I was thinking about using a internally geared hub. But finding one with left hand and right hand threads will probably be impossible. Most have cogs instead of freewheels and the one I know that does have threading is a tiny bit expensive. The main benefit I see with using the geared hubs would be that I could change gears with my existing motor and avoid all the complexity and extra parts a normal mid-drive would require. The thing is, I would need to find a decent quality "adapter" to thread on two freewheels onto one side of a hub. My kit came with one, but it's junk. The motor driven freewheel would just end up popping off the first freewheel. Anyone know any "better" versions of these? Main thing I'm worried about with the geared hubs is that they use a special bolt and "clickbox" on the drive side of the axle. I won't know if that part will get along with my motor's mounting bracket or not. Though it looks like it should.
Anyways the seller that sold me the electric kit now has a hub with left and right threading and is being sold for roughly $30 which I will definitely go for if I can't find a geared hub+freewheel extender I can use without too much effort.
As for what freewheel to use, I found a 16tooth left hand freewheel. But does using a right handed freewheel work on the left side? With normal multispeed freewheels, there is only threading half the way into the freewheel and only on one side. So it would have to be flipped over to be put on the left. This would mean it would spin in the wrong direction.
But most BMX freewheels including a few I already have (I have an 18tooth freewheel currently installed and a 16tooth freewheel that came with the kit) have no obstructions on them that would prevent them from being screwed on the opposite side without being flipped and thus would freewheel in the correct direction.
Bolts can be flipped over and still be screwed on. So I think the same can be said for freewheels since they screw on in a manner similar to bolts. I could just use one of my right handed freewheels. Since they have no flanges or obstructions on either side, they can be screwed on from the opposite face of the freewheel then normal and it would not have to be flipped over to screw onto the hub.
As for finding a bike shop to build the wheel around it, I found one in my area within 30 miles. I'm hoping they will provide affordable rims. Labor will probably run me $30-50 on the conservative side. I don't know what prices the rims go far. I'm not looking for an elite super true rim that would run me $200+ The rims my bike currently has came with my bike and it's a sub $100 Wal-Mart bike. So I know they do exist.
I'm very light. I only weigh about 130 pounds and have never went past 160 pounds. (it's been awhile since I've been over 140 pounds actually) and the batteries and motor probably only add up to an additional 40-50 pounds tops and some point I will ditch the SLA batteries for lithium batteries. So the rims/spokes don't need to be super durable either. Heck my el'cheapo Wal-Mart rear wheel poped a spoke when my bike chain derailed behind the freewheel and some small adjustments to the surrounding spokes to pick up the slack from the missin one, it doesn't wobble very much anymore (it's very slight and does not produce an impact on my riding experience that I can feel).
I've been running on the wheel for nearly 4+ months after the lost spoke and maybe 4+ weeks after having the bike converted to electric and having to carry the heavy SLA batteries and it's still holding up. I guess it helps that the terrain is mostly flat where I live and I don't ride it off-road either. Though I need to hurry on replacing it. The rim is now missing a bearing on the right side and I don't know what the long term impact of this will be. It's rotating without any resistance so right now it's not obstructing rotation. But I'm sure running on a wheel with a missing bearing on one side would be kinda not good.
Thanks for all your suggestions and input though.
