Building a e-roadbike

flik9999

Pedelecer
Dec 11, 2016
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Hey so I want to get a fast roadbike that has a good range. I plan to do this by first going for the standard non electric fast bike which will have speed pedals, drop bars etc.

My current bike is a sirrus specialised which I am thinking of converting to a road bike for more speed.

I then plan to add a 1000W rear motor wheel onto the bike, now am I going to have problems with making this an E-bike. I notice that most E-Bikes seam to be folding bikes, mountain bikes or other bikes I would never dream of riding.

Now my concerns are

Are alluminium frames safe with ebike kits? (I heard that I shouldn't go carbon frame for some reason)

Do the drop bars have enough room for all the Ebike stuff?

Does the wieght of the ebike matter much with the engine helping you start up? Would an alluminium bike be much faster than a steel one?

Is it worth it? Iv heard that road bikes can easily beat ebikes which are regulated but would the extra speed on startup be worth it?

If the bike is unregulated would it actually be much faster? My thoughs on this are also that cos road bikes are fast anyway no-one would think anything of a roadbike going at 30 mph being strange.
 

soundwave

Esteemed Pedelecer
May 23, 2015
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soundwave

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May 23, 2015
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Road bikes are fast because they're light and have low air resistance. If you add a 1000w motor-wheel to it, you'll need a big heavy battery to power it and a big controller would needed to be mounted somewhere. The end result would be a big heavy bike with all the advantages of the donor bike lost. That's why most people use MTBs as donor bikes. Also a typical road bike's rim brakes would be completely overwhelmed by the additional weight and speed when electrified.

If you want to convert a road bike, there's plenty of small light motors, that can give three times the power of yourself, which is enough for most people.

An ideal donor bike would have a steel frame and disc brakes, but they're not very common, so otherwise get one with an aluminium frame and disc brakes. Keep away from carbon fibre.
 
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nemesis

Esteemed Pedelecer
Mar 14, 2011
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343
Hey so I want to get a fast roadbike that has a good range. I plan to do this by first going for the standard non electric fast bike which will have speed pedals, drop bars etc.

My current bike is a sirrus specialised which I am thinking of converting to a road bike for more speed.

I then plan to add a 1000W rear motor wheel onto the bike, now am I going to have problems with making this an E-bike. I notice that most E-Bikes seam to be folding bikes, mountain bikes or other bikes I would never dream of riding.

Now my concerns are

Are alluminium frames safe with ebike kits? (I heard that I shouldn't go carbon frame for some reason)

Do the drop bars have enough room for all the Ebike stuff?

Does the wieght of the ebike matter much with the engine helping you start up? Would an alluminium bike be much faster than a steel one?

Is it worth it? Iv heard that road bikes can easily beat ebikes which are regulated but would the extra speed on startup be worth it?

If the bike is unregulated would it actually be much faster? My thoughs on this are also that cos road bikes are fast anyway no-one would think anything of a roadbike going at 30 mph being strange.
The best bike would be a cyclocross one fitted with slick tyres and hydraulic brakes.This would give you a stronger frame with clearances for wider tyres and very good stopping power.Planet X do a titanium one that would be perfect,alloy or steel would also work well.
The Bafang BBSHD is a good unit and matched with a 50v battery at 17ah capacity or higher would give a very good top speed.
 
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soundwave

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May 23, 2015
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the motor is 200w vivax and it costs 2800 euro
 
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flik9999

Pedelecer
Dec 11, 2016
164
29
33
london
Ok so i've gone and ordered the rearhub 700c 1000W motor by cyclotricity. Still havn't ordered a battery. Now im thinking of getting the 48V 10 ah bottle battery. How much range do people think ill get from this bike (In 250W mode and 1000W mode).

Also do you know if its possible to set how much power the motor is using? Eg if 500W is enough could I set it to 500 if I dont want 1000W.

I have a delivery job with 3 hour shifts and want to make this easy.
 

soundwave

Esteemed Pedelecer
May 23, 2015
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Please note that the kit will be supplied restricted to 250W by default and will require the LCD add-on to de-restrict it to the full 1000W for off-road use on the pavement ;)
 

RobF

Esteemed Pedelecer
Sep 22, 2012
4,732
2,312
And you will need to take it to the moon to use it legally.

I'm not trying to be prissy, but riding an illegal bike regularly in a densely populated area such as London is a bit too obvious, even if you aren't bothered about breaking the law.

Other posters have pointed you in the direction of a legal 250w geared motor which would be more than adequate.

My riding experience of London suggests it wouldn't be safe to rattle along at 25/30mph anyway.
 
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flik9999

Pedelecer
Dec 11, 2016
164
29
33
london
Ok so when the kit is restricted to 250v will the battery last longer. I got the kit cheap off ebay for 700c tyres.

If I was to keep it restricted could I go cheap and buy a 24v battery and run it on 15mph or does it need 48v even when restricted?
 

nemesis

Esteemed Pedelecer
Mar 14, 2011
521
343
Hydraulic disc brakes are needed if you like going fast,don`t use rim brakes because of the extra weight of the motor and battery or it could go all wrong very quickly.
 
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soundwave

Esteemed Pedelecer
May 23, 2015
16,839
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yes but going the speed you want to go you need hydraulic brakes and good ones at that and decent rotors as well over 30mph i set fire to 1 piece rotors.

DSC_0290.JPG
thats a 203mm rotor of the rear and replaced the with hope 2 part rotors
DSC_0222.JPG
 

flik9999

Pedelecer
Dec 11, 2016
164
29
33
london
I plan to go at roadbike speed. Im going the E-bike route as this allows me to get that speed with minimal effort. I read some kits are not compatible with hydraulic brakes so will have a look at my kit when it arrives to see if I can use these brakes.
 

flik9999

Pedelecer
Dec 11, 2016
164
29
33
london
Just found this description in the kit I got from ebay which wasn't listed on there. So I cant use hydralic brakes on the back, would normal disc brakes be the best I can do then and are they easy to convert from rim brakes?


Things to think about before purchasing this rear drive conversion kit:

- The rear drive motors are only compatible with a 3speed, 6speed, 7speed, 8speed or 9speed freewheels (not compatible with a cassette type gear). If you have a single speed bike, you can install a 3speed freewheel for compatibility (and use only one of the 3 speeds).

- The rear forks on your bike need to have 135mm clearance between the drop-outs (which is the case with the vast majority of bikes)

- The LCD computer is necessary to unlock the full power of these high power motors. Can be purchased at a later stage if full power is not immediately needed.

- The electric brake levers supplied with the kits are mechanical. I.e. they are not compatible with hydraulic brakes or brakes that are combined with gear levers. However, installing the brake levers are not a necessity and the kit will work fine without them. Moreover, the throttle is spring-loaded, i.e. it will cut the power whenever the thumb is released from it for safety.
 

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