school me on townie e-bike conversions

[Kootenai]

Looking to turn my old stumpie into a townie ebike. Budget is less than 1k for as much quality as I can get. What to get? What not to get? It looks like the front wheel conversion is best. Amazon, USA company? Spill it.

[SB]

Certain trails are overflowing with abandon ebikes, just go pick one up.

[nickwm21]

No experience… Interested in this as well.

Hilltopper and Swytch have been interesting to me as a “quick” packaged conversion.

The only reason I haven’t pulled the trigger and converted my old Masi is the brakes. You’re adding weight, you’re adding speed, IMHO you’ll need to have great brakes then. My townie has rim brakes. If your stumpie has disc brakes then just bump those rotors up to 200s…


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[MagnificentUnicorn]

Copenhagen wheel

[Kootenai]

Copenhagen wheel is discontinued. Swytch has import and duty taxes. I found some good info on Grin Technologies out of Canada. But, would like to hear personal experiences with the conversion.

Currently Dillinger out of Seattle is the top of my list.

[kalisto]

I converted a flat bar to BB drive. bafang. all in cost me just under 1k. most of that honestly was the cost of the battery. didn't skimp there. that said the battery is huge and lasts for a LONG time. (can easily do 100+ km with assist). battery is also shit heavy.

it was a good amount of work and wiring. things you don't think about going into it. (wiring brakes so motor cuts out. because mine is BB driven. wiring sensor for derailleur so it cuts out when shifting).

all in. i got a shit fast e-bike that goes far and is pretty fun to ride, but wasn't an insignificant amount of work.

in terms of front wheel vs BB vs rear wheel. BB will ride the best. front wheel cons (tons of info online). lack of traction, throws steering off, potentially unsafe due to front forks not expecting that sort of weight/torque, loud.

i originally was going to go front wheel due to ease of install and went another direction (and happy I did).

[kalisto]

https://www.tetongravity.com/forums/...-Kit?p=6341435

more info here and obviously feel free to reach out with any questions.

[Kootenai]

Ahh! Thanks for this! I guess my search was short sighted! Good info on the old link. I still want to avoid the mid drive due to simplicity and not wanting to put wear and tear on the dt. Are there enough strong cautions on hub motors to justify the mid drive?

[kalisto]

Kinda depends on the use case, and terrain. Purely for ripping around town? Hilly? Flat?

[Kootenai]

Kinda depends on the use case, and terrain. Purely for ripping around town? Hilly? Flat?

Yep, townie, mostly paved, some gravel, somewhat hilly.

[kalisto]

if you're just ripping around town and it's more "commuter", then just go with a hub drive. won't get the advantage of gears, so you lose some efficiency there, but purely as a mode of quick transportation.... whatever.

I'd just be careful driving a bunch of wattage through the front wheel. standard bikes aren't designed for that, so I'd probably consider a steel frame/fork? Aluminum should be okay...ish? I'd probably inspect it often.


you're going to have to wire up battery and sensors anyway, so I wouldn't consider the hub drive THAT much simpler. does make flat tire changes easier?

I built mine up as a rig to tow two kids around in a Thule trailer in reasonably hilly areas, for extended bikepacking trips, so was bit more focused of ride feel and efficiency.