Front hub direct drive suitable for fatbikes?

ziebike

1 µW
Joined
Feb 16, 2018
Messages
2
Wanted to know whether there were any front hubs that would fit 135mm dropouts.
Have tried some google-ing but not having much luck.
 
There are quite a few. Check it out on Aliexpress for instance. Mxus, Bafang, Mac and many others all make Hubmotors that will fit into 135mm dropouts. Just remember, they will work better with a non suspension front fork, and also fit some good Torque Arms.
Personally, I think you would be better advised to fit a rear Hubmotor. I believe you will find the bike's handling and balance much nicer with a rear hub, and then it will be much easier to use a front suspension fork if you choose later.
 
This may sound really dumb, but I wanted to do a BBSHD in the middle and then a hub on the front for some 2WD action. I also plan to put this on a fully rigid bike so no worries about front suspension
 
Sure, a 135mm rear motor w/o freewheel can be centered in a 4" rim. That was my first spoking project and it came out OK. I did a 500W geared motor, and the whole combo, tire/rim/motor, was 16.0 pounds. Your DD motor might weigh 20 pounds. That's heavy.

2WD did work nice in snow, but riding in snow is not nice in my opinion. I lost interest and plan to put that motor back into its original rim.
 
nifty150 said:
Rear hubs allow space for cassettes so I don't think that would work well.
If you mean taht they're dished to one side, that's generally not the case with hubmotors (vs normal hubs).

Just make sure the axle shoulder to spoke flange distance is equal on both sides.

Or just lace the wheel as a dished wheel, it still works fine (just not quite as strong as otherwise).

Keep in mind that with a fatbike rim you're already likely to have to do some funky lacing tricks to make a strong wheel, if the nipple holes are spread wide across the rim rather than in a narrow line down the middle. Stuff like lacing from the left side spoke flange to the right side nipple holes, so you can get triangulation to laterally stiffen the wheel.
 
Back
Top