Conversion kit.

[Maleyale]

Hi there. I'm looking at getting a conversion kit. I think I'd go for a front hub. I live in quite hilly area. I'm 60 years old, weigh 15 1/2 stone.
I'm looking at using the e bike just to help me up the steepest hills as I still want to get a good workout. I'd be looking at using a heart rate monitor as well. I have a specialised sirrus.
I'd like to go on longer rides (25+)so I'd be grateful if you could recommend a good kit.
I have looked at some of the woosh kits.
I like a kit with a built-in controller if possible. TIA.

 

[vfr400]

Hi there. I'm looking at getting a conversion kit. I think I'd go for a front hub. I live in quite hilly area. I'm 60 years old, weigh 15 1/2 stone.
I'm looking at using the e bike just to help me up the steepest hills as I still want to get a good workout. I'd be looking at using a heart rate monitor as well. I have a specialised sirrus.
I'd like to go on longer rides (25+)so I'd be grateful if you could recommend a good kit.
I have looked at some of the woosh kits.
I like a kit with a built-in controller if possible. TIA.

I think you'd find a front motor horrible on a bike like that. The steering goes weird, it'll be noisy and it'll slip and spin on steep up-hills, so your tyres wouldn't last very long. A rear cassette motor would be a lot better.

 

[Woosh]

hub motors are better mounted on a suspension fork to cut out vibration. Also, you hear the front motor more than the back motor because of human anatomy.
The XF07 is not noisy and is suitable for mounting on to rigid fork, so you'll be OK. However, you are not heavy, I would recommend the Aikema 85SX rear hub kit.

https://wooshbikes.co.uk/cart/#/product/uid-177-85sx-17ah/85sx-rear-hub-kit-with-17ah-battery

I don't have any stock at the moment until the next shipment arrives end July.
From end of August, I will have an even lighter weight 10.5AH battery option built with Samsung 35E cells which saves a further 1.5kgs if you rather wait.

 

[KirstinS]

From your requirements, weight and terrain I also think a front hub is not the right solution tbh. Same reasons as already stated

 

[Jonah]

I agree with all previous comments. I swapped my front hub conversion to the Aikema motor from Woosh and it‘s so much better (noise and vibration).

 

[Maleyale]

hub motors are better mounted on a suspension fork to cut out vibration. Also, you hear the front motor more than the back motor because of human anatomy.
The XF07 is not noisy and is suitable for mounting on to rigid fork, so you'll be OK. However, you are not heavy, I would recommend the Aikema 85SX rear hub kit.

https://wooshbikes.co.uk/cart/#/product/uid-177-85sx-17ah/85sx-rear-hub-kit-with-17ah-battery

I don't have any stock at the moment until the next shipment arrives end July.
From end of August, I will have an even lighter weight 10.5AH battery option built with Samsung 35E cells which saves a further 1.5kgs if you rather wait.

Thanks for that. Really good sound advice.

 

[Maleyale]

Thanks for that. Really good sound advice.

Does the fact that the bike has quick release wheels make any difference to having a rear hub motor?

 

[vfr400]

Does the fact that the bike has quick release wheels make any difference to having a rear hub motor?

With a couple of exceptions, you can't have a quick release motor whether it's front or back. That brings me to the next advice: Fit a Schwalbe Marathon Plus tyre to the motor wheel, which will effectively be 100% puncture proof and they last forever, so you'll never need to take the wheel off again.

 

[sjpt]

Does the fact that the bike has quick release wheels make any difference to having a rear hub motor?

Just to clarify vfr400's answer, it isn't a problem if you have quick release now, but it won't be quick release after conversion. (and yes, fit marathon plus)

 

[L F Biker]

I came on to this forum for advice on conversion kits, so this thread has been helpful.

I myself am over 70, around 11st 7lb and have recently got back to cycling but at my age could do with some help, especially on hills. I have a Ridgeback hybrid, which I love and would prefer to convert rather than get a new e-bike. It's not necessarily the cost, more that my present bike is so comfortable and set up perfectly for me.

My forks have no suspension. I would ideally like a battery that would give me up to 50/60m between charges and a kit which isn't too heavy, as I may want to take the bike on the train.

I am not technically minded and would ideally want the kit fitting by a professional, but don't know if that's feasible.

Any recommendations would be welcome.

Thanks a lot.

 

[Pedant peddler]

I came on to this forum for advice on conversion kits, so this thread has been helpful.

I myself am over 70, around 11st 7lb and have recently got back to cycling but at my age could do with some help, especially on hills. I have a Ridgeback hybrid, which I love and would prefer to convert rather than get a new e-bike. It's not necessarily the cost, more that my present bike is so comfortable and set up perfectly for me.

My forks have no suspension. I would ideally like a battery that would give me up to 50/60m between charges and a kit which isn't too heavy, as I may want to take the bike on the train.

I am not technically minded and would ideally want the kit fitting by a professional, but don't know if that's feasible.

Any recommendations would be welcome.

Thanks a lot.

Where are you based?

 

[sjpt]

My forks have no suspension. I would ideally like a battery that would give me up to 50/60m between charges and a kit which isn't too heavy, as I may want to take the bike on the train.

There is a huge variation in range for a given battery size depending how much effort you put in and riding conditions. Typically the 'up to' distances sometimes quoted assume minimal assist, flat road, fast tyres and no wind. Realistic distances with hills, a bit more assist, 'normal' tyres and so on are around 1/3 of that even with medium assist, even less if you go for full assist.

If you look at https://www.bosch-ebike.com/en/service/range-assistant/ you will get an idea of how far you can go on a given battery under what conditions. That will vary with motor type but not by a huge amount for any sensible (Bosch or non-Bosch) motor, and show the variation from other factors.

Guessing a lot about you and your riding you might want something like a Woosh XF07 (front), XF08 (back) with 36v x 17aH battery, or TONGSHENG 48V 250W TSDZ2 mid drive with 48vx12aH battery to get that range (all come out around 600wH capacity, you can dial 625wH capacity into the range finder above). That won't be light; maybe around 7kg extra. https://wooshbikes.co.uk/?hubkits and related Woosh links. Excellent customer service.

You'll only get that range with a light kit if you are doing almost all the work except on the hills, and you'll probably have to pay quite a bit more; look for example at Cytronex (https://www.cytronex.com/) for that, kit around £1000 with low capacity battery.

 

[Benjahmin]

I'm afraid weight goes with electric bikes, most are in the 19kg+ region.
If you buy a kit complete from one supplier it will be plug and play. If you go for a hub conversion the most technical bit will be removing one crank to fit the peddle assist sensor ring - plenty of help to be had here with that. Apart from that swap the existing wheel for the motor wheel (front or back) and route some wiring. It seems daunting but really is achievable, and you end up with a machine that you know very well and can self repair if needed.
Proffessional installers are few, hence the location question.

 

[Maleyale]

Just thinking of things that may become an issue. Will I be able to use my existing cassette. It's got nine sprockets on. Also would you advise fitting a pair of torque arms. Sorry to be a pain, I just want to make the conversion as smooth as possible.

 

[Jonah]

Just thinking of things that may become an issue. Will I be able to use my existing cassette. It's got nine sprockets on. Also would you advise fitting a pair of torque arms. Sorry to be a pain, I just want to make the conversion as smooth as possible.

I guess this will partly depend on the kit you go with. I have a 10 speed cassette on my Aikema 85SX and standard anti-rotation washers are fine. Larger more powerful motors may be different but I think torque arms are more important on front wheel hubs afaik.

 

[sjpt]

If you had a front hub conversion no problem with cassette. For a rear hub conversion make sure it uses cassette and not freewheel.

For low power (eg XF07) front no need for torque arms as long as the forks are robust. For anything much more powerful, yes.

 

[vfr400]

Just thinking of things that may become an issue. Will I be able to use my existing cassette. It's got nine sprockets on. Also would you advise fitting a pair of torque arms. Sorry to be a pain, I just want to make the conversion as smooth as possible.

There are basically two types of rear hub-motors cassette or CST motors have the spline for the cassette. freewheel motors have the threaded boss for the screw-on freewheel. Although freewheels are available with 8,9 and 10 speeds, the practical limitation on most bikes is 7 speeds because of the width of the gears causes an off-set in the centre of the motor compared with the centre of the frame.

 

[L F Biker]

Where are you based?

In Lancashire, UK

 

[L F Biker]

There is a huge variation in range for a given battery size depending how much effort you put in and riding conditions. Typically the 'up to' distances sometimes quoted assume minimal assist, flat road, fast tyres and no wind. Realistic distances with hills, a bit more assist, 'normal' tyres and so on are around 1/3 of that even with medium assist, even less if you go for full assist.

If you look at https://www.bosch-ebike.com/en/service/range-assistant/ you will get an idea of how far you can go on a given battery under what conditions. That will vary with motor type but not by a huge amount for any sensible (Bosch or non-Bosch) motor, and show the variation from other factors.

Guessing a lot about you and your riding you might want something like a Woosh XF07 (front), XF08 (back) with 36v x 17aH battery, or TONGSHENG 48V 250W TSDZ2 mid drive with 48vx12aH battery to get that range (all come out around 600wH capacity, you can dial 625wH capacity into the range finder above). That won't be light; maybe around 7kg extra. https://wooshbikes.co.uk/?hubkits and related Woosh links. Excellent customer service.

You'll only get that range with a light kit if you are doing almost all the work except on the hills, and you'll probably have to pay quite a bit more; look for example at Cytronex (https://www.cytronex.com/) for that, kit around £1000 with low capacity battery.

Thanks, that's very useful.

 

[L F Biker]

I'm afraid weight goes with electric bikes, most are in the 19kg+ region.
If you buy a kit complete from one supplier it will be plug and play. If you go for a hub conversion the most technical bit will be removing one crank to fit the peddle assist sensor ring - plenty of help to be had here with that. Apart from that swap the existing wheel for the motor wheel (front or back) and route some wiring. It seems daunting but really is achievable, and you end up with a machine that you know very well and can self repair if needed.
Proffessional installers are few, hence the location question.

Thanks for the advice.