Noctilux.95

Hey guys, I was thinking, hoping, I can add a hub based motor along with all necessary components to convert my bike into an E-fat bike. The rear hub is wide and could accommodate a good size motor. Is this possible? I have a 2018 Trek Farley EX 9.8 that would be awesome converted into a monstrous E-fatty. Pic of my bike below.

2old

Sorry, I didn't read well enough about the hub conversion, and deleted my post.
There's no reason why a hub conversion wouldn't be simple with your bike. Learn about direct drive and geared systems. I would use a Mac motor in 8T or 10T (see em3ev for the best selection), a fairly high power geared motor.

adcockj

I'd think you could do that. There are several companies offering fat hub motors (like Bafang and others) that you could have strung in your rim or purchase a new set, rim and all. You may have to get clever to find a good place to mount a battery unless you want to hang it in a bag from your top tube. You'd probably end up getting a larger chainring just because you could!
It doesn't look like you're considering a mid-drive, and I don't really see how you could do one...the downtube projects forwards quite a ways before angling up so the motor would really hang down. I did a BBSHD mid conversion on a Surly Pugsley fat bike (and a Trek DS) but the downtube angled up immediately from the bottom bracket shell.

It's all part of the experience...Go for it!!!!!!

p.s. Nice bike.

Doc_Wui

Specs indicate your bike has a 197mm axle. Many fatbike bike hubmotors are designed for a 175mm axle, so you would need 2cm of spacers. However, you have to get a motor with a long enough axle to make that work, and I don't see the total axle length specified on the Bafang website. They are typically only long enough to accomodate a torque arm and the axle nuts. Be sure to ask your vendor about the 197mm width. Looks like your rims are only 3" wide. Wonder why 197mm dropouts.

Trek says your frame is "mountain carbon". If that means chro-moly steel, you could compress it although that's your call. You could not squeeze an alloy or carbon frame. Also, if it really is carbon, I'd worry about the axle nuts tearing out the dropouts with a strong hub motor.

I put a 500W bafang hubmotor into an inexpensive Walmart fatbike. Steel frame. I recall having to squeeze the dropouts to fit the motor, so it may also have been a 197mm dropout.

2old

This model has an aluminum "swingarm" so may be amenable to rear hubs if you can locate the correct width and the dropouts, which are for a 12 mm thru axle, are acceptable. Probably only a mid-drive is feasible, and even that may not be the best solution for a $5,000+ carbon frame.