Electric Bike Conversion Kit or Electric Bike?

miniyazz · 23 Mar 2015 at 21:43

Looks like I was muddling it up, obviously it's just the 250W that's compact

Energize · 24 Mar 2015 at 02:44

Glaucus said:
Because I'm on a budget, and trying to find a reasonable bike cheaply is hard work. Things can always be upgraded. No point getting cheaper wheel kit though as that's expensive to upgrade.

The most important feature of the bike, the brakes, can't be upgraded, the frame needs a built in adapter to fit a disk brake caliper.

SexyGreyFox · 24 Mar 2015 at 10:39

Energize said:
The most important feature of the bike, the brakes, can't be upgraded, the frame needs a built in adapter to fit a disk brake caliper.

I agree with this, if you're putting a 500 or 1000 watt motor on, v-brakes might not be good enough
I often get up to 30 mph on my v-brake Trek with the 250 watt motor and I have no problems stopping.
You ought to talk to Andy at Electric Bike Conversions about this or our own AmigaFan is a bit of an expert who you should listen to.

haz_pro · 10 Jun 2015 at 12:16

Hey everyone,

Looking at converting my 2008/09 Carrera Fury to use on a 16 mile commute twice a day (mainly road riding). The specs that I think are important for a conversion are below:

* Frame Material: Aluminium
* Brake Type: Hydraulic Disc
* Chainset: Truvativ Blaze powersplined
* Front Mech: Sram X5
* Gear Shifters: Sram X5 Trigger
* Number of Gears: 27
* Quick Release Wheels: Yes
* Rear Mech: Sram X5
* Tyres: Some slicks

I have been looking around on the internet but I have no idea what to buy; I see some kits on eBay for around 300 but I don't want to buy this if its rubbish. Also, I'm unsure about how I ensure I get a back wheel that works correctly with my mech.

SexyGreyFox · 10 Jun 2015 at 20:30

haz_pro said:
Also, I'm unsure about how I ensure I get a back wheel that works correctly with my mech.

I'll be replacing my Cyclotricity 500 watt rear wheel soon on my spare bike with a 250 watt front wheel because I have no interest in doing 24 mph with a rear wheel that weighs a ton and eats the battery.
My Cyclotricity Stealth weighs 25kg where my Trek 7.5FX weighs 16Kg.
I'm actually going to transfer all the electrics on the Stealth over to a Carrera Subway and have that as my spare bike.
If you have a front motor you won't have to worry about your gears and to be honest you won't see/feel much difference between rear & front motors.

sprite1275 · 10 Jun 2015 at 21:24

Do you ever get wheel spin on these things on the wet?

SexyGreyFox · 10 Jun 2015 at 21:27

sprite1275 said:
Do you ever get wheel spin on these things on the wet?

No and I cycle every day so see a lot of wet

haz_pro · 11 Jun 2015 at 10:33

Dimple said:
I'll be replacing my Cyclotricity 500 watt rear wheel soon on my spare bike with a 250 watt front wheel because I have no interest in doing 24 mph with a rear wheel that weighs a ton and eats the battery.
My Cyclotricity Stealth weighs 25kg where my Trek 7.5FX weighs 16Kg.
I'm actually going to transfer all the electrics on the Stealth over to a Carrera Subway and have that as my spare bike.
If you have a front motor you won't have to worry about your gears and to be honest you won't see/feel much difference between rear & front motors.

Thanks for your reply.

I'll look into a front wheel instead then, do you have any recommended brands/websites? I'm not interested in speed, being able to keep a steady 15mph including uphill is want (I'll still pedal on the flats).

Just looked into Cyclotricity and found their front wheel 250 kit - http://cyclotricity.com/kit-configurator/?xt=5&xp=&xm=4

Seems I'm loking at about 450 quid - only two months worth of train fair so if its a decent kit it will be worth it! Are they easy to setup?

SexyGreyFox · 11 Jun 2015 at 19:09

haz_pro said:
Thanks for your reply.

I'll look into a front wheel instead then, do you have any recommended brands/websites? I'm not interested in speed, being able to keep a steady 15mph including uphill is want (I'll still pedal on the flats).

Just looked into Cyclotricity and found their front wheel 250 kit - http://cyclotricity.com/kit-configurator/?xt=5&xp=&xm=4

Seems I'm loking at about 450 quid - only two months worth of train fair so if its a decent kit it will be worth it! Are they easy to setup?

They are very easy to setup now and I wish I hadn't spent the extra money for the shop to do it.

Are you thinking of having the LCD or LED computer or just throttle?

Recently I had problems with the motor cutting out so I took it down to basics with just the throttle and motor and it was excellent.
I'd got a dodgy lead.

haz_pro · 11 Jun 2015 at 21:21

I'll go for whatever is cheaper (looks like a screen is an additional 80+).

Can you use these systems as pedal assist, or is it simply pedal or use the electric motor?

snappyfish · 11 Jun 2015 at 22:47

Volt Electric Bikes seem popular. I test drove the Volt Pulse £1399 seem to get great reviews.

SexyGreyFox · 11 Jun 2015 at 23:29

haz_pro said:
I'll go for whatever is cheaper (looks like a screen is an additional 80+).

Can you use these systems as pedal assist, or is it simply pedal or use the electric motor?

Pedal assist needs one of the computers/displays

SexyGreyFox · 13 Jun 2015 at 11:46

haz_pro, if you live close to Stoke you're welcome to pop round for a test ride on my two electrics.

Well Splattered · 6 Jul 2015 at 15:37

This thread is a good read. I last read it about a year ago and specifically searched for it to read today.

A question for those in the know. Is the battery on the panniers a quick release item? I would prefer to be able to take the battery pack off the bike at night and charge in the house. My garage has no power.

Also, how waterproof/splash resistant are the motors? Can I play silly buggers in deep puddles? or would I be scared of the rain?

Thank you

SexyGreyFox · 6 Jul 2015 at 17:48

The battery is normally removable and the motor is a sealed unit but I wouldn't go under water with it however I have rode in a lot of rain.

SexyGreyFox · 6 Jul 2015 at 17:51

I spent Friday morning in A&E after a motorist pulled out on me but only ended up with cracked ribs.
My bike came off a bit worse though

Well Splattered · 6 Jul 2015 at 18:25

Dimple said:
I spent Friday morning in A&E after a motorist pulled out on me but only ended up with cracked ribs.
My bike came off a bit worse though

Ouch, cracked rib! Could have been a lot worse I guess, but ouch. Speedy recovery and thanks for the answers

SexyGreyFox · 13 Jul 2015 at 20:52

I've decided to make a Heinz 57 between my Cyclotricity Stealth & Carrera Subway because I'm not bothered about riding at 24 mph when most of my commute is on paths.
I don't like the 500 watt rear motor because it is so heavy and not fun when you run out of juice and I've never got on with the Stealth frame plus it does have inferior parts compared to the Carrera.
I've already taken the Suspension forks off the Stealth and put them on the Carrera and I've fitted the Avid BB7 disk brakes which are excellent.
I'll post pictures when I've finished but just picked up this 250 watt front motor -

SexyGreyFox · 15 Jul 2015 at 20:53

Nearly finished, not that happy with how the bag is held on underneath.
The gear cables are under there so I had to think of a way to let them pass through and used an old phone cover.
I'll make a metal one instead and screw it to the frame.

philip2009 · 16 Jul 2015 at 22:51

This is a long thread, so I've probably missed something ...

What I'd like to know about electric bikes is how close are they to mopeds in use? Basically I am considering them for short, in town, journeys e.g. 1-3 miles and don't really want to do much pedalling(I'd probably get a petrol scooter if they were cheaper).

In particular I was thinking about using a Bafung BBS01 250 watt/36V connected to a 36V/ 15Ah battery.