As you can probably tell, I’m at the opposite corner of the states from SF North Bay but I do appreciate the offer. Didn’t even know about Veer Belts until you mentioned it. Are they as good as Gates? I doubt that I could put one 26” Montague on the back seat and one in the trunk (small sedan). Sounds like you have a lot of experience building bikes.
Where is that elusive folding bike?
- Thread starter Maineiac
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PedalUma
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- Petaluma, CA
Check out the Veer Split Belt! Again it goes on any bike. With a Gates, the right seat stay needs to open to slip on a belt and then lock back securely - that adds cost to a frame. Look for the two bolts. Very few bikes will allow for a Gates setup. But not with a Veer. Those 26" Montagues fit in a little sack (Dimensions: 36″x28″x12″). I often use batteries smaller than a Gatorade bottle that fit in a standard water bottle cage because I rarely ride for more than three hours at a time.
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PedalUma
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I like a BMX type extra-strong (almost and long lasting as a belt) half-link chain. $22. Just keep it clean and use dry lube. Look for the small mid-drive in the final photo.
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Hello Maineiac,
I can only suggest this bike as a start and the rest you’ll have to figure out. Hope this helps.
www.downtube.com
The mid motor on one of PedalUma’s bikes is a TSDZ2.
I can only suggest this bike as a start and the rest you’ll have to figure out. Hope this helps.
8H internal hub belt drive folding bike
We provide a Shimano Nexus 8sp w/ Gates Carbon Belt Drive with transarch front suspension fork for comfort. The Shimano Nexus is perfect for boaters and RV'ers.
www.downtube.com
The mid motor on one of PedalUma’s bikes is a TSDZ2.
PedalUma
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The TS has a secondary motor mount that goes on the chain stays (where a center kickstand often is mounted on many bikes). It will not work on that bike. A Bafang does not have a secondary motor mount but it is heavy and wide - pushing out the chain line (belt line) too far. A belt must be straight. With the small wheels it would also hang too low so it would be prone.Hello Maineiac,
I can only suggest this bike as a start and the rest you’ll have to figure out. Hope this helps.
8H internal hub belt drive folding bike
We provide a Shimano Nexus 8sp w/ Gates Carbon Belt Drive with transarch front suspension fork for comfort. The Shimano Nexus is perfect for boaters and RV'ers.
The mid motor on one of PedalUma’s bikes is a TSDZ2.
@Maineiac, you can view some photos and reviews on Google Maps in the SF North Bay Coastal Wine Country. It is all very local.
Here is a folder with an older style battery. The guy would take it to SF on the back of his motorcycle to a good parking area, then ride the hills and avoid traffic congestion with his folder. It is a used Giant conversion. He sold it after 6-months to get one with larger wheels. Wheels are part of gearing when it comes to speed and for handling surface imperfections.
Zoom to view the motor.
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raulnavidad
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I am also a newbie in need of help. I bought a 16" foldable Ancheer ebike and I just can't take the back wheel out. Since there are no gears involved I thought it would be a simple operation but nope. I have gone through most of the youtube videos available but nothing. This makes me wonder if anyone out there has been able to do it or is it even possible? Please help!
RunForTheHills
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I am not familiar with that bike, but the wheel of a rear hub drive bike can be difficult to remove. You have to disconnect the electrical wires and there may be a torque arm to prevent the motor from spinning out in the dropouts. If it doesn't have gears and a rear derailleur, then there needs to be another mechanism to keep tension on the chain. Either there will be an adjustable horizontal dropout or some kind of idler pulley/chain tensioner. Sometimes an eccentric bottom bracket is used, but I doubt that is the case with this bike. A better description of your problem and perhaps a picture of the drive side of the bike would help.
Interesting, in my first post I mentioned the Evelo Dash with a 3-speed Shimano IGH. Looks like Evelo will now be producing it with the 5-Speed IGH Sturmey Archer RX-RK5. Does anyone have any experience with that Sturmey Archer? Does it provide enough gear range for that small folder?
RunForTheHills
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It depends where and how you ride it and what kind of gearing you use (chainring and rear cog). The 3 speed Sturmey Archer on my Brompton provides enough range for most city riding and low speed commuting, even with some mild hills. I have an electric and a non-electric Brompton. I actually have the six speed Bromptons. They get six gears with a combination of the three speed IGH and a goofy 2 speed rear derailleur. However, I only use about three of the gears even on the non-electric and could have bought the three speed version.
RunForTheHills, thanks for your insight. I own a 6-speed Brompton myself and although there’s that goofy 2 speed derailleur, I’ve always found with the addition of the 3-speed Archer IGH, it provides for a decent wide gear range. I’m just afraid with only a 5-speed Sturmey Archer IGH on an electric bike I’ll be spinning pretty quickly at the higher speeds. How do you like your electric Brompton? I’ll be electrifying a friend’s Brompton with the Swytch kit in the next couple of weeks. I almost bought a Swytch kit myself, but felt drawn to just getting an off-the-shelf folding ebike. Just waiting for the right one.
RunForTheHills
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I bought the electric Brompton for my wife, but I do take it for a spin occasionally. I like it a lot. It is the same fold as the non-electric. The most annoying thing about it is the UK speed cutout of 15.8mph. I will probably electrify my non-electric Brompton later this year with the Grin kit.
You can just put on a big enough chainring to keep you from spinning out and let the motor help with the hills. You don't want to go too slow with a hub motor on the hills anyway or it will overheat. Because of the twitchy steering on the Brompton, I wouldn't want to go much faster than 20mph. I can definitely pedal it faster than the motor cutout of 15.8 mph with the factory gearing.
RunForTheHills
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It might be because of the smaller wheels. The RX-RK5 has the same 243% range as the X-RF5
With 20" wheels, 64T/24T and that hub, you will get 17.8 mph in high gear at 80 rpm. I am not a masher and usually pedal at 90 rpm, which would be 20mph. Your low gear will be 33.2 gear in, which isn't great (granny gears are close to 20 gear in.). However, you will have the motor to help with the hills.
https://www.sheldonbrown.com/gear-calc.html
| 0.67 (Low) | 0.79 | 1.0 | 1.27 | 1.5 (High) | ||||||||||||||||||||
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I know what you mean by the twitchy steering. I came too close to a guard rail near a bridge a few weeks back and I didn’t want to damage the Brompton, so I stuck my arm out and damaged my arm instead, ouch! Never heard of the Grin kit. I’ll have to look that up. The Swytch kit is a front hub motor, limited to 18.64mph. The Pedego Latch folder also has a front hub motor. Just wasn’t sure if the front wheel would tend to spin a lot. Getting back to the Evelo Dash, the Carbon Belt ChainRing of 64T seems huge and it has the Dapu M65X 70nM torque mid-drive.
So basically you’re saying I won’t be spinning out as quickly but the compromise will be not so low gear range?
RunForTheHills
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Yes, the 64T is large, but the bike only has 20" wheels. Your high gear will be 20 mph pedaling at 90rpm. You will probably feel like you are spinning out around 100 rpm. Your low gear will be about 8 mph at 80 rpm.
The Grin Brompton kit is from Grin at ebikes.ca and is fully programmable like their other kits. You can put a speed cap on it or not. They offer choices of motors, but they are all front hub drive. I don't have a problem with the front hub on the electric Brompton spinning out unless I am on dirt or gravel and just starting the bike.
The Grin Brompton kit is from Grin at ebikes.ca and is fully programmable like their other kits. You can put a speed cap on it or not. They offer choices of motors, but they are all front hub drive. I don't have a problem with the front hub on the electric Brompton spinning out unless I am on dirt or gravel and just starting the bike.
That Grin Brompton kit looks pretty decent.
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