Any Electric Bike Kits I Should Avoid ?

[Kahu]

I am planning to build an electric bike, I have a few nice 531 frames that I feel would be suitable, I am looking for a motor that has relatively small radius to keep things looking as tidy as possible, I know little about the different makes, and am wary of buying something unreliable, any help greatly appreciated ....

[stodd]

Main thing to avoid is direct drive hub motors (heavy, very inefficient and need big expensive battery), but your 'small radius' rules those out anyway.

It depends a lot on how you want to ride; small radius will probably go with lighter motor and relatively low power. That should be fine for decent assist on most hills (I guess that is you), but not if you are unfit and overweight and want to get up big hills with minimum effort.

Most kits are pretty reliable. The tsdz2 has some issues; should be fine if you don't stress it too much, and it can do with extra help with heat dissipation. There seem to be mixed feelings about Swytch; and way overpriced if you buy at the nominal full price rather than the half price sales that are almost always on in some form or another.

Look at Cytronex. Quite expensive for what they are, but reputedly a good lightweight kit. https://www.cytronex.com/shop/kit-selector

Fazua looks the best bet for lightweight systems, but I don't think they are available as conversion kits.

(Most of this is 2nd hand information, see threads on Pedelecs forum, https://www.pedelecs.co.uk/forum/)

[andyh2]

wooshbikes.co.uk seem to be well regarded on the pedelecs forum.

I bought a kit for my Brompton from them and they were very helpful and responsive both at the pre purchase deciding which kit for which bike and post purchase with queries on fitting and set up that I had.

They do a range of mid drive and hub drive kits, probably not the cheapest option at £600-£800 depending on kit and battery choice, but everything will connect and work together easily.

If you're converting an older nice 531 frame I suspect you may be restricted to front hub or mid drive options as rear hubs require minimum 135mm rear dropout.

I'm just about to convert my early 80s Galaxy with a Cytronex front hub kit, they get very good reviews from AtoB magazine and others. As with Woosh, Cytronex were very helpful at the choosing stage, but I can't comment on performance or post purchase support yet as I've not fitted kit to bike yet. Price is considerably higher (around £1,100) and hopefully the quality will justify that. I did consider going for an Orbea Gain as I think I'd have preferred a rear hub motor but you can't easily take the battery out to keep and charge indoors, which I want to be able to do.

[stodd]

It will be interesting to hear how your experiences with Woosh and Cytronex (kits and service) compare.

We have a Woosh kit and would certainly be another to recommend their service. Especially if it is your first conversion it is good to get a complete kit from a reputable supplier so you know all the bits will work together, and that they will give good advice to iron out any issues you might have installing.

The Cytronex kit is not suitable for our kind of riding, but they have been very helpful in the shop (local to us) on the few times we have visited; for browsing and to buy (standard non ebike) components.

[Ivorcadaver]

I ran a Cytronex for about 18 months and covered about 5000 miles. Lightweight, very easy to fit and was pretty reliable (position of the rear sensor is quite sensitive) and a full battery lasted 20-30 miles. Steering a bit odd due to weight of motor in the front hub). Had battery problems near the end. Now surplus to requirements but was hoping to sell it but on close inspection yesterday I spotted that about third of the spoke holes on the hub had small cracks, so it’s now destined for the recycling centre. I now have a Raleigh Motus which apart from its weight is superb after some minor mods (decent tyres, upping the gearing and new saddle).

[Kahu]

Thanks for your replies guys, a lot for me to think about ...

[PAB855]

Everyone has their own preferences.

I have a 2020 Haibike Sduro 4.0, currently for sale because I have found it first class piece of engineering, but mainly too heavy. I transport it on a car rack fitted to the towbar and the 25kg lift is a pain, I don't need as big a range from the battery

I fitted a Swytch conversion to my daughter's lightweight LIV bike and she is delighted with it. We fitted a throttle recently and it's a great help for starting off. Filing the wheel axle flats from 10mm to 9mm was a job needing far more care and skill than depicted in the Swytch video.

I converted my CUBE Trekking bike with a Cytronex and apart from early difficulties with the sensor position which has to be set to 1 - 3mm from the largest rear sprocket and to be absolutely rigid, it's brilliant. I find it is a joy to ride because it is so light, I barely notice any difference from the unassisted bike and if necessary, the bike can be returned to its original setup. I don't think it can take a throttle.

I made the wrong decision with my first purchase, but now I've got exactly what suits my requirements.

Swings and roundabouts. Good luck

[Jodel]

I'd also suggest that you look at the Woosh site. As mentioned previously, they have a good reputation on the Pedelecs forum. Pedelecs is a good source of information too, but at times you have to sift out the genuinely useful information from the inevitable internet forum 'chaff'.

I have bought two rear hub motor kits from Woosh and both have worked well, as close to 'plug & play' as you could wish for. Any aftermarket kit will need a bit of fettling / adjustment, but nothing beyond the abilities of the average spanner twiddler.

The choice of front hub / mid-drive / rear hub motor is frequently hotly debated. Each type has advantages and disadvantages as do many other e-bike components. For example, you can get yourself tied in knots deciding whether to have a square wave controller or a sine wave controller, torque sensing or cadence sensing, current control or speed control ..... and so on. The advantage of buying a kit from someone like Woosh is that it will all fit together and work straight out of the box.

In future, I may tinker a bit with my Woosh kit(s) but realistically my rear hub motors give me just what I need - a bit of help on the hills and into headwinds.

If you go ahead I'm sure you will enjoy the build process as well as the electrically assisted ride experience.

[fivebikes]

I have been very happy with my Swytch kits. Fitted to Bromptons, they allow us to use them in locations that are challenging, even for full size bikes, ridden by fairly fit riders. The fiddly bit with the Bromptons is fitting the PAS sensor but once stuck and zip tied into place, work well. One sensor did go faulty but a speedy email exchange and a simple payment ( kit out of warranty ) and all sorted! The kit is neat, well made and looks good. The PAS fault is I guess something that can happen and obviously didn’t stop the bike being rideable. 18 months in, I’m happy! Considering a third one for a full size bike.
We also have an ARCC conversion on a Moulton TSR. Not a self fit kit, you either buy ready converted from ARCC or send them your bike to retro fit. Expensive but very good. I was fortunate to secure one second hand and I’m happy with it.
The Swytch delivers a similar experience for a significantly lower cost.