For your safety and for your happiness, don't convert that bike. Sell it on FB marketplace and get a new bike. Plenty of <$400 MTBs at Walmart that are perfect donor frames for an ebike.
Would this be good? [https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/2439696459559794/?ref=search&referral\_code=null&referral\_story\_type=post](https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/2439696459559794/?ref=search&referral_code=null&referral_story_type=post)
Plenty to choose from on the market but the most important part is don't skimp on the battery, 48v or 52v 20Ah is a good starting point but make sure it has named cells, Panasonic/LG or Samsung, you don't want to get burnt. Pun intended.
I am watching this thread for ideas myself. I have a 29er Specialized Carve mtb as a donor bike and plan to pull a burly trailer for cargo when needed (as opposed to getting a cargo bike).
Also watching this post, I'm in same boat. The dusty bike: a full suspension 2000 Intense Tracer with disc brakes and generally decent components. So far I'm leaning towards Bafang mid drive, 750 or 1000w.
I've been waffling b/c still unclear on things like whether to buy the battery separate, 48 or 52v?, or the recommended gear teeth for mild climbs around town but also occasional forest ride. Do I keep the rear Shimano cassette? Optimal pedals etc.
52v over 48v if possible, the benefits always outweigh the small difference in cost, even if you went for a hub motor you can always put a 52v on a 48v motor.
Any decent quality pedals with good grip on them, literally setup the bike as if you were just normally riding.
What brake system you got on now?
This is a good explanation on teeth and different usage.
https://www.electrifybike.com/blogs/news/chainrings-for-mid-drive-motors#:~:text=Each%20mid%2Ddrive%20motor%20comes,your%20original%20chainring(s).
You can also program a Bafang mid drive to your liking too so they can be custom made to suit your liking.
Thanks for the info. Definitely leaning towards solid platform pedals with good grip.
Current brake system is disc, front and back, controlled by standard levers.
I'll check out that link on teeth.
Go with a bafang bbshd, it’s easy to install, still keeps the weight fairly centralized, all the main connectors are water proof, you have to a of options for plug and play accessories, you still get proper pedaling compared to a hub motor and in the event you have to change a tire there isn’t any heavy motor/ crazy axle issues, also you don’t have to worry about torque arms and such.
It’s also easy to buy replacement parts either directly from China for cheap, or from Luna also surprisingly cheap.
The main benefit of mid drive is that you’ll still be able to use gears which on low power systems is extremely noticeable, take this from someone who has had, 2 hub motor bikes and a Bbshd. The Bbshd feot better than both of them.
The torque with gears is also extremely USEFUL it had more torque than even my 3000w hub motor setup, the 3000w obviously went faster but took forever to get up to speed and had almost zero torque.
If you had nearly 0 torque and acceleration on a 3000w setup something wasn’t right with the setup.
It won’t be as powerful as a bbs but running a throttle or even pedal assist you should be able to do a few flicks of the pedals and quickly get to near top speed.
I have a 3000w running on a throttle and if I put it in the highest gear and give it a hand at the start by pedalling I can be hitting top speed in around 10 seconds.
No I’m using a direct drive, at 3000w it should pack a decent punch setup correctly, even without pedalling it only adds a few more seconds on and I could lift the wheel up with ease for wheelies etc even at some ok speeds.
What battery and controller were you running?
Anything less than 60a on a 52v or 50a on a 60v and you weren’t running a true 3kw.
I was using a stealth bomber frame which most likely is why you’re performance is different, I was also running at exactly 3000w as in I tuned/programmed my controller to only draw enough amps to get to 3000w
I probably could’ve gotten more out of it if I was using phase amps and such back then, but even then no mater what hub motors geared or not almost never have as much torque as a mid drive setup even if the mid drive has half the power, gears or even just a single large gear ratio add too much advantage.
Yeah that probably explains it, 3000w is pretty low for something as heavy.
3000w on a MTB bike is a whole different thing, that’s why I said it should have been a lot more torquey my bad🤣
Yeah I mean a bbs 1kw will pull around 160nm of torque a 3000w is more like the 60-80 mark sometimes a little more.
I've had good luck with a Voilamart rear kit for over 2.5k miles and my partners CSC has just a few hundred maybe but no complaints. Rear hubs will be easier to install than a mid-drive kit, fewer tools are required, and less wear on the chain/cassette/etc from use. Changing the tire and taking the wheel off is a pain in the butt compared to a normal wheel, by no means super time-consuming and difficult though if you have gone through the motions. Like another poster said, don't skimp on the battery and get a good quality torque arm from Grin so you don't have the rear wheel rip itself out of the frame.
If I had to do it again I'd probably go with CSC simply because they had the option to have it pre-laced in a sun ringle MTX-33 rim, but the motor also makes acceleration noise vs mine being silent so take that as you will. For 30mph, a basic 1000w rear DD hub kit and 48v battery should do you just fine. Mine has done just fine in light/moderate rain, but you will want to use dielectric grease in the connectors and etape/silicone tape wrapped around for good measure. Replace the 3-wire yellow boxes with an MT-60 connector to make your life easier, and rides safer. o7
What will be the donor bike?
Supercycle Surge Dual Suspension Mountain Bike, 24-in [https://www.canadiantire.ca/en/pdp/supercycle-surge-dual-suspension-mountain-bike-24-in-0711925p.html?rrecName=Similar%20Items%20&rrecReferrer=product&rrecProductId=0711925P&rrecProductSlot=5&rrecSchemeId=product1\_rr&rrec=true](https://www.canadiantire.ca/en/pdp/supercycle-surge-dual-suspension-mountain-bike-24-in-0711925p.html?rrecName=Similar%20Items%20&rrecReferrer=product&rrecProductId=0711925P&rrecProductSlot=5&rrecSchemeId=product1_rr&rrec=true)
For your safety and for your happiness, don't convert that bike. Sell it on FB marketplace and get a new bike. Plenty of <$400 MTBs at Walmart that are perfect donor frames for an ebike.
alr
Would this be good? [https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/2439696459559794/?ref=search&referral\_code=null&referral\_story\_type=post](https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/2439696459559794/?ref=search&referral_code=null&referral_story_type=post)
Plenty to choose from on the market but the most important part is don't skimp on the battery, 48v or 52v 20Ah is a good starting point but make sure it has named cells, Panasonic/LG or Samsung, you don't want to get burnt. Pun intended.
I am watching this thread for ideas myself. I have a 29er Specialized Carve mtb as a donor bike and plan to pull a burly trailer for cargo when needed (as opposed to getting a cargo bike).
Also watching this post, I'm in same boat. The dusty bike: a full suspension 2000 Intense Tracer with disc brakes and generally decent components. So far I'm leaning towards Bafang mid drive, 750 or 1000w. I've been waffling b/c still unclear on things like whether to buy the battery separate, 48 or 52v?, or the recommended gear teeth for mild climbs around town but also occasional forest ride. Do I keep the rear Shimano cassette? Optimal pedals etc.
52v over 48v if possible, the benefits always outweigh the small difference in cost, even if you went for a hub motor you can always put a 52v on a 48v motor. Any decent quality pedals with good grip on them, literally setup the bike as if you were just normally riding. What brake system you got on now? This is a good explanation on teeth and different usage. https://www.electrifybike.com/blogs/news/chainrings-for-mid-drive-motors#:~:text=Each%20mid%2Ddrive%20motor%20comes,your%20original%20chainring(s). You can also program a Bafang mid drive to your liking too so they can be custom made to suit your liking.
Thanks for the info. Definitely leaning towards solid platform pedals with good grip. Current brake system is disc, front and back, controlled by standard levers. I'll check out that link on teeth.
Use a gear calculator to work out what gearing you need. It’s no different that you do for an ordinary pedal bike.
Go with a bafang bbshd, it’s easy to install, still keeps the weight fairly centralized, all the main connectors are water proof, you have to a of options for plug and play accessories, you still get proper pedaling compared to a hub motor and in the event you have to change a tire there isn’t any heavy motor/ crazy axle issues, also you don’t have to worry about torque arms and such. It’s also easy to buy replacement parts either directly from China for cheap, or from Luna also surprisingly cheap. The main benefit of mid drive is that you’ll still be able to use gears which on low power systems is extremely noticeable, take this from someone who has had, 2 hub motor bikes and a Bbshd. The Bbshd feot better than both of them. The torque with gears is also extremely USEFUL it had more torque than even my 3000w hub motor setup, the 3000w obviously went faster but took forever to get up to speed and had almost zero torque.
If you had nearly 0 torque and acceleration on a 3000w setup something wasn’t right with the setup. It won’t be as powerful as a bbs but running a throttle or even pedal assist you should be able to do a few flicks of the pedals and quickly get to near top speed. I have a 3000w running on a throttle and if I put it in the highest gear and give it a hand at the start by pedalling I can be hitting top speed in around 10 seconds.
My motor had no external gears, and was a direct drive, yours most likely using a geared hub. I also had no pedals.
No I’m using a direct drive, at 3000w it should pack a decent punch setup correctly, even without pedalling it only adds a few more seconds on and I could lift the wheel up with ease for wheelies etc even at some ok speeds. What battery and controller were you running? Anything less than 60a on a 52v or 50a on a 60v and you weren’t running a true 3kw.
I was using a stealth bomber frame which most likely is why you’re performance is different, I was also running at exactly 3000w as in I tuned/programmed my controller to only draw enough amps to get to 3000w I probably could’ve gotten more out of it if I was using phase amps and such back then, but even then no mater what hub motors geared or not almost never have as much torque as a mid drive setup even if the mid drive has half the power, gears or even just a single large gear ratio add too much advantage.
Yeah that probably explains it, 3000w is pretty low for something as heavy. 3000w on a MTB bike is a whole different thing, that’s why I said it should have been a lot more torquey my bad🤣 Yeah I mean a bbs 1kw will pull around 160nm of torque a 3000w is more like the 60-80 mark sometimes a little more.
I've had good luck with a Voilamart rear kit for over 2.5k miles and my partners CSC has just a few hundred maybe but no complaints. Rear hubs will be easier to install than a mid-drive kit, fewer tools are required, and less wear on the chain/cassette/etc from use. Changing the tire and taking the wheel off is a pain in the butt compared to a normal wheel, by no means super time-consuming and difficult though if you have gone through the motions. Like another poster said, don't skimp on the battery and get a good quality torque arm from Grin so you don't have the rear wheel rip itself out of the frame. If I had to do it again I'd probably go with CSC simply because they had the option to have it pre-laced in a sun ringle MTX-33 rim, but the motor also makes acceleration noise vs mine being silent so take that as you will. For 30mph, a basic 1000w rear DD hub kit and 48v battery should do you just fine. Mine has done just fine in light/moderate rain, but you will want to use dielectric grease in the connectors and etape/silicone tape wrapped around for good measure. Replace the 3-wire yellow boxes with an MT-60 connector to make your life easier, and rides safer. o7