An electrified light Dahon

[996c2s]

It all started when I saw a Vitesse D8 on sale on black friday, It was listed for 490€ and I thought it wasn't a bad deal, so I grabbed it with intentions to go electric if I like the way it handles and here I am, sold and ready to commit. https://imgur.com/a/buyMxV7

I already have another folding ebike but with thicker tires and a hefty 60 pounds of weight, so I'm dedicating this build for portability sake. I have never built anything before except computers but I have spent some time doing my due diligence on ebike conversion options :

Mid motor: Great torque, less annoying cables but heaviest weight, chainring problems and faster drivetrain wear. (Disqualified because of weight)

Rear hub motor: Better traction the front wheel but also heavier and it's quiet painful to think about maintenance. (Maybe)

Front hub: easiest to install and maintain but least torque and traction, Dahon has only 74mm forks so size compatibility needs watching out for. (Maybe)

Now what I'm looking for is a quick city commuter that fully folds and drives up to 25 km\h and has 250 watt motor (regulations). There are premium options out there like Swytch and Vekkit but I want to get my hands dirty and have the leverage of customizing my bike and using third party batteries.

Vekkit have actually stopped selling full kits until next quarter and instead they sell a foc controller with an lod wireless module that can be paired with nearly most of the motors out there, it sells for 180€. I think It's a nice albeit pricey option but you can have easy control over Bluetooth.

I'm mostly interested in the Aikema 74mm hub motor, since it fits the front fork width and it's incredibly light weight (1.6 kg/3.5 Ib). https://www.aikema.com.cn/en/product/product-18-212.html

The problem is that it seems like they only come bundled in 16" wheels as Brompton kits. It is possible to source the motor alone but I really don't think I have the expertise to lance a wheel and perhaps I could find a Bicycle shop around that could help with that.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/174847253983?var=474023308510

My Benchmark for this build is the Dahon Unio E20, A nice mid drive ebike weighing an impressive 16.7 Kg (36.7 Ib) but expensive and mostly out of stock. I'm hoping to stick around this weight figure with a small but high quality battery, the Vitesse weighs ≈ 11.5 Kg/25.3 Ib, which leaves about 5 to 6 kg for the conversion kit.

The motor RPM is 328 so do you think it will work on 406 20" ? if so which Rim should I buy ? Feel free to share your thoughts and suggestions on this build.

 

[docw009]

Here you go, mit rim. I don't know what they will charge for shipping. These guys tend to have higher rates.

http://www.topbikekit.com/16kg-akm74sx-36v250w-front-motor-20inch-406451-wheel-rim-for-p8-foldable-bicycle-p-1107.html

We (wife and I) have four 20" ebikes, All with motors equivalent to the AKM100/ One is a front drive minivello, and the other three are folders.Three 260 rpm and one 328 rpm. Suggest the 328 rpm/ Controllers are 20A and take either 36V or 48V. I mix batteries.

I spoked all four wheels myself. Elbows pointing out, single cross. That's what i'd tell the shop. I saw a photo of a chinese 20" wheel with the 100 size motor, and they used radial lacing. Yikes.

A Vitesse may fold quite well. We didn't buy folders to fold. My wife wanted a smaller bike, that would be easier to dismount.

It is hard to mount a battery of any size on a folder and maintain the style/looks. They also mess up folding. You can probably do 25 miles on a good 20 cell 36V7Ah if thru use good sanyo/samsung cells.

 

[996c2s]

Thanks big time ! I'm planning on mounting the battery like Swytch, but first I'll have to go through the sourcing process.

 

[999zip999]

Maybe I missed it but I didn't see where or what battery you're going to use and where you going to place it.

 

[996c2s]

It's going to look like the Arcc brompton kit here: https://www.arccbikes.com/products/brompton-conversion, the battery could be a Bosch 36V https://www.amazon.de/-/en/Bosch-Pr...sprefix=36v+6+ah+battery+bosch,aps,155&sr=8-1, or a similar quality cells battery with a soldered XT60 connector.

I'm still thinking about finding a proper location for the controller, but it's probably going to be somewhere in the back to avoid cable clogs.

 

[Parker]

I'm very interested to see your build. I have a folding bike and a full size electric bike and I would love to turn my folder electric. But I would want it to me multi-modal, that is I can ride it to a bus or train fold it ride then get out and ride. Most of the folding electric bike out there are too bulky and heavy and are seem more meant just to fold for storage rather that the type of multi mode transportation I am thinking of.

 

[Vincenzo]

I hope and pray that the OP with only 3 messages (all here) is fine and can come back to give an update on his project.

If not, then I hope that anyone who reads this who did switch from a regular size converted bicycle to a 20" (or less) converted folding bicycle (or at least added it to their arsenal) for the purpose of using Amtrak, Greyhound, Megabus, ... etc, to tell us about their experiences in the build (easy? ideas?) and the use (how practical and useful?) as that is a great idea to travel anywhere, at least for those who can not buy a more serious for m of transportation.

There are all kinds of folding little ones on ebay, walmart, craigslist, and other places that are $100-300 and I saw 20" hub motor wheels on ebay for about $200