Fazua Evation drive system and Bosch question

[MBosh]

I was looking maybe to pick up this Boardman e-bike (link below) but I'm not sure if the motor is as good as say the bosch one for my needs. I have to carry the bike up a number of flight of stairs to a flat, so I'm also not sure if the bocsh mid drive motor would be too heavy. Here are the bikes I'm looking at. Does the Boardman have disadvantages, or is there an even better e-bike for the money then the ones I've mentioned? Thank you!

Edit: Just been looking a Befang as a make too and just wondering if they are anygood should I decide to just convert my bike into an e-bike.

https://www.halfords.com/bikes/elec...yb-8.9e-mens-hybrid-electric-bike-133934.html

https://www.halfords.com/bikes/elec...brid-bike---17in-19in-21in-frames-488356.html

 

[ColinJ]

I'm not sure if the motor is as good as say the bosch one for my needs.

What are your needs? (Assist range? Rack? Mudguards? etc.)

I'm not being funny, but I wouldn't fancy carting a heavy ebike up several flights of stairs and I am fit enough to not need one!

One I liked the look of for a friend was this Ribble ebike. That is fairly light, at around 13 kg. (PS Only a 250 Wh battery though, so possibly not enough assist range. At least it would be light enough to ride with a flat battery though!)

 

[cyberknight]

I'm not being funny, but I wouldn't fancy carting a heavy ebike up several flights of stairs and I am fit enough to not need one!

Indeed i think you need to weigh up ( haha ) the benefits of the e bike compared to the hassle of lugging it up and down stairs , remember above 15.5 mph the assist cuts out so how much would you use it ?

 

[MBosh]

What are your needs? (Assist range? Rack? Mudguards? etc.)

I'm not being funny, but I wouldn't fancy carting a heavy ebike up several flights of stairs and I am fit enough to not need one!

One I liked the look of for a friend was this Ribble ebike. That is fairly light, at around 13 kg. (PS Only a 250 Wh battery though, so possibly not enough assist range. At least it would be light enough to ride with a flat battery though!)

It's just for leisure, really. I had my knee cap removed due to smashing it some years ago. Although I can ride a bike, no problem, my knee starts to hurt after about 5 miles of riding. I want to cover about 20 miles during a ride which would be mostly flat ground. Don't need a bike rack or anything, just want to cover about 60 miles each week.

Do you think that Boardman would still be heavy to carry up a few flights of stairs without the battery removed first? Thank you!

@cyberknight - I can only get upto a constant speed of about 14mph, but my knee hurts after about 5 miles due to the pressure placed on it

 

[ColinJ]

Ah, yes - I can see why an ebike would be handy!

Does you knee still hurt even if you use very low gears?

I suppose the Boardman minus the battery would be as light as or lighter than the Ribble with its built-in (harder to remove) battery.

I just remember trying to cart my mountain bike upstairs once and that was awkward. (It weighs about 13-14 kg.) I suppose it would be a bit easier on a wider staircase.

 

[cyberknight]

what about a normal bike with a swytch kit ? take the battery off to carry it up and down the stairs .

 

[MBosh]

@ColinJ - No, my knee doesn't hurt so much in lower gears, it's when I try to go faster using the higher gears. That's when it adds more pressure on my knee and starts to hurt. I'm also always mostly doing 14 mph on my journey, so it's under the 15mph cut out.

 

[MBosh]

what about a normal bike with a swytch kit ? take the battery off to carry it up and down the stairs .

I think that Boardman I linked to does that, doesn't it? Battery comes off and can be ridden like a normal bike with around the same weight if I'm not mistken. Is this what you mean by a switch kit as I'm not sure? I'm also a bit weary spending that amount of money on this Boardman, if the battery and motor aren't that good. Do you know if this is quite a good motor and battery? Thank You!

 

[ColinJ]

The Swytch kit converts a normal bike. You get a new front wheel with a motor in and a controller and battery which mount on the handlebars. You can get the kits for about £500 - HERE. (The full price is double that but join the queue and get it 50% off!)

 

[MBosh]

@ColinJ @cyberknight
I'm impressed with this swytch kit. Does it use pedal assist or a throttle switch? I wonder if if they come in different size wheels. I'd prefer the battery to be fitted somewhere else though and not on the handle bars, I wonder if that's possible.

 

[CXRAndy]

If you're practical, then converting a suitable donor bike is great fun. I converted my wife's bike to a Tongscheng TSDZ2 setup. It works just fine. I have a Bafang mid drive motor setup, again fantastic piece of kit. The most refined are the Bosch, but you pay quite a premium.

Re pain, try a use an easier gear and pedal a little bit faster, generally called 'spinning'. This can help knee issues-but in your case with surgery already taken place you will need to experiment to see if its the method to use. Also check you saddle isnt too low, this can be a common setup error leading to frontal knee discomfort

Here is my wife's E bike conversion thread https://www.cyclechat.net/threads/ebike-conversion.251127/

 

[ColinJ]

@ColinJ @cyberknight
I'm impressed with this swytch kit. Does it use pedal assist or a throttle switch? I wonder if if they come in different size wheels. I'd prefer the battery to be fitted somwhere else though and not on the handle bars, I wonder if that's possible.

It has a detector which fits round the bottom bracket axle and detects how you are pedalling. It then gives a selected amount of boost to that effort, ranging from not much, to quite a lot.

I think that you can get a throttle as well? PS I just checked - they do 2 types - twist and thumb throttles. You can also buy spare batteries to extend your range.

Swytch take orders for different size wheels and then have a batch built. That's how you get the kit cheaper, but there is a significant delay before you get the kit. You would have to contact them to see how long that delay is. They usually have a stock of different sized kits but then you pay double the price.

The bag with the battery in also has the displays and controls on it so putting it elsewhere wouldn't make a lot of sense, even if you could do it.

 

[MBosh]

@CXRAndy - That looks neat. I did look at the Befang motor and building an e-bike out of an older bike I have. The peoblem I've got is I have to carry the bike up 4 flights of stairs, which really does limit me to what e-bike I could go for.

 

[MBosh]

@ColinJ - Do you think the swytch would be better than the boardman I listed? The kit on the Boardman only adds an extra 4.6kg to the bike, but I'm not sure how much the bike weights itself. I currently have a Giant defy road bike that I get up these stair quite easily.

 

[MBosh]

Just seen a Youtube video on the boardman bike and a guy is saying it's not a full on electric bike and only helps you up hills? Not sure what he's talking about if I'm honest. How can it be just an electric bike that helps you up hills and not a full on electric bike?