After coming back from a long tour of France I decided it was time to put a motor on the Pino. I had mulled it over for some time and, because a new ‘e-pino’ is horrendously expensive, I decided to fit a Bafang ‘Fun 8’ mid-drive motor. In the UK we are legally limited to 250W maximum ‘continuous’ power.
I bought the motor and battery together, from ‘Aliexpress.com’ in China, as it’s cheaper than using a European supplier, but delivery times are longer. If you are in a hurry for the kit, a UK or European supplier will get it to you sooner but it will cost you more.
The battery is a 36V 17.5Ah. Cable brake levers come with the kit but sensors for hydraulic brakes are available. The standard chainring seems to be a 44T but at a pinch and with an adapter plate, a 38T could be fitted. Larger rings are not an issue.
The hardest part was getting the old BB out – it had been on the bike since 2011. I swapped the stock control display unit for a SW102 combined controller/display which is very small and sits neatly at the bar-end. I have since changed this for a newer control/display after the mounting fractured. I also had to fit hydraulic brake sensors (bought at the same time), as the Pino originally had Magura Louise hydraulic brakes. As hydraulic brakes are more complex for maintenance, I swapped the brakes for TRP Spyre cable operated brakes and then used the levers with built-in sensors that come with the kit. I fitted the plain, right-hand crank from a Thorn Tandem ‘Captain’s’ crankset from SJS Cycles. The total bill was around £700.
The left-hand Hase crank with freewheel and the motor sitting under the BB shell. The original battery lost much of its performance after 4 years good use, so the one here is a new replacement, but 13Ah, not 17.5Ah of the original.
The Hase crank has a square taper axle – in what I call a ‘square, square’ pattern. The Bafang cranks supplied in the kit are ‘square, diamond’ pattern, so, in order to retain the Hase freewheel, you need to source a ‘square, square’ right hand crank. These are available as a Tandem Captain’s crankset from SJS Cycles. You will have to buy the crankset, as they don’t sell individual R/H cranks.
The ‘Square, square’ hole in the Thorn crank matches the hole pattern in the Hase Pino freewheel crank. Our Pino is 2011. Hase may now use a different crankset, so it’s worth checking before you buy.The Thorn, right-hand crank from SJS Cycles and the 44T covered chainring. You can specify different sized chainrings but we’ve found, coupled to a Rohloff with 15T sprocket, it’s a good size that allows us to climb well and keep pedalling up to 25-30mph.The original SW102 controller/display on the left bar. This is not the standard display that comes with most kits but there’s no suitable place for the stock display on the Pino, so I ordered this smaller unit. I added the lumps to the buttons, as selecting up/down on the unmodified rocker switch was tricky with winter gloves on. Changing power levels is very easy using one’s thumb on the up/down buttons. The cable goes down the inside of the bars for a tidy look. I used bar tape to cover the brake lever clamp as it was uncomfortable in its natural state.The newer control/display. The little mirrors are very handy too, with a good field of vision.The right side controls. I fitted the throttle at the bar end, next to the mirror. I needed an extension cable which are available on eBay or Amazon. The connector is central and easy to get at should I need to disconnect the throttle – eg. when riding in London or elsewhere we might be targeted by over-zealous officials. I have limited the throttle to 15.5mph.The Bafang brake levers with built-in sensors to cut power to the motor when operated. Once I replaced the hydraulic brakes that came on the Pino with cable-operated brakes, I could make use of the levers.The wheel sensor and magnet on the rear wheel. These need to be fitted and aligned well, as if they don’t work, the motor will cut out after a couple of minutes if it’s not registering any rotation.
Extras
The Rohloff chain tensioner.TRP Spyre cable operated rear brake and Rohloff ‘click box’. I needed to fit the rear rack with a rearward extension to prevent my heals hitting the panniers when riding.Karon uses a Topeak cross-bar bag to keep a few items that are easy to get to. Note the drilled cranks. The drillings are at 155mm.The original Spinner Grinder forks on the bike needed a thorough service so I removed them and replaced them with new Spinner 300 forks now supplied by Hase. These are actually about 20mm longer than the originals. With plenty of time, I stripped the originals, cleaned and re-greased them then put them aside. Recently the 300s became very sticky and inefficient, so I put the originals back on and have cleaned and re-greased the 300s ready for the next swap. It’s a 20 minute job to swap the forks.
