Sempervee

Greetings, Have an Urban hybrid Cannondale with hydraulic brakes that I think might make a good kit ebike and fits me well. The only issue is that finding a kit for 700C wheels is very challenging. My question is can I change the wheel size to accommodate the kit sizing of 26 or 29 inch tires? What is involved other than the obvious new wheels and tires? Anyone ever do this? Thanks -

kahn

Check out Bike Swift

https://www.bikeswift.com/

Sempervee

I did. What is your point?

kahn

Oh, they don't have the size? They did my conversion. sorry.

cat0020

Depending on the frame clearance.. going to different size wheels/tires will likely change the location where tires are nearest the frame.
With wider tires, there may not be enough frame clearance.

Another issue with changing the wheel size, geometry of the bike may be affected; depending on your specific ride, may or may not have desirable result.

chas58

NO.

To be specific, a 29" wheel is a 700c wheel

A 26" wheel is going to cause all kinds of problems.
The theoretically, you can put a 650b (27.5) wheel on it, but I'm not sure why you would.

you could give us a link to your bike for specs.
Typically with hybrids, I can put pretty large tires on there (i.e. 29"). If there is clearance, there is no real downside to going bigger.
on the theoretical side, if your frame fits it, you can put a fatter 650b tire than the 700c and keep the same diameter - which is ideal (although going bigger doesn't have much of a downside, going smaller does).

Sempervee

Here are the Specs and I measure the drops out's Front is 100MM Axel 10mm Rear is 135mm. Thanks for all your insight. I like the 700 so Staying with the 29 inches would be fine.




Axel 10mm

CliffordK

As mentioned above, both 28" and 29" are by definition ISO 622 (700c), and should fit on your bike if the rim itself isn't too wide.

In some cases you can swap between 26" and 700c. In particular, a 26"x2.1 or so will be close enough in outer diameter to swap with a 700c x 25mm tire.

However, I'm not convinced your wide 26" tire will fit between the chainstays.

If your motor has spokes, you could build your own wheel with the rim of your choice. However, you may have issues locating the right spokes. BMX spokes, possibly cut to size?

2old

Dillenger and ebikeling have 700c (29") kits.

Leisesturm

As mentioned, 700c and 29'er are one and the same. 29'er usually implies the tire section is >35mm. Your tire is 35mm so you likely could just move the tire from the old wheel to the new one when it arrives. I emphasize the singular because you only need to buy one new wheel with the motor. For a lot of reasons that should be the rear even though that will be more expensive. The old (over locknut dimension) of front hubs at 100mm and rear (MTB) at 135mm has been the same for decades. No need to specify that as a criteria.

chas58

I'm assuming that you want a hub motor, and you want to know if a 29" wheel will fit?

The answer is yes
you can buy a 29" hub motor and the wheel will fit fine as that is your wheel size (29" = 700c).
you can use the same tires you have now (35mm tires).
(29" generally refers to tires over 50mm, but the wheel diameter is the same)

Looks like you have quick release. hub motors have pretty big axles, so it is possible that it won't fit. Mine have a narrow (flat part) that I think is 10mm, and the bolt/nut diameter is 12mm. Steel is typically more forgiving than Aluminum, but you should be fine if you don't go too crazy with the power. I wouldn't put a front motor on your aluminum fork (Aluminum is easy to break, and if/when it does you are likely going to the hospital).

You have a 9 speed cassette, so you should get a motor that accepts a cassette - and disk brakes.

While it can be pretty straight forward to bolt on a kit, you'll need to understand the speed, range, and weight you want. Something like a 48v battery at 20 amps with a 15Amp Hour battery is probably typical, but you can go bigger or smaller from that. Battery is the biggest expense.

Sempervee

I agree with all you said and yes 48 Volt. Problem now is when including a battery it is * cheaper * to just buy a factory ebike with warranty I am finding. This build may have to be sidelined until the supply chain is more caught up.. Thank you for your insight. I now feel confident enough to make an ordering decision from the menu of options since getting so many answers here... Thanks again!

Leisesturm

Seriously? You are looking at some ridiculously cheap factory e-bikes if they are coming out cheaper than kits. If they are doing it right, a factory e-bike will have seriously upgraded everything to handle the increased power. You can take your under $500 hybrid and add a 500W - 1000W hub motor for $1000 with battery. What factory e-bike costs $1500? An Aventon Pace perhaps. You could do worse I guess but I aimed much higher. The Raleigh Redux IE and Giant Quick E+ and Specialized Allant 8s were my benchmark factory e-bikes and if I wanted those refinements I HAD to build it myself. And did.

Sempervee

I have 2 sets of RAD bikes and if I could equal or better them with a kit for less than $1000 I would. I can't. When was the last time you looked for a decent battery? Most batteries if you can get one is $600-$800! Even Bolton bikes recommended buying a factory bike rather then converting mine when addressing cost. I spoke with a kit maker in Canada and the kit was up to $2000 before shipping and customs tax! Me thinks I'll wait until the supply chain smooths out. Or sell my Cannondale and get a new RAD City ST 5 and upgrade when the warranty expires to a true 750 or 1000 watt motor!

2old

Rad has a good reputation, so is a viable source. Lectric gets good reviews for its $1,000 or so 28 mph folding fat bike, but don't know what to expect long term. I just converted a MTB with a RICE 500w, geared kit that cost about $300 and it goes 25 mph with a 52V battery (was bored, so just built something to try out). It would be about $800 if I needed to purchase a battery. If the Canadian company you referenced is ebikesca, they're expensive.

CliffordK

There are a number of EBike batteries, as well as bare Lithium Ion batteries on E-Bay and AliExpress. Also Amazon.

Watch the voltage and Amp Hours.

I can't say about longevity or charging/discharging safety. Wiring and circuitry? But there are are a lot of "generic" Chinese lithium ion batteries around.

Anyway, it could get you on the road.

2old

FME, UPP (Unit Pack Power, AIR) has well-priced, satisfactory batteries. That said, I would charge and store any battery (except from a major OEM) only where I wouldn't mind having a fire.

Leisesturm

If you are correct, the answer is not to have any e-bikes at all. And, mostly we don't. I am not going to treat my battery like an activated time bomb ticking down in my garage! Better not to have it then. Only when the mentality surrounding Li-ion batteries changes will we have any real paradigm shift in the overall transportation picture.

2old

Maybe your answer, but definitely not mine. There are already very safe e-batteries (Lithium/Iron), but they're too heavy and cumbersome (for me). Plus, I trust the large OEM's that are accessible. If you're so worried about potential dangers, I suggest you stay on your couch in a fetal position. Welcome to my ignore list.

Leisesturm

i didn't say it was my answer. I have an e-bike. Or my belief. But you probably won't see this. Oh well.