Convert Q45 to ebike

F

Flying Dutchman

Well-Known Member
Yes I looked into electrifying my Q45 (tru-axle) as well and only came across the Grin - as other posters showed this easily adds up to more than $1,500 - about 3 times what I was hoping to spend. I did get myself on the wait-list for Swytch (a UK outfit) that said they do tru-axle but when I got to the top of the wait-list and was able to configure my order, it appeared that their tru-axle was only for the 'drive-wheel' so in our case the front wheel. So I even went as far as asking Robert whether the rear fork on the Q45 could be replaced by the older QR version but he advised against that.
There are a number of motors coming out that sit against the wheel - not ideal but I'm still keeping an eye out for those. There's one kickstarter project that I've subscribed to, not sure it will attach to the rear fork but we'll see.

Maybe Robert can strike a deal with Grin - hint hint :cool:
 
Black Hawk Down

Black Hawk Down

Senior Rookie
Flying Dutchman said:
Maybe Robert can strike a deal with Grin - hint hint :cool:
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Yea.. good luck with that. They don't like doing onesie-twosie's. Not enough market for them. I've given up motorizing the Q45. My only problem with the S40 is the recumbutt, which is mostly due to my weight (230 lbs). My natural weight is around 165 lbs. Now with GLP-1 drugs, I may be able to get there if I can get Medicare to approve it. I much prefer the S40 over the Q45 and I already have an electric setup for the S40 that I've used on a 2500 mile bike tour and it worked well. We'll see how that goes.
 
Black Hawk Down

Black Hawk Down

Senior Rookie
kizarmynot said:
Can you point me to your post about this setup (I don’t recall seeing it)? Was this QR or thru axle?
Thanks!
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My 2019 S40 is a QR axle. I have a Bafang front motor kit that I bought on amazon. The page where I bought it is no longer available but they have equivalent kits if you search. Here's some detail of my kit:

48V 500W Front Hub Motor Electric Bike Conversion Kit for 26inch Wheel Drive Engine with Display with Battery (C18,Rear Battery 48V 17.5Ah)
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07N44V5ZB?ref_=ppx_hzsearch_conn_dt_b_fed_asin_title_37

I don't think I posted on the forum about my electric conversion. It was pretty easy and straightforward. The only real effort was rigging up the battery on the S40 rear rack. Also, I used a thumb throttle not peddle assist. I had to use rubber bands to preload the thumb throttle as it's too stiff and your thumb gets fatigued fast. I only used the motor to get up steep hills, not for regular riding.

I can't tell you how disappointed I am that Cruzbike decided to go with thru-axles on the new S40 and Q45 bikes. It's hell finding ebike conversions for them and it was very expensive and difficult to do a Rohloff conversion on my Q45. What was ever wrong with QR axles? I used them all my life with no issues. Dumb.
 
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Robert Holler

Robert Holler

Administrator
Staff member
The swap to through axles is a bicycle industry wide change not just for us. It is becoming near impossible for decent hubs to be found in QR and it is near impossible to find even one new bike made in the upright world that is QR when browsing what is coming from the shows overseas. So as such - we have to follow suit as new people coming from uprights to recumbents have expectations.

As far as electric conversions go - those are also rapidly disappearing as again - the entire industry is going proprietary with built in batteries and systems that are rear hub based or mid drive - and the idea of converting older bikes has gone out of vogue for legal reasons or just thats now what is "hot" to design in the upright industry. We are 1000% at the whim of the upright companies and what they are doing. The innovations only work one direction (so far) and that is a trickle down of upright tech TO recumbents. It doesn't work the other way around.

There are at least companies like Grin doing front E-hubs still. Doing full-blown e-bikes is a dangerously expensive game for a very slim market slice especially in two-wheelers, so that makes it very hard to do larger OEM numbers.
 
Black Hawk Down

Black Hawk Down

Senior Rookie
Robert Holler said:
The swap to through axles is a bicycle industry wide change not just for us. It is becoming near impossible for decent hubs to be found in QR and it is near impossible to find even one new bike made in the upright world that is QR when browsing what is coming from the shows overseas. So as such - we have to follow suit as new people coming from uprights to recumbents have expectations.

As far as electric conversions go - those are also rapidly disappearing as again - the entire industry is going proprietary with built in batteries and systems that are rear hub based or mid drive - and the idea of converting older bikes has gone out of vogue for legal reasons or just thats now what is "hot" to design in the upright industry. We are 1000% at the whim of the upright companies and what they are doing. The innovations only work one direction (so far) and that is a trickle down of upright tech TO recumbents. It doesn't work the other way around.

There are at least companies like Grin doing front E-hubs still. Doing full-blown e-bikes is a dangerously expensive game for a very slim market slice especially in two-wheelers, so that makes it very hard to do larger OEM numbers.
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Thanks Robert. Sorry for calling it dumb. I understand that Cruzbike has to follow industry standards. I still think it's dumb for the bicycle industry to switch for road bikes. How long has QR been around and they work just as good now as ever. They're much easier to remove and replace a wheel. Just no reason to change. You can still get ebike conversions on Amazon. They have a pretty good selection, just no thru-axle ones yet. I like my Bafang. It works really well with lots of power and the battery lasts for a long distance with reasonable use and it's very low cost. Buying a actual ebike is expensive and no better than the kit plus, you have to get a crummy bike with it. With a kit you can ride any bike you want, like a Cruzbike. I'm hoping that someone will come out with a conversion kit that will change a thru-axle to a QR. That would solve the problem. I haven't found one yet. I was relieved when Rohloff speedhub came up with a conversion for thru-axles, but it's costly and complicated. But it works.
 
Robert Holler

Robert Holler

Administrator
Staff member
Black Hawk Down said:
Thanks Robert. Sorry for calling it dumb. I understand that Cruzbike has to follow industry standards. I still think it's dumb for the bicycle industry to switch for road bikes. How long has QR been around and they work just as good now as ever. They're much easier to remove and replace a wheel. Just no reason to change. You can still get ebike conversions on Amazon. They have a pretty good selection, just no thru-axle ones yet. I like my Bafang. It works really well with lots of power and the battery lasts for a long distance with reasonable use and it's very low cost. Buying a actual ebike is expensive and no better than the kit plus, you have to get a crummy bike with it. With a kit you can ride any bike you want, like a Cruzbike. I'm hoping that someone will come out with a conversion kit that will change a thru-axle to a QR. That would solve the problem. I haven't found one yet. I was relieved when Rohloff speedhub came up with a conversion for thru-axles, but it's costly and complicated. But it works.
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Trust me - the "standards" that are more and more rapidly evolving nowadays - as we get more and more into higher tech materials/processes - is really maddening to me as a product manager. Because the second something becomes the "new normal" there is already new stuff on the horizon that seeks to render the "old" (last years) obsolete before it even has mass adoption. It's kind of going that way for a lot of things nowadays - not just bikes.

I have spent a lot of time myself looking at my collection of great wheels and spare brakes, etc that are now basically worthless and just have to throw up my hands and be like "whelp.... glad I saved all this stuff...." Hahhaha


I believe thats just a part of this 4th and 5th industrial revolution that we are all rapidly moving through - and it is happening much more exponentially faster than the other industrial revolutions. :oops:
 
Black Hawk Down

Black Hawk Down

Senior Rookie
Robert Holler said:
Trust me - the "standards" that are more and more rapidly evolving nowadays - as we get more and more into higher tech materials/processes - is really maddening to me as a product manager. Because the second something becomes the "new normal" there is already new stuff on the horizon that seeks to render the "old" (last years) obsolete before it even has mass adoption. It's kind of going that way for a lot of things nowadays - not just bikes.

I have spent a lot of time myself looking at my collection of great wheels and spare brakes, etc that are now basically worthless and just have to throw up my hands and be like "whelp.... glad I saved all this stuff...." Hahhaha


I believe thats just a part of this 4th and 5th industrial revolution that we are all rapidly moving through - and it is happening much more exponentially faster than the other industrial revolutions. :oops:
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I completely agree. I see it every day. It's really hard to keep with new technologies and it's only going to get worse (or better?).

I'm curious. Do you have many older S40 frames with QR hubs? I'm not ready to buy one but I may within a year or so. My frame has taken a beating and some of the weldments have broken off. I'm trying to lose weight and if successful, I would like to move off the Q45 and back on the S40 again. I like the bike better but right now I can't handle the recumbutt.

Oh, and when will Cruzbikes have AI integrated? :emoji_bike:
 
F

Flying Dutchman

Well-Known Member
I'm in discussion with https://skarper.com/ - this looks promising. I'm hoping to get the kit within the next couple of weeks and will update on progress.
It's UK based so I don't know whether people in the US can get it but if it works, it might be something for @Robert Holler to start talking with them. They certainly are a friendly bunch.
 
D

danhunt56

Member
Black Hawk Down said:
Thanks Robert. Sorry for calling it dumb. I understand that Cruzbike has to follow industry standards. I still think it's dumb for the bicycle industry to switch for road bikes. How long has QR been around and they work just as good now as ever. They're much easier to remove and replace a wheel. Just no reason to change. You can still get ebike conversions on Amazon. They have a pretty good selection, just no thru-axle ones yet. I like my Bafang. It works really well with lots of power and the battery lasts for a long distance with reasonable use and it's very low cost. Buying a actual ebike is expensive and no better than the kit plus, you have to get a crummy bike with it. With a kit you can ride any bike you want, like a Cruzbike. I'm hoping that someone will come out with a conversion kit that will change a thru-axle to a QR. That would solve the problem. I haven't found one yet. I was relieved when Rohloff speedhub came up with a conversion for thru-axles, but it's costly and complicated. But it works.
Click to expand...
I have Quest 2.0 with quick release and a Bafang motor. I am not in agreement that Cruzbike has to follow other bike makers and use thru axles. I would not myself except maybe on the v20. It is not an engineering decision, it is a marketing decision. Since recumbent bikes are in decline emphasizing easy conversion to an e-bike seems a no brainer from the marketing point of view. I find the Cruzbike Quest model makes the best ebike available. The Q 45 maybe even better with the longer stroke suspension and the modern steering/handle bar setup. I certainly would not have gone thru axle on the Q45. That said I want to get a thru axle bike and see if I make an adapter. I don’t see any form of thru axel bike in my future though, so that experiment is on hold until an affordable used one comes up.
 
Boreen bimbler

Boreen bimbler

Well-Known Member
I think it was a Leucher Teknic video I watched where his opinion was the only really good thing about thru axles was they kept the brake rotor aligned better than QR. Otherwise no other real benefits.
I don't mind them to work with at all but they certainly make an electric wheel a problem.
 
JoFlo

JoFlo

Member
Q45 conversion complete. Will be riding in the next days.
 

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kizarmynot

kizarmynot

Well-Known Member
Looking forward to your report. How much more weight is added to the front end and does it affect handling?
 
JoFlo

JoFlo

Member
Haven’t weighed it, but guessing added about 40 lbs. Handles good, front is heavy but only noticeable when walking with bike or loading to rack. Anxious to load my bags and camping gear and ride.
 
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