Front wheel E-Bike Conversion

[stacheasaurus]

Any recommendations on front wheel hub e-bike conversions you have used? 

[BikeFanatic]

Have you seen Ebikes.ca website?
Justin at grin is the king of front hubs. He has been making his own and modified Chinese h
Front hubs for better fit and performance since 2006. I love his all axle front hub plug and play with look it up.

[Syonyk]

Any recommendations on front wheel hub e-bike conversions...

Don't.

If you live somewhere very flat, with no hills, and not much in the way of slick conditions, OK, you can find a 250W kit and put it on the front.  You ruin the handling and the bike is weirdly twitchy, but it probably won't kill you.

Any hills, any rain, any slick conditions, or a desire for more than a gentle assist, and do not do this.  You'll kill yourself.  A higher power output on the front wheel makes the steering really darty, does odd things to the front geometry, and if it's slick at all, the front wheel is prone to spin up with no warning at all.  A spinning rear wheel on a bike is mostly fine for short periods of time, and you can ride through it until you get traction back.  Spin the front up with no warning and you'll do well to remain on the bike at all.  It's a wonderful way to be departing from the bike wondering what just happened.

Power the rear wheel.  Either a rear hub motor, or if you're dealing with a cargo bike or steep hills, a mid-drive.  You get a far better bike out of the arrangement that isn't waiting for a slick patch of ice to kill you.

[iluvzbeach]

We used Hilltopper kits, they are based out of Seattle. We’ve been very happy with them and have not had any of the issues described above, even in our hilly, sometimes wet neighborhood in the PNW.

[stacheasaurus]

Any recommendations on front wheel hub e-bike conversions...

Don't.

If you live somewhere very flat, with no hills, and not much in the way of slick conditions, OK, you can find a 250W kit and put it on the front.  You ruin the handling and the bike is weirdly twitchy, but it probably won't kill you.

Any hills, any rain, any slick conditions, or a desire for more than a gentle assist, and do not do this.  You'll kill yourself.  A higher power output on the front wheel makes the steering really darty, does odd things to the front geometry, and if it's slick at all, the front wheel is prone to spin up with no warning at all.  A spinning rear wheel on a bike is mostly fine for short periods of time, and you can ride through it until you get traction back.  Spin the front up with no warning and you'll do well to remain on the bike at all.  It's a wonderful way to be departing from the bike wondering what just happened.

Power the rear wheel.  Either a rear hub motor, or if you're dealing with a cargo bike or steep hills, a mid-drive.  You get a far better bike out of the arrangement that isn't waiting for a slick patch of ice to kill you.

Thanks for the insight!  I omitted the fact this is a tricycle, and do not wish to attempt a conversion on the rear end of the trike.  Also, location is Salt Lake, and we get very little precip in my area and would rarely if ever attempt riding in weather. With this new information, any suggestions?

[Syonyk]

... and is it a 8 passenger bar bike trike at 800 lb empty or something?  Anything else relevant you should mention when looking for advice on this particular project?

It's probably fine on a trike.  It's still likely to be darty under load, but it won't dump you.  Try it and report back.  I still think a mid-drive would be a better option, but apparently that's too much work.