Total justification for e bikes

[Salar]

Thanks, that's great @Pale Rider, really helpful.

A to B online mag doesn't rate the Chinese stuff, but I reckon that's where most of it comes from anyway, apart from the expensive German gear.

I've no problem dealing with Chinese suppliers, I've sold and bought stuff on ebay and always found the Chinese helpful.

Under £300 sounds good, that's more than the bikes I want to fit too are worth.

Now you've got me thinking.

 

[Pale Rider]

A lot of the cheap Chinese ebikes have electrical niggles, but that's often more to do with shoddy assembly than shoddy components.

For example, poorly fitted batteries which 'worry' on their terminals and burn them out.

If you build the bike to a good standard it should be reasonably reliable.

 

[Salar]

There seems to be a few on ebay too.

What do most people go for front or rear drive.

I would have thought front wheel drive would make the handling heavy, but I'm new to this so I could be talking nonsense.

I'm thinking of fitting it to one of my old steel frame hybrids.

 

[Pale Rider]

I don't think front or rear wheel motor makes a huge difference to the ride.

Crank drives - motor bolted to the bottom bracket - do ride more like ordinary bicycles.

Going back to hubs, power delivery - controlled by the, er, controller - has a bigger impact on the ride.

Nearly all use simple rotational sensors, which can feel a bit basic.

If you want to pay a bit more, you could get a torque sensing, or torque simulating, controller, which means the motor will respond in part to the input from your legs, giving a more natural feel.

As always, there's a danger of becoming too anal about it.

Many users are perfectly happy with their basic rotational sensor ebikes.

 

[raleighnut]

There seems to be a few on ebay too.

What do most people go for front or rear drive.

I would have thought front wheel drive would make the handling heavy, but I'm new to this so I could be talking nonsense.

I'm thinking of fitting it to one of my old steel frame hybrids.

I use a front drive kit on the Trike (as does Maz on her Dawes) both of which are 'Hall Effect' motors (3 phase) and the power doesn't come in with a bang but has almost a 'soft start' take-up.

Bit of a shame really, I'd love the trike to spin it's front wheel.

BTW both kits are Cyclotricity 250w and have been 'fault-free' for over 2yrs (over 3yrs for Maz's)

 

[Salar]

Thanks @Pale Rider , @raleighnut

Basic and simple for me, I only need it for a bit of help on a few long climbs.

Although I fancied fitting the kit to one of my hybrids the ideal candidate would be my runabout ,Dawes Jack folder, but I need to check what would happen to cables and the other bits when folded etc

 

[Pale Rider]

The smaller wheel of the folder will limit your motor choice a bit, but that's no bad thing because there are far too many to choose from for big wheels.

Spoke breakages can be a problem in any motor wheel.

Once again it comes down to build, some of the Chinese factory built wheels are not built well.

It makes sense to stress relieve and evenly tension the spokes on the motor wheel before installing it.

Lastly, if you go for a front wheel consider fitting a torque arm - a plate which prevents the wheel spinning out of the dropout under load.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/like/2626...=1006948&device=c&campaignid=620865095&crdt=0

 

[Salar]

Thanks again.

I've decided it will be the folder, it's the most modern bike I have which does not have disc or hydraulic brakes and already has a rear rack.

Front wheel drive seems to be the simpler and best option, not much space at the rear, might be fiddly needing to spread drop outs and re align gears and I'd like to leave the wheel and gears as they are.

I'd rather not spend too much on the older hybrids anyway, good tip about torque arm.

 

[Salar]

Just been googling.

Most folders seem to be rear wheel drive, putting all the weight on the back. I find even now without any weight on the back the folder tries to wheelie when pushed, probably just my wrong riding position!

Back to work.

Just checked the shipping costs from China £85-£100!

 

[Pale Rider]

Just checked the shipping costs from China £85-£100!

Full kit here from UK supplier Panda for £380 shipped.

http://www.pandaebikes.com/product/...50w-ebike-conversion-kit-li-ion-10ah-battery/

 

[Salar]

Yes,

I like the look of them, one good thing is the pedal assist ring is split in two halves so no need to remove cranks etc.
I need to check if they are ok for 80mm drop outs, most seem to be for 100mm, although pedalease do an 80mm drop out version (my Dawes is a rebadged Dahon)

 

[Velow]

With the onset of some back problems and my kids starting to get quicker than me I'm seriously considering an e-bike. This is very tempting...albeit scary
http://www.greyp.com/

 

[Pale Rider]

Yes,

I like the look of them, one good thing is the pedal assist ring is split in two haves so no need to remove cranks etc.
I need to check if they are ok for 80mm drop outs, most seem to be for 100mm, although pedalease do an 80mm drop out version (my Dawes is a rebadged Dahon)

Not checking this sort of stuff leads to bodging and unreliability.

Seems you are well on top of it, which should mean a decent build.

 

[shouldbeinbed]

With the onset of some back problems and my kids starting to get quicker than me I'm seriously considering an e-bike. This is very tempting...albeit scary
http://www.greyp.com/

The specs sound good but it is one fugly bike IMHO

 

[keithmac]

My Gtech is rear hub drive, almost silent and really helps with the winnd and hills mainly.

I also have converted a mountain bike to crank drive paired with a Nuvinci rear hub but haven't had time to do any real testing with that yet. Used a TSDZ2 for that build.