Kits for converting bike to E-bike

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 Rog Wilko 23 Apr 2023

Does anyone have any experience, good or bad, to share concerning conversion kits for electrifying a standard road bike?

 stuartf 23 Apr 2023
In reply to Rog Wilko:

Don't know about road bikes specifically, I used one of these https://custombuilt-ebikes.co.uk/product/bafang-bbs02-750w-mid-drive-motor/ to convert an old MTB for towing our kids trailer, along with a down tube mounted battery. I don't see why it wouldn't fit on a road bike too.

Fitting was "ok" in terms of difficulty, I thought the descriptions on that website were fair. The motor fitting was not really more complicated than changing a chainset/bottom bracket. The battery was a bit more awkward as the bottle cage mounts on my bike were too far down the down tube for the battery to fit with the frame geometry. I had to drill new holes and fit threaded inserts which wasn't too bad since I had access to a workshop with a 90 degree drill and pop riveter but would have needed to buy tools otherwise. Also needed to solder some electrical connections and cover with heatshrink for a tidy finish.

Since doing the conversion we've done over 2000km and it's worked reliably. The battery itself is quite heavy, and whilst the fastening system feels secure enough for tarmac riding I don't think I'd trust it if I actually wanted to go off road. There's plenty of power for steep hills, but because it's a basic speed-dependent controller rather than a torque-based one it feels a bit on/off, i.e. it's hard to set it so you have to put in a bit of effort yourself. It does make the bike quite heavy, which might be a consideration if you need to lift it up steps etc.

I guess one thing that might be more awkward on a road bike is the brake levers. The kit comes with replacement levers with a switch built into them that cuts the power to the motor when they are operated, but they're for cable operated brakes on flat bars. My bike has hydraulics so I got the extra sensors which are essentially a magnetic reed switch that you glue to the main body of the brake lever and a small magnet that you glue to the lever itself. Depending on the shape of your brake levers this might be more difficult on a road bike.

Post edited at 18:48
 jiminy483 24 Apr 2023
In reply to Rog Wilko:

I bought a rear hub to convert my mountain bike into an electric bike. It was a disaster, the hub had so much resistance that trying to ride the thing without power was like riding with a brake stuck on. I bought the second biggest battery and it was good for about an hour.

I could get it up to 30mph - which is illegal, sticking to the law you couldn't ride the thing past 15.5mph because of the hub resistance, it was basically a painfully slow motorbike.

If you plan to stick to the speed limit I wouldn't bother, it's just to slow for them to be useful, for me the speed limit would need to be 25mph to make them fun. 

My friend has a mid drive motor mentioned above and it's much better than the hub I bought. Still not worth it though IMO because of the speed limit. He just ignores it and rides around at 30mph.

I would like an electric mountain bike but I wouldn't convert one again, I'd be buying something off the shelf and would only use it derestricted and off road.

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 Mark Edwards 24 Apr 2023
In reply to Rog Wilko:

I fitted a Dillenger front wheel kit to my bike about 3 years ago. Installation was easy but getting the cables tidy was a bit of a faff and the throttle switch cable (which I mounted on my extension riser bars) is a bit on the short side for where I placed it, so would have liked the option to buy an extender piece. The range is good and it's still working well. I like that the battery can be easily unlocked from it's cradle so that it can be charged somewhere safe. There is no noticeable drag when the wheel is going forward but you can feel some if you have to reverse.

https://dillengerelectricbikes.co.uk/products/street-legal-electric-bike-ki...

 top cat 24 Apr 2023
In reply to Rog Wilko:

I have converted two off road bikes with the Bafang mid drive.  I had the same issues as above with the battery mount and had to drill new holes.  However the mount has been fine on some quite serious off road, just remember to lock the battery on with the key.

You can fit smaller chainrings, I use Lekki Bling ring, which are pricey but nice.

I get about 30 miles off road, but would expect a lot more on tarmac.

I have removed the brake sensors and do fine without now that I've got the hang of things.  Never used a gear senor.  Again, experience helps: it is now rare for me to have a clunky gear change.

I would never consider a hub drive.

 wilkie14c 24 Apr 2023
In reply to Rog Wilko:

I fitted the Dillinger 1000w, 48 volt, unrestricted kit to an off the shelf Carrera MTB, disc brakes. Superb performance on my 4 mile each way commute- 99% of which was on a coastal path. It’d do 30 and had thumb control ‘accelerator’ button. Did 2000+ over 2 years and it was faultless. Down sides - a puncture was a pain in the ass (rear wheel) the battery goes down really quickly on self powered, top speed mode. Impossible to ride if motor switched off, the resistance is just too much to cycle by legs alone (as said above) changed over to a 50cc scooter in the end for a couple of reasons. The battery on the ebike was nearly £300 to replace and it had noticeably deteriorated. At first, it needed a charge every 3 days (8 mile a day) but went to charging every 2nd day then every single day. I’d worked the battery too hard over too long a period obviously so it wasn’t a fault with the system, just the reality of batteries. Plus, about the time I changed, e-bikes and escooters were all over the news about power limits etc so thought it was only a matter of time before the police pulled me over.

I also fitted the Dillinger ‘legal’ kit to my wife’s bike. This was a 36v battery, 250w and front wheel motor. Hardly any resistance riding without motor being switched on, no loss of traction (being a front wheel) and great assistance up to the legal limit where the motor cut off. 

Things to remember - Arrange cables so they can be undone and redone if you have to fix a puncture. Mount the battery on bottle cage mounts, making new mounts if needed (to keep battery weight off the back wheel) You can do this with ‘riv-nuts’ and there are tricks to fit them without the special tool. Have your tyres rock hard, fair old bit of weight on the back wheel and dropping off kerbs will give you pinch flats.
I’ve seen both extremes of the kits, if I were doing it again, i’d just go legal limit front wheel motor or mid drive. 

https://dillengerelectricbikes.co.uk/

Post edited at 13:57
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In reply to Rog Wilko:

https://www.skarper.com/

This looks like a good solution

 muppetfilter 24 Apr 2023
In reply to Bjartur i Sumarhus:

Thats a very nifty solution , I wonder what the power output and range are ? 

OP Rog Wilko 24 Apr 2023
In reply to Rog Wilko:

Thanks all, plenty food for thought!

In reply to muppetfilter:

not sure, I follow them on insta. My plan is to buy one and use it to commute when i'm feeling tired and would usually opt for the motorbike instead. The fact it clips onto most disc brake bike makes it a fantastically versatile concept in my mind and won't break the bank at ~ £1k , compared to buying a dedicated electric bike

 LastBoyScout 25 Apr 2023
In reply to Rog Wilko:

Some tips here: https://ebiketips.road.cc/


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