The conversion kit was bought on Amazon for £105 and delivered from China within the estimated delivery time by Fedex. Be aware, a month after delivery I received an invoice by post from Fedex demanding for £16.44 to cover import taxes. I wasn't expecting this bill and at first thought it was a scam.
I’ve since seen this kit on Amazon.co.uk for £311.99!
I consider myself to be quite 'handy' and found fitting the kit relatively easy albeit without any assembly instructions but with help found on Youtube.
The controller fits nicely in a pocket in my pannier.
I started with the front wheel. My donor bike is a fifteen year old Specialised Expedition hybrid. Aluminium frame and steel forks. Quite chunky, built for trail or road riding but without suspension.
My 26" x 1.75" Specialised hybrid tyre fitted ok. I needed to grind the drop-outs to get the new wheel axle to fit snugly. I didn't fit torque arms because the supplied washers had stubs which fit in the drop-outs and should prevent the axle from twisting. I had to fit a washer on one side to give clearance between the fork and the hub motor. The axle is 1/2", I opened up an M10 spring washer which was the right thickness to achieve 1/16" clearance.
The supplied component cables are fitted with connectors that match those from those on the controller. Even without instructions it is impossible to mis-match the connectors. My battery had bullet connectors fitted to the discharge cables which I cut off and replaced with the XT60 connector that came with the conversion kit; you will need a soldering iron for this.
The first battery I tried was 36v which didn't give a great performance. The motor and controller are rated for 48v so I returned the 36v battery and bought a 48v one which was £30 more expensive but well worth it. The holes in the battery mounting plate did not line up with the bottle rack tappings in the frame so I drilled two fresh holes in the cast aluminium part of the mounting plate. I stuffed a piece of foam between the mounting plate and frame to reduce vibration.
Prior to fitting the PAS magnets and sensor I took the opportunity to replace the bottom bracket bearing cassette which was well past its sell by date.
My donor bike is a 24 speed derailleur and for normal riding I am able stay in high gears most of the time on assist level 1 (there are five assist levels). When I push off I apply a little pressure on the thumb throttle and away I go, setting off in too high a gear is no longer a problem. In England we are limited to 25km/h on our roads however at assist level 5 I can get up to 27km/h on the flat.
The controller, throttle and display that are included in the kit are about the most basic available. The display does not have an odometer or voltmeter but just four leds to indicate the amount of charge remaining in the battery and a speedo. When fully charged battery measured 54v with four leds showing. At first I tried to keep a tally of the miles travelled but soon lost track. When the display was down to one led lit voltage remaining in the battery measured 46v. I rode around for a few miles after that and then all four leds suddenly came on. I rode on for two miles and electric motor switched off. As said my bike has 24 gears and I was able to ride home without too much effort. Voltage left in the battery measured 42v. I think I’m getting about 30 miles from a full charge.
I'm 74 years old and haven't used the bike much for years mainly because I struggled with my knees but this ebike it has given me a new lease of life.
I’ve since seen this kit on Amazon.co.uk for £311.99!
I consider myself to be quite 'handy' and found fitting the kit relatively easy albeit without any assembly instructions but with help found on Youtube.
The controller fits nicely in a pocket in my pannier.
I started with the front wheel. My donor bike is a fifteen year old Specialised Expedition hybrid. Aluminium frame and steel forks. Quite chunky, built for trail or road riding but without suspension.
My 26" x 1.75" Specialised hybrid tyre fitted ok. I needed to grind the drop-outs to get the new wheel axle to fit snugly. I didn't fit torque arms because the supplied washers had stubs which fit in the drop-outs and should prevent the axle from twisting. I had to fit a washer on one side to give clearance between the fork and the hub motor. The axle is 1/2", I opened up an M10 spring washer which was the right thickness to achieve 1/16" clearance.
The supplied component cables are fitted with connectors that match those from those on the controller. Even without instructions it is impossible to mis-match the connectors. My battery had bullet connectors fitted to the discharge cables which I cut off and replaced with the XT60 connector that came with the conversion kit; you will need a soldering iron for this.
The first battery I tried was 36v which didn't give a great performance. The motor and controller are rated for 48v so I returned the 36v battery and bought a 48v one which was £30 more expensive but well worth it. The holes in the battery mounting plate did not line up with the bottle rack tappings in the frame so I drilled two fresh holes in the cast aluminium part of the mounting plate. I stuffed a piece of foam between the mounting plate and frame to reduce vibration.
Prior to fitting the PAS magnets and sensor I took the opportunity to replace the bottom bracket bearing cassette which was well past its sell by date.
My donor bike is a 24 speed derailleur and for normal riding I am able stay in high gears most of the time on assist level 1 (there are five assist levels). When I push off I apply a little pressure on the thumb throttle and away I go, setting off in too high a gear is no longer a problem. In England we are limited to 25km/h on our roads however at assist level 5 I can get up to 27km/h on the flat.
The controller, throttle and display that are included in the kit are about the most basic available. The display does not have an odometer or voltmeter but just four leds to indicate the amount of charge remaining in the battery and a speedo. When fully charged battery measured 54v with four leds showing. At first I tried to keep a tally of the miles travelled but soon lost track. When the display was down to one led lit voltage remaining in the battery measured 46v. I rode around for a few miles after that and then all four leds suddenly came on. I rode on for two miles and electric motor switched off. As said my bike has 24 gears and I was able to ride home without too much effort. Voltage left in the battery measured 42v. I think I’m getting about 30 miles from a full charge.
I'm 74 years old and haven't used the bike much for years mainly because I struggled with my knees but this ebike it has given me a new lease of life.
