Will this bike break if converted to ebike?

[Brett1010]

So according to another guy I spoke with the rear motor option won't work because this bike has coaster brakes.

So I guess my options are:

1) Front motor

2) Install different brakes and do a rear motor

3) Someone mentioned using regen braking

Yeah?

 

[marvin78]

I see you're not taking a friction drive into consideration?

 

[Slowchris11]

There is a Tongsheng TDSZ2 with a coaster brake function. The easy way... but you still have to do some modification to the pedal hub to fix a mid drive there.
It all depends on your skills and tools to your disposal.

 

[2old]

BM has a speed limit of 5 mph and is considering banning e-bikes for the future if (and when) they cause problems. I don't think brakes are the most prominent problem since you can use your sneakers to stop from that speed (ALMOST). You have very limited time, very little power requirement and want to retain the appearance, so friction (as above) might be the best option.

 

[marvin78]

BM has a speed limit of 5 mph and is considering banning e-bikes for the future if (and when) they cause problems. I don't think brakes are the most prominent problem since you can use your sneakers to stop from that speed (ALMOST). You have very limited time, very little power requirement and want to retain the appearance, so friction (as above) might be the best option.

I get enthusiastic from the idea of a friction drive, it mixes that beautiful old cruiser style of the bike with an just as old Dutch tradition ( Solex if French but let's forget about that for a minute ).

But considering his limited time, and the fabrication required for the mount, not to mention setting it all up, I am not feeling it any more. Even if a friction drive should be simple to set up, it will require some sourcing parts as at first I thought ready to install friction drive kits would be hard to find... they are not.

( edit: why did I link the 300w which is more expensive and not even needed ) QR-E MUTE-Plus +B70*1 200Wh Ebike Kit

Shipping time up to 18 days.... And a lot less expensive as I thought / expected ( try GBoost... same concept, twice as expensive ).

*wasn't aware of 5mph limit.. I mean, that's almost 'give me three wheels so I can go this slow without having balance issues' territory :/

 

[PaPaSteve]

Burning Man is all about the art.
The bike is an appropriate art piece just "as is".
Maybe do some maintenance so it rolls well and add fun, artful lighting.
Jumping on the various art cars to rumble around the playa can be more fun anyway.

 

[Brett1010]

So a couple of replies here...

Friction Drive: the bike has fenders on it, which looks like it might interfere with the friction drive (though I could remove the back one).

Mid-drive w coaster brake function: 52V 750w Tongsheng looks ok, though I figure 750w is higher power than desired based on past comments. This might be my only viable option.

 

[Brett1010]

There is a Tongsheng TDSZ2 with a coaster brake function. The easy way... but you still have to do some modification to the pedal hub to fix a mid drive there.
It all depends on your skills and tools to your disposal.

Do you know what kind of modification is needed to the pedal hub? My tools are minimal, though there is a bike shop across the street.

 

[Slowchris11]

If you scroll down on th page you find measures of the TSDZ2 and there is also a video, how it is installed in the usual 68mm hub

TSDZ2B tongsheng 36V 250W/350W tsdz2 electric bicycle central mid motor with torque sensor VLCD5 XH18-LCD VLCD6 850C

TSDZ2B tongsheng 36V 250W/350W tsdz2 electric bicycle central mid motor with torque sensor VLCD5 XH18-LCD VLCD6 850C

www.pswpower.com

The coaster brake TSDZ2 is this one!

tsdz2 tongsheng 36V 250W/350W TSDZ2 electric bicycle central mid motor torque sensor with coast/foot brake function

tsdz2 tongsheng 36V 250W/350W TSDZ2 electric bicycle central mid motor torque sensor with coast/foot brake function

www.pswpower.com

If your hub is too short, you may only need a piece of steel tube, best tack welded to prevent it from rotating.
One can not give you a perfect instruction set from some pictures, sorry

 

[marvin78]

Mid-drive w coaster brake function: 52V 750w Tongsheng looks ok, though I figure 750w is higher power than desired based on past comments. This might be my only viable option.

didn't I read about a 5mph speed limit?

Go with the 36v 350w configured version ( there is only 36v and 48v version, all sku's are firmware based ). It will be plenty and be more efficient.

 

[PaPaSteve]

Coaster brake TSDZ2 motor is a perfect solution.
Some adapters will be needed to fit the frame.

1 piece crank to 3 piece crank adapter

If the playa turns mucky it helps if the bike is geared down ...
A smaller crank sprocket and/or larger rear cog would be a nice upgrade.

 

[Chalo]

Coaster brake TSDZ2 motor is a perfect solution.

Not only is TSDZ2 a busted can of worms, but it only has an advantage over a hub motor if it's used with multiple gear ratios. With a single gear it's just a self-breaking, bike-breaking, more expensive pain in the butt that hangs like a tumor on a bike made for appearance first.

 

[marvin78]

Not only is TSDZ2 a busted can of worms, but it only has an advantage over a hub motor if it's used with multiple gear ratios. With a single gear it's just a self-breaking, bike-breaking, more expensive pain in the butt that hangs like a tumor on a bike made for appearance first.

That 300 buck friction drive with bottle battery included looks less intrusive, I agree. And that bottle would look a whole lot better as a shark ( and can be hidden easier ).

Friction Drive: the bike has fenders on it, which looks like it might interfere with the friction drive (though I could remove the back one).

Your fenders do not extend below your rear triangle ( but I'm sure you will need some fabrication / have someone weld a bracket for you in order to mount it on that frame ).

I'm not 100% sold on it I'm not sure how it would look / turn out, but you could certainly consider it and not rule it out. Well other then the time to order, I don't think you'll have enough time before BM

*and this by far is the cheapest option I could find, don't think you're willing to spend thousand or more on a friction drive if all you really want it for is bm?

 

[Ford2023]

I like the big hub but the main appeal of the bike was in the spokes. 3 weeks doesn't feel like enough time to find a front hub with drum brakes which could use the same lacing pattern. But if you want functional over looks it's still period correct with the bike frame ( and since you're using a rear hub, you've already lost the rear wheel and it's beautiful spokes ).
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[CONSIDERABLE SHOUTING]

A front hub motor would look very similar to an old fashioned drum brake, and again depending on controller would also give you that option of braking via regen off the motor. That to me, adds a bit of a "stealth" aspect.

Chalo pointed out earlier that the bottom bracket for these isn't standard, so a middrive would not only be super conspicuous, but it might also demand a lot of fabrication. You also don't have any gears, which removes the major advantage of any mid-drive. Since you could re-use the original front wheel and just drill more holes in the hub for more spokes, and since low power front hubs are sold used all the time for $20-40 dollars apiece, I genuinely see no reason to consider any other option. But, that's my newbie opinion.

 

[PaPaSteve]

One speed cruiser bikes are the "soup du jour" for Burning Man so a transmission isn't required nor is a motor.
Friction drive is useless when wet ... yes it rains in the desert and makes the playa rather mucky.
The use of the bike is for one week on a corrosive flat surface where the speed is limited.
Many people take a disposable, unique, artful bike which makes the proposed bike perfectly suitable as is.

Our Burning Man ride was a former off road tricycle tandem.
The 24V motor was single speed driving the rear axle, a couple small lead acid batteries recharged by solar.
Top speed when using the motor drive alone was 9 mph.

 

[Brett1010]

One speed cruiser bikes are the "soup du jour" for Burning Man so a transmission isn't required nor is a motor.
Friction drive is useless when wet ... yes it rains in the desert and makes the playa rather mucky.
The use of the bike is for one week on a corrosive flat surface where the speed is limited.
Many people take a disposable, unique, artful bike which makes the proposed bike perfectly suitable as is.

Our Burning Man ride was a former off road tricycle tandem.
The 24V motor was single speed driving the rear axle, a couple small lead acid batteries recharged by solar.
Top speed when using the motor drive alone was 9 mph.

View attachment 337683

Thanks for sharing - cool ride! Love the solar addition. Did you charge entirely through solar?

 

[PaPaSteve]

Thanks for sharing - cool ride! Love the solar addition. Did you charge entirely through solar?

Yes, the solar recharge was plenty for the motor drive and night time lighting.
Two second hand 17ah sealed lead batteries recycled from a neighbor who worked at a security company.
About 65 feet of EL wire was attached to the frame perimeter.
An artistic light pattern was controller by an arduino.

 

[marvin78]

Many people take a disposable, unique, artful bike which makes the proposed bike perfectly suitable as is.

Are they 'disposable' though?

Spoiler: disposable :(

Must say I'm happy to hear non profits pick them and fix em up for the low income folks. Now that's a non profit I would love to participate in. That's actually a pretty good arrangement tbh, I must say I like it.

Better as ending up in a pile

 

[PaPaSteve]

Many long distance world travelers headed to Burning Man pre-order new bikes from big box stores in Reno, use them for the week and then abandon them on the playa.
Really hate that part of the gig.
Materials for the Temple can cost as much as 1 million only to be burned to the ground.
How many houses could be built instead ?
As much as the consumerism makes me gag the art is like nothing else in the world.
Hard to separate the two opposing feelings.

 

[Brett1010]

Many long distance world travelers headed to Burning Man pre-order new bikes from big box stores in Reno, use them for the week and then abandon them on the playa.
Really hate that part of the gig.
Materials for the Temple can cost as much as 1 million only to be burned to the ground.
How many houses could be built instead ?
As much as the consumerism makes me gag the art is like nothing else in the world.
Hard to separate the two opposing feelings.

Yeah, it's far from efficient or ecological to drag a bunch of stuff to the desert and back.

I had no idea the temple costs $1m. That's pretty wild.

 

[marvin78]

Many long distance world travelers headed to Burning Man pre-order new bikes from big box stores in Reno, use them for the week and then abandon them on the playa.
Really hate that part of the gig.

As long as there is enough of a volunteer presence ( since I know they won't get paid ) to clean up and do something good with those bikes I actually don't mind. It's not consumerism if the good you're using can be reused by others, it's sharing. I just dislike the many steps in between requiring volunteers to get the circle complete.

Materials for the Temple can cost as much as 1 million only to be burned to the ground.
How many houses could be built instead ?
As much as the consumerism makes me gag the art is like nothing else in the world.
Hard to separate the two opposing feelings.

Houses, infrastructure, teachers salary's.. Again, I dislike people who go just for the art but are not aware of their impact. Those who go and who willingly 'donate' a bike to charity I applaud, especially if the bike isn't a total waste of time and space.

I'm probably never going to go, but I heard stories.. video's won't ever capture an atmosphere though, stories work better usually.

The dissonance between art and consumerism being visible isn't reserved to BM but it's a pretty icon example.

 

[PaPaSteve]

Reflecting back to the topic of volunteers ...
The mid-day heat was a bit oppressive.
So we signed up to help in the volunteer worker's camp restaurant.
Busboy and dishwasher.
The restaurant is an air conditioned tent, and they feed you.
Day time stuff was kinda blah.
Save your energy to see the night time art.

 

[marvin78]

Sometimes there are benefits to being a volunteer, nothing to be ashamed off. Especially since it's a direct trade off, you help others who in turn can enjoy part of the program which you enjoy less anyway.

I bet you got plenty of stories

 

[calab]

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www.cyclone-tw.com

68-120mm bb

Also watch out, some bikes have a one-off bb width and they dont sell that bb anymore, like Surface 604 Elements.