I converted a 2014 Boardman MX Comp (Avid hydraulic brakes, SRAM Via Centro 2 x 10 speed) using BBSHD back in August and have been commuting on average 4 days a week 13 miles each way since. The bike had 3300 km/2050 M on the clock before the conversion and now another 1800 miles more.
The full kit I bought from eclipsebikes.com consisted of BBSHD and a Whale 48V 17.5Ah battery and hydraulic brake sensors. After fitting the kit I found out that the motor was moving about quite a bit so after a couple of tightening attempts I finally added a BSB-1 Bafang BBSXX stabilizer bar from california-ebike.com after a few hundred miles which sorted out the issue for good. Another recurring issue has been the brake sensors: I epoxied the sensors on to the top of the brake handle bodies but they kept coming loose following smallest incidents when maneuvering the bike to/from the shed. I eventually cable tied and glued the sensors on front of the handles but had to do add small cable tie sized notches to the levers to get the magnets to stay on at the correct position. Not pretty but fixed that issue for good. I also had to solder the battery to motor leads after the initial connection stopped working following a shower but it's good as it allowed me to trim extra cable for neater installation. Since then no more issues and the bike is being ridden almost daily on muddy and well salted Irish winter.
Apart from above the bike has been faultless. I suffered from 3 punctures in one week and none before and after. I was initially worried about the drivetrain of the bike but so far it's still running with the original chain and cassette after over 3800 miles of combined pedal and now electric powah. The brake pads are running very thin so will need to be replaced by 4000 miles I reckon.
Back in August I was able to complete two return trips (52 miles) using the battery but the low power warning appeared during the last hill before home. I also kept the assistance at 4-6 out of 9 and used plenty of pedal power. Since then I have used almost exclusively assistance level 7 and wth the settings I have the top speed of the bike is limited to approx. 26 mph on the closed track using assistance level 9. The assist 7 results in approx. 16 mph, or something, officer. It takes me typically 40-45 minutes per direction, HR averages 135-145 bpm and the full battery very comfortably lasts for the return trip even when it's freezing cold. Yesterday, for example, it was quite mild and not much wind and the battery voltage dropped from 54 V to 47 V by the time I was at home so there is typically plenty of spare capacity for odd short trips to shop etc. without needing to recharge during the day. The bike carries panniers full time too so I reckon the range is excellent.
I believe that it was the best decision ever to do this conversion. I used to commute mainly on a motorbike and although pedelec adds about 10 minutes of travel time per leg there is no way I'd ever go back to the motorbike for this commute. It's great fun to pedelec and it's great exercise too. The motorbike has only been used once since August and will most likely be sold on come spring. And before the conversion it typically took 55 min - 1:15 per leg to cycle depending on the wind and direction but under electric power the travel time is always consistent within a few minutes even where there is that wet Friday night 20 mph head wind against me.
The full kit I bought from eclipsebikes.com consisted of BBSHD and a Whale 48V 17.5Ah battery and hydraulic brake sensors. After fitting the kit I found out that the motor was moving about quite a bit so after a couple of tightening attempts I finally added a BSB-1 Bafang BBSXX stabilizer bar from california-ebike.com after a few hundred miles which sorted out the issue for good. Another recurring issue has been the brake sensors: I epoxied the sensors on to the top of the brake handle bodies but they kept coming loose following smallest incidents when maneuvering the bike to/from the shed. I eventually cable tied and glued the sensors on front of the handles but had to do add small cable tie sized notches to the levers to get the magnets to stay on at the correct position. Not pretty but fixed that issue for good. I also had to solder the battery to motor leads after the initial connection stopped working following a shower but it's good as it allowed me to trim extra cable for neater installation. Since then no more issues and the bike is being ridden almost daily on muddy and well salted Irish winter.
Apart from above the bike has been faultless. I suffered from 3 punctures in one week and none before and after. I was initially worried about the drivetrain of the bike but so far it's still running with the original chain and cassette after over 3800 miles of combined pedal and now electric powah. The brake pads are running very thin so will need to be replaced by 4000 miles I reckon.
Back in August I was able to complete two return trips (52 miles) using the battery but the low power warning appeared during the last hill before home. I also kept the assistance at 4-6 out of 9 and used plenty of pedal power. Since then I have used almost exclusively assistance level 7 and wth the settings I have the top speed of the bike is limited to approx. 26 mph on the closed track using assistance level 9. The assist 7 results in approx. 16 mph, or something, officer. It takes me typically 40-45 minutes per direction, HR averages 135-145 bpm and the full battery very comfortably lasts for the return trip even when it's freezing cold. Yesterday, for example, it was quite mild and not much wind and the battery voltage dropped from 54 V to 47 V by the time I was at home so there is typically plenty of spare capacity for odd short trips to shop etc. without needing to recharge during the day. The bike carries panniers full time too so I reckon the range is excellent.
I believe that it was the best decision ever to do this conversion. I used to commute mainly on a motorbike and although pedelec adds about 10 minutes of travel time per leg there is no way I'd ever go back to the motorbike for this commute. It's great fun to pedelec and it's great exercise too. The motorbike has only been used once since August and will most likely be sold on come spring. And before the conversion it typically took 55 min - 1:15 per leg to cycle depending on the wind and direction but under electric power the travel time is always consistent within a few minutes even where there is that wet Friday night 20 mph head wind against me.
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