The electric mayhem (or how to screw with a perfectly good typhoon)

[Thxcuz]

Let’s start with some backstory:
I have a nice Electra townie that I put an electric hub motor on. It’s nice but there are a few issues. First off the townie, as you know has a unique frame and some parts of the kit - mainly the battery- don’t fit well on it
Second issue is I feel the seat is too far forward for my taste.
and 3rd no suspension-I’m not sure why but I felt less bumps on my road bike
Enter a lovely 1972 schwinn typhoon. It’s pretty much original except maybe the tires.
imma gon mess it up

here are my plans:
Springer fork (I installed that today)
Disk brakes (my ebike tops at 30 - though I question the accuracy of its speedo- it’s still scary fast)
Converting it to a 6 speed (why 6? Because I had a 6 speed freewheel already
Different seat ( I love that vintage schwinn seat but I have a huffy bread loaf seat I’m dying to try
And finally, trying my best to hide all the wires and make it as clean as possible
I attached some pictures

to be continued

 

[Karate Chicken Industries]

These cats and I approve:

 

[wheelbender6]

I think the steel Typhoon will be more comfortable at 20+ mph than the aluminum Townie.

 

[MattiThundrrr]

These cats and I approve:

View attachment 174674

Dr Teeth is everywhere

 

[Thxcuz]

I made a little progress today
I spread the rear so I can fit the wheel
Changed the chainring to one from a multi speed bike.
Attached the gear shift- I don’t have it set up yet though.
I may tinker a bit tonight
At least get the gears set

 

[69SHOVLHED]

i am thinking about getting an electric hub motor for my bike since i have a heart condition. but i'm wondering if the rear motor will wheelie if i twist the throttle too fast? maybe a front motor would be safer?

 

[Thxcuz]

It hasn’t wheelied on me yet. Front has its advantages. All the ebike snobs (yes, that’s a thing now) say mid-drive or nothing. I disagree. I like the hub motors and they are less expensive. Mid drives look better but you you break a chain you’re pushing.

 

[ifitsfreeitsforme]

ebike snobs. Now I've heard it all.

 

[Karate Chicken Industries]

Bike snobbery is nothing shy of ridiculous. Some goober on a trek full suspension mtb was trying to tell me about something he knew little about from the MTB realm at the pump track yesterday. I wanted to laugh at him, but felt that even negative attention was too much to give him so I let him "win" by not responding further. After hearing about the antisocial media crash last night, I figure he may have been missing his online e-guments and wanted to give RL contradictions a whirl. Sad

On a more positive note, I met one other person at the pump track yesterday who was the antithesis of the person mentioned above. A younger cat on a dirt jump bike, super relaxed and just having fun...while ripping. Those Riders give me hope for the future.

 

[Captain Awesome]

ebike snobs. Now I've heard it all.

Bound to happen. They exist in all circles

 

[Rat Rodder]

I made a little progress today
I spread the rear so I can fit the wheel
Changed the chainring to one from a multi speed bike.
Attached the gear shift- I don’t have it set up yet though.
I may tinker a bit tonight
At least get the gears set

I look at those old bikes from the 1960's 70's and I feel good. The new bike frames now adays are just ugly. I have a 26 inch bike with a front wheel electric it works good. But, a rear motor I think is easier to ride. I live in the mountains. So I get like an AWD feeling with the electric on the front. Some times it slips if I give it too much throttle. But, the pedal assist is perfect.

 

[Starnger]

If you are going to switch to disc brakes, make sure to reinforce your frame or fork or both, since they are not really designed to take a kind of torque a disc brake generates. And i surely won't recommend any bolt-on adapters or similar solutions, you are planning to put some speed on this heavy bike, such adapters would fail sooner then more traditional drum brakes.
Nice plan and a nice Schwinn you got, i wish you best luck with the build

 

[Thxcuz]

I can’t seem to fit the front disk caliper anyway so I may order a big bmx brake for the front. In the back I’ll try the disk adapter and takes me chances. I’m not afraid to play grabass with the devil.
I naturally favor the front brake and the motor cuts out when you pull the brake.
I’ll probably regret it but I’ll try it for now.
I’ll wear a helmet
Here’s where I am now

fenders on
Original seat mounted on a diy layback (we’ll see if it holds me. It’s a galvanized pipe. I had to grind off about 2 mm so it would fit)
The festoonery draping the bike is the wiring for the ebike.

 

[nevin]

when you're done, janice might even give you a kiss.

 

[Rat Rodder]

I can’t seem to fit the front disk caliper anyway so I may order a big bmx brake for the front. In the back I’ll try the disk adapter and takes me chances. I’m not afraid to play grabass with the devil.
I naturally favor the front brake and the motor cuts out when you pull the brake.
I’ll probably regret it but I’ll try it for now.
I’ll wear a helmet
Here’s where I am now

fenders on
Original seat mounted on a diy layback (we’ll see if it holds me. It’s a galvanized pipe. I had to grind off about 2 mm so it would fit)
The festoonery draping the bike is the wiring for the ebike.

Will we see a banana seat and sissy bar on that bike?

 

[Thxcuz]

I honestly thought this was going to be easier. I didn’t like the apes. I couldn’t find a good place on the frame to mount the battery so I had to use a rear rack. And yes I’m having trouble with the disk brake mounting. I was warned

So here I am at the moment. I’ve got a rats nest of wires to clean up.
once I’ve got everything figured out I think it will be a sweet ride.

 

[GeePig]

Well, it is hanging together well, all it now looks like is a series of itty bitty issues to resolve....

 

[Thxcuz]

I rode it today. It’s smoother than the townie, for sure but not quite as fast. I’m guessing due to the uneven weight distribution. The only way to mount the battery was in the back which is not ideal. But it still beats pedaling

 

[wheelbender6]

Sweet to see a classic Schwinn with electric assist.
Can you mount the battery on the seat tube? I've seen that on other electrified cruisers.

 

[Thxcuz]

I tried. It doesn’t fit.