I stumbled across this video on YouTube of a Crystalyte hub motor-equipped bike going 45 mph. It looked like a lot of fun!
After some further research, I settled on a Crystalyte Phoenix 48 volt 4840 kit on a 700c front wheel from
When I placed my order, electricrider asked me about the bike I was planning to convert, to make sure it was sturdy enough to take the torque of the wheel. Some bikes cannot take the torque, and the wheel will rip itself out of the droputs. They actually recommend cheaper bikes because they're made of steel. I was confident that my cro-moly antique would suffice.
Then I was told it would be 3-4 weeks for delivery due to high demand. Argh, I hate to wait, but that would give me plenty of time to get ready. I whipped out the still-warm credit card and went a-shopping.
I bought new tubes and slick tires to replace the knobby trail tires. The tires are directional; make sure to mount them so they rotate in the right direction. I don't think they'll explode if you mount them backwards...my front tire is mounted backwards but I'm not going to dismount the wheel just to change it. I didn't notice they were directional until I had them on the bike for about 6 weeks. It pays to wear your glasses doing this stuff. I did get the rear wheel mounted correctly, so I got it half right.
My wired bike computer wouldn't work on the new motorized wheel, so I bought a wireless VDO bike computer whose sensor can mount to the rear wheel.
I didn't buy new brakes because I wanted to see how the current ones would work. They work OK, but you have to remember that you are stopping a lot more mass than you were before the conversion, and you're going a lot faster!
Here is the donor bike: a 15 year old Nishiki Citi-Sport trail bike with a cro-moly frame.
The kit came in about 2 weeks. Here's the wheel, fresh out of the box:
Underneath the wheel were the baskets, batteries, charger, controller, etc.
Here is the wheel mounted to the bike. The keyed axle bolt would not turn in the drop-outs, so I couldn't rotate the wheel to align the torque arm with the bike fork. Oh well, what's a project without a little duct tape and a pipe clamp? It seems to be holding up.
Battery baskets mounted to the bike. What a stroke of luck, the bike had mounting points for the front of the baskets!
Cruise control controls mounted to left side of handlebar. Yes, cruise control! The brake controls came with the kit as well. They are of "adequate" quality. They have inhibit switches that cut out the motor when the brakes are applied. The brake cables have to be tight to hold the handles against the inhibit switches. One of mine was loose and I had intermittent motor drop-outs. I thought it was the controller overheating, but it was one of my brake cables. A quick cable tightening and some rubber bands (I know, I know: duct tape and rubber bands!) assure the brake handles are tight against the switches.
No, there is no regenerative braking! This is a bike, not a locomotive.
On the right handlebar, the thumb throttle. Pushing it down with your thumb makes you go faster. I had my choice of twist or thumb throttle, and I thought thumb would be more practical and durable on a bicycle.
Here's one side of the pannier bag, with 2 of the 4 12-volt batteries. The batteries are the sealed lead acid variety, similar to lawn tractor batteries. Also visible is the keyswitch, but not as visible is the charger connection, which is out of frame on the right. The batteries were already wired and in the pannier bag when delivered.
After some wiring, cussing (#&$^#@ brake cables), and judicious use of zip ties, here's the completed bike:
I've put about 250 miles on the electric bike in a few short months. I've ridden it to work about a dozen times. It's a 6 mile ride each way. I've had it up to 35 mph but haven't really tried to max it out yet.
Soon to come: High-speed helmet cam videos!
