Looking for new commuter bike and attach front hub-anyone with experience ?

[mrslurpee]

Hi - First Post
Vancouver BC here
My commuter after 10 years is just too worn out to keep investing in - 25km each way from Coquitlam to Burnaby - sometimes more depending on route and if I go to Vancouver - occasional 90-110km ride on weekends

Saddle bag is usually full/heavy
Bike all year round

I'm looking at purchasing a Trek Dual Sport 4 https://www.trekbikes.com/ca/en_CA/...-sport-bikes/dual-sport/dual-sport-4/p/23176/
Put fenders and rack on it - Don't really need the suspension but locks out and nice to have

I then want to add a Front Hub to it - Rear hub doesn't look like it supports 10 speed

I tried many bikes the past few weeks
Trek Allant and Specialized Vado were over $5000 and can't justify that - they seemed to have a drag when I tried to pedal faster than 27km/h

I like a more aggressive ride and positioning - not a cruiser ebike - the magnum metro+ was fast but the style of it wasn't appealing to me - Cannondale Quik E was almost perfect but small motor and battery

I like the idea of having a good commuter which I can ride fast regardless of motor and will always be a good bike regardless of technology and batteries dying

Dropping $1500 on a bike and then adding $1500 on a front hub is OK if I get the perfect bike

limited to 500W motor in BC

Concern / questions:
Will a front hub be too heavy on the suspension ? Should I get a bike without suspension ?
Are people happy with their front hubs ?
Is this a good approach ?

Thanks !

 

[Dewey]

I read that folk prefer a hub motor to be in the rear, the Hill Eater Galiano would be a good choice, torque sensor + throttle, suspension fork, 500w Ezee motor, optional 4a fast charger from Grin Tech in Vancouver, generic Reention battery pack, Hill Eater are on Salt Spring Island and were offering test rides at ElectraFest Vancouver in August.

 

[indianajo]

Are people happy with their front hubs ?

I'm happy with my 1200 W geared hub motor on the front. I allows me to have the 11-32 8 speed cassette the bike came with before power, instead of a 14-28 that came with the DD rear hub. 11-32 7 speed freewheels are in catalogs, but never in stock anywhere. The 8 speed freewheels were too fat, thanks shimano, sun, three diamonds for not having dimensions on your specification downloads. I mostly pedal unpowered, so having enough gears to get up a 15% grade with 60 lb groceries or assist the motor over 12 mph was important to me. Carrying the motor & battery weight on the front allows me to load down with groceries/supplies in panniers & on rack without overloading a 2.1" rear tire @ 60 psi.
I don't have a suspension on the bike shown left, so no experience on that angle.

 

[mrslurpee]

I'm going to have heavy panniers so adding to that with a rear motor concerns me - also since this will be a new bike - 10speed, most rears don't support that I have found. @Dewey The hilleater looks good but I'm apprehensive buying a bike online without trying it out first - since I will be on it 2 hours every day, the fit it very important to me.
@indianajo - Here in BC we have a 500W limitation on motors - so sad

 

[harryS]

Not a good idea to put a front hub on alloy suspension fork. It's liable to break. I hear the extra weight keeps the suspension from working well too.

I haven't any reason to do it, but have read about commuters who are doing fine with a big direct drive motor ($200 USD), big 48V battery ($500), throttle, and a sturdy old steel bike. Just a single purpose machine for slogging to work. Probably no fun at all for a 110 km sport ride on weekends, but you can find a sport bike for that purpose.

 

[mrslurpee]

Not a good idea to put a front hub on alloy suspension fork. It's liable to break. I hear the extra weight keeps the suspension from working well too.

I haven't any reason to do it, but have read about commuters who are doing fine with a big direct drive motor ($200 USD), big 48V battery ($500), throttle, and a sturdy old steel bike. Just a single purpose machine for slogging to work. Probably no fun at all for a 110 km sport ride on weekends, but you can find a sport bike for that purpose.

Cheers - that's what I'm afraid of with the suspension - I won't get that bike after all - I'll get one with no suspension - maybe carbon fork - wrong time of year to buy a new bike - stores sold out of a lot of options and they're waiting for new stock mid march - I just want to get back on a bike and ride to work now