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Electric Conversions of "Manual" Bikes / Re: Bafang PAS senso

« Last post by Andyb1 on Today at 12:34:03 PM »

Please check the current law incase I am wrong, but my understanding is that in UK when adding an electric motor to a secondhand bike then a PAS is not needed and just a thumb throttle is fine.
On a new ebike I think it is mandatory.

I never fitted a PAS to my wife’s hybrid - and like that she could start by just using the thumb throttle. Which at times (upslope, in too high a gear) could be very useful.

Electric Conversions of "Manual" Bikes / Re: Bafang PAS senso

« Last post by lamonabike on August 03, 2026, 10:00:55 PM »

This is what my loaded rig looks like (minus a 5 year old and some panniers).

Electric Conversions of "Manual" Bikes / Re: Bafang PAS senso

« Last post by lamonabike on August 03, 2026, 09:53:35 PM »

Okay so I’ve installed the Bafang motor!
Not without messing a few things up that ended up costing me an extra £200. But that’s still a lot cheaper than the Cytronex and other kits which have a lot less torque.

My crank fell off a few days after I installed the right hand PAS sensor so that doesn’t work. I do have the left hand sensor but haven’t bothered to try it yet. Am just using the thumb throttle (yes, yes, I know).

At the time of buying/ writing, Bafang doesn’t give you that much in the way of instruction. So if you’re a bit of an idiot like me you can make some silly mistakes.
I may write a bit more later.
The main thing I learnt is that you absolutely need to put torque arms on your forks otherwise the motor will spin out of the forks (even a centrimeter or so) which pulls the cable and destroys the connection. I had to buy a new motor.

However it works well now and the hills of Lewes are manageable even on the lowest setting.
I have Andre Jute to thank for writing about the level of power/torque you need.

Pictures later.

Bikes For Sale / Re: Raven Tour frame 612S in France

« Last post by martinf on August 03, 2026, 10:01:39 AM »

And a photo of the complete bike before I dismantled it (most of the parts will be reused on another project).

Bikes For Sale / Raven Tour frame 612S in France

« Last post by martinf on August 03, 2026, 09:59:33 AM »

More photos.

Bikes For Sale / Raven Tour frame 612S in France

« Last post by martinf on August 03, 2026, 09:58:27 AM »

I'm selling one of my two Thorn Raven Tour frames. This one is the largest size, 612S. I bought the frame 12 years ago.

Raven Tour is suitable for load carrying, not quite as much as the Thorn Nomad, but the frame is certainly capable of carrying a camping load if suitable racks are fitted. Or, in my case, fully loaded front and rear panniers when I stock up with food at the local supermarket. According to the 2012 Thorn brochure the load carrying capacity is 12 kg on the front and 28 kg on the back.

The frame is for 26 inch wheels and V-brakes. Braze ons and eccentric bottom bracket are suitable for a Rohloff hub. I built the bike up as a utility bike with a Nexus Premium 8-speed hub. I suppose it would be possible to use derailleur gears, but this would need a bolt-on hanger for the rear derailleur.

The paintwork is still the original, with a few scratches and a fair number of discolourations, but no rust on the frame and forks. The insides of the frame and forks were treated for anticorrosion when I got the bike.

The frame comes with :

- twin plate forks (Reynolds 531). The fork steerer has not been cut.
- FSA Orbit headset
- Thorn 27.2 mm seatpost
- Front low-loader rack. This has a couple of rust points.
- Thorn spanner for the eccentric.

I am asking 120 euros excluding shipping for the frame and accessories listed. I am in France, so the shipping costs risk being quite high to the UK after Brexit, probably not so bad for countries in the European Union.