Jimbo397

Hi Everyone
I been considering putting a Electric Conversion Kit on my Marin MTB.
If someone would explain the differences in a front an rear wheel conversion kit I would really appreciate it.
Thanks

morph999 

Rear hub motors are safer than front ones. If a front one breaks your forks or comes off, you are probably going to fly over your handle bars and suffer a bad injury. I have two front hub motors and I've never had a problem, though. I have torque arms on both of them and one of them I have two torque arms on it. A front hub motor is easier to change a flat, though because you don't have to deal with the gears.

A front one is better if you like to keep the gearing that you have alone and pedal along with the motor. You can still do that on a rear hub motor but I've heard that rear hub motors can be a little harder to install. A rear hub motor is easier to conceal and that might be important if you live in New York city where they are banned. You can buy really small motors now that aren't very big and look like the axle you have on your bike now.

nwmtnbkr

If your fork is aluminum, you're limited to a rear wheel installation or you'll need to replace your fork with a steel one. The drop outs on aluminum forks are subject to failure without warning and torque arms won't necessarily help keep your wheel in the bike when that happens. Resulting injuries could be serious or even fatal. (There's a member of the Endless Sphere forum who's in the camp that believe no hub motor can be safely installed an a bicycle. He has a link to a copy of a photo of a bike rider's nose and face making contact with the rider's front wheel right after the fork dropouts failed in his signature. It's absolutely painful to look at.)



Morph is right, torque arms are a necessity on either a rear or front wheel installation. You also need to inspect your bike periodically. Prolonged exposure to motor torque may have unexpected consequences on any bike.

Jimbo397

At ebikes.ca they only mention torque arms for the front. And, I read where they are not designed for the rear & should not be used on the rear.
My Marin is all aluminum and I am having a bit of trouble finding out if it is ok (as in safe) to install a rear hub kit on a aluminum frame.

nwmtnbkr

Jimbo397,

Ebikes.ca only carries torque arms for front wheel hub motors and they're right, their front wheel torque arm can't be used for a rear installation. You need a different design. As for using them on a rear wheel, I'd recommend their use and them on my rear-mounted wheel.

Simonjazz

I'm not a expert but I used rear wheel conversion. I heard it's safer to use a real wheel conversion than a front one. And my ebike never had any problem. For me, safty matters a lot.

dumbass 

From what I've heard the rear wheel is better (stronger) then the front. Beside you get less hurt when the back wheel falls off then if the front wheel falls off while riding....LOL Do you know if your rear drop out was steel or alm.? No offence but even if you were/are happy with the result that is not a conformation that Jimbo won't. I say this because I have read several reports from people that have had problems on the rear drop out. I think the added insurance is worth the expense and efford finding it or making your own. Lets face it making your own isn't brain surgey if you have a few simple tools.

Jimbo397

Just a little update, I have the rear wheel conversion install, and went without the torque arm. ebikes.ca says that the torque arm on the rear is not necessary, I have quite a few miles on now, & have had no problem, this is with a aluminum frame.
Of course I realize that putting them on is added insurance.
But like I mentioned, the experts (ebike.ca) say not needed.