Women’s Townie Electra - BBHSD w/Luna Wolf

[CC Rider]

For my 2nd build I purchased a 12 year old Townie with a broken Shimano Tourney drive train for cheap. I had another donor bike, a 2009 Trek MTB with Shimano Deore XT drive train which I dismantled and installed on the Townie. I ditched the Townie Electra Freewheel hub configuration and purchased a new wheel with Freehub and 8 speed all metal Shimano HG cassette and shifter. 8 speeds are plenty for this e-bike and the upgraded Shimano drive train should handle the power of the BBHSD. I added a KMC e-Bike chain and WTB 2.25” mountain bike tires.

Next I upgraded the cheap Townie V-brakes with the V-brakes from the Trek donor bike. I installed Kool Stop Dual Compound Mountain brake pads and the brakes are much more responsive now. Not as good as Hydraulic Disk brakes, but good enough for my wife and her speed. Lastly, I added the Townie Electra rear rack for future Pannier packs for some XC travel and trips to the grocery store. The Kinext suspension seat post is an upgrade worth every penny; it makes for a very smooth ride.

I waited for the 2019 Black Friday special from Luna and it was worth it - thank you Luna Cycle. I upgraded the BBHSD kit to included the 500c mini display and 52V Wolf Pack 13.5 Ah pack with MJ1 cells. I added the 42T Eclipse chain ring and gear sensor to compliment the kit.

The only challenging part of the build was fitting the Wolf Pack in between the top & bottom tubes on the magnetic mounting plate from Luna. I installed four 5 mm rivnuts for strength in the middle of the bottom tube. Installing the magnetic mounting plate, I put two washers on the outside two rivnuts between the frame and the plate to accommodate for the curve of the bottom tube and reinforce the support. After trying unsuccessfully to mount the battery to the magnetic plate, I moved the bracket down the tube a bit to allow for the last bit of space necessary to wrestle it in place. The bonus is that someone cannot steal this battery without a lot of work.

The weight distribution is pretty good given the power of the BBHSD. Overall, the bike is a lot of fun for getting around and holds it own in the open back country. While not ideal for single track, she has proven it can be maneuvered successfully in all kinds of conditions. It is an ideal bike for my wife and it is fun riding together.

[e-rod]

Nice bike! I built one like yours and I really like it. I bought a thudbuster from Luna and it really helped. It was supposed to be for my wife also, but I use it all the time for short trips because it's so easy to get on. Happy Motoring, e-rod

[CC Rider]

Thanks e-rod. I think that you, xcnick and myself all have that in common - that anyone who builds a Townie Electra for their wife ends up enjoying the bike more than they thought. Something about the foot forward technology and the Luna Wolf BBHSD combo makes them a very pleasurable ride.

[e-rod]

yes they are very cool. And light! Did you see where I put the battery? I have a post somewhere with pictures. It will fit under the frame behind the motor! How low can you go! Wife loves it too. Enjoy, e-rod

[CC Rider]

Hi E-Rod, found your picture that is a 'Low-Rider' for sure :-)

[e-rod]

Hi CC Rider, Yes, it has been working just fine. Makes a lot of difference in how a bike feels to have that weight so low. Now I have a thudbuster (from Luna) seat suspension and the bike is much more comfy to ride. Hard tails are bouncy at speed! we both like the bike a lot. Your bike looks great! I have the mighty mini sprocket, the bike will go anywhere! Still high 20's top speed. plenty fast! Happy Motoring e-rod

[CoolCanuck]

Man, that does look sweet. That just gave me a swift kick in the rear.

Looking to doing pretty much the same on my wife's Electra Townie Path 27D . That one has 27 gears, nine in back and discs already installed. Just have to figure out which motor to choose, as we're (Legally) only allowed 500W. Am looking to mounting my battery pack same as you did, between the tubes, not out in the back.

[CoolCanuck]

Yea, but if you're zipping along at a noticeably higher speed, I'm sure the fun won't last too long. Provincial & National Parks still frown upon them...
at my age, I've had my fun and prefer to stick to (or close) to what's allowed. Though I do know of someone in our area who got pulled over by the cops for speeding and more. Max assisted speed here in BC is 32km/h, or 20mph. So, that 750-1500W motor would sorta stick out, no?

[73Eldo]

I believe you can set the speed limit to cut the motor on most models. Most of us go to it to set it to 99 but I suppose you could go the other way if you don't trust yourself.

[CC Rider]

Cool Canuck, happy to help if you have any questions. The Bafang BBS02 should be fine for your purposes. My wife likes exercise, so she rarely uses the throttle or gets past PAS 3 of 9 on a BBHSD, which translates to about 300W or less. It is really for help up the hills and not speed. I did a lot of work to the drive train because I do drag her out in some single track near our home and have found it to be a good investment, since the bike has not had any problems since I built it. In general, these bikes tend to wear down (break) when you push past the 750 Watt level. So with a BBS02 and some lower PAS you should be fine. The Luna Eclipse 42T chain ring will give you really good alignment, which is important for durability in the drive train. Your wife will love it, the foot forward technology with 500W or less of PAS power will put a smile on her face guaranteed.

Be careful on which battery you choose, this Luna Wolf 2 with MJ1 cells/13.5 Ah was a tight squeeze, but good for keeping the battery from getting stolen.

[e-rod]

you can put that battery under the frame! e-rod

https://electricbike.com/forum/forum/builds/ebike-building-directions/89964-womens-townie-with-bbshd-how-low-can-you-go