eBay Electric Bike Kits

[cazzie]

Are they any good? Or are they naff?

Looking to get an electric bike that will get up very steep hills where I live. And I mean steep. All I want is to be able to get up the hills. A lot of bikes I've been looking at seem like they're fine for city living but I'm in the countryside and there's few bikes I've seen that sound capable - all well out of my price range .

I've got a budget of around £600-700 and it's looking like my only option is to get a kit and convert my current bike.

This is the kit I'm looking at -

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/36V-500W-E-Bike-Electric-Bicycle-Rear-Wheel-Motor-Conversion-Kit-DIY-Cycling-/170939511356?pt=UK_Bikes_GL&hash=item27ccc9f23c

Will this cope? I know about the current road UK laws, this will not be used on roads.

 

[Fordulike]

Whilst I'm sure that the actual kit might be ok, what you need to watch out for is after sales service. That particular seller actually sells many other non electric bike related items, so probably doesn't really know much about how electric bike components work.
If something goes wrong, and believe me they can and probably will, can the seller provide decent after sales support to get you on the road again? Unlikely!
Another tip when scouting eBay for stuff, is to check to see where the item is located. Usually an item located in Portsmouth, is something imported from China and stored in a large container ready to be picked and packed to the consumer. Not much personal service there!
I'm not trying to put you off that particular kit or scare you into thinking kits are not reliable. They can be very reliable if a bike is built without cutting corners.
Just don't rush into buying the first kit you see, do your homework and listen to the experienced members on this forum.
I'm sure together we'll find you a kit that suits your budget, plus gives you the confidence that you can get your bike back on the road when gremlins appear.
BTW, welcome to the forum

 

[Cyclezee]

Hi Cazzie,

Welcome to the Pedelec Forum.

What is make and model of the bike you are considering converting and what range do you want to achieve?

The kits that you are looking at is unbranded generic Chinese, not that is a bad thing.

Obviously you will also need to source a battery for it.

Our eZee kits are over your budget but come complete with a 37v 14Ah battery and the complete kit has a 2 year warranty.

Cyclezee is based in Milton Keynes.

 

[cazzie]

Thanks for the help and the welcome

I was guessing that the company wouldn't help with anything once delivered, but my father is very handy with all things and has offered to help so I'm sure if a ran into a problem he could help.

It's just the worry that I get a kit that is twice the road limit and it still wouldn't manage the hill back to my house I recently moved to the top of a hill, while its fabulous and great views its rendered my bike useless unless I fancy traipsing up the hill towing it along.

In terms of range I'd like at least 20 miles. I also want a throttle.

The bike I'd use - a Giant 18" frame 26" wheels or maybe check gumtree for a secondhand one.

I have also seen this on eBay which is tempting me. I've heard good things about the Volt and I'd be able to go to work on this and get it in my car for trips out. It's like a 4 hour trip to pick up and over budget though. Seems like a lot of money on a gamble on power

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Volt-Metro-Black-Folding-Electric-Bike-10AH-2013-Code-3610-/131155526071?pt=UK_Bikes_GL&hash=item1e897a81b7

 

[Emo Rider]

www.juicybike.co.uk has a 36v 10ah kit for £495.00. That includes the battery and all components.

 

[cazzie]

Are they any good? In terms of aftercare a lot better but it's 250W instead of 500W.

I'm guessing it'll be the same power as a standard electronic bike. Will it get up hills?

 

[Cyclezee]

Hi Cazzie,

This guide might be useful to you, I know the author quite well

http://www.pedelecs.co.uk/electric-bike-guides/conversion-kits/

 

[Aushiker]

I presume you will want to pedal this bike rather than use it as moped so if that is the case you want to ensure you have sufficient gears to go with the motor. That kit looks like a 7 speed and personally I would rather have a 9 speed with a 11-32 or better still a 11-34T range. You will also need to have the rest of the drivetrain to match.

So you need to keep in context the "bicycle" as well the e-bike kit when shopping around.

Personally if you cannot afford the eZee kit John suggested I would like at something like the Bafang kits that D8veh is keen on from http://greenbikekit.com or the kits he is not so keen on from Paul at EM3EV, the Mac kits. Of course you may need to rethink your budget but.

With respect to climbing hills, this piece of advice posted in a thread at Endless-Sphere is worth keeping in mind

If looking at the EM3ev MAC motors, just know this: The Lower the turns (6T, 8T) the higher to speed, but the lower the torque. - So if you want to go really fast on a dead flat highways, a smaller "T" is best. If you have lots of hills, like I have on my commute, and don't mind going a little slower, you want a high "T" motor, like a 10T or 12T for lots of low-end torque to climb the long, steep hills. Some Direct drive motors have various options with high-speed or high torque as well. Also know that "T" is sometimes expressed as Kv or RPM's per volt applied. The lower the Kv, the more torque a motor will have for a given voltage. The Higher the Kv, the faster the speed on the top end. - And then some motors just list the RPM at a given voltage. In this case you can determine the Kv by dividing unloaded RPM by the voltage. - THEN you need to know how that relates to your wheel diameter, because the exact same motor in a 26" wheel will perform MUCH differently in a 20" wheel, simply because of the diameter difference - which is basically another gear reduction.

The bottom line is you need to figure out how much torque and speed you want from your motor, and what size wheel you will be running. (Most Mountain bikes use a 26" Wheel, and most pre-assembled kits will be mounted in a 26" Wheel.)

Andrew

 

[mountainsport]

Whilst I'm sure that the actual kit might be ok, what you need to watch out for is after sales service. That particular seller actually sells many other non electric bike related items, so probably doesn't really know much about how electric bike components work.
If something goes wrong, and believe me they can and probably will, can the seller provide decent after sales support to get you on the road again? Unlikely!
Another tip when scouting eBay for stuff, is to check to see where the item is located. Usually an item located in Portsmouth, is something imported from China and stored in a large container ready to be picked and packed to the consumer. Not much personal service there!
I'm not trying to put you off that particular kit or scare you into thinking kits are not reliable. They can be very reliable if a bike is built without cutting corners.
Just don't rush into buying the first kit you see, do your homework and listen to the experienced members on this forum.
I'm sure together we'll find you a kit that suits your budget, plus gives you the confidence that you can get your bike back on the road when gremlins appear.
BTW, welcome to the forum

Are they any good? Or are they naff?

Looking to get an electric bike that will get up very steep hills where I live. And I mean steep. All I want is to be able to get up the hills. A lot of bikes I've been looking at seem like they're fine for city living but I'm in the countryside and there's few bikes I've seen that sound capable - all well out of my price range .

I've got a budget of around £600-700 and it's looking like my only option is to get a kit and convert my current bike.

This is the kit I'm looking at -

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/36V-500W-E-Bike-Electric-Bicycle-Rear-Wheel-Motor-Conversion-Kit-DIY-Cycling-/170939511356?pt=UK_Bikes_GL&hash=item27ccc9f23c

Will this cope? I know about the current road UK laws, this will not be used on roads.

Welcome to this site. Words coming from Fordulike are so comforting and reassuring, if you find his words hard to believe IMHO you maybe in the wrong place so in that case try your luck at GumTree

MS.

 

[Fordulike]

I'll be honest cazzie, with your budget, I think you are being slightly unreasonable with what you want and what you can afford.
I've spent around £1300 on my self build. Yes, it climbs hills like a monster, but at a cost.
The 8 Fun type kits won't power you up a hill on throttle alone, but they will give a lot of assistance, are well proven for reliability and easy to fix and obtain parts for.
This dealer sells a decent kit, quality battery supplied and the feedback looks solid:

8 Fun Electric Bike Conversion Kit

Forget about the 250w or 500w claims of motors. They don't help in terms of knowing how well a motor performs.
The bottom line is, that you will not be able to build a hill eater at your budget, but what you will get is a well assisted reliable kit.
Budget for puncture resistant tyres too, as you live in the countryside

 

[cazzie]

Thanks for the links, will definitely give them a read and try to take it in. I'm no expert and definitely a rookie with bicycles. I own a motorbike so I'm not after it to behave in such a way. £700 is a lot of money to spend on something im unsure of. I just want to be able to get up the hill to my house. Theres so many different reviews on bikes and such I'm still unsure as to whether any can tackle the hill.

I'm all for buying a secondhand bike too. is that volt bike any good?

 

[Fordulike]

Fully understand about you wanting to eat that hill for breakfast. Nasty things hills lol.
Would you be able to give forum members an estimate of the steepness of said hill i.e. 5%, 10% etc...

 

[cazzie]

I'm unsure, will have a look on the way home.

From what I can find out here in 1.1 miles I go 134 meters higher, the most concentrated part is 0.8 miles 108 meters higher. I hope that helps?

I'm not expecting a bike that will drive itself up it as my old 1.1 peugeot struggled through parts of it ha ha. I just want it to be possible and make smaller hills easy.

The kit you sent over is for a front wheel... are they better? I assumed back wheel would be but not sure (as I'm sure you can tell!)

 

[Fordulike]

The kit you sent over is for a front wheel... are they better? I assumed back wheel would be but not sure (as I'm sure you can tell!)

Both front wheel kits and rear wheel kits have their pros and cons.
A front wheel kit will be slightly easier to fit and change tyres, repair punctures etc..
The reason I showed that particular kit, is that the battery is a rear rack mounted one. The weight of the front wheel and the battery at the rear, should balance the bike out nicely.
Rear wheel motors and rear mounted batteries tend to be a little lively in the wet, due to the high weight mass at the rear.
But that's just my opinion. I'm sure many others more experienced than myself, will be along soon to advise

 

[Deleted member 4366]

Have a look at Woosh bikes CD models. They're very close to your budget, and they climb pretty well.

How much do you weigh? This is an important factor for anybody to recommend a suitable bike.

I don't think that I ever spent more than £600 on a kit including the battery. All of them are/were capable of dragging heavyweights up steep hills. Nearly all my stuff comes direct from China. There's normally a bit more DIY involved, but if someone is handy with the spanners, it's not too difficult. The Bafang BBS01 is a very easy kit to fit, and it's a good climber. Much as I'd like to recommend the Juicy kit, climbing is not a strong point unless you're quite light.

 

[cazzie]

I'm starting to think that it's an impossibility really. There's so much to take it and nothing seems guaranteed. £600-700 is a hell of a lot of money to me and not something I take lightly or take a stab with.

Thank you for all your help but I think an electric bike is out of my price range. I never thought that would cost so much for a push bike (not meaning to offend any body by that statement
if I do)

I think I'll have to sell the bike and stick to the car and motorbike!

 

[Fordulike]

I think I'll have to sell the bike and stick to the car and motorbike!

Why not sell the car and bikes and get yourself a Renault Twizy:


Then you'll have the best of both worlds

 

[Willber G]

I'm starting to think that it's an impossibility really. There's so much to take it and nothing seems guaranteed. £600-700 is a hell of a lot of money to me and not something I take lightly or take a stab with.

Thank you for all your help but I think an electric bike is out of my price range. I never thought that would cost so much for a push bike (not meaning to offend any body by that statement
if I do)

I think I'll have to sell the bike and stick to the car and motorbike!

Cazzie, could you stretch to this?
http://www.wooshbikes.co.uk/electric-bikes/bigbear/
It gets very good reviews for its climbing ability and can be bought for £800. Woosh are a well-respected company with excellent support so I'm sure they could advise you if you give them a call.

 

[cazzie]

I've actually been reading up on their site tonight. Woosh seems to know what they're doing and their predictor has helped a ton!

I was actually looking at the Sirocco CD. I read that crank drives would be best for hill climbing? Is this true? How would it compare against the Big Bear? Any pros and cons between the two?

I'm 5 ft 5" and 200lbs. The hills near my house reach 16% for as long as a mile.

I'm not expecting a bike that will whisk me up the hills with ease. But I do want to actually be able to get up them!

Are the Woosh bikes as good as they sound? Would they fit the bill?

 

[cazzie]

There isn't anyone around the Manchester area who has one they would be willing to let me have a go on would there?