Electric Bike Conversion Kit or Electric Bike?

Just fitted a Bafang BBS02 500w 36v crank drive kit to my MTB. Initial impressions are amazing, but I've only done a mile or so as a quick test ride.
The kit was a doddle to fit and apart from cable ties I was provided with everything required (excepting crank removal tools).
I'm actually looking forward to cycling to work next week!

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I want to convert my full sus to electric but I'm having trouble working out what battery I need. The problem is that my frame probably won't accommodate a bottle battery like shown in Luke's pics.

Also, I see that most kits come with lockouts on the brake levers to stop the motor. I have hydraulic brakes so how will I deal with this? The kits all seem to come with cable levers.

Any suggestions?

 
You can get pannier rack batteries, or ones that attach to the seat post. The latter tend to have smaller capacities though.

Mine also has hydraulic brakes and I have wired in simple push-to-make microswitches which are activated when I pull the lever. These are wired into the kit connectors that I've cut from the supplied cable levers.
 
I suppose a hydraulic switch would work too. I've used them on motorcycles before for the rear brake light.

Any recommendations on batteries? There seems to be so much stuff out there at the moment it's hard to know what to buy. Also ordering from China it's hard to visualise what you are getting before dropping a load of cash down.

I suppose I could make my own battery from LiPos. I have tons of 4S 5Ah LiPos that I no longer use for aircraft. I could wire them up as 12S4P to give me 48V 20Ah. Considering I already have the charging infrastructure for these it might be the best bet. Any good guides to link?

What do we think of this battery?: http://em3ev.com/store/index.php?route=product/product&path=35&product_id=158

I'll measure it up later but it looks like it might fit.
 
Rilot said:
I want to convert my full sus to electric but I'm having trouble working out what battery I need. The problem is that my frame probably won't accommodate a bottle battery like shown in Luke's pics.

Also, I see that most kits come with lockouts on the brake levers to stop the motor. I have hydraulic brakes so how will I deal with this? The kits all seem to come with cable levers.

Any suggestions?

Click to expand...

Does this help?

http://www.pedelecs.co.uk/forum/threads/amigafan2003-new-build-mk-2.16851/

I took the switch out of the included brake lever and araldited it to my hydraulic lever, I can take a close up pic if you want.

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Your frame looks like it will make a nice base for a build - what's the BB width?

If the bike is going to be used mainly offroad, you can put the battery in a backpack and use Anderson connectors so the connection will pull apart easily in the event of a tumble. Seat post mounted rear rack is another option, although not ideal as it creates a high CoG - not an issue if you're not offroading though.


Luke said:
Just fitted a Bafang BBS02 500w 36v crank drive kit to my MTB.
Click to expand...

Nice build - they are great kits :-)
 
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Thanks amigafan. Very useful info.
It's mainly going to be used onroad with some offroad. The main reason for looking to do the conversation is that I have MS. This means that I can fatigue very rapidly without warning which can leave me stranded if I'm out on the bike. With electric power I can just whizz my way home if it happens.

I will continue my research.
 
Rilot said:
Thanks amigafan. Very useful info.
It's mainly going to be used onroad with some offroad. The main reason for looking to do the conversation is that I have MS. This means that I can fatigue very rapidly without warning which can leave me stranded if I'm out on the bike. With electric power I can just whizz my way home if it happens.

I will continue my research.
Click to expand...

You'll love the BBS02 then - it rides just like a normal bike by giving you assistance when you start pedalling and it stops assisting when you stop pedalling BUT you also get a throttle so if youre feeling pretty beat up you can just throttle it without needing to pedal.

As as it drives the chain through the gears, it climbs like a mountain goat!
 
amigafan2003 said:
As as it drives the chain through the gears, it climbs like a mountain goat!
Click to expand...
I can attest to this. I've just ridden to work and back, 5 miles each way with a 320ft climb over 2.5 miles.
I'm 21st+ and this kit made it a breeze. In fact I did a trial run yesterday morning to make sure the kit was up to it, so actually did the round trip twice.
I could easily let the kit do all the work and not pedal at all, but I'm in this for some exercise so used pedal assist only on all but the steepest sections.

It seems bizarre, but the electric kit will actually make me cycle more than if I didn't have it, as without the kit the journey would simply be impossible for me so I'd drive.
One point of note though, with zero electric input, the bike is harder to ride as there is more resistance through the motor plus a significant weight increase from the motor and battery. Not impossible to ride at all, but noticeable.
 
Luke said:
It seems bizarre, but the electric kit will actually make me cycle more than if I didn't have it,
Click to expand...

I use my bikes for all small journeys now eg Mums 1 mile away, Tesco 1.5 mile away, Halfords 2 mile away etc

Luke said:
One point of note though, with zero electric input, the bike is harder to ride as there is more resistance through the motor plus a significant weight increase from the motor and battery. Not impossible to ride at all, but noticeable.
Click to expand...

The 500 watt Cyclotricity Stealth was 25kg and virtually impossible to ride without assistance.
My Trek 7.7FX is 16kg with kit.
 
JaMa-JoAd said:
Anyone have the de-restriction code for the Cyclotricity Stealth, know where to get it?
Click to expand...

It all depends which model screen you have.
My first one could be changed by just going into the options and changing the speed.
My 2nd could only be changed to go from 250w to 500w (24 mph) but the advice on my 3rd is not to change any settings.
This means I'm still restricted but it does seem to be more like 17mph and not 15.5 which is in exactly the right spot for me.
From there I can easily get to 24mph with leg power.

I'll tell you how to get into Advanced Mode but no further because you can end up breaking the motor:

1- If the LCD is on, switch it off and on again.

2- As soon as it comes on, press the up and down arrows simultaneously for a few seconds. This
will take you to the advanced settings (where you can set the maximum speed, wheel size and
kph/mph settings). Move from one setting to the other by pressing the on/off button.

3- Once you’ve passed the kph/mph setting and it stops flashing, press the up and down buttons
simultaneously again. This will take you into the motor parameters (P1, P2, P3, P4, P5 and P6).

(actually no 3 is for changing from 250w to 500w so you could try just increasing the speed in number 2 but on your head be it)
 
I've finally stumbled onto this thread and got to page 11 before fast forwarding to end !

Thanks for the links to components sites AmigaFan. They'll come in handy to replace the throttle on my ebike.

I bought a Salisbury LPX about 7 years ago and commuted daily on it until about last year when the throttle assembly fell to bits !

I got no reply when enquiring about BUYING a new throttle and googling Salisbury LPX only brought up where to buy an new bike !

So it's sat in the shed since then !

The pedelec sensor gave up years ago (wire pulled/corroded off) but I didn't care about that because now you could use your legs most of the time and just use the throttle for head wind / hills instead of having to turn the damn battery off !

Things that went wrong with it...

Controller - replaced under warranty ---> Youtube I made of changing that module .. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8zVEBTJxmkA
Gear Cassette, ratchet collapsed (after about five years)
Charger

I thought that was all pretty good reliability wise and easily made over twice the £500 cost of the bike in saving of fuel.

Punctures... Loads. then I decided to cut the side walls back on an old tyre an insert it in the new tyre (double tyre) and I haven't suffered a puncture since !

Not fun riding home in the pouring rain at 03:00 and getting a flat.. ALWAYS in the damn rear !

So I've even ridden it home flat !!

I used to think I could do with 5 mph faster but then thought.. Well just leave earlier or get a motorcycle !!
 
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