The Speaker Guy

Hi
Converting a Giant Vida

Using a Magic Pie Motor. 1000W. The bike has a unique design, and I wanted to mount the battery to the front, underneath the basket.

Does anyone have any experience with this much weight on the front of a bike?

I am planning on removing the fork and welding a good torque arm eyelet, as well as a disc brake bracket. Also, strong eyelets for the front basket too, as this structure would carry the battery weight too.

ollo_ollo

It may help you with weight distribution, especially when going up hill. I have a Schwinn Tailwind with much smaller (250W) front wheel motor and a rear battery. Reviewers complained of lack of tracking control on uphills due to the very upright riding position & rear battery mount. I was able to correct this some on mine by adjusting my stem to lowest setting + lowering the bar's angle to get a less upright and more forward riding position, but moving battery weight may be even more effective. Please report on your results. Don

2old

Could be very unwieldy. I have a rear hub bike with a seven pound battery on a front rack and it's about all that I would want up front. I think the MP is a heavy DD motor; with battery the weight distribution ....... not. Let us know about your progress.

The Speaker Guy

Thanks, will update. I recalled something from 1981. I was on beach cruiser built w Shimano 600 components and 2.125 tires, trying to keep up with a friend on a Bridgestone. He was teasing me for too heavy a bike. Until he hit a shard of metal destroying his tire. I rode him home on my handlebars five Miles or so, he carry his disabled bike.

Now figuring out how to do the disc brake.

ollo_ollo

In my pre-teen years, this (giving them a ride on our handlebars) was usually the enlightening moment when we discovered Girls were fascinating creatures, well worth further investigation! Don

The Speaker Guy

Going w 3 x 4s Hobbyking batteries, and a 12s 50a bums balanced. An avid disc is on the way too!

The Speaker Guy

Wheel build. MP was in skinny 26" but bike is wide 24" rims.

Rusty spokes and damaged hub, but strong rim. Bolt cuter faster than spoke wrench


Angle grinder with sanding wheel, I had painted this rim before.


Original rim was wood grained but beige will do.

The Speaker Guy

Prepping the fork for larger axle

Base of slot in forks is round 10mm diameter. Need t grind about 2mm deeper and to a sector of 14mm diameter




Need to both washer to clear "lawyer lips". Used sharpie and scratch lines. An angle grinder with cutoff wheel cut the two washers easily.

The Speaker Guy

Got batteries today, 4s 16Ah 10c lipoly from Hobbyking, and some connectors too.

xraytech

I suggest you mount the battery to the head tube NOT the handle bars. That much weight on the handle bars will make it difficult to handle the bike.

Doc_Wui

It would bother me not being able to see axle thread beyond the end of the nut. It would seem the nut won't clamp at maximum strength. Anyway, I had the same problem in my recent e-bike build after I fabbed my torque arm. I skipped the lawyer lip washer, hopefully now redundant, and used a thinner round one.

Ha ha. I also found the angle grinder has godlike powers for this kind of stuff.

magicpie55

Hello ..following this thread to see how it turned out ..I know it was a long time ago ... I have a Magic Pie 1000 watt motor on the front of my Electra Townie .. Ride almost every day over 2 years now with no problems ... I would however hike to upgrade the forks if there was a way to find some without Lawyer Lips ..I have seen them in pictures ..sorta look like yours ... I use 2 torque arms and have no real problems ..just like to make it bulletproof ..

KPREN

I would not have done this conversion. The most power you want on a fork like that is 250 watts with no throttle. The torque is likely to break the fork.

magicpie55

Been riding this most every day average 1 hour ...1000 watts ..no problem ...

YankeeRider

I am not a great fan of weight on the handlebars - it doesn't help the steering.