I have a very good Whyte Coniston that is four years old and has covered 9,500 miles.
The battery has been excellent and is still giving top notch returns.
I bought it because of health problems, which have eased somewhat.
I also have a Kinesis T2 Racelight that is nine years old and in very good condition.
I love riding the T2 as it is very light and comfortable but just now, I don't ride it with my CTC group because I am not yet fully fit.
My neighbour is a long time Lune Wheelers rider who recently had a Boost rear hub motor fitted.
I really like the look of the Boost conversion and I wondered if anyone here has any experience of these.
Weight for weight, a converted T2 will be far lighter than my Whyte, so I should be capable of turning the pedals much more and conserving the power for more sustained climbs. Also the price of a spare battery is very reasonable and on a longer run, one would fit in a panier bag.
Can anyone comment?
Boost Conversions
Re: Boost Conversions
I don't have any experience of it.
It looks a little expensive for what it is. The battery is low capacity; with the style of riding it's intended for that might not matter too much, but it is VERY low. (helps keep the kit price down, also the replacement battery cost)
It is worth asking at
https://www.pedelecs.co.uk/forum/forums ... ussion.42/
It looks a little expensive for what it is. The battery is low capacity; with the style of riding it's intended for that might not matter too much, but it is VERY low. (helps keep the kit price down, also the replacement battery cost)
It is worth asking at
https://www.pedelecs.co.uk/forum/forums ... ussion.42/
Re: Boost Conversions
I'd not heard of Boost conversions before but having looked at the website it seems pretty good. Yes the battery is small but not much different from systems like Fazua and Mahle. And the spare bateries are half the price of those.
Chris F, Cornwall
Re: Boost Conversions
My neighbour is a seasoned cyclist and rides with a crack local club. He is recovering from a major illness and he has a Boost motor fitted to his racer. It was him that peeked my interest in the system.
I went ahead and bought the Boost system, having it fitted to my Kinesis T2 Racelight sports bike.
I have a triple chain wheel on the T2 and it's moderately low geared..
I am a heavy guy around 94 kilos in weight.
I had a Ride Sputnik 36 spoke wheel built into the rear hub motor and I purchased the handlebar display and a spare battery.
My first impression was that the system was a bit limited especially on hill work, but I have ridden over a hundred miles so far and I am getting more used to toggling echo and boost modes and getting into lower gears for sustained climbs.
My T2 is so light and low geared compared with my Whyte Coniston E bike that I can easily pedal unassisted on flat terrain and on a 32 mile ride, I only drew down 40% of the battery. I am confident that used sparingly, the battery will return very good mileages.
This morning, I climbed 300 feet in the space of two and a half miles, with three steepish climbs en route and in low gear and echo mode, the motor assisted me nicely. Echo mode draws 45% of the available power.
The system is very light and compact and only added some 5 kg to my T2.
A handlebar display unit powered by a 2032 disc battery communicates by bluetooth with a controller in the base of the bottle cage clone battery holder. An illuminated drawdown indicator on the battery plus a voltage indicator on the display keeps you aware of remaining power.
A left and right Button on the display operates the mode required, a 10 second super boost mode and the essential power off.
Toggling power on and off and timely gear work will greatly increase range and in the worst case will enable you to pedal home as unlike some rear hub drives, there seems to be no drag.
Granted it is early days and my style of riding will tax this little gem.
Anyone who needs a commuter assist will be well suited to this system.
I went ahead and bought the Boost system, having it fitted to my Kinesis T2 Racelight sports bike.
I have a triple chain wheel on the T2 and it's moderately low geared..
I am a heavy guy around 94 kilos in weight.
I had a Ride Sputnik 36 spoke wheel built into the rear hub motor and I purchased the handlebar display and a spare battery.
My first impression was that the system was a bit limited especially on hill work, but I have ridden over a hundred miles so far and I am getting more used to toggling echo and boost modes and getting into lower gears for sustained climbs.
My T2 is so light and low geared compared with my Whyte Coniston E bike that I can easily pedal unassisted on flat terrain and on a 32 mile ride, I only drew down 40% of the battery. I am confident that used sparingly, the battery will return very good mileages.
This morning, I climbed 300 feet in the space of two and a half miles, with three steepish climbs en route and in low gear and echo mode, the motor assisted me nicely. Echo mode draws 45% of the available power.
The system is very light and compact and only added some 5 kg to my T2.
A handlebar display unit powered by a 2032 disc battery communicates by bluetooth with a controller in the base of the bottle cage clone battery holder. An illuminated drawdown indicator on the battery plus a voltage indicator on the display keeps you aware of remaining power.
A left and right Button on the display operates the mode required, a 10 second super boost mode and the essential power off.
Toggling power on and off and timely gear work will greatly increase range and in the worst case will enable you to pedal home as unlike some rear hub drives, there seems to be no drag.
Granted it is early days and my style of riding will tax this little gem.
Anyone who needs a commuter assist will be well suited to this system.
Re: Boost Conversions
Two rides of comparable length returned very different battery draw downs.
The first started over in Wharfedale , at Kilnsey. It was a very cold day with a strong northerly, coming down valley in our faces.
We rode the short hop south to Conistone, then turned 180 degrees, into the breeze and up the back road to Kettlewell.
From there we took the main road to Buckden, then forked right the mile or so to the left fork and down to Hubberholme.
From here it is quite a steady climb all the way to Beckermonds and the turn for High Greenmfields.
Unmfortunately, the "do it yourself cafe" at the end of the tarmac was not open so we returned to Star Botton for lunch.
Going down valley with the wind behind us I hardly used the motor.
Back at Kilnsey, I had just tweenty percent battery power left and had clocked just 33 miles.
In contrast, yesterday, I rode around the top of Morecambe Bay via Burton in Kendal, Deepthwaite, Heversham, Gilpin, The Derby Arms, and Meathop to Grange.I got a train to Silverdale and rode the short hop home.
I'd hardly used any battery and had balled across Meathop Moss in high gear, unassisted.
The total mileage was 32! and on connecting my charger, the bnattery just showed green.
On the down side, you do have to go into your lowest gears for steep hills and turn the pedals, but I am recovering from Polymyalgia, so my muscle mass needs to build again and I am confident this drawback will be minimal.
I could of course opt for a lower block ratio and I am exploring this remedy.
As yet, I haven't carried my spare battery, but I am planning longer rides into Lakeland when the warmer weather kicks in.
The first started over in Wharfedale , at Kilnsey. It was a very cold day with a strong northerly, coming down valley in our faces.
We rode the short hop south to Conistone, then turned 180 degrees, into the breeze and up the back road to Kettlewell.
From there we took the main road to Buckden, then forked right the mile or so to the left fork and down to Hubberholme.
From here it is quite a steady climb all the way to Beckermonds and the turn for High Greenmfields.
Unmfortunately, the "do it yourself cafe" at the end of the tarmac was not open so we returned to Star Botton for lunch.
Going down valley with the wind behind us I hardly used the motor.
Back at Kilnsey, I had just tweenty percent battery power left and had clocked just 33 miles.
In contrast, yesterday, I rode around the top of Morecambe Bay via Burton in Kendal, Deepthwaite, Heversham, Gilpin, The Derby Arms, and Meathop to Grange.I got a train to Silverdale and rode the short hop home.
I'd hardly used any battery and had balled across Meathop Moss in high gear, unassisted.
The total mileage was 32! and on connecting my charger, the bnattery just showed green.
On the down side, you do have to go into your lowest gears for steep hills and turn the pedals, but I am recovering from Polymyalgia, so my muscle mass needs to build again and I am confident this drawback will be minimal.
I could of course opt for a lower block ratio and I am exploring this remedy.
As yet, I haven't carried my spare battery, but I am planning longer rides into Lakeland when the warmer weather kicks in.
Re: Boost Conversions
What was the comparable climbing on those two rides? I have given up trying to estimate a distance I can do with the Mahle system. I know I can do 2000m (6600 feet) of climbing with a full battery. Makes little difference what the distance is, as I don't often use the battery on the flat.
Chris F, Cornwall
Re: Boost Conversions
I use the free Map my Ride app on my phone but did not switch it on for the Warfedale ride.
The Grange ride involved 810 total feet of ascent.
This Saturday I rode to Cartmel via Warton, Holme, Levens, Brigsteer, Bowland bridge, then the climb over Barrow Hollin to High Newton, dropping down to Cartmel and Cark. This was a distance of 33 miles with a total ascent of 1800 feet.
There was still power in the battery, but I had to work hard on the climb to Barrow Hollin.
The Grange ride involved 810 total feet of ascent.
This Saturday I rode to Cartmel via Warton, Holme, Levens, Brigsteer, Bowland bridge, then the climb over Barrow Hollin to High Newton, dropping down to Cartmel and Cark. This was a distance of 33 miles with a total ascent of 1800 feet.
There was still power in the battery, but I had to work hard on the climb to Barrow Hollin.