Hi all,
Posting for the first time, though I have been lurking for a while. Looking into e-bikes because my job has moved an my journey is a bit longer that I would like to cycle unassisted every day (about 3.5 miles each way with a couple of hills).
I have a 2008 specialised sirrus hybrid and I can and do cycle unassisted about once a week, but if I have to do it every day, I want a bit of help available if I need it. I also have to leave my bike at a station some days and although it is well locked up and under CCTV, I don't want anything too conspicuous to potential thieves.
I looked at a number of dedicated e-bikes, but was a bit put off by the styling in several cases and was also a bit uncertain about how easy they were to cycle without power (I don't want an electric moped). I tried a cytronex bike, which I liked, but it was a bit more than I wanted to spend and I was worried it would get nicked.
So inspired by the efforts of Jerry Simon and others on this forum, I decided to order a Tongxin Goldant motor from China and put something together myself.
Sky at Keyde.com was extremely helpful as others have mentioned. I went with the 100mm, 190rpm v-brake motor with built-in controller and throttle control, which arrived yesterday (ordered about 2 weeks ago). It came as a kit with a pedelec sensor, the necessary cabling and various washers and nuts for fixing in the front dropouts.
I ordered a LiFePO4 A123 battery pack (12s2p 4.6Ah) from Cellman (Emissions-Free) at the same time but this has not arrived yet.
Next step (tomorrow) is to get the motor built into a wheel (700c), which I am leaving to the bike shop as I have no experience of doing this.
My plan is to keep things as simple as possible by putting the battery in a waterproof pannier on the rear rack which I would remove and take with me when I leave the bike. Looking at the kit, it is obvious that the supplied power cable is not going to be long enough for this, so I need to make an extension cable. Anyone know where I can get hold of a female connector for the power plug? I want to avoid cutting the exiting connector off if possible.
Regards, James
Posting for the first time, though I have been lurking for a while. Looking into e-bikes because my job has moved an my journey is a bit longer that I would like to cycle unassisted every day (about 3.5 miles each way with a couple of hills).
I have a 2008 specialised sirrus hybrid and I can and do cycle unassisted about once a week, but if I have to do it every day, I want a bit of help available if I need it. I also have to leave my bike at a station some days and although it is well locked up and under CCTV, I don't want anything too conspicuous to potential thieves.
I looked at a number of dedicated e-bikes, but was a bit put off by the styling in several cases and was also a bit uncertain about how easy they were to cycle without power (I don't want an electric moped). I tried a cytronex bike, which I liked, but it was a bit more than I wanted to spend and I was worried it would get nicked.
So inspired by the efforts of Jerry Simon and others on this forum, I decided to order a Tongxin Goldant motor from China and put something together myself.
Sky at Keyde.com was extremely helpful as others have mentioned. I went with the 100mm, 190rpm v-brake motor with built-in controller and throttle control, which arrived yesterday (ordered about 2 weeks ago). It came as a kit with a pedelec sensor, the necessary cabling and various washers and nuts for fixing in the front dropouts.
I ordered a LiFePO4 A123 battery pack (12s2p 4.6Ah) from Cellman (Emissions-Free) at the same time but this has not arrived yet.
Next step (tomorrow) is to get the motor built into a wheel (700c), which I am leaving to the bike shop as I have no experience of doing this.
My plan is to keep things as simple as possible by putting the battery in a waterproof pannier on the rear rack which I would remove and take with me when I leave the bike. Looking at the kit, it is obvious that the supplied power cable is not going to be long enough for this, so I need to make an extension cable. Anyone know where I can get hold of a female connector for the power plug? I want to avoid cutting the exiting connector off if possible.
Regards, James
