Aplam

I have a Storck C11 Scenario I bought second hand with the intention of taking up the sport and then it went into storage as I went remote for work. Now I am looking at this dust collector and wondering whether or not it is a good candidate for ebike conversion to use as a commuter?

2old

AFAICT it's a carbon road bike; this is a big challenge although some of the major manufacturers (Bianchi) are doing it now with small rear hub motors. Look for Charles 58's conversions here or on endless sphere.

veganbikes

A good conversion candidate is a bike that has a motor mount for say a Bosch or Brose motor and ideally a battery mount as well or in the case of Bosch something that has the connections and space for the new PowerTube battery. Generally though in that case I would just go for the complete bike.

I wouldn't convert any bike unless it was built with tubing designed to handle high torque and extra weight. So something like a road bike for instance would be a poor choice unless it was built as an e-bike in the first place.

chas58

Road bikes generally are very difficult to work with
1) the tubing is too thin and light to take the torque of the motor
2) the rear dropouts are too small and delicate to handle a large through axle
3) there is no good way to mount a throttle.

Potentially you could do a lightly powered mid drive on it (if it was compatible with the frame). But the throttle is a difficult one. My motor has very little torque, so I just use an on/off switch for the throttle.

Dewey101

Doc_Wui

Weight is less of a consideration for an e-commuter. This makes a chro-moly (steel) bike a better candidate for a hub conversion because the rear dropouts on the frame or or front ones on the fork are better able to take the stress of a motor. For a middrive conversion alloy or steel are fine.

My first conversion started on an alloy bike. I posted a pic of the rear hub motor on it, prior to wiring, and was chastized for not having torque arms. I immediately changed it over to an older steel frame bike. Total weight with battery is 52 pounds, one of my heaver ebikes. I ride it and like it though.

Another consideration is whether your bike has space on the frame for mounting a battery. I have one bike which has a rack mount battery over the rear wheel. While it looks dorky, I have not found the 8 pound battery over the wheel to affect my regular riding, but a downtube battery is a probably better.

BrocLuno

I would say it is quite doable, depending on the kit ... For a mid-drive kit, it all comes down to the bottom bracket (BB). If the kit will fit into and through your BB, you have a start. The next issue is how to deal with the torque? Some kits "crush" the BB shell to try to hold it all in place ...

Me, I'd look at the Tongsheng TSDZ2 kit and see if it will work for you. Battey goes on your bottle mounts. Motor contains the controller, so no messy external box with wires. Torque is managed with a small plate across the chain stays.

Has built-in TQ sensor and no throttle. It's pedal assist only (in the general configuration). Small display on the left bar. Select the level of assist you want and it adds power as you pedal. No throttling to worry about.

You can look them over here: TSDZ2 kit I'm sure there are dealers in the UK.

Robert C

Myself, I have been looking for a full suspension bike with room for a large battery. I also look for disc brakes, or the ability to easily add them.

2old

Circa 2015 GT had a Sensor (and one other) line with rear shocks buried in the frame adjacent to the bottom bracket leaving almost the entire triangle open. Also, Giant has similar, but not as "open" models. I would think you could locate one in SLC.

BrocLuno

Well I just looked at a bunch more images of the bike and I don't think the Tongsheng will work ... The rear wheel/tire are pretty tight to the seatpost on your bike, so prolly not enough room for the little torque plate ...

Then it would be rear hub for me. Lots of choices there

MikeyMK

It's harder to take/hold an e-bike above the motor's top speed, and even the most basic kit can triple the weight of the bike. E-bikes are relatively sedate. Given the importance of tougher tyres, and less so weight and aerodynamics, the idea of a legal electric road bike baffles me. It just doesn't make any sense.

The only benefit i can see is to mid-drive it and cheat the speed restriction, so it gives you a little help at high speed, as well as hills.

BrocLuno

All about where you live/ride...

Out here on the coast you can go on a nice morning ride and have a 30 mph headwind all the way home.

Anywhere out of the Napa Valley is a serious climb if not heading for SF Bay. And even for a bay trending route you'll have at least a few miles of hills ... All the roads that are not major highways have steep sections. So if you are in your semi-dressy office clothes and you do not want to arrive all sweaty, an eBike makes a lot of sense

2old

You might take a look at what Bianchi and others are doing with small, light rear hub motors which (probably) retain the feel of the bike while adding a modicum of assist. Personally, now that smaller motors and batteries are available I'm looking to shed as much weight as possible.

Robert C

At this point, I have pretty much given up finding a full suspension bike that will work as a donor. I will be going hardtail. This is also due to my intention to use it as a commuter. full-suspension bikes are hard to get racks to feel solid on.

I have been looking at a bikes direct bike. The Gravity HD Trail 27.5. Why 27.6 instead of 29? Because if they made a 26 I would go with that.
I already have a 48V battery from a different project bike and I haved ordered a TSZD2 to put on it. I like the idea of a torque sensor instead of the rotation sensor in the Ba-Fang.

Eventually, I may order one of the full suspension bike frames that have internal battery storage in the down tube. They also support the new Ba-Fang motor that has the torque sensor. However, right now I need something for commuting before I move too far to walk to work, which is coming soon.

fietsbob

Here, Rural, the LBS does Mid Drive conversions of Fat & Mountain bikes , .. for the street customers just buy the bike with the motor in it..

Shimano STEPS and Bosch motors require a Frame built around them..

Lots of looking ends when they find out the price..







...

seibaatgung

Would a mountain bike be a good bike to convert? I'm thinking of getting something like the Giant Trance and putting in a front-drive conversion kit

2old

The challenge (AFAICT) is the forks have a thru-axle and this arrangement can't accommodate most motors. IMO, the best possibility is the all axle motor from Grin (ebikesca).

rosefarts

Ebike n00b here but I’m in the process of converting one.

My base bike is a Yuba Boda Boda. It’s a smaller version of a cargo bike. In theory, I will have a ton of extra spots to cleanly attach batteries and accessories. I haven’t gotten all the parts yet but it seems like it’s going to be almost plug and play.

For my money and time, I don’t think I’d spend that money or time on a regular bike to convert. Seems like the weight and bulk would barely overcome itself.

cat0020

Depending on the designated type of cycling you plan on doing with your ebike, but generally, you want the donor bike to have enough braking & weight carrying capacity.
I've done near dozen of ebike conversions with hub & mid-drive motors; most of them from downhill (26" wheels) mt.bikes that are designed to handle the higher speeds & weight.
Disc brake mounts on frame & fork, disc compatible wheels are better suited for their braking performance.
Extra weight capacity for the additional weight of motor, battery & controller, etc.
If you're carrying extra (cargo) weight on the converted bike, likely with extra performance of the motor you would want better brake performance, too.

IME, with conversions, things don't usually go according to planned, there are lots of different ways to achieve the same goal in converting a bike into ebike.
Just how much time & effort you are willing to play around with different solutions.
With the recent popularity of ebikes and lower costs, there are plenty of choices to pick from different online seller.
Low budget, high performance ebikes are widely available that conversions just seem more work than need be.
Personally, at my age; I much rather spending time riding vs trying to get things to work, YMMV.

seibaatgung

are cargo bikes generally good candidates for conversion?

cat0020

If your riding requires a cargo bike.
Cargo bikes are good are certain type of cycling, but not so good at others.
They are meant to handle the extra weight, so that's a plus, but long wheelbase & sluggish handling are not ideal if you are after something nimble and quick.

2old

FME, the bike that one converts is whatever the individual wants to ride. My first conversion was an errand bike, and it turned out that a 20 mph front hub system on a mid-90's steel bike was perfect for the application. Next a steel hardtail with a mid-drive and seven years of off road use later it's been pretty great for that application. Etc as I've converted many more bikes for myself and others. The only problem with a cargo bike conversion (IMO) is that most have a flat area adjacent to the bottom bracket and with a mid-drive, ground clearance is reduced severely. This isn't a problem with OEM systems.