Looking for Help Getting Started on DIY eBike Conversion

This is the bike I currently own, and ride daily:
(see attached photo)

29" tires, but shock-absorbing thing in the front.
Seat is a hot piece of garbage. Pure trash. Pisses me off just to think about it.
Steel frame.
Could use this to convert to e-bike, or I could go with this variation, but in 26":


I'm 5' 9" and my legs are shorter than standard, so I have some trouble straddling the 29" bike. It's not a big deal on an "acoustic" (lol) bike, but I suspect the weight/mass and momentum of the converted e-bike could become a problem. So I like this women's bike with the curve pipe, but it erodes the "triangle" and I'm concerned that there won't be room for a battery. Could also get the male version of the 29" bike I have, but in 26", but someone earlier in the thread said 29" tires make the ride smoother, so I'm predisposed to go that way.

A lot of this information is overwhelming, and last night while reading it occurred to me that what I COULD do, is simply duplicate someone else's build that's posted it here, and then BLAME them for when something goes wrong AND demand they hold my hand and help me FIX every little problem because after all they CREATED me, my bike, and the whole situation.

Was my goofy day-dream.

But I am seriously thinking about not reinventing the wheel, and just going with whatever someone else has successfully done.

Errata:
1) I'm pretty much "locked" into either using my current bike, or buying a new one from Walmart. I tooled around both Craigslist and Offer-Up and these people are INSANE with what they want for used bicycles. I have no desire to spend money on a major project that I have to fix BEFORE I start slapping e-bike components I've never used before.
2) I play guitar, and the "acoustic vs. electric" bike protocol cracks me up.
 

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Huffy bikes are made to disappoint. They're only good at two things: selling to people who don't know better, and disappointing those same people.

Don't do it. You'd be better off with a real bike you dragged out of a creek bed. (But don't do that either.)
 
A rear rack or seatpost clamped rack can solve battery placement, I even have a frame bag for the battery on an ebike. The axle of a hub motor is twice as thick as a normal wheel, make sure the rear wheel drop outs on the bike are strong and wide. I used a 20" rear hub motor in unison with a 26" front wheel to help with hills, but it makes my rim brakes not work, so I use the controller wire brake, which is less effective.
 
MxusMick said:
seatpost clamped rack can solve battery placement,
Click to expand...

A seatpost rack can also send your battery dancing down the road while you have nothing to sit on. Don't do that either.
 
Tylen Wanister said:
This is the bike I currently own, and ride daily:
(see attached photo)

Errata:
1) I'm pretty much "locked" into either using my current bike, or buying a new one from Walmart. I tooled around both Craigslist and Offer-Up and these people are INSANE with what they want for used bicycles. I have no desire to spend money on a major project that I have to fix BEFORE I start slapping e-bike components I've never used before.
Click to expand...
I take it back. I wouldn’t recommend converting your 29er. When you said 29”, I automatically assumed it had disc brakes or at least mounts for disc brakes. Not as easy to go from 29 to 26 or 24 with rim brakes.

One approach -
Budget for a sub $300 1000W rear hub kit off Amazon or eBay.
A random example below. But I would get a 24” kit. It’s a small torque advantage relative to 26” with the same motor, but every bit counts for taking off or going uphill:

Spend about $300-$400 for a hailong style battery, so you can easily remove it (with the key) when you park it somewhere. (With regards to the kit and battery, there are also some options where the controller is built into the battery mount, KT makes one, so if you want that, you’ll need to do some more searching. It would be a cleaner look.

Look again on Craigslist, Facebook marketplace, or wherever people sell used bikes. Look for a 26” hard tail frame with a decent front suspension fork (not the pogo stick kind) that will fit you, and has disc brakes or disc brake mounts on the frame and fork. Look for straightish frame tubes like you have now, with enough triangle space to fit the battery and remove it (needs to slide forward. They have patterns or dimensions for those packs to check frame fit. You can guesstimate using your current frame as to what might work.
Where are you located? For Craigslist here $200-$400 gets you the above. You don’t want it to be too pretty if you’re parking it in front of the store. Mechanically solid and good fit is what you want. Ugly is the best theft protection (remember when people would put duct tape or primer all over their Cannondale mountain bikes so they’d look uglier than the shiny one parked next to it?).

In this case, it’s might be better to use cable pull disc calipers rather than hydraulic, since the kits come with cheesy brake cutoff levers that are cable pull. If you use hydraulic brakes, you’d use the existing levers, but need to budget $20 for add on magnetic cutoff switches.
You can buy a built 24” front disc wheel on Amazon for $50.
Budget $20 for a pair of cheap discs as well.
Budget for a 24” front tire and tube.
So that’s about $100 for the odds and ends above, depending on brake options.

Oh almost forgot, most kits come with a pedal assist sensor that attaches to the bottom bracket spindle. I know they fit on the older square tapered type, but not sure if all types will work.

26” to 24” is a good conversion. Enough triangle room for mounting stuff, adult dimensions instead of kids size, and the slightly lower bottom bracket height doesn’t really cause more pedal strikes, at least from what I’ve noticed, starting with a 26” kit, then upgrading motors and lacing the new one with 24”. The bike fit stayed exactly the same, but easier to stay on the seat at intersections with the smaller wheels. I would actually get hydraulic brakes and deal with the add on switches. They’re easy to set up, but you’d need to make sure the connectors match up, if they aren’t part of the kit.

You should be able to stick right around your budget and if you’re good at finding the lowest prices, you probably can get a rack and still stay under. Only buy a battery pack with brand name cells. EM3EV is recommended a lot on this forum.
Lastly, the above is just one way to spend your budget. Even though it’s a slim budget, there are still many options. You can refine components as you go along later.

48V used to be the “sweet spot” for a period. Highest commonly supported voltage at the time, since the cost of 60v and above would rise sharply, like above 72v does now. Then 52v became the hot rod 48v. Almost all controllers that are spec’d for 48v could operate at 52v. Battery levels on displays (bars) never caught up, so it’s not fully supported across all units, but still popular. For factory bikes, it looks like 60v is the new 48v now, but 60v is less common for DIY bikes since most enthusiasts will go straight to 72v or higher now.
 
You should be able to find a 20-30 year old small frame hardtail mountain bike of good quality for $200-$300 on craiglist or similar if you give it a couple months. Find out the make and model, look online for old reviews of the bike, you'll learn which ones are good deals pretty quick. Some people do want way too much ( they remember what they paid for the bike) but it's a buyer's market. There are a half dozen old mountain bikes per mile ( sitting dusty in garages) in most cities/suburbs

If you've ever had a wheel go out of true, worn out a rim braking surface, or dented a rim, you may want to go with at least one disk brake. An Avid BB7 mechanical caliper (old tech now, cheap on e-bay) will bolt to any disk compatible front fork (some odd ones you'll need an adapter) and stop you quickly. You don't want hydraulic brakes unless the bike you buy already has a riding position you like (shortening hydraulic lines is a PITA)

A cruiser or comfort bike ( again, buy decent quality, used) is also a good base bike. Fewer changes to the cockpit, more relaxed geometry and handling, typically at the cost of a bit more weight. "Foot forward" pedal position is nice, a lot of Electra brand bikes have that.

My personal rating of the various types of motors, having built and ridden all three...

Front geared hub...easiest install, but means no suspension fork (unless you're willing to make it much more complicated.)

Rear geared hub...second easiest install, suspension fork is easy, but a flat tire on the road gets more complicated (not a lot) "Slime" and a can of "fix a flat" foam might get you home.

Mid drive...toughest install (though still pretty simple, IF you have the tools or can borrow them) leaves more of the bike original than the other options, handles hills best ( for a given power output ) If your donor bike has a three speed gearhub ( you'll often find that on cruiser or comfort bike, not mountain bike) you're golden, chain issues pretty much go away. Old mountain bikes often have 5-6 speed rear clusters, and those will use chains that last a lot longer than new style 9 speed chains when driven with a motor. Probably lighter than a rear hub motor with the same climbing ability.

Your battery will add significant weight (somewhere between ten and twenty pounds) to the bike, so if you have to lift it, you'll notice. Having one you can pull off easily and drop in a backpack (while you wait for the bus) is worthwhile, so don't cramp your battery. Or go too huge.
 
26" wheels with hub motors in them have more torque because they're smaller than 29". So that's an advantage.
But they're less comfortable and you may find yourself wanting front suspension and a seatpost as your bike is moving much faster now.

Want cheap bikes? check out bikesdirect and their returns outlet, bikeisland ( even cheaper ).
I've had very good luck with them in the lsat few years.

Here's a bafang $300 shipped geared motor kit that will do about 25mph on a 52v battery on a 29" and have decent power. With pedaling, it'll do up to 29mph on the flat.

Pair that with a battery from em3ev ( high quality for a middle range price ).
And put it on the cheapest bike you can buy.

I recommend having a suspension fork on a bike that does more than 20mph. Non-suspension forks go from being a comfort problem to a safety problem at high speed.
 
neptronix said:
26" wheels with hub motors in them have more torque because they're smaller than 29".
Click to expand...
Just to be clear for readers:

That's assuming it's the same exact motor, controller, etc.

If it's the same motor with a different winding with a kT proportionally higher for the 29" wheel (and thus kV proportionally lower) then for the same controller, etc., it should be the same torque (and speed).

If it's a different motor, controller, etc., then it depends on their properties and capabilities as to which one would have more torque.

But all other things identical than the wheel size, then yes, the smalller the wheel the more torque (and less speed) it would have. :)
 
Given your circumstances and requirements I'd suggest keep your bike for leisurely excercise and grab a little-wheeled folding scooter for booting down to the bus stop.

Means carrying groceries in a backpack, but iit makes the procedure so convenient thst you won't mind doing it multiple times a week.

Rule of thumb for micro-mobility is use the least vehicle necessary for the task, and really, a teeny little scooter is the most practical for short trips and public transport.

You're not doing it for exvercise, excitement, or sight-seeing, just want to get from A to B with the least fuss. So, yeah, something like a ninebot makes a ton of sense. They're not just for teenagers ... perfectly acceptable transportion for grown-ups.
 
glennb said:
You're not doing it for exvercise, excitement, or sight-seeing, just want to get from A to B with the least fuss. So, yeah, something like a ninebot makes a ton of sense. They're not just for teenagers ... perfectly acceptable transportion for grown-ups.
Click to expand...
And they're by far easier to carry on public transport or in a trunk of a car when combining multiple modes of transport. A bicycle makes sense at distances over 20km or exceptionally poor roads, in my experience.
 
glennb said:
So, yeah, something like a ninebot makes a ton of sense. They're not just for teenagers ... perfectly acceptable transportion for grown-ups.
Click to expand...
They're perfect for grownups who want traumatic brain injuries or broken limbs. Ask any ER nurse or neurologist what he or she thinks about them.
 
glennb said:
Given your circumstances and requirements I'd suggest keep your bike for leisurely excercise and grab a little-wheeled folding scooter for booting down to the bus stop.
Click to expand...
I see a fair number of folks taking this route, buying those little folders from Costco. Maybe 1 out of 40 or so ebikes I see. I agree they may be a good solution to fulfill a distinct purpose. It's a spectacle seeing a large adult hunching over, squeezing their body to barely fit on them, putting down the trail at 15 mph. They fulfill their purpose, unless part of the purpose is having fun. None of those riders ever looks like they're having fun. They ride by like they don't want to be seen instead. There was a point where I was at Costco and thought of getting one just for fun, but now I see them as a last resort.
 
I'm 186cm (6'1" in freedom units) and I feel very comfortable on a stock m365. No hunching over. It's very fun to ride, much better than heavy, slow accelerating ebikes at the speeds i normally ride in the city. It turns quicker and is way easier to get on and off in mixed traffic.
 
bananu7 said:
I'm 186cm (6'1" in freedom units) and I feel very comfortable on a stock m365. No hunching over. It's very fun to ride, much better than heavy, slow accelerating ebikes at the speeds i normally ride in the city. It turns quicker and is way easier to get on and off in mixed traffic.
Click to expand...
I have no idea what that is. Does it look like this?
6543071_sd.jpg;maxHeight=2000;maxWidth=2000;format=webp
 
Chalo said:
They're perfect for grownups who want traumatic brain injuries or broken limbs. Ask any ER nurse or neurologist what he or she thinks about them.
Click to expand...
Yes there's people who self-inflict brain injuries by way of drug abuse, who fall off scooters when they're high and drunk, and would be safer walking, but I hope you're not insulting the OP by suggesting he's one of them.
 
glennb said:
Yes there's people who self-inflict brain injuries by way of drug abuse, who fall off scooters when they're high and drunk, and would be safer walking, but I hope you're not insulting the OP by suggesting he's one of them.
Click to expand...
We were discussing the ride advantages of 29" wheels over 26" and 24", and now we're considering 6" wheels?!!!

Scooters might be safe if you're willing to keep to a walking speed, on the sidewalk. IF you have nice sidewalks where you ride.

That's not the OP's plan, they ride a bike.
 
Ride quality is poor to the point of becoming dangerous on anything lower than a 20". The smaller the wheel, the faster, the more dangerous.

I'd feel more confident riding a mountain bike at 60mph than doing 20mph on something with teeny wheels, considering the potholes and >1 inch curb lips we have all over the place here.

Even 20" is kinda small, i managed to dent a rim at high speed on a recumbent despite the fact that the rear tire was at >50PSI simply because of the impact with an irregularly shaped object, nothing like that has happened at much higher speeds on 26" wheels and above.
 
A 20" rear hub motor has a good feel with a 26" front wheel, for a few reasons, it maneuvers numbly, it accelerates quickly, it positions the rider in a better, safer zone, and when heavy pedalling combined with hill climbing shows a drastic improvement over a 26" rear hub motor in my limited experience.
 
MxusMick said:
A 20" rear hub motor has a good feel with a 26" front wheel, for a few reasons, it maneuvers numbly, it accelerates quickly, it positions the rider in a better, safer zone, and when heavy pedalling combined with hill climbing shows a drastic improvement over a 26" rear hub motor in my limited experience.
Click to expand...
None of which has anything to do with ride quality. :/

The whole reason my new trike gets 26" (or 29" if I can) rear wheels vs the 20" rear wheels on the SB Cruiser and the old CrazyBike2 is because of ride quality--the bigger wheels ride relatively gracefully over unavoidable road damage and vehicle debris the smaller wheels can be (and have been) broken by, or fling the trike and me and cargo up in the air, etc.
 
I agree, i used to be a small wheel enjoyer due to the amazing DD power until the NVH turned me off. I realized dual suspension is the only way to make small wheels work and they will always have higher friction than tall wheels.. so in the last couple years i got turned into a geared hub motor / mid drive enjoyer since these options both work well with tall wheels.
 
neptronix said:
so in the last couple years i got turned into a geared hub motor / mid drive enjoyer since these options both work well with tall wheels.
Click to expand...

Tall DD hub motors also work nicely with tall wheels. My QS212 with a 26x3" tire and my Leaf 6T with a 29x2" tire never disappointed me.
 
glennb said:
Yes there's people who self-inflict brain injuries by way of drug abuse, who fall off scooters when they're high and drunk, and would be safer walking, but I hope you're not insulting the OP by suggesting he's one of them.
Click to expand...
I've watched cold sober people bust ass for no apparent reason on those things. Saw one guy have a single vehicle, straight line whoopsie on a Lime scooter during my band rehearsal at midday last Sunday. It was dramatic enough that most of the band gasped and commented.

Why people who think bikes are dangerous will even get near those things is beyond my understanding.
 
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