Which electric bike conversion kit?

mccarf · 25 Nov 2021 at 13:32

I've been looking into electric bike conversion kits for a little while, but I'm still rather confused what to get. I would preferably like to do it myself so something that has fairly comprehensive and straightforward instructions would be nice.

I looked into the Swytch kit but at €580ish and 6 months delivery, I think it's quite steep for a 250w kit. I would prefer something more powerful. Must also be able to deliver to Finland.

My bike is this 2012 Giant Revel 1 mountain bike:
https://bikeindex.org/bikes/110811

Any help would be greatly appreciated, thanks.

Martynt74 · 26 Nov 2021 at 10:14

@bainbridge has ordered the Switch which is due soon, i don't think he's waited 6 months but maybe not too far off.

Quite a bit of dicsussion in here
https://forums.overclockers.co.uk/threads/has-anyone-done-a-swytch-conversion.18934114/

bimbleuk · 26 Nov 2021 at 10:52

If you're going to use it off road then definitely get a mid-mount kit. That way you will get the advantage of the gears which I don't get on my rear wheel Dillenger conversion. I can swap between rear wheels though when I don't want to have the assistance or extra weight.

Plenty of details in the thread linked above.

bainbridge · 26 Nov 2021 at 23:43

The first of the Swytch kits arrived yesterday and the other one is due any day now, ordered in mid August. I'm yet to install. They're going on 700c wheeled hybrids, I don't know how the Swytch kit will fare on a MTB but the wheel looks well built, with a double walled rim.

SexyGreyFox · 27 Nov 2021 at 00:11

I've had converted bikes for nearly 10 years built with these kits - https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/393177920365 and also converted a lot for friends/family.
They are simple to put together.

These are my two

mccarf · 27 Nov 2021 at 11:10

Martynt74 said:
@bainbridge has ordered the Switch which is due soon, i don't think he's waited 6 months but maybe not too far off.

Quite a bit of dicsussion in here
https://forums.overclockers.co.uk/threads/has-anyone-done-a-swytch-conversion.18934114/

bainbridge said:
The first of the Swytch kits arrived yesterday and the other one is due any day now, ordered in mid August. I'm yet to install. They're going on 700c wheeled hybrids, I don't know how the Swytch kit will fare on a MTB but the wheel looks well built, with a double walled rim.

Thanks, I did read through that thread which prompted me to apply to Swytch. They quoted me 580 euros in the email they sent and that was with a 6 month delivery time too, it also mentioned that this wasn't the final price or inclusive of import fees etc so I think it would probably be more in the 650-700 euro region. Relative to the other kits available it seems like a very steep price for the end result. I would imagine given that they're made in the UK it's probably a more reasonable kit if you live there.

bimbleuk said:
If you're going to use it off road then definitely get a mid-mount kit. That way you will get the advantage of the gears which I don't get on my rear wheel Dillenger conversion. I can swap between rear wheels though when I don't want to have the assistance or extra weight.

Plenty of details in the thread linked above.

Yeah I've looked into some of the mid mount kits. Bafang seems to be a popular brand for those style of kits but at least on Amazon it seems very confusing which one to get. For example:

https://www.amazon.de/-/en/Bafang-B...ang&qid=1638010197&s=sports&sr=1-3&th=1&psc=1

On the "size" you can select between battery capacity, type of battery and then there's numbers like 44T, 48T etc. Are these just internal codes to make the choices unique or do they actually mean something? It doesn't seem to explain on the page itself.

SexyGreyFox said:
I've had converted bikes for nearly 10 years built with these kits - https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/393177920365 and also converted a lot for friends/family.
They are simple to put together.

These are my two

I did actually look into Yose Power too! Until yesterday they had a 1000w conversion kit available on their website for 500-600 euros. I held off because I have a couple of questions:
1) It says 7 speed. Does it matter if I currently have 8 speed seeing as they would be sending one out with 7 speeds? Would the current gear selector I have work with this or would I have to replace that too?
2) I notice this says freewheel. I currently have a cassette. Would this simply just replace the cassette or would it be a different fitting somehow?

To be honest if this kit worked for me, then from what I have seen it's the best bang for buck I've seen so far from a decent brand and I would probably be prepared to wait until it came back into stock. Out of interest how does the 250w one cope? They did offer a 350w one instead which would be more of a straight fit from what I can see and 100 euros+ cheaper. I'm just not really sure how good such a low power actually is. The only electric bikes I've actually tried have had around 1000w.

SexyGreyFox · 27 Nov 2021 at 11:46

mccarf said:
I did actually look into Yose Power too! Until yesterday they had a 1000w conversion kit available on their website for 500-600 euros. I held off because I have a couple of questions:
1) It says 7 speed. Does it matter if I currently have 8 speed seeing as they would be sending one out with 7 speeds? Would the current gear selector I have work with this or would I have to replace that too?
2) I notice this says freewheel. I currently have a cassette. Would this simply just replace the cassette or would it be a different fitting somehow?

To be honest if this kit worked for me, then from what I have seen it's the best bang for buck I've seen so far from a decent brand and I would probably be prepared to wait until it came back into stock. Out of interest how does the 250w one cope? They did offer a 350w one instead which would be more of a straight fit from what I can see and 100 euros+ cheaper. I'm just not really sure how good such a low power actually is. The only electric bikes I've actually tried have had around 1000w.

If it says 7 speed you are looing at a rear wheel and no your derailleur won't work properly. My hybrid has been having problems changing gears properly and only a few months ago I realised I had bought the wrong cassette around 3 years ago so changed it. It did work but would miss a gear out now and then.

You may be able to put an 8 speed cassette on the new wheel, not sure the difference between freehub and Freewheel.

Beware that anything over 250 watt is illegal on our roads, you make your choice you take your chances but I know 4 people who have had their bikes confiscated and crushed.
I did have a 1000 watt for 1 month and went back to a 250 watt because for my 4.5 mile commute it does it easy and handles the banks OK.
This is my worst climb and it does it easily - https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@53.0...hyLdyYhpg!2e0!7i13312!8i6656?hl=en&authuser=0

mccarf · 27 Nov 2021 at 13:22

SexyGreyFox said:
If it says 7 speed you are looing at a rear wheel and no your derailleur won't work properly. My hybrid has been having problems changing gears properly and only a few months ago I realised I had bought the wrong cassette around 3 years ago so changed it. It did work but would miss a gear out now and then.

You may be able to put an 8 speed cassette on the new wheel, not sure the difference between freehub and Freewheel.

Beware that anything over 250 watt is illegal on our roads, you make your choice you take your chances but I know 4 people who have had their bikes confiscated and crushed.
I did have a 1000 watt for 1 month and went back to a 250 watt because for my 4.5 mile commute it does it easy and handles the banks OK.
This is my worst climb and it does it easily - https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@53.0...hyLdyYhpg!2e0!7i13312!8i6656?hl=en&authuser=0

Okay that actually looks like a pretty big hill! I'll try the 350w Yose Power kit then, if you can make it up that easily then I probably don't need 1000w. I think with the 250w rule, I'll just take it easy in more built up areas and use the full juice in less busy places. Big thanks to you and everyone else for the help

SexyGreyFox · 27 Nov 2021 at 13:54

mccarf said:
Okay that actually looks like a pretty big hill! I'll try the 350w Yose Power kit then, if you can make it up that easily then I probably don't need 1000w. I think with the 250w rule, I'll just take it easy in more built up areas and use the full juice in less busy places. Big thanks to you and everyone else for the help

About 4 years ago I got knocked off my bike by a Nurse coming out of work and the Cops actually checked my bike over to see if it was legal.

When I had the 1000 watt motor it went up that bank like a moped but if I'd wanted a moped I would have bought one.

bimbleuk · 28 Nov 2021 at 08:10

250W nominal is the legal requirement but most kits even rated at 250W will likely have a higher peak. Generally the 250W is sufficient as the law states a cut off of ~16 mph. So you'll get a decent push up a slope and assistance up to that point.

When you go offroad i.e. eMTB you want more power though really it's torque and the advantage of gearing which is where the mid-mount kits win.

For me as a keen cyclist already able to cruise above 20mph without assistance I wanted a kit that could keep up with me on my 20 mile commute in all weathers. The rear wheel conversion was fine for that with the bonus of swapping between wheels. I have a 7 speed cassette on the driven wheel and a 9 speed cassette on the undriven wheel. It works fine on the 7 speed cassette though you have to do an extra push on the gear levers to move up or down. Plus the end stops on the derailleur would push the change off the cassette (7 speed) but as you only use 2 or 3 gears with the assistance this has never been an issue. Swapping between two wheels with brake discs takes some trial and error until it aligns on both wheels. Not an issue when only using one wheel.

The xxT specification with be the number of teeth on the mid-mount crank wheel which adjusts the overall gearing.

Generally I don't use anywhere near the power of my kit and stick to 30 - 50% assistance settings. 30% being the best balance between flat cruising and battery range. So in theory a 500W kit for example would be running near peak efficiency most of the time in my use case.

Freehub uses the more modern splined cassette system common with quick release etc.

Freewheels use an older screw on cassette system (also needs a specific tool to remove) and I think they are used more on hub conversions as the wires mostly go through the centre of the hub.