Considering build - 20" folding bike

99t4 said:
metaneuralnetwork said:
But can a rear carrier be mounted on this?
From your supplied photos I can almost barely make out what looks like 2-3 bosses on the side of the seatstay, just before and after the name "PRODECOTECH." If that's what they are then you should be able to sturdily mount a good weight-bearing rear rack.
I believe it is the same frame as the one in my build thread:
https://endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=114802
Except mine is NOT folding. They are three 5mm female threaded bosses.
ProdecoTech Frame Side View (Dims)small.jpg
 
Hey there from U.K Have a look at my threads in the Technical and Build sections about electrifying my Dahon Mu Uno. They may be of help or interest to you. Good Luck!
 
Complete 20" folding ebikes are cheap, something under 50 lb. can probably cost less than $800.
If you have the time and tool to do the conversion on your existing folder, that's great.. but still need to spend $500-600 for motor, controller & battery.
$800 for a complete ebike, ready to ride out of the box is really good value vs time & effort of DYI.
https://lectricebikes.com/products/xp-lite-lectric-blue
 
That has always been my first impression of those folding fat bicycles I see, cumbersome and heavy and the cornering would suck.

20" is to small a wheel to ride comfortably even if your a midget or kid. I doubt half the fat folders owners/riders I see have motor homes or are space restricted at home like a condo unit with no storage or balcony.

I noticed a difference just going from 26" wheels to 700c wheels, the 700c wheels are much much smoother over any little bump or crack.
The only downside I noticed is it takes more shifting of body weight to lean the bike over for a turn, it takes more angular action. The tire widths arent exact, 700x42 and 26x2.00.

I would only go to about 22" in a hub to achieve greater torque, but if the hub is rear and 22" my front would be 27.5 or 29/700c.

26" Paratrooper folder looks like a decent bike to me, I would never buy a generic folder, the Paratrooper I would have faith in for normal ebike riding.

docw009 said:
None said:
Complete 20" folding ebikes are cheap, something under 50 lb. can probably cost less than $800.
If you have the time and tool to do the conversion on your existing folder, that's great.. but still need to spend $500-600 for motor, controller & battery.
$800 for a complete ebike, ready to ride out of the box is really good value vs time & effort of DYI.
https://lectricebikes.com/products/xp-lite-lectric-blue

I paid $700 for a nice Ecotric fat tire folder, but neither my wife or I care for it. Too heavy, At the moment, I've got batteires, so that I can field a conversion for the incremental cost of motor/electronics, which is $200-250. I have several projects waiting to be converted.
 
calab said:
That has always been my first impression of those folding fat bicycles I see, cumbersome and heavy and the cornering would suck.

20" is to small a wheel to ride comfortably even if your a midget or kid. I doubt half the fat folders owners/riders I see have motor homes or are space restricted at home like a condo unit with no storage or balcony.

I own one and ride it and am not a small individual. While folding wasn't a qualifying factor, it's hard to find a 20" fat bike that isn't one, and it's nice for putting it in the trunk of the car rather than on a hitch mount. The bike still weighs 60lb.

It's not the nicest bike nor as twitchy as, say, a compact 26" MTB or 20" BMX, but it has light cargo capacity and maneuvers well enough that I never feel unsafe on it, nor uncomfortable sending my spouse across the city on it. The fat tires absorb a lot of surface imperfections, and while we're not cornering like MotoGP, it's just fine on modest single-track and city streets.

Would I buy one again? Yes, if the price was right.
 
neptronix said:
I never rode a folding bike that felt like it had enough integrity to go beyond 15mph.
The one i bought had the thickest and strongest folding latch i'd ever seen, yet still turned poorly and shaked.

The idea of converting it went squish upon the first ride.

Unless we're talking about the highest quality folding bike on the market ( Dahon? Tern? ), i'd have to say the most power i'd put on one of those is a geared hub pushing ~20mph.

I have had a Bike Friday New World Tourist since 2001 and it is my only bike. It rides just as well as any bike I have ever owned but it was not cheap either. I converted it to electric with a kit from Grin Tech and so far love it.
 
Enkidu said:
I have had a Bike Friday New World Tourist since 2001 and it is my only bike. It rides just as well as any bike I have ever owned

Have you ever owned a bike with full sized wheels? There's no comparison.

That said, a small wheeled bike allows a hub motor to do its best work.
 
Chalo said:
Enkidu said:
I have had a Bike Friday New World Tourist since 2001 and it is my only bike. It rides just as well as any bike I have ever owned

Have you ever owned a bike with full sized wheels? There's no comparison.

That said, a small wheeled bike allows a hub motor to do its best work.

I can remember a 36" wheel bike at NAHBS a few years back. Doesn't seem to have caught on.
 
biphaeboh said:
Chalo said:
Enkidu said:
I have had a Bike Friday New World Tourist since 2001 and it is my only bike. It rides just as well as any bike I have ever owned

Have you ever owned a bike with full sized wheels? There's no comparison.

That said, a small wheeled bike allows a hub motor to do its best work.

I can remember a 36" wheel bike at NAHBS a few years back. Doesn't seem to have caught on.

They're around; they're just for big people and folks with quirky tastes.

It's hard to fit 36" wheels around an average human body while still using conventional bicycle geometry. There's also a 32" wheel size, which would fit more people but still has not become very common. One of the reasons 29" wheels were such a runaway hit was that they used 700c rims, and were able to take advantage of some economies of scale right out of the gate (like tire and rim manufacturing tooling).

Here's a manufacturer specializing in big bikes with big wheels for big riders:
https://www.dirtysixer.com/

1961a9ad0e2facc75cf266f8a2359430--shaquille-oneal-road-bike.jpg
 
I would love to try a 36" wheeled bicycle or even the 32", I'd have to do a quick run down a bumpy pathway and switch over to a 26.
Are there any 36 or 32 wheeled full suspension bicycles?
I like what Billy Lane had to say about springer forks on HD's, you do a wheelie and you get a second one free.
 
I just received one of these Huffy Oslo's. I believe it has a typical small hubmotor with a 5.5 gearing. The battery is a 10S-3P 7.2AH pack.Paid $364 plus sales taxes on Ebay. Shipping was free.

As set up, it has no throttle and one pedal assist level. The assist is funky, It takes a few spins and comes in slowly. I think it wants to max out around 16 mph, but I had no speedometer to tell. The plan was the my grandkid could ride it.I'll swap out the folding steerer for a lower handlebar. Then I'd disconnect the PAS and put in the throttle.

P7251023.JPG

Then I realized she is too young. What I'll do is put ion a 20A KT controller, with a LCD9 display that has a throttle built-in,

https://www.ebay.com/itm/154943335169

The bike appears a bit heavy, as the rear rack is pretty stout. I've been riding it around w/o power to accompany said grandkid, who is visiting. It's got decent brakes and the Shimano Tourney works OK, As far as build quality, the bike arrived with one of the rack's mount screws stripped out. I could have sent it back or maybe wangled a discount. I just retapped it from 5mm to 6mm, and it's a stronger design. Did the other side too, Plan to give it to the grandkid's mother. She can ride it.

P7251019.JPG
 
Update. I put in the 20A KT controller. Rewire was simple. My controller had the 9 pin female cable so I plugged it directly to the motor. Had to change the gender on the brake and PAS connectors. Motor has a speed sensor, which was not connected in the Huffy extension cable,

It's a much better bike with the KT controller. I can feel the motor in level 1. Pulls about 95W in PAS 1, according the the LCD9. Good response. WIll have to dish the rearwheel a bit to center it between the rim brakes. To keep fromrubbing, the calipers are too far away.

The 10S-3P 7.2AH battery must be overrated. It's down to 36V after 12 miles. I plan to put in a Y-cable so I can parallel an aux battery for longer rides. I wanted to plug the aux pack into the Huffy's charger port, which I've done on other batteries, but the Huffy shuts off the output when it senses voltage on the charge jack.

I found the controller for $33 shipped earlier this year. Also lucked into an aliexpress price of $35 shipped for the color display. It would be about $80-90 to buy them now, So $450 for the bike, plus it needs a $15 mirror.

IMG_2424.JPEG
 
My experience with the Huffy Oslo is that after you fix the electronics you get to truly feel how bad that seat is.
The bike is so nimble with a kt controller and thumb throttle. Well worth the $500 bucks you spend on it, that and the time spent getting rid of the squeaks and clicks.
 
Change the seat on that Oslo of course!

BTW, this is my wife's first folder. It's a Downtube FS-8. full suspension, Runs a Q100H rear motor, 20A KT controller and whatever battery I want to toss on the rear rack, which is looking a bit unkempt in the photo because of a jacket. Her second one is a step-thru Schwinn. Not as nice, but easy to get off.

These things run out of gear at 16 mph, so they're about meandering around. This one does soak up the bumps though. Rolls pretty nice on packed gravel with Schwalbe Big Apples.

IMG_2822.JPEG
 
An ebike has gotten me far, but an ebike I can take carry on the bus will take me farther.

Edited - I originally stated I wanted to drop a wheel in this. But, how about 500w mid drive with CVP rear on a belt drive. Can that work here?

View attachment 310937

My other ebike is 48v so I'd prefer to stay with that.
Has anyone modded these folding bikes? Caveats particular to these? Thoughts?


I've come back here to ask because this forum gave me such excellent input on another build I was considering.
And, if the mods prefer for me to post all of my proposals under one thread, pretty please merge these.
I put a SmartBikeWheel on an old Dahon. Very simple.20230905_084728.jpg
 
I can take carry on the bus will take me farther
I put a motor on a Tern S8i, but used a front hub motor.

Tern makes ridable bikes, and here in Perth a folding bicycle may be taken on any bus or municipal train (Transperth), although it must be covered so other passengers aren't concerned about greasy chains.

I have moved to a trike now, and sold the Tern. If I were to attempt this again, I would look at several possibilities:

Folder with rear hub motor and derailleur. That compact wheel makes large sprocket ranges problematic (derailleur cage length hanging down), but with a motor I would not need a large range. I would aim for a low that will get me over hills on the way home with a flat battery or other problem, and not worry about high speed so much. I like having teeth.

An Efneo 3 speed planetary crankset can multiply the rear cassette as well - I use one on my trike now, and it's nice.

Folder with a mid-drive. This seems like an excellent combination, but the big issue here is getting the chain line correct. Folders have short chain stays which exaggerates any mismatch. A folder with a belt drive (Tern S8i) has already determined the chain line, and the mid-drive must accommodate that. Praise if you find a working solution - publish it here so others can do it.

What I did - a front hub motor. The Tern S8i offers a full 100mm front fork, so many motors were available - I used a Grin All-Axle and it worked quite well. Many folders have narrower 75mm forks and Grin carries various kits using the Crystalyte SAW for this:
Grin SAW kits

The All-Axle could apply enough sudden torque to spin the front tire on uphills if I was injudicious. A smaller motor may lessen that problem. I put an All-Axle on the rear of my Cruzbike Q45 (they are built backwards) and never had that problem.

A 4kg battery and a 4kg motor on a folder is a big deal. Lighter components on a folder for around-town bus & train use makes sense. The larger and heavier arrangement makes sense on a folder for long distance travel - the Tern P27H was a 27 speed touring folder with disk brakes. The gearing was all in the rear hub with a 3-speed internal and a 9 sprocket cassette. If I were doing that, I would use a rear hub motor with a 9 sprocket cassette and an Efneo crankset. For touring, the All-Axle, as it has fewer failure options.

And I would wax the chain.
 
LOL yeah pretty much.

2600

also... I know we hate foldables, right... but this is intriguing. 26. aluminum. step through...

View attachment 311300

edit - check this out... trying to imagine it with a with the seat lowered and taller, less aggressively positioned handlebars. More like a cruiser.
But can a rear carrier be mounted on this?
View attachment 311301
I don't think I would trust this going over a pothole while carrying a load too many times. Looks like a crapshoot to me.
 
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