Electric Bike Conversion Kit or Electric Bike?

Dimple said:
It sounds like miniyazz is using his bike exactly like I do which is to put loads of effort in and then just use the electric when you need to. I said above that I sweat more on my eBikes than I do on my other bikes because I can.
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Sure but you're missing the benefits though if you aren't using the motor all the time, you can put the same amount of effort in but go a lot faster. £1,000 is a lot of money to spend on a bike that you rarely use the features on. I get over 20 miles out of my bike with maximum pedal assist on all the time and no speed restrictions, that's the motor on 90% of the time at full power, so if you are only getting 15 when you aren't using the motor much it sounds like something is wrong.

However the three batteries have been bought from the same source!
It would be great to bypass the computer/pedal assist to see how much more I can get out of it.
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It depends what cells were used in the batteries though, the source doesn't make the cells in the batteries. If there is no pedal assist being used then there's no way it could be using more power.
 
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Energize said:
Sure but you're missing the benefits though if you aren't using the motor all the time, you can put the same amount of effort in but go a lot faster. £1,000 is a lot of money to spend on a bike that you rarely use the features on.
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Believe me I go a lot faster and only today a fellow commuter told me I should slow down.
The thing is my motor is set to 15.5mph and most of the time I look down I'm hitting 20+ mph on the flat with ease but it's just that I can have help when I want it.
My Trek 7.5 FX is virtually the exact same as my Forme Longcliffe v2 road bike but with straight handlebars and I want to ride it like a normal bike but with a bit of help now & then.
Who knows, in 2 years time when my arthritis gets really bad I may need throttle all the way.
 
The motor completely cuts out at 15.5mph though, so you're not going any faster because it's an electric bike.

I don't know it just seems like a lot of money to spend just to use the electric motor for the hills.
 
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Energize said:
The motor completely cuts out at 15.5mph though, so you can't be going any faster because it's an electric bike.
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Are you saying that my eBikes can't go anymore than 15.5 mph because the motor cuts out and suddenly becomes solid and I'm unable to pedal any faster?
If you are then you are way wrong because in some places I'm pedaling up to 30 mph.
Sometimes I don't have the power on at all and I'm hitting those speeds so I don't know what you are talking about.
 
Energize said:
I don't know it just seems like a lot of money to spend just to use the electric motor for the hills.
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It isn't just for hills, let me explain.
I started commuting 3 years ago and everything was fine until bad weather started happening such as strong winds and driving rain.
After 2 years of daily commuting (never getting in a car and no intention of doing) I was getting tired of fighting the weather (and my arthritis) some days so I decided to get help and that help was in the form of a bit of electric now & then.
Believe me, my new £750 bike + £549 electric parts are worth every penny and I don't regret any of it plus I also have a 500 watt Cyclotricity Stealth just in case.
What would you prefer I do, use a normal bike and get off when the weather is fighting me?
OK the Cyclotricity Stealth I regret a bit and I wish I had chosen a conversion instead.
 
Dimple said:
Are you saying that my eBikes can't go anymore than 15.5 mph because the motor cuts out and suddenly becomes solid and I'm unable to pedal any faster?
If you are then you are way wrong because in some places I'm pedaling up to 30 mph.
Sometimes I don't have the power on at all and I'm hitting those speeds so I don't know what you are talking about.
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No that's not what I'm saying, I'm saying that if you are going faster than 15.5mph then the ebike isn't helping you at all because the motor cuts out.

Dimple said:
It isn't just for hills, let me explain.
I started commuting 3 years ago and everything was fine until bad weather started happening such as strong winds and driving rain.
After 2 years of daily commuting (never getting in a car and no intention of doing) I was getting tired of fighting the weather (and my arthritis) some days so I decided to get help and that help was in the form of a bit of electric now & then.
Believe me, my new £750 bike + £549 electric parts are worth every penny and I don't regret any of it plus I also have a 500 watt Cyclotricity Stealth just in case.
What would you prefer I do, use a normal bike and get off when the weather is fighting me?
OK the Cyclotricity Stealth I regret a bit and I wish I had chosen a conversion instead.
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I'm not saying that, but you're not getting the full benefit of the bike by a long way if you are only using the motor in such limited situations.
 
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Cycling up hills is boring and hard work for slow progress. It's not fun.

Cycling on the flat/downhill is fun.

Electrics means the uphills go quicker and are less boring without really impacting on normal cycling.

It's as simple as that for me :)

Also while derestricting is all well and good (and genuinely does mean you go faster on the flat) when restricted to 15.5mph it's a different ballgame - and I for one am not prepared to risk 6 points on my licence for no insurance plus whatever other offences of no MOT/VED & not wearing a proper helmet (for riding what is legally a scooter) - even though the risk of being caught is very slim.
 
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Energize said:
No that's not what I'm saying, I'm saying that if you are going faster than 15.5mph then the ebike isn't helping you at all because the motor cuts out.

I'm not saying that, but you're not getting the full benefit of the bike by a long way if you are only using the motor in such limited situations.
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I totally understand that 99% of eBike users want a moped that they can ride anywhere but users like me & miniyazz (+ another couple of people I know) just want to continue normal cycling at a faster speed and then get help when you need it.
Two Fridays ago I had a bad crash on the way home from work and for the first couple of days I was glad I had a moped for my commute but as soon as my limbs were working I was back to exercising on it.
To get the benefits of eBiking you need to stay at no faster than 15.5mph on the flat/uphill with the assist on all the time and I'm afraid I want to go a lot faster without derestricting plus I want to get to work/home sweating.
 
So I'm looking at these again.
Interested in a kit, are their ones you can just buy the kit without a rim and stick your own spokes and rims on?
Is rear or front better?
What levels of assist are their. Is it possible to do say 30 miles where it puts say half the effort in?
And what's decent brands, you lot seem t have had lots of issues.
 
Easiest way to get a kit without a rim is to have a crank drive I think (could be possible to buy the motor seperately and spoke it up, I don't know). I don't know much about these; they're more complicated to install and are better for steep hills as they use the bike's gears but I think they need to ease off the power when changing gear (like normal cycling).
That would then obviously use the rear wheel because the power's going through the gears.

Rear or front being better is a matter for debate but generally front = easier to fit, rear = more grip (however if offroading you could bear in mind your pedals will do the rear wheel so front wheel motor means all wheel drive).
If you want higher power motors (illegal for public road) it will need to be rear wheel drive really.

The cyclotricity kit comes with a throttle (use it when you want power) or a pedal sensor and control pad thing which allows 3 or I think 5 levels of assist depending on how much you want to spend on it (kicks in when it detects pedalling). Not sure about other kits but it's normal to be able to set different levels of assist.
 
Both of my Cyclotricity kits have 5 levels of assist (depends on which computer you have) but I never have them on and just use throttle but yes you could put it on level 1 and it would feel like you're using half the effort.
I'll be honest, I have both a 500 watt rear wheel and a front 250 watt and I can't tell much difference between them for handling but the 500 watt is obviously more powerful & speedier.
Using the bikes normally the 500 watt Cyclotricity Stealth is very heavy and I would not like to cycle 5 miles without any power.
My Trek 7.5 FX on the other hand is a brilliant bike to ride without the electrics and quite light.
 
Glaucus said:
So I'm looking at these again.
Interested in a kit, are their ones you can just buy the kit without a rim and stick your own spokes and rims on?
Is rear or front better?
What levels of assist are their. Is it possible to do say 30 miles where it puts say half the effort in?
And what's decent brands, you lot seem t have had lots of issues.
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I've nearly always built my own wheels - see this thread for my build with a Tongxin and Q100 motor front motor. Final incarnation for that bike is a Q100 rear stealth.

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I only use it for Uni now so not as many miles as when I used to work.

Near the end of the thread I use a MAC motor from em3ev - his wheel build are excellent (almost as good as mine!).

Crank drives are cool if you've got a standard 68mm bottom bracket - http://www.greenbikekit.com/bafang-...t-48v-500w-750w-central-driven-motor-kit.html. Possibly one of the easiest kits to fit.

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Up to 9 assist levels avail and you can program (with a USB/TTL converter) the assist levels, how hard it "launches", what pedal rpm the assist is strongest at etc. I've programmed mine with 6 levels of pedal assist.

0% but throttle still works at 100%
10% + 100% throttle
25% + 100% throttle
50% + 100% throttle
75% + 100% throttle
100% + 100% throttle

Throttle needs to be used with caution as it easily lifts the front wheel in the lowest gears, but you don't need to run it at the power I do.

there's also a totally "road legal" 36v/250w version avail.
 
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Energize said:
I'm getting a 500W hub motor on the front on my new bike for the two wheel drive effect and more reliability if the chain comes off etc.
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I can confirm that one day when my chain broke the 250 watt wouldn't get me up a bank and I had to push.
I'm going to use my 500 watt on Monday and if I remember I'll try not to pedal up the same bank.
 
Thanks,
Is there any good places to buy a new say 2012/2013 model for a base bike, a fair bit off rrp.
Second hand doesn't look as attractive as I thought, they either seem to be expensive. Or really cheapo but like mid 90s bikes.
I'm thinking probably mountain bike, as well probably use it for a bit of light trail stuff.
 
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Glaucus said:
Thanks,
Is there any good places to buy a new say 2012/2013 model for a base bike, a fair bit off rrp.
Second hand doesn't look as attractive as I thought, they either seem to be expensive. Or really cheapo but like mid 90s bikes.
I'm thinking probably mountain bike, as well probably use it for a bit of light trail stuff.
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You are probably best asking in the normal bike sections on here but looking at this page you can convert almost anything.
Just noticed my Trek 7.5 is right at the bottom.

http://www.electric-bike-conversions.co.uk/acatalog/Front_Hub_Conversions.html

Rear conversions - http://www.electric-bike-conversions.co.uk/acatalog/Rear_Hub_Conversions.html
Mid drive conversion - http://www.electric-bike-conversions.co.uk/acatalog/Mid_Drive_Conversions.html
 
Dimple said:
Well I took my 36v 500 watt out this morning and tried it on a similar bank with no pedaling and it wasn't happy but made it.
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Update on this.
I've been having problems and found it to be a faulty lead that I had burnt a couple of contacts by plugging in the battery while it was still turned on (I did hear crackles). It now easily gets up the bank.

This is the thread I made on Pedelecs - http://www.pedelecs.co.uk/forum/threads/help-with-battery-wiring-please.20072/
 
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