Please help - can this hub's axle work in my dropouts? First build

Ownzies

1 mW
Joined
May 21, 2022
Messages
10
Location
BC, Canada
I'm planning my first build and I'm pretty confused here. The diagram for my hub motor (shown in photos below) says it has 10mm flats. I assume these go into 10mm flat holes on my dropouts. My dropouts seem to have 12mm circular holes. Currently has bolt-through axle. It is a old Norco A-Line/Atomik. Am I just not understanding this correctly, or will a conversion kit not work with these dropouts?

I will be spacing it out quite a bit to accommodate 150mm dropout, so I'm not sure if I'd have the space needed to use a torque plate.

Here are some photos. https://imgur.com/a/VtTMWUB

Thanks
 
Ownzies said:
I'm planning my first build and I'm pretty confused here. The diagram for my hub motor (shown in photos below) says it has 10mm flats. I assume these go into 10mm flat holes on my dropouts. My dropouts seem to have 12mm circular holes. Currently has bolt-through axle. It is a old Norco A-Line/Atomik. Am I just not understanding this correctly, or will a conversion kit not work with these dropouts?

I will be spacing it out quite a bit to accommodate 150mm dropout, so I'm not sure if I'd have the space needed to use a torque plate.

Here are some photos. https://imgur.com/a/VtTMWUB

Thanks
If it's a thru axle, then you will have to fabricate new dropouts to attach to your frame in order to use most hub motors. You will also have some alignment issues with the brakes that you'll need to address after adding the dropouts. Grin makes a hub motor that works with a front thru axle. You can do a forum search to see what you'll be dealing with. https://endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=112438&p=1665143&hilit=custom+dropouts#p1665143
https://www.endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=64495
Also, there are more options for dropout widths than the 135mm that you linked to.
 
E-HP said:
Ownzies said:
I'm planning my first build and I'm pretty confused here. The diagram for my hub motor (shown in photos below) says it has 10mm flats. I assume these go into 10mm flat holes on my dropouts. My dropouts seem to have 12mm circular holes. Currently has bolt-through axle. It is a old Norco A-Line/Atomik. Am I just not understanding this correctly, or will a conversion kit not work with these dropouts?

I will be spacing it out quite a bit to accommodate 150mm dropout, so I'm not sure if I'd have the space needed to use a torque plate.

Here are some photos. https://imgur.com/a/VtTMWUB

Thanks
If it's a thru axle, then you will have to fabricate new dropouts to attach to your frame in order to use most hub motors. You will also have some alignment issues with the brakes that you'll need to address after adding the dropouts. Grin makes a hub motor that works with a front thru axle. You can do a forum search to see what you'll be dealing with. https://endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=112438&p=1665143&hilit=custom+dropouts#p1665143
https://www.endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=64495
Also, there are more options for dropout widths than the 135mm that you linked to.

Thank you, I am going for a budget build for my first one and cant find anything made for 150mm unfortunately. The kit I am using is coming in at about $400CAD total and shipped from Canada and I cant find anything else anywhere near that price point, maybe that is saying something though.

Can I buy new dropouts that would work for this, or do they need to be custom fabricated? Do you have any estimates on the cost for this if I were to bring it to a shop? I was thinking of welding the axle hole shut and angle grinding the flats into it. Would this work? I have never done any work on bicycles, so I am kind of clueless here.
 
Better choice for that bike may be a mid drive. Or a hub motor designed to be used with your dropouts.

If your bikes dropouts are bolt on plates, then they could be replaced with ones you fabricate, which lengthen the rear arm a bit while spacing it in to 135 mm as well. The plate would include a disc brake mount too.

Another frequent comment I make, "Dont ruin your favorite bike with a motor". You might consider motorizing a much cheaper, but not totally junk bike. One with rigid steel frame, front shock, and 135 dropouts. Old stumpjumper or something. Even a fairly cheap 7 speed beach cruiser can be a good choice, for pure street use.
 
Ownzies said:
Can I buy new dropouts that would work for this, or do they need to be custom fabricated? Do you have any estimates on the cost for this if I were to bring it to a shop? I was thinking of welding the axle hole shut and angle grinding the flats into it. Would this work? I have never done any work on bicycles, so I am kind of clueless here.

You could probably make them with an angle grinder, a drill press, a cordless drill, some high strength epoxy, a few nut and bolts, and some 3/8" steel plate from your local big box home store.

If you bond/mount them on the inside surface of your dropouts, that will get you to the 135-ish mm for the motor. The thru hole can be used as part of bolting the plates to the existing dropout.

Prep the surface, drill a few mounting holes, and permanently bond using high strength epoxy, and the mounting screws/bolts. You'd need the drill press to add the brake mount holes on one side and the hanger on the other side, plus any mounting holes in the thick steel plate. The hand drill can be used on the aluminum. Pics I see online of the dropout area for that bike look like it's a fairly flat surface on both inner and outer sides. so if you chose to mount on the outer, then you'd need a 170mm dropout motor.
 
Ownzies said:
Can I buy new dropouts that would work for this, or do they need to be custom fabricated? Do you have any estimates on the cost for this if I were to bring it to a shop? I was thinking of welding the axle hole shut and angle grinding the flats into it. Would this work? I have never done any work on bicycles, so I am kind of clueless here.
Here are some examples of what folks have done in the past:

https://www.endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=64495

https://endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=47966

https://endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=38384

https://endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=102469

https://endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=14195
 
Looks like the frame is already cracked right around the thru axle hole, no?

Aluminum frame that looks so thin and light around the dropouts especially doesnt seem a good choice for a hub motor if u want to do decent torque.
 
Hummina Shadeeba said:
Looks like the frame is already cracked right around the thru axle hole, no?
That looks too smooth to be a crack ... factory slot ???
too smooth for crack.jpg
 
I think it’s just a step not
a crack or slot


To get the 1500watt hub in a frame with a through axle I think ud have to cut the axle ends much shorter, rethread or tap them, then thread them into custom extension-adapters for each side. That sounds nice.
And add a torque arm.
 
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