Converting this to a mid-mount e-bike

pawtoki

pawtoki

Active Member
This Dream 7 is a heavy bike, I'd love to convert it to a front wheel drive with a Rad Rover power system. I can't "push" it past 8mph, and my knees give out by about 6 miles. The RRST I bought a year ago has been what I needed to get out on a bike again. But I miss the comfort of this ride
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I agree with Tom. The kits from Grin at ebikes.ca are great. However, I would consider a rear hub or mid-drive kit for that bike. It looks like all the weight is over the rear wheel and the front wheel may not have much traction. That bike is difficult to pedal because you are so far back and don't have any weight over the pedals. You can't leverage your body weight and have to use all muscle. It is not just the weight of the bike.
 
I'm familiar with Rad, totally trust the components of Rad Power Bikes. I like the cadance system and PAS levels avaliable. Would like a direct drive that would add weight to the front of the bike and to help get the bike rolling. The trail is great for higher speeds but wonders at lower speeds. I think that is because the rake is causing an exaggeratedly long trail.

I love the semi-recumbant. It's not difficult to pedal at all. I have no cartilage on one patella and can't put the "muscle" stress through the left knee. My wife rides hers using legs, I have to slide forward to get weight on my rt leg to "muscle" up an incline. No bike works for me without an assist. One of the grand effects of getting old!

I looked at the ebikes.ca . Looks good, just don't see the specs for clearance needed to mount on the existing frame/front fork set-up.
 
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By clearance, do you mean the hub spacing or O.L.D.? Most bikes use 100mm spacing on the front hub and your bike doesn't look like an exception. You can measure it to be sure. The rear O.L.D. can vary a lot with the age of the bike. Be sure to get a torque arm with whatever kit you buy. Grin includes one, but not all kits do. The Grin kits with the CA3 are completely customizable for PAS levels, cadence sensors, and they even offer torque sensors.
 
As a starting point, put a magnet on your front fork to see if it's steel or aluminum. If he latter, I'd suggest either a rear motor, or a bafang BBS02 mid drive (750w) , or maybe a BBS01 (250-500W) if Tom can find one for you.

Front motors on alloy forks are generally not a good idea for a DIY ebike. Too easy to make a mistake and have the motor spin out of the fork. Nonetheless, after a few conversions, I explored FWD. I had a small 250W motor in the alloy fork on my minvello for several years. Nothing ever came loose, but I took the trouble this summer to convert it to a steel fork. I also have a 500W front motor in the steel forks of a 26" bike. Grin, by the way, sells a Bafang G11 front motor, and they have tested its mounting system, so if you must have FWD, that's probably a safe bet.

Grin technology is "too spendy" for me. For a new conversion project, I'm pretty entrenched with KT controllers and displays, found on ebay, aliexpress, etc.

FWD does have traction issues. The other day, I came home on my FWD beater bike, and tried to power up my freshly seal coated asphalt driveway. It was a damp evening, with ground fog, and I heard this terrible squeal, just before my front wheel started to slide out. Lucky I had both legs out to catch it. My little mini also has been known to spin tires on wet/loose surfaces.
 
Tom, Run, and Harry - Thanks for the thoughts and input. The bike is lighter on the front end, so too much power is a concern. It's a steel front fork, alloy frame. The bike is about 34 pounds like it sits. A little assistance would make it more "knee frendly".

Day 6 sells a mid motor. Bike sells in the upper $3k range. It is a comfortable ride. I'll continue to put some thoughts in to it. Being retired, Mission Control (wife) considers this a "want" not "need" in the budget. LOL

Thanks again for the suggestions. I'll continue to save the $$ before I jump in. But it will probably happen next year.
 
The same mid motors are available elsewhere, probably for a lot less, but Day6 needs to make their profit too. Ditto for batteries. Ask Tom for a quote via private message. I shop at discount shops, but believe $1000 would easily cover a conversion if I wanted to do one.
 
RunForTheHills said:
I would consider a rear hub or mid-drive kit for that bike.
Click to expand...
I ride crank forward bikes as well. I'm quite happy with my 1000W Mxus front DD. None of the 3 builds have a traction problem. But point well taken. Heavy throttle use at take off CAN spin the front tire, but once I learned the bikes properties, i've never spun out again.
 
 
pawtoki said:
This Dream 7 is a heavy bike, I'd love to convert it to a front wheel drive with a Rad Rover power system. I can't "push" it past 8mph, and my knees give out by about 6 miles. The RRST I bought a year ago has been what I needed to get out on a bike again. But I miss the comfort of this ride
.View attachment 99660
Click to expand...
Looks like a good candidate for a mid-drive as well. There are so many front whl kits out there;
I´d take my time & research carefully b4 buying. frame might be too narrow for a rear hub
 
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Now! It must have disk brakes. How not sold on hydraulic brakes on a bicycle. I've only experienced cable pull brakes. Want easy maintenance on what ever is installed.
 
Did you know your bike is available in a Bafang BBSHD mid drive from the factory? You can probably buy all the necessary mounts/bits right from Day6, if not a full conversion kit? They build with Hydraulic brakes if you want them too.


Upgrade to Electric - Day 6 Bicycles

Learn more about the Bafang Mid Drive Motor We have been converting Day 6 bicycles to electric for ten years and have seen a lot of designs come and go. The Bafang mid drive motor system is one of the best products (not just motors) to come on the bike scene in years. See for […]
day6bikes.com day6bikes.com

If you aren't going to be pushing that motor beyond 750w, good rim brakes are certainly workable though.
 
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pawtoki said:
Now! It must have disk brakes. How not sold on hydraulic brakes on a bicycle. I've only experienced cable pull brakes. Want easy maintenance on what ever is installed.
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And if you can get the disk and caliper mounts, you can use a hydraulic caliper only with cable pulls if you want to salvage existing parts. You are going to want brake lever E disconnects though, so a full Hydro brake kit is likely easiest. Accessory magnets are also available to convert stock brake levers to e disconnects.
 
theemartymac said:
Did you know your bike is available in a Bafang BBSHD mid drive from the factory? You can probably buy all the necessary mounts/bits right from Day6, if not a full conversion kit? They build with Hydraulic brakes if you want them too.


If you aren't going to be pushing that motor beyond 750w, good rim brakes are certainly workable though.
Click to expand...
He knows. He mentioned it in a previous post. Day 6 has 750W Bafang mid-motor kit listed on their website (probably BBS02). However, they want double what you can buy the kit for elsewhere. It is not clear that the kit includes any Day 6 specific mounting hardware. It doesn't look like it from the picture. However, maybe the cables are cut to length for that specific bike.
 
Doesn´t look to me that those wheels could adapt to disc, & i see no mounting points
for discs either, so unless you want to replace the fork & front wheel there´s no way
to use a disc. & impossible for the rear wheel.
 
I have a couple of similar builds in the que. The shift housing needs to be routed over the BB and not under it so it does not get crimped. I drill and reinforce behind the Bottom Bracket for a secondary motor mount to more fully secure the motor from twisting.
 
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