...the Viribus kit's motor(kit bought via Amazon) is of the slim but wide-diameter kind. My eyes and calipers suggest to me that if the gear cogs are removed the motorised rear wheel axle should quite easily fit into the front forks. (I'll fit a torque arm or two to prevent the wheel with its 1000watt motor from flying off down the road without me!) I bought my still half-unpacked rear-wheel version of the Viribus kit after a "verified" Amazon purchaser told me he'd fitted a Viribus rear-wheel kit to the front forks instead. Viribus simply told me: "We would advise against it" - without explaining why. I guess I should just get on and try it - remove the cogs(something I've never done) and see if it's do-able.
1 Answer
No. Your easiest option is to return the item as "incompatible", and buy what you need rather than hacking up this wheel and ending up with a non-returnable part.
A rear wheel dropout spacing is probably 135mm, the front wheel is 100mm, so you would need to remove 35mm of "stuff" and then re-dish the wheel to sit centered.
Then you might have issues with rotor/caliper offsets. Also, the axle probably has wires coming out the end so there's no easy way to shorten the axle - you'll have an inch and a half of axle poking out the right-hand side.
Return it, buy the right kit and maintain your warranty.
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1Sorry but I have to disagree with your main arguments: 1) It doesn't matter to me that the axle is longer. In fact it could be an advantage because I'll be able to use two nuts each side AND the torque arms to hold the 1000w motorised wheel in place. 2) You refer to "what I need". What I need and want is a kit wheel that can be swapped onto the rear or front forks of any of my four bicycles as/when the mood suits. I don't care at all if the axle protrudes more when mounted on the front. Re: wires coming out of the axle - surely irrelevant? I'll just be passing 'em thru 2 nuts not 1. Commented Nov 1, 2023 at 21:33
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@PaulGovan 1000 W would likely class as an electric motorcycle, not an electric assist bicycle. Also, you'll get wheelspin when accelerating with those power levels.– Criggie ♦Commented Nov 1, 2023 at 23:04