E bike conversion

Electrically assisted bikes, trikes, etc. that are legal in the UK
densmall
Posts: 29
Joined: 29 Jan 2015, 10:20am

E bike conversion

Post by densmall »

I have a 27.5 inch wheel hardtail mountain bike that I would like to convert to an Ebike with a front wheel motor,I don`t need lots of range as I only need the power to help with long and steep hills,any advice as to make,model,hints and tips will be much appreciated.
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SimonCelsa
Posts: 1232
Joined: 6 Apr 2011, 10:19pm

Re: E bike conversion

Post by SimonCelsa »

I've had good service from a 'Woosh' front hub conversion (700C tandem). Fairly sure they could sort you out something in 27.5. More importantly I have found them excellent to deal with & swift in replying to queries. Also possibly try the pedelecs forum which probably has a wider range of experience than here.

http://wooshbikes.co.uk/?hubkits

https://www.pedelecs.co.uk/forum/
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SimonCelsa
Posts: 1232
Joined: 6 Apr 2011, 10:19pm

Re: E bike conversion

Post by SimonCelsa »

As a point of note, the only slight problem I had was trying to fit the front hub motor between the forks. Although they are 100mm OLN the tubular design of the lower fork legs did not facilitate easy fitment, you'd be better off with flatter fork legs near the dropouts to maintain the 100mm OLN clearance in the region of the hub motor. A picture speaks a thousand words:

vtandem left side clearance.jpg


vtandem right side clearance.jpg
hemo
Posts: 1438
Joined: 16 Nov 2017, 5:40pm
Location: West Sussex

Re: E bike conversion

Post by hemo »

Don't be fooled into thinking conversions are easy to ride unpowered, the extra weight of motor,controller & battery etc make a difference and soon make the bike feel like trying to ride a brick at times. Some hubs freewheel better then others and the extra central dead weight is the reason.
yakdiver
Posts: 1466
Joined: 12 Jul 2007, 2:54pm
Location: North Baddesley Hampshire

Re: E bike conversion

Post by yakdiver »

I used this company, not cheap but well made
https://www.cyclotricity.com/uk/
Oldjohnw
Posts: 7764
Joined: 16 Oct 2018, 4:23am
Location: South Warwickshire

Re: E bike conversion

Post by Oldjohnw »

I used these: excellent service. For a hybrid for touring.

http://www.electric-bike-conversions.co.uk/
John
stodd
Posts: 708
Joined: 6 Jun 2018, 10:24am

Re: E bike conversion

Post by stodd »

I have the same experience as Simon with Woosh and 700C tandem front conversion; and suggestion to ask on the more active https://www.pedelecs.co.uk/forum/forums ... ussion.42/ as well.

(I even thought for a moment, hang on, I wrote that and they've somehow changed the author!)
reohn2
Posts: 45158
Joined: 26 Jun 2009, 8:21pm

Re: E bike conversion

Post by reohn2 »

Oldjohnw wrote:I used these: excellent service. For a hybrid for touring.

http://www.electric-bike-conversions.co.uk/

+1 we got our tandem conversion from them,I fitted it in less than three hours start to test ride IIRC.
A link to the thread about ours:- viewtopic.php?f=55&t=117719
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"All we are not stares back at what we are"
W H Auden
Greenbuilder
Posts: 163
Joined: 17 Nov 2012, 6:24pm
Location: Tamar Valley

Re: E bike conversion

Post by Greenbuilder »

Can I recommend a crank drive motor, such as this Bafang BBSO2 which I've fitted to my 27.5 hardtail.
Easy to fit, low centre of gravity and the bike pedals fine with it turned off. I put a big 15ah battery on, which lasts 4-5 hours off road, but a 9ah would be ok and much lighter. I used to ride hub motor bikes, but these are much better.
IMG_20190411_114944.jpg
I
densmall
Posts: 29
Joined: 29 Jan 2015, 10:20am

Re: E bike conversion

Post by densmall »

Thank you for your help,the situation is much clearer now,I just have to decide which way to jump.
Bob Lawrence
Posts: 1
Joined: 27 Jul 2019, 11:39am

Re: E bike conversion

Post by Bob Lawrence »

Hi, first time I have visited this forum and am seeking advice on purchasing a conversion kit. From what I have found so far is bike shops don’t sell kits to be fitted by the purchaser, I may be wrong but those around my area don’t. I feel I am more than capable of fitting a conversion kit. Therefore the only options seem to be eBay or Amazon.
There are lots of kits to choose from, my requirements are rear wheel drive and 1000w motor, as a pensioner cost is also an important factor.
Have any forum members bought from eBay or Amazon? eBay seem to be quite a bit cheaper like for like. Is a cheaper kit from eBay as good as the same named kit from Amazon? Like I have said cost is an important factor.
Thanks
stodd
Posts: 708
Joined: 6 Jun 2018, 10:24am

Re: E bike conversion

Post by stodd »

For a conversion kit I recommend Woosh. http://wooshbikes.co.uk/

For more information try the more specialist forum
https://www.pedelecs.co.uk/forum/catego ... n-kits.52/
in particular
https://www.pedelecs.co.uk/forum/forums ... ussion.42/

Are you sure you want a kit that would be illegal to ride on the road without license, insurance etc? Only motors nominally 250w or below are road legal without. Also, usually the (often relatively cheap) high powered kits are generally not geared and not very efficient so get through battery charge very fast. Most nominal 250w motors generate much more than 250w for shorter periods (hills), so the power difference is not as much as it seems from the simple numbers.

Member of the forum and Woosh will give you lots of advice that will help you decide what your requirements really are, and the best way to meet them.
hemo
Posts: 1438
Joined: 16 Nov 2017, 5:40pm
Location: West Sussex

Re: E bike conversion

Post by hemo »

All 250w geared kits will generally be far better then the 1000w D/D kits,
Geared hubs will freewheel without power bike drive will just feel very heavy.
D/D hubs have no freewheel so without power nigh on impossible to ride. They aren't very good fir hill climbing or stop start riding as they are designed for continuous or high speed unless you opt for spending higher sums of money on them.
D/D hubs rely on brute power (current) and higher voltage to get the best out of them, this means a battery capable of supplying at least 40a continuous and tbh at least 52v nominal voltage, this all comes at a price and then you would be better off with a moped.

Stick with a 250w motor and simply up the voltage to 48v nominal and a 17a controller this will give about 650 -700w at the wheel.
More watts/current doesn't come for free, it will use more energy from the battery which means less range. Range can be got by having a bigger capacity battery measured in Ah/Wh but again this costs more money and adds extra weight.

The cheap 1000w kits are generally all but gutless apart from flat ground high speed cruising, the electronics are pretty basic compared to most geared hub kits.


24v used to be the old standard but now is generally classed as ancient, 36v became the new kid on the block as is still generally king and standard on bikes but now 48v is becoming popular amongst those with the knowledge. Twice as much torque at the wheel then 24v giving superior acceleration and climbing ability.
One of the best hubs to date was the Orange Panasonic 48v used on the KTM e-race P of a few years ago then every one went mad for the ugly center motors like Bosch & Yamaha etc.
CXRAndy
Posts: 50
Joined: 18 Aug 2019, 1:45pm

Re: E bike conversion

Post by CXRAndy »

I bought my ebike motor from Electrifymybike in the States. I bought my battery from DH Gate, a Chinese wholesaler website. Its difficult to get a cheap big battery from the USA due to hazardous materials regulations.

I bought a custom software TSDZ2 kit. It was a doddle to fit to a 68mm threaded bottom bracket bike. I used heat shrink to tidy all the cables up.

Its 52volt battery 13.5Amps
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hemo
Posts: 1438
Joined: 16 Nov 2017, 5:40pm
Location: West Sussex

Re: E bike conversion

Post by hemo »

CXRAndy wrote:I bought my ebike motor from Electrifymybike in the States. I bought my battery from DH Gate, a Chinese wholesaler website. Its difficult to get a cheap big battery from the USA due to hazardous materials regulations.

I bought a custom software TSDZ2 kit. It was a doddle to fit to a 68mm threaded bottom bracket bike. I used heat shrink to tidy all the cables up.

Its 52volt battery 13.5Amps


And none of the kit is legal to use un the UK.
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