can I upgrade wheels on my e bike?

[manna06]

Hi All,

I'm wondering if I can upgrade the 12.5" wheels on my small folding e bike to 14" wheels? I have an x-treme folding bike model: xb-200li. Your expertise appreciated. Thank you.

 

[Chalo]

The short answer is "probably not".

You can assess for yourself whether you have about 1 inch of extra room around your existing tires in the frame and fork. If so, there might be room for 14" wheels. Then there is the matter of brakes. If you have rim brakes, you'll have to be able to move the pads upward around 3/4" (which might require a different brake with shorter reach) AND the new tire must be able to pass through the brake.

If all these criteria are met, then you can switch to the larger wheel size. The bike will ride about 3/4" higher off the ground after the conversion.

 

[manna06]

Thanks a lot. I have disk brakes in both the front and rear so that's a good start. Also, I've thinking that it might be possible if I place the tire further down in the fork. I see the current tire center sits about half an inch from the end of the frame. Also, I might have to take off the fenders.

I'm shooting for a two wheel drive e-bike... it's currently rear wheel drive only. very exciting idea as you can imagine.