The goal of this project was to create an ebike from as few tools and resources as possible. This project started with one average bike, one donor bike and one working electric scooter. The tools used were wrenches, a drill and a hacksaw and a jigsaw. Beauty was sacrificed for function and cash. Here is the bike before painting all the donor parts.
View attachment 4
In planning the conversion there seemed to be three basic problems. How to mount the parts to the bike, how to get the power to the ground and at what gearing. If the gearing is not correct then the rest of the project doesn't matter as your bike will be really slow or not go at all.
My gearing solution was to use the entire drivetrain from the scooter and attach the donor bike cassette/freewheel to it. My scooter had band brakes and I found that the thread for the band brake hub is exactly the same as the cassette!!!!! Unfortunantly in my case the scooter hub was poorly made and the cassette did not run true to the axle once attached. Plan 2 was enacted..... I just cut the spokes from the donor rear wheel and used the entire hub assembly which was attached to the scooter rear wheel/hub, radially, with screws. I had to cut away the flange from one side of the rear wheel hub to get it into the scooter hub. It turns out that when you flip the rear hub assembly, the motor drives the bike and you get the freewheel too! The axle from the bike fit into the scooter frame after fiddling with the bearing to axle shaft relationship. It was easier than it sounds.
View attachment 8
The front sprocket from the donor crankset (pedals) was removed, drilled for holes between the spokes, and attached to the rear wheel using a piece of an old tire in back of the spokes. A diy rag joint idea stolen from motor powered bikes. I did have to file the inside hole to fit over the hub and next to the spokes. .
View attachment 7
Next I had to mount all the scooter parts to the bike. A piece of the donor bike was cut for vertical support. Yes those are the rear diagonal arms with dropouts and brake mounting support still attached. See the first picture, it is the orange part.
The scooter frame was cut with the idea of using the existing framework for mounting. A long piece of frame was left to mount the front of the frame to the seatpost bolt.View attachment 5
The donor frame was attached to the scooter frame with a piece of aluminum angle. You can see where the angle was cut to allow clearance for the tire. The bolt goes through the hole in the donor frame that held the rear brakes on.
View attachment 6
The speed controller was mounted using the existing holes with U bolts, again using pieces of tire for rubber mounting. View attachment 2The lever throttle was added to the handlebars.View attachment 1
The derailer from the donor bike was mounted to tension the chain. I screwed the adjustment screws in until the alignment was good. Crazy but it just fit that way and works!View attachment 3
I still have to mount the box to hold the key switch. It will fit into the tiny triangle at the front of the frame. I'll tidy up the wiring paint a few things and It will be considered done.View attachment 9 So how did it work out? The bike is a little top heavy with the two lead batteries in the box behind the seat but it is really stable and rides well. Top speed is probably 17mph and range is about 8 miles in this cold weather. I will add another battery for 36v because it helped the performance of the scooter so much. The bike glides great but you do have twice the freewheel click. One for the pedals and one for the motor. It isn't pretty but the EV grin is about the same whilst motoring along quietly enjoying the breeze.
View attachment 4
In planning the conversion there seemed to be three basic problems. How to mount the parts to the bike, how to get the power to the ground and at what gearing. If the gearing is not correct then the rest of the project doesn't matter as your bike will be really slow or not go at all.
My gearing solution was to use the entire drivetrain from the scooter and attach the donor bike cassette/freewheel to it. My scooter had band brakes and I found that the thread for the band brake hub is exactly the same as the cassette!!!!! Unfortunantly in my case the scooter hub was poorly made and the cassette did not run true to the axle once attached. Plan 2 was enacted..... I just cut the spokes from the donor rear wheel and used the entire hub assembly which was attached to the scooter rear wheel/hub, radially, with screws. I had to cut away the flange from one side of the rear wheel hub to get it into the scooter hub. It turns out that when you flip the rear hub assembly, the motor drives the bike and you get the freewheel too! The axle from the bike fit into the scooter frame after fiddling with the bearing to axle shaft relationship. It was easier than it sounds.
View attachment 8
The front sprocket from the donor crankset (pedals) was removed, drilled for holes between the spokes, and attached to the rear wheel using a piece of an old tire in back of the spokes. A diy rag joint idea stolen from motor powered bikes. I did have to file the inside hole to fit over the hub and next to the spokes. .
View attachment 7
Next I had to mount all the scooter parts to the bike. A piece of the donor bike was cut for vertical support. Yes those are the rear diagonal arms with dropouts and brake mounting support still attached. See the first picture, it is the orange part.
The scooter frame was cut with the idea of using the existing framework for mounting. A long piece of frame was left to mount the front of the frame to the seatpost bolt.View attachment 5
The donor frame was attached to the scooter frame with a piece of aluminum angle. You can see where the angle was cut to allow clearance for the tire. The bolt goes through the hole in the donor frame that held the rear brakes on.
View attachment 6
The speed controller was mounted using the existing holes with U bolts, again using pieces of tire for rubber mounting. View attachment 2The lever throttle was added to the handlebars.View attachment 1
The derailer from the donor bike was mounted to tension the chain. I screwed the adjustment screws in until the alignment was good. Crazy but it just fit that way and works!View attachment 3
I still have to mount the box to hold the key switch. It will fit into the tiny triangle at the front of the frame. I'll tidy up the wiring paint a few things and It will be considered done.View attachment 9 So how did it work out? The bike is a little top heavy with the two lead batteries in the box behind the seat but it is really stable and rides well. Top speed is probably 17mph and range is about 8 miles in this cold weather. I will add another battery for 36v because it helped the performance of the scooter so much. The bike glides great but you do have twice the freewheel click. One for the pedals and one for the motor. It isn't pretty but the EV grin is about the same whilst motoring along quietly enjoying the breeze.
Duct tape or not i think its at least worth of a couple of 40's 
