Cheap commuter into long range e-bike.

[supernoob83]

I managed to get hold of a old Raleigh Pioneer for £50 from an auction a few years ago. Its been kept in the shed for a while and decided to see if it can be converted to a E-Bike like the one in the link below.

https://winstanleysbikes.co.uk/raleigh-pioneer-2018-electric-bike#grey-frame-46cm-wheel-700c

Is it possible? I am not afraid to get my hands dirty and dive into electronics to get the job done. Ideally looking to get a range of 40 KM / 25 miles which will involve a few hills here and there.

Rather go this route than burning lots of fossil fuel. Need a reason to get on my bike.

 

[wheeliepete]

Is it possible?

No reason why not, take a look at the kits that Woosh sell, good choice of front and rear, active member of this forum and excellent CS and assistance given if needed with your build.
http://wooshbikes.co.uk/?hubkits

 

[supernoob83]

No reason why not, take a look at the kits that Woosh sell, good choice of front and rear, active member of this forum and excellent CS and assistance given if needed with your build.
http://wooshbikes.co.uk/?hubkits

been looking online for ebike range calculators. do you know any good ones that may include weight as well?

had a look on woosh but trying to determine range at the moment since im overweight. been reading that i may need more than 1000 watt hours .... 2 batteries maybe on pannier rack.

 

[Fat Rat]

Hi welcome
If your going for a crank drive kit you won’t need 1000wh battery to do 25miles or a hub drive for that matter as far as I know
But If your after more defined answers there’s lots that have built kits etc here https://www.pedelecs.co.uk/forum/forums/conversion-kits-general-discussion.42/
Not everyone looks in the intro thread section so you will get more joy in the conversion kit section
Have fun with whatever you decide

 

[wheeliepete]

been reading that i may need more than 1000 watt hours

That's a lot of power to cover 25 miles on a legal pedalec. Works out to 40 Wh per mile, about twice what I would expect you to use. Range is such a difficult thing to calculate due to the multiple factors effecting it. I would expect a 15-17 Ah battery to be large enough to cover 25 miles of mixed terrain, even if you are quite unfit.

 

[Laser Man]

I recon my 36V 17AH (612WH) battery will do 60 miles at low to medium assist and 30 to 40 if I'm more aggressive with the power. This would involve a few fairly steep hills. (Woosh XF08-CST kit).

For a 25 mile run with hills a 15AH battery should provide a reasonable safety margin and 13AH would do if you were careful with the assist level. You certainly won't need to carry two batteries!

(I had range anxiety and bought the biggest battery - I would save £50 and get the 15AH battery if I was starting again).

The thing to watch with the electrics is that there are incompatibilities between makes (and different connector systems too), so best to buy everything from one place for your first build.

I'm really pleased with my Woosh kit and would recommend them to anyone.

 

[supernoob83]

Checked woosh and they want around £470 for a 36v 13a battery kit.
On ebay a voilamart wheel kit can be had for £120 and a 36v 13a battery can be had for £130.

The bike I've got is only worth £50 at best so why put a kit costing 10 times the original bikes worth when there are cheaper alternatives?

Going for one of these woosh kits seems overkill.

Im a it technician by trade and its kind of like me advising someone to put a high end graphics card in a budget desktop.

just not convinced sorry. there has to be alternatives considering the chinese literally use ebikes as their main transport.

 

[Nealh]

Cheap kits are just that there is a reason why you pay good money for a Woosh kit and I am trying to be unbiased here, the cheap kit battery will have no name crappy China cells and will sag eventually like grannies much worse then most good branded cells. The front hubs generally are lack lustre poor geared ones with little torque or 1kw D/D rear hubs that are pretty much useless and will struggle when you show it a speed hump to climb and drain a weedy battery in no time. They have no assistance levels bar one other wise it is throttle only and eat you battery range time, better more expensive kits have 5 levels of power, better PAS control and better cells in the battery, I know what I would choose for a 25 mile hike.

 

[supernoob83]

Cheap kits are just that there is a reason why you pay good money for a Woosh kit and I am trying to be unbiased here, the cheap kit battery will have no name crappy China cells and will sag eventually like grannies much worse then most good branded cells. The front hubs generally are lack lustre poor geared ones with little torque or 1kw D/D rear hubs that are pretty much useless and will struggle when you show it a speed hump to climb and drain a weedy battery in no time. They have no assistance levels bar one other wise it is throttle only and eat you battery range time, better more expensive kits have 5 levels of power, better PAS control and better cells in the battery, I know what I would choose for a 25 mile hike.

i've seen a few Raleigh arrays going for £700. what are they like?

 

[Nealh]

i've seen a few Raleigh arrays going for £700. what are they like?

I can't say but have a read /browse through the various threads in the forum link below which give mention to said Array.
https://www.pedelecs.co.uk/forum/search/61509/?q=RALEIGH+ARRay&t=post&o=date

Pedelecs to some appear expensive but when you look at some pedal bikes they don't appear so, the battery tech doesn't come cheap but the electronics other wise are in comparison.
Hubs bikes are the cheapest and then you pay more for the integration of mid drive systems and the closed market for them, where repair is not really possible due to makers treating them as disposable commodities once they go wrong after 2 years warranty runs out.
Mid drive repairs are possible out of warranty by UK entrepreneur who posts on the site and makes parts for drives at about 1/3 cheaper then likes of Bosch etc, but still not cheap and probably still about £400 of your hard earned for a bespoke service unavailable else where except from the sharks.

 

[Benjahmin]

It is a cheap bike that you would probably struggle to get £50 for. If you put a decent kit on it you will be surprised how much you enjoy it. You can always swop the kit to a better bike later if you want. This is what I did. My kit started on a hybrid much like yours, I did so many miles, I swapped it to a Carrera with front sus and disc brakes. The kit has now covered about 8000 miles.
The old adage of, 'Buy cheap, buy twice' seems very true of conversion kits, and particularly so with batteries. If you think this is a whim that, once done, may only see the light of day 2 or 3 times a year, then buy cheap, but be aware that Li-on batteries need to be used to stay 'bright'. If you actually want to use it regularly, then buy a decent kit with a battery that has branded cells and it will give you many miles of pleasurable cycling.
That bike has plenty of room for a triangle battery, I would pair it with a rear hub for weight distribution and look into converting the front brake to Magura HS11 hydraulic to give the extra sropping power you will want.
Enjoy the process, but beware, it can be addictive

 

[wheeliepete]

i've seen a few Raleigh arrays going for £700. what are they like?

Basic bottom of the range branded ebike. The front hub looks fairly small, so it's prob. not great on hills without lots of effort from the rider and a small 8Ah, 300 Wh battery, so you will struggle to get your required 25 mile range.

 

[Sturmey]

I managed to get hold of a old Raleigh Pioneer for £50 from an auction a few years ago. Its been kept in the shed for a while and decided to see if it can be converted to a E-Bike like the one in the link below.

https://winstanleysbikes.co.uk/raleigh-pioneer-2018-electric-bike#grey-frame-46cm-wheel-700c

Is it possible? I am not afraid to get my hands dirty and dive into electronics to get the job done. Ideally looking to get a range of 40 KM / 25 miles which will involve a few hills here and there.

Rather go this route than burning lots of fossil fuel. Need a reason to get on my bike.

Hi. I am taking a close look at your bike photo. I have two bikes of similar vintage (Claud butler & falcon with cantilever brakes). As regards fitting a front bub, there will be difficulties with fork clearence, (although I did fit a mxus xf07 to the claud butler by redishing the wheel, and removing the disk brake spacer on hub and using flat head screws to blank holes ). You may also have to file the forks as the older bikes used a thinner and lighter axle, and also spread/pull fork apart by about 2mm, so I am not sure that this is a good option.
Your bike has the semi-horizontal rear dropouts and a bolt on to axle derailleur. It would be possible to fit a rear hub kit but you will probably have to (cold) spread the chain/seat stays outwards. The derailleur can be fitted by removing the small bolt arrangment and filing down the bit that stick out into the dropout. It will fit then under the axle nut and the flat of the axle will stop it turning. The wheel(along with anti rotation washers facing back) is best pushed right back into the long dropouts but you may have to readjust mudguard/fit longers stays.
I have never fitted a mid drive so cant give you any advise there but it could be a good option.