that, but it makes sense. I know people don't like them because they spin out, since there is not as much weight up front and they can also give you a kind of bobsledding feel. I have never owned one. I think Robiker was interested in them for their simplicity.

 

[bigoilbob]

I've had 2, and both handled fine. One was the 16" front wheel of my BikeE E2 tandem recumbent, and the other was on my son's unsuspended 26" mountain bike. Both used a Xiondgang 250 watt, 2 speed hub. Truly 2 speeds, not just changing the circuits. The tandem was a big success. The driver sat over the wheel, and the front fork was quite rugged. Top speed was ~16 m/h, or about as fast as we should be riding that bike. But the 1.8 low/high ratio meant that we could winch up very steep hills, 2 on board. I replaced it for the mountain bike, a mistake. I worked it too hard and broke it. A great idea, improperly engineered. But it also handled well.

IMO, if you have a set up that puts weight on the front wheel, you're ok.

 

[Robiker54]

Late to this thread, and won't fully peruse it, so forgive me if I'm repetitive. But a front mount motor requires a burley front end that won't break when effectively bent forward, for long periods of time. I would not power a suspended front end. Yes, I know they get a similar load with breaking, but for not as often, and not as long.

I don't have data to back this up, and am open to opposing views. Also interested to learn of any warnings front suspended bike sellers give about powering them.

Well, that pretty much rules out either of my 2 mountain bikes, both of which have suspensions on the front. I thought most mountain bikes did.
This is why I like to ask questions before trying something like this. It saves a lot of heart ache and head ache.

 

[munirider]

I don't have any experience with hub motors but I have put together four different mid-drives, they do take a bit of mechanical skills and a few tools but it's worth the effort. They're more expensive to build and they do better with lots of steep hills but a hub motor kit should serve your needs for getting around and they are a lot more affordable. If you have any bike shops that are sort of junky you might find an old ridged cro-mo steel fork for your rock hopper and if you ask around you might find someone in your area that could build it for you or help you build it. Do you have any friend with mechanical skills and lots of tools?

 

[bigoilbob]

Well, that pretty much rules out either of my 2 mountain bikes, both of which have suspensions on the front. I thought most mountain bikes did.
This is why I like to ask questions before trying something like this. It saves a lot of heart ache and head ache.

For no money and 15 minutes you could find the torque curve for any kit you are interested in, convert that to pull curve the end of the suspension fork (arithmetic using measurements you can easily gather), get hold of your bike manufacturer, and aks them if they stand by their product under those conditions. Braking is a pushing force on that fork end, so suspensions should be built for that. Who knows, maybe your front suspensions are plenty manly enough. But I'd aks and ponder before fork failure from the additional, not designed for, repeated loads.

 

[bigoilbob]

I don't have any experience with hub motors but I have put together four different mid-drives, they do take a bit of mechanical skills and a few tools but it's worth the effort. They're more expensive to build and they do better with lots of steep hills but a hub motor kit should serve your needs for getting around and they are a lot more affordable. If you have any bike shops that are sort of junky you might find an old ridged cro-mo steel fork for your rock hopper and if you ask around you might find someone in your area that could build it for you or help you build it. Do you have any friend with mechanical skills and lots of tools?

The ratio multiplication is the name of the game. Especially now, with burly Shimano e rated IGH's, and the Envioli line. We have those and they give us ratio's of ~2.6 and 3.8, respectively, We are properly sprocketed, with 750 watt motors, and know now that we could do what we do now - climb San Fran hills with a loaded one wheel bike trailer - with 500 watts.

High quality Chinese parts, at 2/5 the price of Bosch, made the difference for us 7 years ago, when we made our purchases. Buyer beware, avoid the Biktrix (or any other similar) 750 watt, Sturmey Archer hub combo. The SA hubs are girly and mine failed fully after ~2 years. My Shimano 7000 5 speed replacement has been flaw free for 4 years now. I must have adjusted the linkage once, but can't remember doing so. But consider the 8 or 11 speeds - not so much for the ratios and reduced speed drops, but because they can be lube'd without cracking them open.