What to do with this old Schwinn

[Jay.Rooster]

So, I am new to eBikes, but my first arrives this month in the form of a Sondors XS. But I also have this old 2007 Schwinn Frontier GSX that I ride occasionally to this day. This bike never saw extensive use and was in the basement for many years. Well I've treated it good for the last 12 months, and I have no need to make this Schwinn an eBike, but I think I want to anyway. Thing is, this won't be my be-all and end-all since I'll have the Sondors for that. What I'm looking for is some advice as to what I need.

I know right off the bat I don't want to spend much. But I'm also not in this to spend as little as possible and end up with something not worthy of my time. But, I'd say well under a thousand. And I don't necessarily mean $300 all-in, but I simply don't have the need to make this a beast. And it's an old Schwinn anyway.. it may not even be worthy of anything at all.

Power? My XS will have a 750w motor.. I don't need anything near that for this Schwinn. I want something that will help me maybe double my human capacity for biking, which isn't that good right now. I can do at least 10 miles on mountain roads, but that takes the fun out of the ride for me because I've spent most of my energy.

For the battery, I'm not sure. Maybe 20 miles assistance? Maybe 15? I don't need a ton.. just a little something extra.

Is this bike worth a bit of work and money for a diy kit? Oh and for simplicity sake, I'm looking at probably a front hub motor since I plan on installing this myself. Rear motor seems intimidating and maybe more work than I'd be able to do myself.

Any help or advice that leads me to the right information would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Dewey]

Do you want pedal assist? The Hill Topper Sprinter throttle only 250w front hub motor kit has a 12 mile range on continuous throttle power, but you’ll go further if you pedal yourself on the flats and use it for taking off from stationary or when going up hill.

 

[harryS]

Here's a Schwinn SC2000 that someone threw out. I rescued it and made it electric. The motor is an ebikeling 500W geared rear hub. Back in 2018, I could buy it on ebay with a 3 level PAS controller for $179. I upgraded to a KT controller with a 5 level PAS and LCD3 display for $75. For power, I used two 36V4AH hoverboard packs in parallel ($50). I also installed a $60 suspension fork. The Schwinn had one, but it was steel.

I rode this beater ebike around last summer for errands, I could leave it with a chain lock in front of Walgreens or the library and not obsess over it getting stolen.

Later, I put on a proper 48V ebike battery and gave it to my sister's husband for Xmas, I hear they're riding ebikes 4-5 times a week. Can't visit them because of covid concerns, all of us pushing close to 70.

Upgrades included Shimano M310 trigger shifters, $35. A softer seat $25. Avid BB7 caliper/rotor up front $40. Luggage rack $16. The battery is a 48V13AH with Samsung cells, around $400.

It's still a heavy bike at around 48 pounds (no battery) but fine when the motor is running. About 20 mph on 36V and 24mph on 48V. Brother-in-law rides it at 14 mph and gets over 30 miles.

By the way, front motors and suspension forks don't play well together, The dropouts aren't strong enough for the extra weight and the power. Think about rear wheel. You won't fall on your face if there is a structural failure.

For what I spent on the above, around $800 over 14 months, I could buy an equivalent ebike. That doesn't bother me.

 

[FlatSix911]

Here's a Schwinn SC2000 that someone threw out. I rescued it and made it electric. The motor is an ebikeling 500W geared rear hub. Back in 2018, I could buy it on ebay with a 3 level PAS controller for $179. I upgraded to a KT controller with a 5 level PAS and LCD3 display for $75. For power, I used two 36V4AH hoverboard packs in parallel ($50). I also installed a $60 suspension fork. The Schwinn had one, but it was steel. I rode this beater ebike around last summer for errands, I could leave it with a chain lock in front of Walgreens or the library and not obsess over it getting stolen.
View attachment 61844
Later, I put on a proper 48V ebike battery and gave it to my sister's husband for Xmas, I hear they're riding ebikes 4-5 times a week. Can't visit them because of covid concerns, all of us pushing close to 70.
View attachment 61845
Upgrades included Shimano M310 trigger shifters, $35. A softer seat $25. Avid BB7 caliper/rotor up front $40. Luggage rack $16. The battery is a 48V13AH with Samsung cells, around $400.
It's still a heavy bike at around 48 pounds (no battery) but fine when the motor is running. About 20 mph on 36V and 24mph on 48V. Brother-in-law rides it at 14 mph and gets over 30 miles.
By the way, front motors and suspension forks don't play well together, The dropouts aren't strong enough for the extra weight and the power. Think about rear wheel. You won't fall on your face if there is a structural failure. For what I spent on the above, around $800 over 14 months, I could buy an equivalent ebike. That doesn't bother me.

Well done!

 

[indianajo]

I can't really tell from the picture, but if that is a suspension fork a front hub motor is out.
Rear is not that much trouble, but it limits you to 7 speed with freewheel (cluster). If that is a 6 or 5 speed rear you'll have to change the shifter. 5 speed rear the front sprocket and chain are incompatible with 6,7,8 speed chain.
I also have had good results with ebikeling. I just replaced my $221 hub motor after 5000 miles or so. I like the geared hub so I can pedal myself when the wind is down.
Big money is in the battery. I think hanging bags are just too tempting for theives, since I park and shop frequently. I have had 2 failed attempts on my battery, removing various screws, not the right ones. I have about 25 screws in my aluminum mount. Both at the grocery in a exurban rich area, oddly. In town, no problem.
The rim brakes will limit your speed in the rain - to about 3 mph IMHO. Rim brakes are trash; always hated them since it rains a lot where I have lived & ridden bikes. Finally something almost as good as the coaster brake was invented, the disk brake.

 

[GypsyTreker]

That's sweet. Maybe I should put some street tires on my Giant Sedona and do a DIY. I have it on CL and so far all I get are really stupid questions and re-seller offers.

 

[Jay.Rooster]

Thank you all for the input!

@harryS Thanks so much for the thoughtful and informative post. That definitely leaves me encouraged that the same or similar modifications can be done to my Schwinn. It does have front suspension on my Frontier GSX, and it looks like I might have to bite the bullet and try a rear motor. I just simply don't know if I have the inner tool set to be able to complete a project from the back. I'm sure there's a lot of DIY on YouTube though that I might try. Thanks so much for your counsel, Harry. Your post has encouraged me to move forward.

@Dewey This is something I intended on posting with my original, so thank you for bringing it up. I went back and forth a little about my opinion on this oh, and I just feel like I don't need it with this bike. If it had pedal assist I'm certainly not going to lose sleep. But I just don't think it's something I absolutely need. I'm okay either way

@indianajo It is indeed a suspension fork of some sort. Judging from the opinions here it's looking like I do need that rear motor. I was just hoping to avoid something that was going to be a bigger project than I was going to personally be able to take on. Since it's not necessity, at least this gives me time to understand and work on myself. I do get what you're saying on the rim brakes as well. That's been something I've kept in the back of my mind and it's why top speed really doesn't matter to me. That Sondors will do me just fine for that. Thanks for sharing your thoughts but how to move forward and what to avoid.

Very much appreciate all of you chiming in. I almost just want to duplicate everything that @harryS has done. Harry, you don't live anywhere near Tennessee to you?!

 

[Nova Haibike]

Someone else here posted a review of the Qiroll QR-E. It looks and sounds like it may be ideal for your situation.

 

[tomjasz]

The rim brakes will limit your speed in the rain - to about 3 mph IMHO.

I have a front DD 1000W MXUS with regen braking, front rim brake, and rear coaster brake. VERY powerful braking!