Anyone Motorize a 29'er ?

Meer123

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Not so sure if this question should be here or under the 2 stroke section or electric section but here goes ...

I'm seeing more 29'ers now and the bigger rim/tire combo (the most obvious tip-off) looks like it would give more comfort, more speed (top end, per revolution) and appears to be a bit more robust. But I do not see many motorized bike enthusiasts doing 29'ers ? Is this because there are characteristics that make them not suitable to mount a 2 stroke or an electric hub motor ? There are no 29'ers sold a Target or Wally World (on none that I know of) and the ones I do see are all legit bike brands and all tout increased durability and ability to handle more extreme use as main selling points ... are there any 29 fans ? If so, is it more suitable for 2 storkes or electrics - or are they both doable (and realistic for the typical DIY'er) and it's more a matter of choice ? I have two 2-strokes but I am looking at doing an electric project too and in my search for a suitable bike - I thought, maybe explore the possibilities of a 29 ? Anyway - if anyone has done one - I'd love to hear about it's build and it's performance - whether it's electric or gas ... thanks
 
I don't think I've ever seen one motorized by anyone here. The reasons are probably first that the least expensive 29er is 3-4 times as expensive as the bikes most of the members here are using to put motors on. Second the larger wheel creates a frame geometry that dosen't allow alot of room in the frame for a frame mounted motor. You could do rack mount or electric hub motor easy enough though. The third area where you come up short is street tires. There just isn't much if anything available. I have a friend with a Fuji 29er comfort bike he bought from the local Performance store over a year ago and now needs to get some new tires for it and is having a very hard time finding anything like what the bike came with.

ocscully
 
don't short sell your fellow enthusiasts - I'll admit I make attemtps to be frugal and the way folks here are so resourceful, I suspect being frugal is both an understatement and a common characteristic ... but over the last three weeks, I've been learning a lot about electric bikes from folks who have spent at least $3000 on a bike - frugal, perhaps ... cheap, I do not think so - besies, some of the folks who appear super cheap on these boards have 4 or 5 serious motorized bikes ? I'm not offended - not by a long shot (esp since it is true that I am cheap) but do not underestimate these folks - 72 volt batteries are far from inexpensive nor are custom welded frames yet those things are (apparently) not as rare as I thought
 
29ers are wide 700s.As for rim size---27" rims are a bit larger in diameter than 29ers but you can ask Rif how it feels to ride a large rim bike---he rode one across the USA.A full english roadester sized wheel which is a 1/4" larger than a 27" rim.
 
The larger wheel size would have an affect on top speed, but nothing is free. If you had a wheel with a little over 10% larger diameter, you would lose a little over 10% of your torque on the low end just like you were running a sprocket with you 2 stroke and went to a 10% smaller sprocket. If the change in ratio was severe enough, it would make it difficult for the engine to reach its power band and you may never realize any top speed improvement at all.

Most of the same principles apply to electrics- there is only so much power to go around, but you would not have the trouble of lowering the rpm below the power band as the torque curve for electric motors is not a curve at all, but flat.

That being said, a different sprocket size on a gas engine bike could compensate and you would be left with the inherent advantages of the larger wheel without the low end power being hampered.
 
... That being said, a different sprocket size on a gas engine bike could compensate and you would be left with the inherent advantages of the larger wheel without the low end power being hampered.
... Or just pedaling would help the low end.
 
hahaha - pedaling ... now there's a novel idea for a bicycle enthusiast ? I'm not doing any real "climbing" and just looking for a little spice in my commute so I dont need huge torque ... curious, what it might cost to have a motorized hub laced to a 29 ? And I wonder if the generic "bike rack" that comes with many of these motorized hub kits will be easily mounted to a 29'er to carry the batteries ?
 
I don't see why the rack wouldn't work... because you really shouldn't be putting the hub on the 29er.

You'd also get a lot more help if you made a new thread in the electric motor section... not the bicycle repair forum.

Here's a good post in that section for you to understand why your back wheel really shouldn't be 29".

EDIT: http://motoredbikes.com/showthread.php?t=10225
 
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