New wheel for Aotema

[anon0973923]

Hi, I have an Aotema front hub motor laced in the 700c stock wheel included in most of the kits the Aotema is sold with. It is a lousy rim and the sidewall is already dented in several places. The stock rim can basically only take Maxxis Hookworms because it is so damn wide, also the rim diameter is slightly smaller than 700c so even 2.2" and 50mm tires will blow off the sides. It also means I had to file my brake shoe brackets in order for them to reach the rim at their lowest position. Long story short, I'm done with it.


I would like to replace the wheel and relace the hub to a new wheel. I can use the spoke calculator to get the correct dimensions based on my Aotema specs but I'm not sure of the minimum width of a wheel I can lace the Aotema hub to (since it's a pretty fat direct drive). I'd like something that's closer to 23-25mm interior diameter with double-walls so that I can use 47mm and 50mm tires comfortably, which is what I consider the sweet spot for my usage. I imagine that there had to have been a good reason to use such a wide rim to begin with (I think it's ~29mm interior diameter). I can't find much information about whether having the spokes pivot inwards a lot is safe or if there is a better way to relace the wheel (say to have all of the spokes on the inner side of the flange).

Does anyone have experience with this? I love the motor, I just need a better wheel.

 

[amberwolf]

If by having spokes pivot inward you mean having the lines of nipple holes in the rim be close to the centerline of the rim, then that is a good thing (vs having them closer to the edges of the rim, nearer the braking surfaces), because it gives a better "bracing angle" and makes a stronger wheel.

If that's not what you mean you might need to draw us a picture.

 

[dogman dan]

Wide hub to narrow rim is fine.

 

[anon0973923]

Wide hub to narrow rim is fine.

Great, thanks!

 

[Rassy]

I would even try lacing up the new wheel with the old spokes since they might be close enough in length to work. with the narrower rim a slightly longer spoke would be needed, but with the double wall rim a slightly shorter spoke would be needed, so the end result may be the same.

 

[999zip999]

New rim new spokes.

 

[Rassy]

zip said:

New rim new spokes.

Good point and many would agree. I'm a DIY guy, basically cheap and like to recycle and repurpose instead of discarding stuff.

If nothing else, after lacing it up with the old spokes (good practice if you are a DIY) you would know exactly what length spokes you need to order. I've ended up with calculators giving different lengths and getting spokes that weren't the right length.

 

[999zip999]

I have had a hard enough time with new spokes with new setup. Now old spokes with the head deformed or cut or angle at the nipples. I mean worried about breakage.

 

[amberwolf]

FWIW, I haven't had trouble with a new rim and old spokes as long as the hub was the same, and I did not remove the spokes but rather transferred one over at a time from old rim to new at just the nipple end, so that the angles of everything match and seating is the same at the hub, etc.

It's when I reuse spokes from a different hub/rim combo onto something else where I sometimes (but not often) run into problems with elbows or heads breaking.


That said, unless a new rim has a pretty close ERD to the old one and nipple hole placement is similar, the old spokes could be way too long or short to make it work anyway, so new spokes won't hurt.

But it *is* easier to still lace it up in basic with the old spokes to see if they fit, then if they don't, you can *see* how much longer or shorter your new spokes need to be.

 

[dogman dan]

This is a really good source for a new rim and spokes for an e bike motor.

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

They are very familiar with the size of your motor, it's identical to the 400 series crystalyte motor they used to sell tons of. And they stock good durable rims for motor rim use. It might make choosing a rim easier, to just choose from what they think is a good choice.

Otherwise, you can use their spoke calculator after selecting a rim, using the motor 400 series crystalyte. Once you know the spoke length for the rim you chose, you could find thick 12g ebike spokes for cheap on ebay. Or even find your current spokes are ok.

I'd choose a mid price level double wall rim with eyelets on the spoke holes, a cargo bike rim. Not too deep dish rim though, because then Schrader valves are too short to get air in the tire easily.

One like this. http://www.ebikes.ca/shop/ebike-parts/rims/rim26-dm24.html

It could be cheaper someplace else, but go to Grin first is not a bad habit to get into.