wicker9990

I have a Workcycles Opa that I would like to add an electric assist unit to help with my newly increased work commute ( went from 5 miles city one way, to 15 miles hilly country roads one way). I think that I have to go with a mid drive unit in order to keep my rollerbrakes and internal gearing, and light dynamo. I want to keep it simple and rugged as I commute in all weathers every day. My local bike shop warned me off from mid drive units saying that they are too new and have not been perfected yet, although they did have a catalog of new E-bikes to show me.... I have just started researching these systems and any advice or opinions would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

Rick Imby

I have the bafang mid drive from Luna cycles----I love it.

There is a ton of information on the blog that is linked to their site.

My only reservation about your bike is I am not fond of putting a motor on a bike without at least a disc brake in the front. While now you are riding around 10-12 mph you will be twice that on an E-bike.

good luck

wicker9990

Thanks for replying. I did consider the braking issue and am still weighing the risks. Did you by any chance install this on a Workcycles Opa or a similar dutch bike? I have had some negative opinions (by bike shop owners ) on the mid-drive units and don't know if I should believe them or not. I am concerned that this unit will be more trouble than it's worth especially if there are installation problems with the dutch bike configuration. How long have you been using this set-up?

2old

I've had a 750w BBS02 for two years riding mostly off road and it's fine. Bafang produces 850,000 motors per year, and should know a little about them. One consideration; I reside in socal so the weather is pretty nice. Biggest challenge for you might be how the frame tubes are configured around the bottom bracket.

Doc_Wui

I installed a Bafang BBS02 in 2016. Not that many miles, 200 this year and 300 last year, but I ride other bikes too. Your 15 mile commute would still take me an hour unless there was no traffic on an ebike. I don't go fast enough to put much wear on my system. I can do 35 miles easily at 15 mph on a 48V 12 AH batttery on pedal assist, but far less if I only used throttle.

If you ride at speeds over 20 mph, you will probably wear the chain faster than your usual rate. I read posts from 20+ mph road bikers who talk about 2000-3000 mile per chain. The faster guys are proud to say they get less than 1000. Likely the same for a mid drive.

RockstarBruski

Hi Wicker. Id recommend you consider the hill topper 350w 36v horizon front ewheel kit. I commute anywhere from 5 to 15 miles a day each way on suburb and city roads on my two bikes below.
On the Giant bike with the hill topper kit ive put on 3K miles in about 2 years and my chain is not stretched at all. The 350w front wheel motor tops out at 20mph on the flat ground and i usually can go about 10 mph up moderate hills. The giant bike has normal squeeze brakes and stops fine as i let off on the throttle before coming to a stop. The motor freewheels without resistance when you dont want to use assist. Ive gotten up to 25 miles on my battery before needing charging while moderately pedaling and using full throttle assist about 85% of those 25 miles. The nice thing about the horizon battery pack is it is lockable and can easy mount to your bikes frame and you can slide off thr battery and charge it at your destination so your ready to ride.

Anyway heres videos below about my converted bike and a foldable ebike. The converted bike video has an older "ranger" model bag battery in thr video but ive since swapped in a new "horizon" battery which thr foldable bike video will show you what that battery looks like.

1. Conversion of a Giant "Escape" commuter with a 350W 36V Hill Topper front e-wheel first with 20 mile Ranger bag battery and then changed with Horizon 17 to 40 mile lockable slide in and out battery.
2. Foldable Hill Topper 350W 36V Hill Topper front e-wheel with Horizon 17 to 40 mile lockable slide in and out battery.

Video of Giant Escape with Hill Topper Ranger kit conversion

Video of foldable Hill Topper ebike with Horizon battery review

Also, one day in the future I might try to convert an older Schwinn tandem cruiser to a 350W 36v Hilltoper Ranger kit.

I'm addicted to e-bike riding!

zimmer

The problem with the front hub motor would be the loss of the front rollerbrake. I guess could fit a fork clamp-on caliper brake. I hope the Opa has a rear rollerbrake, as I am not sure of mid drives working with coasters. While they might not be in the same league as discs, two rollerbrakes might be sufficient with careful motor use. Not sure how something like a Bafang would fit on your frame. At the least you might have to say bye-bye to that full chainguard.