Advice before getting BBS02, Sustainability of the drive

[Kittenrainbow]

Hey Guys

First, I wanted to get myself a rear hub for driving my commuter-bike (about 15Km/day in a not-so-hilly area (the one hill is about 40m / 4Km and one of the steepest hills here is about 70m / 500 Meter).
I then realized, that the rear hub is too wide (other users here said that I could flex my dropouts for about 3mm per side without problems, so this wouldn't be the issue) but It would have been necessary to widen and deepen the droputs, which I didn't want to.

I then thought about a front hub, but the widening/deepening would have been necessary too, and I would have lost my front hub generator / dynamo.

Now I am thinking about getting a BBS02 mid-drive, as it seems like the only option left. However, I ask myself some questions, mainly about the sustainability and sophistication of the kit:

-According to this thread: http://endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=28&t=65711, it doesn't seem to be possible to change the ball bearings (or seems to be really hard and not to be designed to enable the customer to change it).
Is this true? Is it the same on all kits like this?

-I did not really find an answer, if it is possible to mount other crank arms and chainwheels on this kit. I ask it because I a) like the design of my existing Shimano stuff b) it would be awesome to be able to change chainwheels for the finetuning and c) the original stuff doesn't look like special high quality material (I may be wrong).

-What requirements does the bike need to fullfill to fit this kit? Or does this kit really fit on nearly every bike?

-Do I need brake switches? I read a few reviews and forum threads and it appears as the motor keeps pushing a bit after you stop pedalling. However I did not find an information about how long it keeps pushing. I am asking that because I have hydraulic brakes (and fiddling in the brake line, for example with a hydraulic brake switch inline is NO OPTION (I mean: The only thing which really needs to function on your bike are the brakes ^^)

I would really be grateful for some answers =)

Regards
Kittenrainbow

 

[puregsr]

Hey Guys

First, I wanted to get myself a rear hub for driving my commuter-bike (about 15Km/day in a not-so-hilly area (the one hill is about 40m / 4Km and one of the steepest hills here is about 70m / 500 Meter).
I then realized, that the rear hub is too wide (other users here said that I could flex my dropouts for about 3mm per side without problems, so this wouldn't be the issue) but It would have been necessary to widen and deepen the droputs, which I didn't want to.

*****Should be pretty much standard size 135mm plus or minus a few mm, shouldn't be a probelm. Re widening dropouts, it's just gentle and controlled widening with a file, nothing crazy.

I then thought about a front hub, but the widening/deepening would have been necessary too, and I would have lost my front hub generator / dynamo.

****Yea, keep your dynamo hub.

Now I am thinking about getting a BBS02 mid-drive, as it seems like the only option left. However, I ask myself some questions, mainly about the sustainability and sophistication of the kit:

-According to this thread: http://endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=28&t=65711, it doesn't seem to be possible to change the ball bearings (or seems to be really hard and not to be designed to enable the customer to change it).
Is this true? Is it the same on all kits like this?

*****If you're talking about the BB bearings, other things would break before you ride enough to change out those bearings I'm sure. Sorry, didn't read through that threads.

-I did not really find an answer, if it is possible to mount other crank arms and chainwheels on this kit. I ask it because I a) like the design of my existing Shimano stuff b) it would be awesome to be able to change chainwheels for the finetuning and c) the original stuff doesn't look like special high quality material (I may be wrong).

*****You gotta pay for aftermarket adapters. Without knowing what you have currently, not sure if it'll work. And yea, stock rings and arms are definitely not the best in terms of quality.

-What requirements does the bike need to fullfill to fit this kit? Or does this kit really fit on nearly every bike?

***** check out all the available pictures and you'll see.

-Do I need brake switches? I read a few reviews and forum threads and it appears as the motor keeps pushing a bit after you stop pedalling. However I did not find an information about how long it keeps pushing. I am asking that because I have hydraulic brakes (and fiddling in the brake line, for example with a hydraulic brake switch inline is NO OPTION (I mean: The only thing which really needs to function on your bike are the brakes ^^)

*****There are lots of solution for hydraulic brake levers and they work well. I personally think they are a must, even if it's just one side. Also, I think a shift button or motor cutoff switch is nice with the kit.
Go to em3ev website to see the related products.

I would really be grateful for some answers =)

Regards
Kittenrainbow

 

[jtrops]

From what i've learned it looks like the bearings for the BB are available, there is one that is speacial, and needs to be sourced from a Bafang distributor.

You can get chainring adapters (a.k.a. "Spider"), and then mount any chainring you want as long as there is clearance. For crank arms you need square taper arms with no spider. Bicycle trials cranks come in a few lengths, and you can get very nice ones. If you really want to stick wit a premium Shimano crank it will be a bit more work especially since Shimano dropped square taper years ago. So you would need older cranks, and you would need a normal left with a tandem captain right crank (single arm, no spider, RH thread).

 

[jtrops]

I just remembered that i have some Shimano XT M739 cranks with a removable spider. Those would work, and they look good too. I guess any square taper crank that has a removable spider should work.

 

[leelorr]

Hey Guys

First, I wanted to get myself a rear hub for driving my commuter-bike (about 15Km/day in a not-so-hilly area (the one hill is about 40m / 4Km and one of the steepest hills here is about 70m / 500 Meter).
I then realized, that the rear hub is too wide (other users here said that I could flex my dropouts for about 3mm per side without problems, so this wouldn't be the issue) but It would have been necessary to widen and deepen the droputs, which I didn't want to.

I then thought about a front hub, but the widening/deepening would have been necessary too, and I would have lost my front hub generator / dynamo.

Now I am thinking about getting a BBS02 mid-drive, as it seems like the only option left. However, I ask myself some questions, mainly about the sustainability and sophistication of the kit:

-According to this thread: http://endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=28&t=65711, it doesn't seem to be possible to change the ball bearings (or seems to be really hard and not to be designed to enable the customer to change it).
Is this true? Is it the same on all kits like this?

-I did not really find an answer, if it is possible to mount other crank arms and chainwheels on this kit. I ask it because I a) like the design of my existing Shimano stuff b) it would be awesome to be able to change chainwheels for the finetuning and c) the original stuff doesn't look like special high quality material (I may be wrong).

-What requirements does the bike need to fullfill to fit this kit? Or does this kit really fit on nearly every bike?

-Do I need brake switches? I read a few reviews and forum threads and it appears as the motor keeps pushing a bit after you stop pedalling. However I did not find an information about how long it keeps pushing. I am asking that because I have hydraulic brakes (and fiddling in the brake line, for example with a hydraulic brake switch inline is NO OPTION (I mean: The only thing which really needs to function on your bike are the brakes ^^)

I would really be grateful for some answers =)

Regards
Kittenrainbow

I used my BBS02 kit for a few weeks without e-brake cut off switches because I also had hydraulic brakes. The way my kit came adjusted from em3ev cut the power pretty quickly when you stopped pedaling (maybe a half second or so). It seemed perfectly fine when riding on the street or vacant bike paths, but caused me to panic a couple of times when I got out of shape on a trail and the power was still being delivered when I was out of control. I didn't see an easy way to add the magnet switches to my hydraulic brakes since they only had about a eighth of an inch of travel. I hated the feel of the hydraulics anyway so I converted my bike to mechanical BB7 brakes and then used Paul's magnet and cable kit by glueing the magnets to my BB7 levers. The brake cut outs work perfectly now, are almost invisible and the BB7's feel great. Another advantage is that I can squeeze just a small amount of brake lever to keep the motor from engaging when pedaling on a tight trail or when turning around in a short amount of space.