Edge: freewheel/cassette strength

[Thingamajig]

So quick question.

What sort of level of torque can the freewheel/cassette versions of these hubs cope with? At the gears?

I wanted to know the feasibility of running a hub alongside a small middrive but quite frequently you come across people who've attempted this and completely stripped their freewheel threads or cracked their hub casings from the torque.


In alot of these scenarios though it's a big standard hub and not a golden motor, and worse still it's usually a 1000w+ middrive they're putting through it.

Any guesses as to what a golden motor could manage? If at all?

[Bikemad]

I've not heard of any MP Edge failures, but the Cassette version would be much better suited for a mid drive combination as the freehub unit has ball bearings at both ends, which should completely eliminate any flexing forces being applied to the hubmotor side casing by the pull on the chain.

Unlike the Cassette version, the Freewheel version of the MP Edge does not have an additional support bearing at the outer end of the freewheel unit and the side cover could be more prone to failure under sustained high load using the highest (smallest) gear on the freewheel.

As long as the freehub ratchet pawls can withstand the increased torque from the mid drive motor and pedal force combined, then the cassette version of the MP Edge should be fine. 

Alan
 

[Thingamajig]

Thanks Alan, was hoping you'd reply!

Unfortuntely my edge is the freewheel variant. Is it possible to convert it to a cassette type? (Im assuming that its a matter of swapping the side case on the hub, but I may be completely wrong)

In either case I will probably still just give it a go on the freewheel variant as i'm only going to be using a 500w middrive on it anyway (A Tongsheng)

[Bikemad]

The axle thread on the Cassette version is only 12mm diameter, but I would expect the axle thread diameter of the freewheel version of the Magic Pie Edge to be 14mm, which is too big to allow the 12mm bi-hexagon shaped hole on the inside of the freehub body (and its outer bearing) to fit over it:



Please note, the axle threads in the above drawing have been extended to illustrate my proposed modifications to the original design.
Check out this thread for further information.
More details on the freehub unit and its bearings can be found here.

Therefore, to convert your hub, I think you would have to replace the axle, nuts and washers, the R/H side cover and then obtain the correct threaded freehub unit to match.

Hopefully your freewheel equipped hub will be able to withstand the pull on the chain from the 500W middrive motor.

Alan
 

[Thingamajig]

thanks for the reply.


so not really interchangable then. Nevermind.


unrelated/semi related question; i've often used the GM app to program the controller on the hub but since my phones upgraded to andriod 11 the app doesn't work.

Is there a later version in the works? or any way for me to use the app? (A Virtual Machine perhaps?)

[Bikemad]

The latest version of the App on the GM Website is Version 1.9 which was last updated in March 2021, but I don't know if there is a newer version in the Pipeline.
All versions of the Bluetooth App can be found in this thread.

I don't know whether any of the Virtual Android Apps allow you to select different Android versions or whether they simply duplicate the installed version, perhaps you can try it and see what happens.

Alan