ELECTRIC BIKE hub Drive conversions.

• Chilled Squirrel builds the motor into a wheel that matches your current bike’s wheel diameter.

• The ready-to-fit hub motor systems are built-in to a double walled wheel rim with x36 reinforced 13g stainless steel spokes.

• Hub motor installations begin with replacing your current wheel and swapping the tyre over to the new motor wheel.

• Chilled Squirrel’s front and rear hub motors are geared , offering more torque for steep hills .

• The motors are gear, disc brake and v-brake compatible.

• The motor integrates with your bike’s rear Gear cassette : 8, 9, 10 and 11 speed.

Pluses of a Hub drive conversion:

• Maintains all your current gearing - front derailleur and rear cassette.

• Lower on-going maintenance.

• If the chain ever breaks you can still use a throttle to get back because the motor drives the wheel and not the chain ( as the mid drive does).

Potential negatives of a Hub drive conversion:

• Less torque than a mid drive for the same wattage , however your weight , riding terrain, type of bike and preferences may actually suit a hub drive more.

• More Gears - some people like the simplicity of less gears ( This is actually a Plus if you ever ride the bike non-electric ) .

CHECK-LIST FOR hub DRIVES.

1. YOUR CHAIN WHEEL.

2. YOUR FRAME.

3. YOUR Mechanical Specs.

4. YOUR Weight.

5. YOUR LEVEL OF FITNESS.

6. THE TYPE TerraiN YOU WANT TO RIDE ON.

7. THE LEVEL OF power and speed YOU WANT.

The Pedal assist (PAS) cadence magnet sensor fitting.

PAS Sensor and magnets are fitted in this position and in the following way as per illustrated on your left.

• On some bikes the installation of the PAS can be more challenging and may require some basic re-working of the Chain wheel to allow more space for it to fit.

• In order for the entire e-drive system to work properly and smoothly, it is important that the PAS is installed securely without any hindrance from other mechanical parts.

Frame considerations

• What are the dimensions of the triangular area between your top tube , down tube and seat tube?

• The most likely and ideal fitting position for the battery and controller is on the Down tube.

  As Illustrated in the image on the right.

THRU-AXLE VS QUICK RELEASE (QR) AXLE

Please note that our rear hub drive conversion systems will not work on a bike that is a rear wheel thru-axle bike.

TYPE OF TERRAIN

If you intend riding light-off road such as light trails , jeep tracks and on-road track then a rear hub drive will work great.

GEARS.

Your bike may have 2-3 front cogs working in union with a rear 8,9 or 10 speed gear cassette. If you like having more gears and are used to riding like this : Front and Rear geared hub conversion systems will work great for you . Your bikes front derailleur and chain wheel systems remain the same.

This does have the benefit of assisting you more if and when you do not use electric assistance especially up super steep hills.

TYPES OF BRAKES.

For Front and Rear drive conversions, ideally your bike has Hydraulic or good quality Mechanical disc brakes such as Tektro. V-brakes will work fine as long as your brakes are well maintained and you install e-brakes for cutting motor power as soon as your use the brakes.

CHAIN AND REAR GEAR CASSETTE.

The quality of your cassette and chain is super important to performance .

We check the condition before going ahead with any conversion.

If they are worn and need replacing it is best to do that before starting your conversion.

REAR AND FRONT HUBS.

If you decide to go front hub conversion, your front hub will be replaced with a motor .

And vice versa : If you decide to go Rear hub conversion , your rear hub will be replaced by a motor.

RIMS , SPOKES AND TYrES.

These are inspected and serviced if necessary for optimal performance.

Your weight plays an important role in deciding on which motor power wattage output is best for your conversion. Your weight plays an equally important role in helping you understand which battery will fulfil your desired range ie: distance in km per ride that you’d like to achieve.

We recommend that you get a motor that is either just right for your weight or bigger. Having more power and being able to reduce it at your fingertips is better than having a motor that is slightly under-powered for your weight. Also consider getting just the right motor size for your weight because as you get fitter on an electric bike, you will start to use lower levels of PAS ( pedal assist). This way you will need less and less power as you get fitter one ride at a time.

Below is a *Guideline Chart comparing a 500w Geared hub drive vs 500w Mid drive.

For some people retaining a steady heart rate level is life-saving or detrimentally important to their health during exercise.

Electric pedal assist helps people maintain a steady level of power no matter how much the gradient of the terrain changes.

With PAS at your fingertips you simply increase and decrease the level of power when needed without having to stop to change anything.

if you do have any sort of problem breathing or need to alleviate pressure on your knees , hips or shoulders during riding, we suggest getting motor size that is slightly more powerful than your weight category.

Below is a *Guideline Chart comparing a 500w Geared hub drive vs 500w Mid drive.

Steepness and Roughness of terrain play a big role in pointing you in the direction of the size mid drive and battery that would better suit you. If you plan to ride a lot up some seriously steep and rough terrain , it is going to need a slightly bigger motor and battery size than your weight category.

Choose one power level up if you think this will be the type of riding you will be mainly doing so that you always have that extra bit of power when you most need it.

Below is a *Guideline Chart comparing a 500w Geared hub drive vs 500w Mid drive.

Electric bikes are made for exercising and while power and speed are not the main focus, it is important to choose a motor that provides you with enough oomf to choose whatever level of assistance or non-assistance you want at any given moment.

It’s simple , if you want just the right amount of power and speed then choose the motor size that suits your weight.

If for whatever reason you want more then choose a bigger motor. This is one of the big pluses of a conversion system.

Below is a *Guideline Chart comparing a 500w Geared hub drive vs 500w Mid drive.