I’m motivated to install a mid drive conversion, but which bike?

[gotboostedvr6]

Help me pick a bike to install a CYC Photon Kit on.

2008 large Trek fuel EX9, 26er, 68mm threaded bottom bracket 1x 11sp Xt with Xt brakes. 49.5 mm chainline

2018 medium Scott Genius 940, 27.5, Pf92 bottom bracket (boost) 52mm chainline

2020 large Giant Glory 27.5 English/BSA threaded lots of links down there I’m worried will hinder motor mounting.

I’m willing to buy another used bike if there is a better frame to build.
Thanks for looking!!

 

[Chalo]

8 speed is a better choice for mid drives. Sprockets are thicker (less likely to bend) and consumables are much cheaper. Look at Microshift Acolyte 8 for contemporary one-by setup. Mid drives eat bike components as food.

Shopping for secondhand MTBs that are old enough to have fallen out of fashion gets you a whole lot more bike for the money. You'll benefit from vastly improved parts compatibility in that case too. Avoid funny bottom brackets and through axles.

 

[aae34]

Mid drive+old rear suspension, is something i'll be never doing again.
Even 750w bbs02 is enough to turn the bike into a banana on throttle.

 

[raylo32]

As Chalo says, go 8-speed if you can and stick to BSA threaded BB. The real problem with many of these MTBs with rear suspension is where to mount the battery. Depending on the battery form factor many won't fit within the triangle. You might be able to mount one under the down tube but will need extra attachment like a triple Bob and/or straps. Otherwise, maybe a rack or a backpack. I have a CYC X1 Pro Gen2 on an older Specialized Stumpjumper and I have never been happy with my battery options. Just no room in the triangle. I run a Photon on another bike, a hardtail. Much more room for the battery there.

 

[2old]

The decision may be "made" for you since the motor or chainring may contact the frame before the system is seated. I had only a couple of mm's with this 2006 Trek EX, but the bike rides great with Fox suspension and I can fit a 52V, 8ah battery in the Blackburn water bottle carrier which is enough for 25 - 30 miles since I like to pedal and mostly keep the system in PAS 1 (no throttle installed). I use three cassette gears 11 -17- 28 spaced 8-speed and get at least a couple thousand miles from the arrangement since the "17" has a straight chainline and where I do most of my off road riding.

 

[gotboostedvr6]

Thank you all for your replies. The giant glory is a proper downhill bike with 200 mm suspension.

Chalo,

The 3 bikes I can choose from are used high end bikes that I already own.

Aae34,

I keep the shocks on these bikes clean and tuned properly. If the motor causes issues I can make adjustments easily enough.

2 old,

What part of the frame was a problem?

 

[aae34]

Aae34,

I keep the shocks on these bikes clean and tuned properly. If the motor causes issues I can make adjustments easily enough.

I guess you didn't understand what i meant; rear will flex on throttle so that the rear(wheel) isn't straight anymore
when compared to rest of the bike.

Here's a cheap and quick fix i did to my bike because of that:

 

[gotboostedvr6]

Thank you for sharing that. I’m a welder and I wonder if there were other ways to fix the alignment without eliminating the rear suspension. Also consider the heat treat is now gone.

 

[gotboostedvr6]

I plan to purchase a Photon today and have some questions before i pull the trigger;

Is the PF92 version physically different then the 68mm version?
Can the PF 92 version be converted to a 68mm version to fit a different bike?
Is there an eccentric bottom bracket for A PF92 to allow a better motor mount location?
What is the highest voltage a Photon can be run at using mode 1?
What about highest voltage using 2 or 3 assist?
Which retailer is the most reliable to buy from with the best customer support?

Thank you for any information you can share

 

[gotboostedvr6]

More questions,

What is the cadence for a photon?
What is the minimum?