Project View

Image description

Old-School/New-School Do-Everything Bike

Edmonton, Canada

|

45

Work, play, summer, winter, my Spot Brand Wazee has been my do-everything bike for a decade. Old-school steel frame, retro styling new-school 11 speed hub, belt drive, hydraulic disks. Bit by bit, it's gone from sporty to utility - fenders, raised bars, a box on the back. A hub motor seemed only as weird as the rest of it. I didn't need gobs of power, and I wanted a clean, minimal appearance. Also wanted quiet, as the belt and hub are so quiet. It worked out, and my goodness the hills and headwinds are easy now!

Battery wouldn't work on the teardrop-shaped downtube. Kinda like it better on the seat tube anyway, as it keeps weight distribution a bit more even. Kept the wiring pretty clean using existing zip tie braze-ons. No display, no PAS, no brake cutoffs. Just a throttle and a headlight. Wrapped unused connectors in silicone tape. Got Grin to add the 'battery tap' to the Baserunner so I could add a 5 volt buck converter and USB connectors for the rear light (an LED light strip wrapped around the box) and occasional "festive" accessories.

Halfway through my first winter with the hub motor. Salty crap hasn't gotten into anything it shouldn't. Works at -25°C, and front wheel drive pleasantly pulls past poorly ploughed paths!