Cube acid 26" ebike conversion help

Projectebike

Finding my (electric) wheels
Jan 23, 2021
11
1
Hi all.

Im new to the forum. Im after advice on converting my current bike a cube 26" acid its about 7 years old. I've barely ridden it since I've been diagnosed with a chronic health condition. I'm hoping to convert it so i can get back out and regain some freedom even if its so i can just go out with my girlfriend on her normal bike again.
What would be the easiest kit to fit? Wouldnt need a massive range but wouldnt mind a bit of poke as adrenaline junkie!...
Any ideas would be helpful main use would be road, light trails etc general hard tail use


Kind regards
Phil
 

egroover

Esteemed Pedelecer
Aug 12, 2016
1,038
622
57
UK
I've converted my 26" MTB with a Bafang BBS01b mid drive. Good fun off road with 85Nm. I'm using the stock 44t chainwheel and a 11-40 9 speed Sunrace cassette, pretty much goes up most hills in top assist mode


40397
 

Projectebike

Finding my (electric) wheels
Jan 23, 2021
11
1
That looks great. How hard is the midmount convertion im a competent car mechanic but never done much on a bike yet. What watts is it and sort of price range?
 
  • Like
Reactions: Nellie

egroover

Esteemed Pedelecer
Aug 12, 2016
1,038
622
57
UK
It's pretty straightforward, here a video guide
You can get the BBS01b in either 250w or 350w 36v, I paid about £270 for the motor kit and about £180 for the 17.5ah battery (Samsung cells), both from Aliexpress sellers
 

Projectebike

Finding my (electric) wheels
Jan 23, 2021
11
1
It's pretty straightforward, here a video guide
You can get the BBS01b in either 250w or 350w 36v, I paid about £270 for the motor kit and about £180 for the 17.5ah battery (Samsung cells), both from Aliexpress sellers
Wow awesome do you have a link to the kit you ordered? Can it be derestricted for off road use? Thanks for the video link. Whats the deal with hydraulic brakes? I keep seeinf cable brakes in kits and i have hydraulics?
 

sjpt

Esteemed Pedelecer
Jun 8, 2018
3,832
2,756
Winchester
Most (not all) mid-motor kits have torque sensors and don't need brake switches.
If you do need a brake switch there a little hydraulics brake lever converters; a magnet on the lever and a sensor on the lever base. https://wooshbikes.co.uk/?cdkit, or you can probably get them a bit cheaper elsewhere. (We have them on the tandem not because of hydraulic brakes but because we have integrate gear/brake levers.)
 
  • Agree
Reactions: PC2017

Projectebike

Finding my (electric) wheels
Jan 23, 2021
11
1
Most (not all) mid-motor kits have torque sensors and don't need brake switches.
If you do need a brake switch there a little hydraulics brake lever converters; a magnet on the lever and a sensor on the lever base. https://wooshbikes.co.uk/?cdkit, or you can probably get them a bit cheaper elsewhere. (We have them on the tandem not because of hydraulic brakes but because we have integrate gear/brake levers.)
Thanks that makes sense now. And i see the motor stops when you stop peddling. Think ive decided in a bafang motor which one i cant decide on just yet. Thanks for everyone's help.
 

egroover

Esteemed Pedelecer
Aug 12, 2016
1,038
622
57
UK
Wow awesome do you have a link to the kit you ordered? Can it be derestricted for off road use? Thanks for the video link. Whats the deal with hydraulic brakes? I keep seeinf cable brakes in kits and i have hydraulics?
The seller I used on Aliexpress for the Bafang motor is https://www.aliexpress.com/store/3625064 . They can ship from the UK, so you avoid the tax/import duties that I think a lot of EU sellers will now charge or you will be liable upon delivery. They didn't have stock in the UK at the time of when I ordered, took a couplke of weeks, but you can email them before buying to check stock levels in the UK.
You can specify the chainwheel size, display type and you can choose tyo have hydraulic sensors for the brakes instead of the cable levers. I purchased the 250w 36v kit with the 500c display. It's nice and small but with all the info you need, ideal for a MTB. I paid in $ with a fee free card, knocked off about a £10 compared to the £ price, so came in at about £270. Don't forget Aliexpress are on cashback sites such as Topcashback.co.uk, you can get 5% cashback so it all helps.

The battery supplier I used was https://ebike-cycling.aliexpress.com/store/3479056 , battery shipped from China before Brexit, and they ship via Hungary in about 2-3 weeks, so at the time last year (Nov/Dec) I got the Hailong Samsung celled 36v 17.5ah for about £180, although I think their prices might include the new brexit charges now. The good thing about this seller, is that they could provide the exact Hailong base and battery termination etc to my existing bike requirements, meaning I can easily swap batteries between bikes

I can also recommend PSWPower, but again you might want to check with them before purchasing, as you may incur extra duty/tax asd they are shipping from the EU/China

There's lots of other suppliers including of course those here in the UK, for example Woosh, who can deliver quickly and will offer a full after sales servicer and support. They do a full kit including the battery, and lots of fellow forums users will testify of the great service they have received
Hope this helps
 

Projectebike

Finding my (electric) wheels
Jan 23, 2021
11
1
The seller I used on Aliexpress for the Bafang motor is https://www.aliexpress.com/store/3625064 . They can ship from the UK, so you avoid the tax/import duties that I think a lot of EU sellers will now charge or you will be liable upon delivery. They didn't have stock in the UK at the time of when I ordered, took a couplke of weeks, but you can email them before buying to check stock levels in the UK.
You can specify the chainwheel size, display type and you can choose tyo have hydraulic sensors for the brakes instead of the cable levers. I purchased the 250w 36v kit with the 500c display. It's nice and small but with all the info you need, ideal for a MTB. I paid in $ with a fee free card, knocked off about a £10 compared to the £ price, so came in at about £270. Don't forget Aliexpress are on cashback sites such as Topcashback.co.uk, you can get 5% cashback so it all helps.

The battery supplier I used was https://ebike-cycling.aliexpress.com/store/3479056 , battery shipped from China before Brexit, and they ship via Hungary in about 2-3 weeks, so at the time last year (Nov/Dec) I got the Hailong Samsung celled 36v 17.5ah for about £180, although I think their prices might include the new brexit charges now. The good thing about this seller, is that they could provide the exact Hailong base and battery termination etc to my existing bike requirements, meaning I can easily swap batteries between bikes

I can also recommend PSWPower, but again you might want to check with them before purchasing, as you may incur extra duty/tax asd they are shipping from the EU/China

There's lots of other suppliers including of course those here in the UK, for example Woosh, who can deliver quickly and will offer a full after sales servicer and support. They do a full kit including the battery, and lots of fellow forums users will testify of the great service they have received
Hope this helps
Wow thank you for such a detailed reply. Full of great info. Ive ordered a kit now and started stripping the bike ready. The crank came off in 10 minutes which im happy about. Slightly worried about the battery but will see what hppens. Should i replace the chain or wait until it breaks?
 

mt247

Pedelecer
Aug 12, 2020
111
17
Wow thank you for such a detailed reply. Full of great info. Ive ordered a kit now and started stripping the bike ready. The crank came off in 10 minutes which im happy about. Slightly worried about the battery but will see what hppens. Should i replace the chain or wait until it breaks?
Care to post picture of your bike? I ordered bbs02 kit myself and going to convert my 2014 cube acid 29'' model.

40472
 

PC2017

Esteemed Pedelecer
Sep 19, 2017
1,319
334
Scunthorpe
I can also recommend PSWPower
I can second PSWpower for quality I purchased a different battery.. Like egroover mentions I would be cautious purchasing anything from overseas, not so much the extra charges/cost but the fact that if the seller gets the declaration wrong your parcel may not even arrive, it would be refunded eventually but the hassle of not getting it would be annoying.

new brexit charges
The EU is doing the same thing in July 2021, planning on charging VAT on all incoming parcels from outside the EU.