Reviving an Old Front Hub E-Bike with a New Rear Drive: Need Advice and Help Choosing Parts

[Gabiru09]

Hi everyone,

I'm looking to repurpose an old e-bike I have from around 2012. The battery has died, and it has been sitting in my garage for years now. I was told at the time that it cost 400 euros to convert it with a cheap Chinese kit.

I live in the EU and would prefer to order parts from EU suppliers to avoid any issues with customs. One thing to consider is that part of my commute involves going through an aprox 7% average incline over a distance of 0.8 miles/1300 meters. For that reason, I wanted to keep the old front hub to give out a little help when needed. Do you think it can handle 48V?

My budget for this project is around 500-600 euros. I was thinking of getting a new 48V rear hub motor kit, a 20Ah battery, and a new 48V controller for the front hub.

Can anyone recommend any suppliers or parts that would fit my needs? Any advice or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you!

The commute

• aprox 50km/31mi
  

The Climb:

• 94 m /308 ft up;
• 1.3km/0.8mi long;
• 7.6 % avg incline (some sections up to 20+%);

The bike:

• Aluminum frame:
• V brakes:
• 26-inch wheels

(I tried to unearth my buried bike from the garage, but it seems to have been swallowed by the abyss. I will need some serious backup to extract it. These pictures are all I could manage to get for now, but will upload some new photos, once I figure out a way to rescue it .)

- old video footage of the bike

 

[Gabiru09]

for the rear hub would this bafang be a viable option?

Amazon.de

 

[999zip999]

Have you ever had it running do you know how it works with the front wheel motor. Do I understand it to be a 48 volt model at the moment ? Where is the controller for this front hub located.

 

[E-HP]

Where is the controller for this front hub located.

I see a whole bunch of wires going in and out of that seat bag.

 

[portals]

I installed this kit almost a year ago and love it, UK based, it's gone up in price by 20% since then though....

https://www.moddsebikes.co.uk/product/26-48v-1500w-rear-wheel-conversion-kit/



This is the LG cells battery I bought however it's sold out, they still have 48V 17Ah though

52v 17.5ah lithium battery and charger HIGH QUALITY CELL – MODDS E BIKES

 

[Gabiru09]

Have you ever had it running do you know how it works with the front wheel motor. Do I understand it to be a 48 volt model at the moment ? Where is the controller for this front hub located.

Yes, it ran before and the battery would last for about 20km. The maximum speed would be around 30km/h, a little lower on inclines. Currently, the battery is 25 volts. The controller is in the seat bag, and I believe it's 20A

 

[Gabiru09]

I installed this kit almost a year ago and love it, UK based, it's gone up in price by 20% since then though....

https://www.moddsebikes.co.uk/product/26-48v-1500w-rear-wheel-conversion-kit/



This is the LG cells battery I bought however it's sold out, they still have 48V 17Ah though

52v 17.5ah lithium battery and charger HIGH QUALITY CELL – MODDS E BIKES

That kit looks great, thanks for sharing your experience with it. Unfortunately, I won't be able to order from the UK due to customs issues. I'm glad you mentioned it though, as it's something similar to what I had in mind. I'll look for similar options from EU-based suppliers

 

[999zip999]

Why not just a new battery to start and then a new rear wheel kit.
As you will need a battery for either one

 

[999zip999]

Buy a quality battery