Road bikes can be converted, but their tight tolerances and drop bars make them our trickiest standard case — go in with eyes open.
- Tire & frame clearance. Road frames have tighter clearances than most bikes. Our front-hub kits ship with a wider puncture-resistant hybrid tire, so on a narrow road frame you may need to swap to a narrower front tire (see Replacing the Tire on Your Front Hub Motor Kit — our rim works with tires down to about 25mm).
- Drop-bar handlebar hardware. This is the big one. Our displays, throttles, and e-brake levers are built for standard flat/riser bars around 22mm clamp diameter. On drop bars, mounting them is difficult and sometimes not possible — even the e-brake sensors can be a struggle to place. Budget extra time and creativity.
- Avoid the 500C display on road bikes — its mount doesn't play well with drop-bar cockpits. Choose a different display.