In another thread I added a review of my Smart E-Bike and how I found the one size frame a little too small.
I already had a hybrid Specialized Crossroad Comfort Hybrid Bike which I really liked so I decided to look into conversion. I have had the Specialized bike for about a year and for £300 probably the best money I have ever spent on a bike. It's light, simple 7 speed and superbly well built the only slight flaw was the brakes were not the best.
I looked into a few conversion kits and after my experience of the slightly underpowered (for my weight) 200W Smart E Bike I was tempted to go for a more powerful, and illegal, 350W motor. In the end I was quite inspired by a video I found on You Tube -
I really shared a lot of this guys opinions on what he wanted from an Electric Bike. Take a good light bike and add a lightweight conversion which might still require some assistance from the rider but takes the edge off bigger hills.
I bought the 8Fun kit from Ebay for £450 including waterbottle style 36v 9aH Battery. It arrived on time 2 days later.
The other thing that appealed to me about this kit was the front wheel came already assembled with tyre. I am no bike mechanic and doing the conversion was my biggest concern.
Rather worryingly the kit came with no instructions but more surprisingly it was so straightforward I didn't feel I needed them. As it turns out you can email 8 fun and they will send them on. The front wheel fitted perfectly much to my relief. I could see how this can be difficult to check and I didn't want to get involved filing down forks etc. Impatient as I am I wanted to immediately wire it all up before attaching to the bike and gave it a try. Wiring to the controller is really simple even without instructions. The connections are fragile and I'm not sure they will last test of time but they snapped together easily. Withing 15 minutes of kit arriving I had my front wheel spinning off the throttle and I was delighted.
Attaching it all to the bike was a little trickier but still only took 2 hours. The hardest part was guiding all the wires into the supplied controller box. There didn't quite seem to be enough room but eventually got it though with a few wires looking a little stretched which again I worry won't last.
I should say I decided against fitting the Pedal assist sensors for now. I wanted to try the bike first. My philosophy was if it rode "unassisted" as well as it had before I would just use the throttle as needed.
This turned out to be a good decision. I couldn't be happier with the performance for the money. The motor is a bit noisier and less refined the the "Smart" , an there is a bit more vibration at full throttle but it's performance taking my 220lb 6'3 frame up a 7% incline couldn't be faulted.
I've yet to determine range. It's difficult as I'm only using the throttle on hills but with this technique I suspect I will easily get 30 miles overall. This exceeds my expectations to the point where I actually think I could have got away with the lighter smaller "seatpost" battery. My SMART E Bike had Rear motor whereas this now has motor in front and obviously gears in back with battery in middle. The weight distribution feels just right.
So 1 week in and I am delighted with the investment. I hope it does stand the test of time. I had mistakenly thought conversion kits were the preserve of those who knew what they were doing. I would now strongly recommend anyone looking at an electric bike considers buying a well made "mid price" normal bike, or using your existing bike, and converting it.
I already had a hybrid Specialized Crossroad Comfort Hybrid Bike which I really liked so I decided to look into conversion. I have had the Specialized bike for about a year and for £300 probably the best money I have ever spent on a bike. It's light, simple 7 speed and superbly well built the only slight flaw was the brakes were not the best.
I looked into a few conversion kits and after my experience of the slightly underpowered (for my weight) 200W Smart E Bike I was tempted to go for a more powerful, and illegal, 350W motor. In the end I was quite inspired by a video I found on You Tube -
I really shared a lot of this guys opinions on what he wanted from an Electric Bike. Take a good light bike and add a lightweight conversion which might still require some assistance from the rider but takes the edge off bigger hills.
I bought the 8Fun kit from Ebay for £450 including waterbottle style 36v 9aH Battery. It arrived on time 2 days later.
The other thing that appealed to me about this kit was the front wheel came already assembled with tyre. I am no bike mechanic and doing the conversion was my biggest concern.
Rather worryingly the kit came with no instructions but more surprisingly it was so straightforward I didn't feel I needed them. As it turns out you can email 8 fun and they will send them on. The front wheel fitted perfectly much to my relief. I could see how this can be difficult to check and I didn't want to get involved filing down forks etc. Impatient as I am I wanted to immediately wire it all up before attaching to the bike and gave it a try. Wiring to the controller is really simple even without instructions. The connections are fragile and I'm not sure they will last test of time but they snapped together easily. Withing 15 minutes of kit arriving I had my front wheel spinning off the throttle and I was delighted.
Attaching it all to the bike was a little trickier but still only took 2 hours. The hardest part was guiding all the wires into the supplied controller box. There didn't quite seem to be enough room but eventually got it though with a few wires looking a little stretched which again I worry won't last.
I should say I decided against fitting the Pedal assist sensors for now. I wanted to try the bike first. My philosophy was if it rode "unassisted" as well as it had before I would just use the throttle as needed.
This turned out to be a good decision. I couldn't be happier with the performance for the money. The motor is a bit noisier and less refined the the "Smart" , an there is a bit more vibration at full throttle but it's performance taking my 220lb 6'3 frame up a 7% incline couldn't be faulted.
I've yet to determine range. It's difficult as I'm only using the throttle on hills but with this technique I suspect I will easily get 30 miles overall. This exceeds my expectations to the point where I actually think I could have got away with the lighter smaller "seatpost" battery. My SMART E Bike had Rear motor whereas this now has motor in front and obviously gears in back with battery in middle. The weight distribution feels just right.
So 1 week in and I am delighted with the investment. I hope it does stand the test of time. I had mistakenly thought conversion kits were the preserve of those who knew what they were doing. I would now strongly recommend anyone looking at an electric bike considers buying a well made "mid price" normal bike, or using your existing bike, and converting it.
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