My 1st ebike build - a folding 20" Dahon

[UtahPete]

I wanted to build a portable ebike for our travels. We didn't want to have our bikes hanging off the back of our truck, so we decided on folding bikes. Jane bought one off Amazon and I bought a beat up used Dahon. I stripped it down to the bare frame, gave it a custom paint job, then started building it back up again with all new components and a SmartBikeWheel front hub motor/battery. Complete, it weighs 48#, about half that if I remove the front wheel.

 

[amberwolf]

Is that this system?

SmartBikeWheel Review, 2021 | Electric Bike Report

Our Smart Bike Wheel review dives into this e-bike conversion kit's performance, climbing ability and handling to give you a real world idea of how it works.

electricbikereport.com

How well does it perform, and how long has it lasted so far?

 

[UtahPete]

Is that this system?

SmartBikeWheel Review, 2021 | Electric Bike Report

Our Smart Bike Wheel review dives into this e-bike conversion kit's performance, climbing ability and handling to give you a real world idea of how it works.

electricbikereport.com

How well does it perform, and how long has it lasted so far?

Yes, that's the system. It's no hot rod, but it's great for its intended purpose. I just finished it and we're leaving this weekend for a cross-country trip (by truck). I'll know more after a week or so of riding around at our bucket list of destinations.

Update: as I mentioned earlier, at only 250 watts the pedal assist is subtle, but effective once above about 5 mph. From a dead stop, nothing. The inclinometer senses when an incline is encountered and automatically boosts the assist, which is nice. For around town, in parks with small hills, it's quite adequate even with my damaged knees.

 

[Parker]

Nice to see Dahon conversion. Would like to electrify my folding bike one day. Looking at the website for the motor you got it has the words "proprietary technology" that would make me hesitate as that usually means that it's not easily repairable

 

[offGridDownUnder]

means that it's not easily repairable

For later:
Crystalyte SAW
... or:
Folder kit

 

[UtahPete]

Nice to see Dahon conversion. Would like to electrify my folding bike one day. Looking at the website for the motor you got it has the words "proprietary technology" that would make me hesitate as that usually means that it's not easily repairable

I like this for its simplicity. It makes for a really clean installation. SmartBikeWheel is one of two American companies I know of importing this Chinese product to the states. It seems to be well made and they do have replacement parts listed on the website should repair be necessary. Only time will tell.

 

[gromike]

It would be interesting to ride your bike. A small folder sure can be a handy bike to have. I might be concerned by that heavy front wheel. My (fixed) sub $300 Huffy Oslo has all the motor/battery weight at the rear wheel. Even with that, it is easy to get the back of the bike to swing around on a hard brake.

 

[UtahPete]

It would be interesting to ride your bike. A small folder sure can be a handy bike to have. I might be concerned by that heavy front wheel. My (fixed) sub $300 Huffy Oslo has all the motor/battery weight at the rear wheel. Even with that, it is easy to get the back of the bike to swing around on a hard brake.

The front wheel weight only presents an issue with manhandling it, not riding it.

 

[uhmwpolyethylene]

How does the rotation, speed of thinner 16,20 fair compared to 700 or 20x4 when you're just throwing power at it thru a mid drive or front hub? Analog bikes are quite slow in those small sizes but do they become more similar?

 

[UtahPete]

How does the rotation, speed of thinner 16,20 fair compared to 700 or 20x4 when you're just throwing power at it thru a mid drive or front hub? Analog bikes are quite slow in those small sizes but do they become more similar?

I have no idea what you're talking about. Sorry.

 

[docw009]

20" wheels with 2" tires do feel slow to pedal if the gearing is slow. I believe our Schwinn Loop came with a 38T spinning a 14T rear. Quite a slow bike to pedal, in my opinion. I don't believe I ever rode the 38T with a motor, but upgraded to 52T as part of the motorization process. A 260 rpm hubmotor can outpace a 48T/14T unless you're a strong pedaler. I put a 52T on that Schwinn,

My 20" folders top out around 20 mph on 36V, but we don't go faster than 15 mph unless coasting downhill. Slow speed urban riding. For faster riding, I'll use bigger wheels, The ride is better, Still over 2/3 of my miles are on the little wheels. They're nice for pedal assist because you've got the smaller diameter wheel acting like a lower gear. The smaller tires have less weight and spin up easy. I suppose the handling is more darty, but I'm used to it. The one tradeoff is they smaller tires won't span low spots like a bigger tire, and make bumpy surfaces even bumpier.

 

[tonythebrit]

Greetings from U.K. I was most interested to read about your Dahon folder project, having carried out exactly the same type of conversion on a 20" Dahon Mu Uno I'd had for a few years. The conversion kit was a UK-produced Swytchbike, with a motor of the same wattage as yours, but from your photo, probably weighing a whole lot less - please check out my posts. As you can see, my project has been going for quite a while now, but for health reasons I have yet to make a proper road test. But this I hope to do very soon, probably within the next week or so. Watch this space!!