To fix or start again? crystalyte 408 powered townie

jkj

10 mW
Joined
Nov 27, 2015
Messages
21
I've got a 26" Townie i3. I love the relaxed position etc but it doesn't have disk breaks and has a 120mm rear dropout. It currently has an old crystalyte 408 front hub. The only way to add a decent rear brake would be a sturmey archer rear drum. It needs new wheels anyway at this point. So buy a couple new wheels or buy a new bike that has a disk brake setup and move to a newer motor?
 
I really think I'm going to swap it up... my end goal is super reliable low maintenance. I'd like a comfortable cruiser with wide ish tires and hydraulic disc brakes... Any ideas? Thinking hub drive since I want lower maintenance right?
 
Many steel frame bikes can have the rear triangle spread and dropouts bent back in to alignment to increase the axle width. Going from 120mm to 135 is a bit much but depending on the construction it may be possible.

There are also some disk brake retrofits that might work but I think you have to know what you're doing to pick a kit that will work for you and then install it properly.

If it makes sense to fix up the bike or start over really depends on what you have and what you would be happy with.
 
Well, the Electra is alu but still, the dropouts can be spread to fit a 135 mm motor, even better if you drop wheel size to 24 inch. Regen can be well enough for the rear, if you buy a fork that has IS mounts and set a good brake on rhe front.
 
jkj said:
I really think I'm going to swap it up... my end goal is super reliable low maintenance. I'd like a comfortable cruiser with wide ish tires and hydraulic disc brakes... Any ideas? Thinking hub drive since I want lower maintenance right?

Depending on the hub drive you choose, clearance between the hub and disk may limit your choice of calipers; so something to consider before ordering/buying parts. My winter project is to move my setup to a new frame to convert to discs and to get more clearance for bigger tires, so I'm in the middle of deciding whether to go with hydraulic or mechanical (the latter are generally more narrow).
 
jkj said:
I'd like a comfortable cruiser with wide ish tires and hydraulic disc brakes... Any ideas? Thinking hub drive since I want lower maintenance right?

Hydraulic discs are not consistent with low maintenance. Not only can't you fix them at home with ordinary tools, but when they have a problem, it usually results in no braking power at all on that wheel. A normal bleed kit like for a car or motorcycle isn't enough to bleed bicycle brakes. And bleeding them doesn't do anything to address why they lost fluid to begin with.

The good news is that the cheaper examples of hydraulic discs are getting very cheap indeed ($40-45 retail) and do work much better than similarly cheap mechanical discs. I'm willing to pay extra for BB7 or Spyke mechanical brakes so I can adjust and repair them quickly with simple tools, without contaminating the pads or rotors.
 
40$ is a set of replacement pads on a good disc brake. No wonder why it is PITA to service disc brakes that are sold 40$ conplete. :D
 
Townies are great bikes, but maybe you have the wrong one to upgrade stuff.

120 mm rear sounds like coaster brake, or something not so compatible with rear motor. Nothing wrong with your brakes if you have dual rim brakes, but it would still have to have front motor to keep that bike. That's no problem if you like front motor. If you do, upgrade that to a larger geared front motor that coasts nice, and feels a bit torquier than the 408.

A few people here would love to buy a 408 off you btw, so sell it on the forum. NO motor more quiet that those 408's. You might just want to keep that bike as is, and do a different type of e bike, like a mid drive. ( mid drive should fit your townie btw.)

After all the number of e bikes you need is the number you have,,, plus one.
 
Back
Top