Can I fit a freehub on a hub motor threads?

[rg12]

Hey Dudes,

I have a guy that wants me to convert his 29er to ebike and he wants to keep his gears and shifters all the same.
Well, ain't gonna happen.

He has a 10 speed freehub with sram x7 shifters and the width of the 10 speed cassette is 41mm while the width available on the hub motor is 31mm (about 8 speed cassette calculating by eye).

What do you think is the best solution?
I have seen a hub motor with freehub before without the gears on but I don't know how they did it, is that some kind of adapter that turns the hub motor threads to accept freehub splines?

Also can a 10 speed x7 shifter work with 8 speed or does the shifter need to change too?

 

[Skrzypas]

I have a Nine Continent RH2806 motor with a place to put 8 or 9 gears cassette. I don't know if 10 is wider than that or not, but if not, than here you have a possible solution. I had 3x9 but I decided to stay on 1x9 after few e-bike mode rides.

 

[Warren]

If he already has a motor that is set up for a freewheel, you can't use a cassette. If he is still looking to buy a motor, then get one with a freehub body. If the former, he will need a freewheel that fits the space. If there is really only 31 mm, then only a 5 speed freewheel will fit, and he'd need a shifter for sure.

http://www.ebikes.ca/shop/ebike-parts/freewheels/fw5spd1428.html

Or if it is a steel frame, you could spread the chainstays, and use two axle spacers

http://www.ebikes.ca/shop/ebike-parts/motor-parts/spacewash5.html

to allow a 10 speed freewheel.

http://em3ev.com/store/index.php?route=product/product&path=41_56&product_id=165

 

[rg12]

Well I can't change the motor and it doesn't matter since the width of the motor at that power wouldn't be narrower than what it is now to allow more cogs.
It seems that it doesn't matter if I had a few mm here and there, going from 31mm to 40mm cassette (after a bit of research I found that most 8-10 speed freewheels are 40mm wide while 7 speed is 36mm for example so still quite bigger than my 31mm).

What do you recommend me to do if I have to go to 5 or 6 cogs? are there any good shifters for that?
The guy has those cool x7 clickers that work very well and I know that the lower number of cogs I have the shittier that shifter gets...

 

[Warren]

If you followed those links I posted you saw that only a five speed freewheel will work. If the motor is over 1000 watts he won't need more than five gears anyway. Five speed was 5.5 mm spacing. Ten speed is 3.95 mm spacing. Ten speed shifter will not work as is. Nothing decent available in five speed anymore, but this would work. It is for SRAM so called 1:1 ratio derailleurs.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/SRAM-MRX-Comp-5-Speed-Bicycle-Right-Rear-Grip-Twist-Shifter-MTB-Hybrid-Cruiser-/222020527622?hash=item33b1746606%3Ag%3AfBIAAOSw7NNT-lLz

 

[999zip999]

Ask first.

 

[rg12]

If you followed those links I posted you saw that only a five speed freewheel will work. If the motor is over 1000 watts he won't need more than five gears anyway. Five speed was 5.5 mm spacing. Ten speed is 3.95 mm spacing. Ten speed shifter will not work as is. Nothing decent available in five speed anymore, but this would work. It is for SRAM so called 1:1 ratio derailleurs.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/SRAM-MRX-Comp-5-Speed-Bicycle-Right-Rear-Grip-Twist-Shifter-MTB-Hybrid-Cruiser-/222020527622?hash=item33b1746606%3Ag%3AfBIAAOSw7NNT-lLz

Damn that sucks...
This shifter will make the guy have a thumb throttle.

If I do go for this shifter, do I need to change the chain, chain ring and derailleur?

EDIT: You said that a 10 speed shifter wouldn't work as is, does that mean that I can somehow limit it to less gears and make it work with the different spacing?

 

[dogman dan]

No, because the steps on the shifter are narrow.

he'll need a 7 speed shifter, or less, then the clicks will space right. Not a twist shift, if you want to use a half twist throttle. Or go old school, with a friction shifter that has no clicks. Friction shifter works good with any throttle.

Fat 7 speed chain means a new derailleur too.

Think about it,, not only will he not need 10 gears, he really will only need one gear with a hub motor. the fastest one.

But this is where I always say,, "don't ruin your favorite bike with a motor"

 

[rg12]

The guy is into sports, rides on quality 29er with fox shocks and stuff...he wants to ruin them I guess, he needs help in some extreme inclines that he can't handle so he still needs his gears.
I think I will order from my hub motor supplier a side cover for the hub motor that has a freehub (yes they have that) and I will just put in the cogs one by one on it until it's "full" and have the whole drive train, shifter, chain and all stay the same with the same spacing and life is good.
I think I can fit there about 7 speeds which is alot for a 7kg hub motor with a 135mm dropout, only magicians can do that :wink:

 

[Chalo]

He's barking up the wrong tree trying to add hub motor power to an already optimized MTB without screwing up all the virtues it already has.

The best he can do with his current bike is fit a BBSHD or the like, but it won't be anything like the same bike after that. Trek and Specialized sell turnkey e-MTBs that represent what this guy is after, but they are spendy.

 

[rg12]

He's barking up the wrong tree trying to add hub motor power to an already optimized MTB without screwing up all the virtues it already has.

The best he can do with his current bike is fit a BBSHD or the like, but it won't be anything like the same bike after that. Trek and Specialized sell turnkey e-MTBs that represent what this guy is after, but they are spendy.

Yup he showed me the website of a bike he wants, 6k.

 

[999zip999]

So a cassette motor with a ten speed with fit the mountain bike ? Just if. Would it work.

 

[Chalo]

So a cassette motor with a ten speed with fit the mountain bike ? Just if. Would it work.

If it's spaced 135mm and it has an 8/9/10 speed freehub body, then it will work on a normal MTB with vertical or horizontal dropouts. Won't work on one of those goofy thru-axle things, though.

 

[MrDude_1]

He's barking up the wrong tree trying to add hub motor power to an already optimized MTB without screwing up all the virtues it already has.

The best he can do with his current bike is fit a BBSHD or the like, but it won't be anything like the same bike after that. Trek and Specialized sell turnkey e-MTBs that represent what this guy is after, but they are spendy.

Yup he showed me the website of a bike he wants, 6k.

That price actually seems quite reasonable.