Decent bike/kit for hills?

[Joe Hayes]

Hi everyone, I am a 49 year old cycling enthusiast. Unfortunately 9 months ago I had a heart attack (while cycling!!) followed by quadruple bypass surgery which has kept me quiet for a while. The thing with heart conditions is that it is dangerous not to exercise and it is dangerous to exercise too much. I have been on my bike again wearing a heart monitor and I have found it is all fine and dandy until I hit a hill and then, even at slow speeds my heart rate shoots up. So I am looking for something to get up over the hills without adding so much weight that cycling becomes a chore rather than a pleasure. I am talking obviously about pedal assist rather than full electric cycling.
I currently have a Decathlon Triban 3(00) road bike. This bike weights in at under 10kg. so it's a breeze to cycle on. I would prefer to get a kit so I stick with my trusty steed (we have been through a lot together), but I am open to changing the bike if that would be better. The main concern is that doubling the weight will make cycling on the flat a struggle. Like for most people price is a big consideration also.
I live on a short, steep hill (1km @ 6% average, 10% in places). I would like to be able to do 50km spins, but most of my trips would be half that, so a system where I carry a 2nd battery might work. My old training routes included hills of up to 5km long at 3-4% average and I would love to be able to do them again safely. I am about 65kg (10 stone) so not adding too much weight myself.
I would appreciate any thoughts, ideas you have.

 

[Geebee]

Hi Joe. most kits would cope with your hills, regarding the increased weight for cylcling on the flat there is always the option of leaving the assistance on at a minimal level to "remove" the weight.
Your first choice is hub or crank drive, a hub means keeping your front triple where as a crank drive will mean a single front ring, not a great issue as you can use the motor to replace the lower gears the crank means you can keep your QR wheels and the weight is in the center.
50 km should be easy with either as you are obviously willing to pedal a reasonable amount, my BBS01 crank drive will do somewhere between 40 to 50 km with no human input, and my heavy Dutch style bike would cover 80 km with moderate assistance both with 36v 10 amp packs.
You really need to try a CD and Hub to feel the difference, I was a cyclist with developing health issues and found the crank drive more bike like as it drives through the gears.

I did the heart attack and quad bypass 12 years ago, its about the only part still working properly on my body

Goodluck.

 

[Deleted member 4366]

Are you looking for a plug-and-play kit, or are you OK with a bit of DIY?

 

[RobF]

Any kit adds so much weight to the original bike it becomes a lump and no pleasure to ride unassisted.

That means you need to ride with low assistance on the flat, which in turn means a bigger and heavier battery - hence why most practical ebikes weigh about 20kg.

You could put a small motor and battery on your bike, but it would still add 4/5kg or so - almost half as much weight again.

The nearest production bike I can think of to your spec is the Freego Raptor.

It weighs 'only' 14kg which gives a range of about 12miles, but there is a second battery option.

http://freegoelectricbikes.com/FreeGo-Raptor

 

[Joe Hayes]

Hi Joe. most kits would cope with your hills, regarding the increased weight for cylcling on the flat there is always the option of leaving the assistance on at a minimal level to "remove" the weight.
Your first choice is hub or crank drive, a hub means keeping your front triple where as a crank drive will mean a single front ring, not a great issue as you can use the motor to replace the lower gears the crank means you can keep your QR wheels and the weight is in the center.
50 km should be easy with either as you are obviously willing to pedal a reasonable amount, my BBS01 crank drive will do somewhere between 40 to 50 km with no human input, and my heavy Dutch style bike would cover 80 km with moderate assistance both with 36v 10 amp packs.
You really need to try a CD and Hub to feel the difference, I was a cyclist with developing health issues and found the crank drive more bike like as it drives through the gears.

I did the heart attack and quad bypass 12 years ago, its about the only part still working properly on my body

Goodluck.

Thanks, that is very useful and glad to hear that these bypass things last!!

 

[Joe Hayes]

Are you looking for a plug-and-play kit, or are you OK with a bit of DIY?

DIY is ok for me. I know my way around a spanner!

 

[Deleted member 4366]

The Q100CST is a nice motor. It only weighs about 2kg and is fairly smooth, quiet and free-running. All the Q100s have the clutch between the motor internal gears and the hub, so only the hub turns when freewheeling. You could probable squeeze the controller and a 5ah lipo pack into a small triangular tool bag or even some of those mini pannier things that go over the front of the crossbar. That would give an all-up additional weight of 4kg.

The Q100CST is a little wider than some motors at 142mm, but it doesn't take much to fit one. It should be easier without disc brakes. If you have freewheel gears, then you want the normal Q100 or Q100H.

I know a couple of light-weight club cyclists that had health problems, so had to go electric. They were both very pleased with them. If you have steel forks, you could fit the front version.

You can get all the stuff from BMSBattery or Greenbikekit.com

 

[Joe Hayes]

The Q100CST is a nice motor. It only weighs about 2kg and is fairly smooth, quiet and free-running. All the Q100s have the clutch between the motor internal gears and the hub, so only the hub turns when freewheeling. You could probable squeeze the controller and a 5ah lipo pack into a small triangular tool bag or even some of those mini pannier things that go over the front of the crossbar. That would give an all-up additional weight of 4kg.

The Q100CST is a little wider than some motors at 142mm, but it doesn't take much to fit one. It should be easier without disc brakes. If you have freewheel gears, then you want the normal Q100 or Q100H.

I know a couple of light-weight club cyclists that had health problems, so had to go electric. They were both very pleased with them. If you have steel forks, you could fit the front version.

You can get all the stuff from BMSBattery or Greenbikekit.com

Thanks for that, very useful. So I am correct in saying that I can't get a front hub because I have carbon forks?

 

[Deleted member 4366]

Not advisable unless you're a good engineer. It also depends on the design of the forks - how much metal and where it is.