E-bike advice please

[theDaveB]

Hi,

Looking at getting my wife a e-bike -

http://www.decathlon.co.uk/bebike-500-e ... 00084.html

We sold the car in April and she is using a normal bike for commuting but still tired everyday so thought a e-bike would help. Not using the bike for fitness more for value for money over driving.

We would like to try one but the nearest shop that has stock is quite far away and local store either don't understand me or can't/won't order one in.

EDIT: Ended up getting one from shopping channel for £349 -

Dave

[gaz]

A few previous threads that may be worth a read:
viewtopic.php?f=5&t=86481
viewtopic.php?f=1&t=97679

I'll doubt you'll learn anything new from the CTC page:
http://www.ctc.org.uk/cyclists-library/ ... ctric-bike

[neilob]

I bought a kit and converted my wife's current bike. It works really well and was very cost effective. She also ended up with a bike she knew she liked rather than something alien and super heavy. Total cost was £325 including a large battery for extended range. The job didnt need any more than basic bike skills. Pm if you want more info.

[theDaveB]

That would be great, as she can keep current racks, baskets, tyres etc...

I have PM'd you.

Dave

[horizon]

I bought a kit and converted my wife's current bike. It works really well and was very cost effective. She also ended up with a bike she knew she liked rather than something alien and super heavy. Total cost was £325 including a large battery for extended range. The job didnt need any more than basic bike skills. Pm if you want more info.

Do share! That sounds like a good way to do it. Would like to know more.

[Phil Fouracre]

Hi, just fitted a Cyclotricity kit to my wife's Thorn Raven tour. 'Road tested' it today, and she loves it. I've had an Ebike for some time following a bad accident (not cycling!) and she was becoming a little jealous Although mine is a nice bike, it is a bit on the chunky side, like a lot of them are, this is the real downside of purpose built. Seriously thinking about selling mine and fitting a conversion kit to my Thorn, as mentioned above, allowing me to ride a nicer bike. Also wondering how much the technology has changed as kit motor and battery smaller and lighter, be interesting to compare the ranges.

[neilob]

I was trying to avoid having to write a detailed treatise on the installation challenges. There are actually only a few. The target bike should have steel forks, straight bars, ideally mtb-pull brakes, separate shifters, and enough space in the main triangle to fit the biggest battery you can get. I got my kit from Electric Bike Convrsions in Stevenage....a front wheel drive system but you can also get mid and rear drive. Front is probably simplest. Had really good support from the supplier. Kit comes with everything you need and anyone with reasonable skills could fit it in a couple of hours. Ours works really well and I couldnt keep up with my wife on our first trip out even riding my Colnago! At risk of repeating myself, the thing that makes it so much a no-brainer is the target bike....choose well and it is easy and simple, choose badly and it could be a nightmare. Happy to chat if anyone wants more info. Just pm me.

[neilob]

The bike weight was 11kg pre conversion and is now 17kg. Appreciably lighter than most purpose built. It has a pedalec assistance mode with 5 settings as well as a throttle to ride it like a moped. Picture below. As stated earlier, the performance is excellent and my wife was riding up 12% hills on level 3 assistance. Over the next month we will be characterising battery life and optimising the way the system is used. The battery is 14AH and according to the display the motor uses 100W at an average 12-14 mph. That is about 3A drain, so I'm expecting a life of 40 miles at least assuming some hills and wind. But my wife has already agreed to a tour next year provided we don't exceed battery miles! Key to a neat and professional job is to keep the wiring tidy and the electronics dry and safe. You can see in the picture that I took the main wiring loom along the top tube and then terminated everything inside a Topeak saddle bag. The only other tricky bit is mounting the sensor on the left crank but it's not really difficult. Hope you agree it looks neat and it is certainly more acceptable to my wife than the typical purpose built behemoth weighing 24kg and which damages her credibility!! The only challenge left is where to mount a water bottle and spares.....oh, and last point; the complete cost of bike and kit was £650 which compares very well with purpose built.

[theDaveB]

Don't think a kit is for us, looks a bit complicated. I have trouble getting the back wheel back on after fixing a puncture.

Dave

[MarkF]

I fancied a trying an electric bike so bought a Sakura that was for sale locally as "not working". I bought new batteries (£70) and found the fault, the sensor for the stand. It was like new and cost £120 in total. It was fun and my daughter loved it, she could do 20+ miles without pedalling. it had drawbacks though, big ones. I don't recall the exact weight but would not be surprised if it was in the 30kg region, it was only fun whilst using the motor...........also it looked so hideous that I wouldn't ride it, neither would my wife, or son's, the daughter soon gave up too. I think it went double what it had cost me via Ebay.

For commuting, I am now an e-bike convert though and will get around to getting a kit for one of my hybrids.

[Elizabethsdad]

http://www.add-e.de/
Looks interesting and simple enough to fit

[Greenbuilder]

I can recommend the kits from EBC electric bike conversions.
I have done three conversions for friends; a front wheel motor for a 26" MTB, a rear wheel for a 700c hybrid and a rear wheel for a 20" recumbent. The kits are good value at under £400 delivered, it's a uk company and the instructions are good.
They provide some tools and a steel torque arm to fit with alloy frames/forks to stop the motor twisting out of the drop outs, which I've seen happen.
I had to change the bottom brackets in most cases for a longer spindle to give enough room for the pedal sensor. The kits are designed for a square taper bb.
There are threads for fitting a disc brake, but I had to change from 160mm to 180mm front disc plus adaptor for the caliper to clear the motor on the MTB, so bikes with V brakes are much easier.
The Lithium batteries are large at 13Ah , they won't fit the down tube inside a small MTB triangle frame but ok on a hybrid, they fit a rear rack with the alloy plate with a couple of drilled holes. There is quite a lot to fit on the handlebars if you go for the thumb throttle as well as pedal sensor, but you can leave this out.
All the owners are very happy with the range and they tackle steep Cornish hills with minimum effort.
I have yet to do a crank drive but I think this might be the best option for a better quality bike with drop bars and/or discs.
Tony

[Phil Fouracre]

Cyclotricity unit that I fitted for my wife was straightforward, even though I'd not done anything like it before. Front wheel motor 250w, colour coded wiring loom, nice slim battery fitted in supplied carrier, incorporating controller. Basic option has throttle (she calls it the zum zum button ! ) we also ordered the optional extra pedal assist kit and sensor. Replacement brakes incorporating cut out sensors just had to be swapped with originals, and control panel fitted. Bikes much too small for me, but I had to have a test drive! very impressive. she loves it and so far has managed 103k on one charge, which I reckon is very impressive.
Out today for 30 odd k ride, weather turned bad so headed home, now fed up as she left me for dead, she very kindly said that she didn't think I was really trying!!!! Looks like I could be fitting a second kit

[theDaveB]

Still not sorted out a e-bike but found a "montana e-glide electric bicycle" for sale for £250. The guy said it was his dad's and hardly seen any miles but is a good few years old. Can't find a lot about it online, anyone know more?

Dave

[Manc33]

I had one that ran off 14 x 18650's but it only had a 10 mile range, wasn't worth it because without it on its like riding through treacle. If you can get one with a 40 mile range it might be worth it, I ended up hating mine (it was just a front wheel, battery pack and charger).