mid drive BAFANG BBSHD and a carbon frame bike? Will it work?

[electricfun]

Ok so I'm a bike gal...I live in a big city where car ownership isn't exactly practical and parking such a luxury is expensive. I live in the core of the city and most of my daily tasks involve going places within a 10 km range (actually I go alot of places that are less then 5 km from my house). I have a class M license (not that it matters for a bike lol) for my gas 1970s moped (which I'm currently working on lol and its in a storage unit in another city), a mtn bike, roadie (it too is in pieces in a storage unit) and my stromer st1 platinum.

The logistics are currently that only my stromer and my mtn bike are at my house. I live in a very small shared home and was basically told I'm only allowed 2 bikes-I consider it basically a trade off for my cheap rent . Those are my two bikes as the stromer I use for work (food courier and I also contract for cell repair shops), and my mtn bike is for my fun/weekend rides on mtb trails and pump tracks etc. Many of my courier friends have ebikes (we all use pedelecs-everyone hates scooters) and some of us have more then 1 (many have two and a few dudes even have 3). I unfortunately only have 1.

Anyhow last week s*it happened and my stromer got messed up. FML. That said I'm not afraid to get my hands dirty (hell I even replaced the whole drivetrain on this bike 2 months ago- freewheel, cranks etc) and have figured the thing out and ordered my parts. It's really messed with my "flow" not having that bike I've been going around on my mtn bike. My usual day with the stromer I was clocking 40-60km, even though the places I go are relatively close I just go to a lot of them (short stops here and there). I'm sorta tall (5'8 woman here) and fit (145 pounds), but I must say I really like the efficiency the pedalec delivers-exerting myself for say 15-20 km/h and getting 40+ is awesome! I get a lot done and go places.


I've been toying with the idea of a second pedelec for some time now. Now I'm regretting all my time second thinking this. There's a bike parking spot down the street from me that many of my friends use and it's indoors, cameras/secure, and relatively cheap at $140 ish a year. There are guys who've been parking their ebikes there for over 2 yrs and nobody has had a bike stolen or had even a bad word to say about the place. So I am going to move one of mine down there and get another ebike.

This time around I'm going the kit route. i'm leaning towards a middrive kit like the Bafang BBSHD from luna cycle. Part of me thinks I should buy a used MTN bike to mount this to, but the other part of me is thinking, can I mount this to my current mtn bike? Here's a pic/spec list of my mtn bike attached.


I'm hesitant for 2 reasons 1)its carbon and 2)this mtn bike isn't overall friendly to my purposes as my daily rides around town involve bags/heavy items attached to a rack. Currently I'm making due using a large backpack (bike has no mounts for racks). A minor consideration is also that I like to ride mtn bike trails/ bike park, but I'm assuming I can just remove the motor when desired (a bit of a pain but I'd be alright).


I'm also assuming that a middrive would be more appropriate for this mtn bike then a hub motor just in terms of weight and being perhaps more proportionate?

Any thoughts? Sorry for the novel. Oh and if this is in the wrong section feel free to move!

 

[harryS]

While it is not hard to remove a Bafang mid drive, it would be extra work to open the chain and refit the front derailleur. You'll need a connector for the battery cables, and it could be hard to pop open the Bafang connectors. I had to disconnect an LCD yesterday on a different bike and wow was that connector stuck. In addition, the bafang fastener wants to grind into the BB bracket, so frequent changing might not bee too good for carbon. In fact, I don't know that I would put a BBSHD on carbon. The weight savings isn't important.

I'd go with used mountain bike, if you can live with the clutter.

Too bad you cannot use the ST1 battery on a second bike.


.

 

[Ann M.]

Actually it might be doable. You would need to let go of the front derailleur; won't need it with the mid drive motor. Other issue could be how the cables are routed, you would want to make sure they're all out of the way. I recommend you chat with @Rick Speicher, who has done a lot of BBSHD conversions and think even some on carbon frame bikes.

 

[electricfun]

While it is not hard to remove a Bafang mid drive, it would be extra work to open the chain and refit the front derailleur. You'll need a connector for the battery cables, and it could be hard to pop open the Bafang connectors. I had to disconnect an LCD yesterday on a different bike and wow was that connector stuck. In addition, the bafang fastener wants to grind into the BB bracket, so frequent changing might not bee too good for carbon. In fact, I don't know that I would put a BBSHD on carbon. The weight savings isn't important.

I'd go with used mountain bike, if you can live with the clutter.

Too bad you cannot use the ST1 battery on a second bike.


.

Thanks!

I'm going to keep my eyes open for a new or used bike (mainly searching for used as I feel I can get better value for $$$ but am open to new). I figure I'll be spending around $1500 for motor and battery. My budget for the bike is $600 but somewhat flexible on that number. Ideally I'd like a step thru but mtn bike is ok too, and of course it needs disc brakes.

 

[rich c]

Isn't the material of the bottom bracket the biggest deal? If I remember correctly, some folks even have trouble with the mounting with aluminum. Damaged threads on the bottom bracket, and maybe lose of torque on the mounting nut? The mount of the mid drive kit is done by going through the tube and then squeezed with a nut. That nut is the issue. I've never done it, so may be off base. But you should do some checking to be safe!

 

[Nova Haibike]

Knowing how Bafang mid-motors mount, I personally would not do it. A carbon frame likely going to have relatively thin aluminum insert (assuming it is a threaded BB at all). Depending on how thin the insert is, or if the insert is completely flush with the carbon surrounding it, the locking ring might dig into some carbon as well. I dunno, maybe I am overstating it; I have only installed one Bafang kit. But all the hardware involved seemed rather crude to me.