retrofit Mongoose drive train to a decent bike?

My first choice would be to install a USPD system on my current bike. That doesn't seem to be an option, and I'm not sure any of the hub systems will fit on my bike. I also like the idea behind being able to run on 24v with minimal battery weight.

How similar is the drive train on the Mongoose bikes to the USPD? Would it be possible to take it off and put it on a decent bike?

Alan

You'd have to stay with the mongoose rear wheel hub, and I think you'd need to find an alternate way to secure the mongoose drive to the back dropouts. I'll have to look at my wife's mongoose for more detail. It's too darned cold in my garage right now, so I'll try tomorrow.

Charlie

Like Charlie says, you'll need to keep the mongoose wheel as it's threaded on the left hand side to take a freewheel. You will also need to figure out a way to attach the motor to the seat stay. The mongoose/dyno bikes have a small slotted plate welded to the seat stay for the top motor anchor point. It shouldn't be hard to rig something up.

I believe USPD kits are still available (at least in part, I think he had the drivetrain but no motors) from http://evdeals.com but they ain't cheap. It would be cheaper to buy a mongoose and hack the drivetrain onto your own bike if that was your preference. The comfort models are quite good IMO, provided you spend some time adjusting the brakes, wheel bearings and bottom bracket bearing they're perfectly acceptable to ride.

Yeah, it's been done. TNCscooters sells'em, cheap even w/controllers and all.

Looks like it has the potential to make an excellent ebike:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gKE_JmdNPT4

Mathurin, thanks, but I went to TNCscooters.com and all I see there are scooter parts. can you be more specific?

I checked out the youtube videa, are you sure that's the same as the Mongoose motor??

Mathurin said:

Yeah, it's been done. TNCscooters sells'em, cheap even w/controllers and all.

Looks like it has the potential to make an excellent ebike:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gKE_JmdNPT4

Click to expand...

Lemmiwinks, thanks, but I've already checked with Scott at evdeals, he no longer has the spoke drive assemblies.

I've heard some mixed reviews on how good the comfort bikes are. How suitable do you think they'd be for a 13mi (one way) commute which is fairly flat? (I'm in Texas.) I would have to carry the batteries in to recharge during the day.

Does anyone know if the Northern Tools stores have floor models of these? I'd like to see one before I buy it.

lemmiwinks said:

I believe USPD kits are still available (at least in part, I think he had the drivetrain but no motors) from http://evdeals.com but they ain't cheap. It would be cheaper to buy a mongoose and hack the drivetrain onto your own bike if that was your preference. The comfort models are quite good IMO, provided you spend some time adjusting the brakes, wheel bearings and bottom bracket bearing they're perfectly acceptable to ride.

Click to expand...

amjones said:

I checked out the youtube videa, are you sure that's the same as the Mongoose motor??

Click to expand...

I can confirm that it is the same motor. (I have the same on my mongoose cx450.) TNC sells them ($45): http://tncscooters.com/product.php?sku=106105 The Currie claims of 450w are inflated (250w actual).

A 13mi distance means a fair bit of pedalling. I get about 7 mi with occasional pedal action.

The biggest drawback to the currie bikes are the SLA batteries. You could go further with a battery upgrade. Curries offer a low-ticket-of-entry into ebiking, but the trade-off is limited range and lower speeds. That's fine for casual riders, but for commuters, more mojo is called for. For a budget upgrade, you might get by with adding one or two more SLAs. A better upgrade would be NiCds ($$).

You might find curries at sporting goods stores like Dunham's or MC Sports, or even Walmart.

If you have tried e-biking, you probably like it. If you are handy, it might be worth a DIY to your present bike using good batteries. You will get great support from this group.

amjones said:

Lemmiwinks, thanks, but I've already checked with Scott at evdeals, he no longer has the spoke drive assemblies.

I've heard some mixed reviews on how good the comfort bikes are. How suitable do you think they'd be for a 13mi (one way) commute which is fairly flat? (I'm in Texas.) I would have to carry the batteries in to recharge during the day.

Does anyone know if the Northern Tools stores have floor models of these? I'd like to see one before I buy it.

Click to expand...

Ah, ok bummer. Excuse me while I get my calculator out :wink: 13 miles is about 20.8 km. You would need to pedal to go that far and recharging at either end is essential. I know one guy here in Australia who has a 20km each way commute who bought a comfort bike (on my recomendation - yikes!). Anyway, he loves it to bits (as I do mine).

The Aussie versions only provide assist up to 22kph (13.75 mph), but the US versions seem to run a little faster. Personally, I find I can pedal faster than that on level ground so rarely use my motor in that situation. The limitation of the currie drive is you can only go faster by changing the motor gearing (tricky as there are no options for the sprockets that I'm aware of apart from custom made solutions), or increasing the motor voltage to 36V. This can cause overheating problems dependant on motor load plus it screws up your recharging regime.

So the currie might not be for you

As for the bottom bracket drive using the gearmotor, been there, done that 8) Personally, although the performance was everything you'd expect, and I fitted a freewheel to the motor so I could pedal without turning the motor, I still didn't like it. Firstly I lost the ability to easily pedal backwards because the motor creates a lot of resistance when hooked up to the controller. This might not sound like much, but I like to reset my pedals to the best position for takeoff after pulling up at an intersection.

Also, because I had no freewheeling in the cranks, like the stokemonkey, I had to pedal whenever the motor was under power. I didn't like it. There are systems that freewheel the cranks, most notably the cyclone, but I prefer to pedal at my own pace while varying the amount of motor assistance. This can best be done with a seperate drivetrain. Also, with a system like the cyclone, what's the incentive to pedal at all? It will take you as fast as the motor will rev in the bikes highest gear without you moving your legs.

This might sound crazy, but to me the low top speed of the currie drive is an advantage. I only use the motor when I really need it, like when I'm bogged down into a headwind, or climbing a hill (even a little one). The rest of the time, if I'm maintaining 20+kph on my own I'm 1) getting some much needed exercise 2) conserving the batteries for when I really need them. I've ridden 72km (45 miles) on 46Wh of battery using this method. Plus I really enjoy pedalling 8)

amjones said:

Lemmiwinks, thanks, but I've already checked with Scott at evdeals, he no longer has the spoke drive assemblies.

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i was just in contact with Scott a couple of days ago and he told me he has the spoke drive for both the 32 and 36 spoke. what he does not have is the left hand threaded hub to use with the other thread on version of the uspd that does not use the spoke drive.

i want to put one of the threaded ones on my new Cruzbike, so i got the axle from Staton and am getting the rest of the drive from Scott. the axle is RH on one side and LH on the other and is the only one of its kind. i did not think the new currie drive was compatible. i will have to look into that... the staton hub and axle are $129 and by the time i got it built into a wheel i could have purchased a mongoose and thrown the rest away.

a great motor for the uspd drive is the 24v 400W Kollmorgen "Hi-Koll". A carton of these brushless internal controller motors that revolve CCW was mistakenly ordered by Currie when they needed CW. they are available on ebay or from evdirect for $35 or i have some i have reversed so they work with the uspd for $59 shipped. lots of us are using these motors with external control at up to 85v and they scream. i also sell them with the internal controller removed and set up for external control for $109 shipped. i believe tim at powerpackmotors also sells his motors CW for use with the uspd if scott does not have any motors.

Scott has fabricated a larger stronger freewheel for the uspd which was its weak link. he includes this in drives you buy from him. he also has a cool chain tensioner for older units where the chain adjuster has run out of room but the chain is still usable. i think he has a constant supply of the spoke drive units now.

chashb said:

You'd have to stay with the mongoose rear wheel hub, and I think you'd need to find an alternate way to secure the mongoose drive to the back dropouts. I'll have to look at my wife's mongoose for more detail. It's too darned cold in my garage right now, so I'll try tomorrow.

Charlie

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Hey!!

Chas nice to see you on here!!! a lot of the good guys are coming to this place nice to see another one!!! take care in the cold!!

Knoxie

OK, I'm REALLY confused now. On Feb 5th Scott wrote in an email to me:

I have the motors and many of the USPD parts, but not the spoke interface assemblies. You will also need a controller and throttle with the motor!

Bob wrote:

i was just in contact with Scott a couple of days ago and he told me he has the spoke drive for both the 32 and 36 spoke. what he does not have is the left hand threaded hub to use with the other thread on version of the uspd that does not use the spoke drive.

Click to expand...

Bob, doesn't the stock USPD motor include an internal controller? Does your Hi-Kol motor include an internal controller or would I need an external controller?

If I can put together all of the parts I'd like to get one of the Hi-Kol motors from you.

bobmcree said:

amjones said:

Lemmiwinks, thanks, but I've already checked with Scott at evdeals, he no longer has the spoke drive assemblies.

Click to expand...

i was just in contact with Scott a couple of days ago and he told me he has the spoke drive for both the 32 and 36 spoke. what he does not have is the left hand threaded hub to use with the other thread on version of the uspd that does not use the spoke drive.

i want to put one of the threaded ones on my new Cruzbike, so i got the axle from Staton and am getting the rest of the drive from Scott. the axle is RH on one side and LH on the other and is the only one of its kind. i did not think the new currie drive was compatible. i will have to look into that... the staton hub and axle are $129 and by the time i got it built into a wheel i could have purchased a mongoose and thrown the rest away.

a great motor for the uspd drive is the 24v 400W Kollmorgen "Hi-Koll". A carton of these brushless internal controller motors that revolve CCW was mistakenly ordered by Currie when they needed CW. they are available on ebay or from evdirect for $35 or i have some i have reversed so they work with the uspd for $59 shipped. lots of us are using these motors with external control at up to 85v and they scream. i also sell them with the internal controller removed and set up for external control for $109 shipped. i believe tim at powerpackmotors also sells his motors CW for use with the uspd if scott does not have any motors.

Scott has fabricated a larger stronger freewheel for the uspd which was its weak link. he includes this in drives you buy from him. he also has a cool chain tensioner for older units where the chain adjuster has run out of room but the chain is still usable. i think he has a constant supply of the spoke drive units now.

Click to expand...

i cannot say what scott has from one day to the next, but he told me he had spoke adapters a few days ago. the 400w 24v motors have an internal controller and need a pot throttle unless you hook up a 5v source to power a hall throttle. it is possible to remove the internal controller and use the motors at higher voltage with an external controller, or there are motors designed for the external control. if you want one of the Kollmorgen motors you can email me offlist at bob@bobmcree.com

Right back at you Knoxie! Not posting much lately.... I've been busy upgrading my Currie eride MTB. 48V 10ah nimh pack, powerpack motor, new battery box, re-inforced pinion drive.....

Charlie

i talked with scott m at evdeals about the currie drives, and except for a set of parts he is keeping as models for CNC fab of more, i got the last one for my Cruzbike. The planetary gearbox he is using now is from the Lashout which is interchangeable with the Currie USPD but heavier and a better clutch and freewheel, then the custom hub drive scott makes. the stanton hub was the only LH thread on i could find and it is $129, so the hub drive system with no wheel or motor is about $400. this would be for a system that threads on the LH side and lets you use a regular thread-on freewheel sprocket for the pedal drive. stanton rates the hubs to 2 Hp and that is about where i will use mine. This is the same hubs he uses in his gas engine bike conversions.

there are still a couple of parts scott cannot get that he will have to have made if there are to be any more USPD drives. i suggested that maybe people would be willing to pre-order some to give him the capital to have parts made. he will let me know if he wants to do that, but there is at least the possibility that there will be more currie drives in a few months. for the majority of users i think a single gear ratio system is plenty, and the uspd is a very reliable lightweight alternative to hub motors that can be as powerful as the motor and battery system make it.

-bob

Hey Bob,

I just had an hour long conversation with Scott today myself. Yes, he's thinking about having the USPD drive parts made locally. I told him that he can count on my support. I also agree that while just single geared, the USPD is enough to get the job done quite effectively.

Charlie