Hi folks,
I've been lurking on this forum for a while now, trying to read as much as I can, before taking the plunge and adding a motor to my existing bike. I've decided that this year, I'm going to try and do a bit more commuting to and from work on my bike, so I'm looking for ways to make it a bit easier, and not mean I end up at work a hot sweaty mess (no showers
)
So, I live in North Wales, and my daily commute would be about 17km each way if I take the coast route, or 13km if I take the back road route. The coast route is largely flat, the back road route has a fair bit of climbing (166m ascent, 179m descent according to my gps log). I'm a bit on the heavy side, approx 125kg, and whilst I am more than happy to cycle either way with no issues, Its the lack of a shower when I get to work that is making it not pleasant! The idea of electric assistance for the uphill bits, would be fantastic.
Now, I've already got a pretty rugged bike that I have adapted over the years. It's a 1998 Kona Lava Dome frame, with all the components beefed up when they need replacing. It has easily withstood me doing some of the mountain bike trails at Llandegla and Coed-y-Brenin, but now is "road" form (i.e. semi slick tyres!).
What I am looking for, is an e-conversion that would give me an electric assist on the uphill, but not add too much resistance for the flat/downhill bits of my commute. I would like to leave the bike as un-molested as possible, so that suggests to me a front wheel hub motor, built into a seperate wheel. It would be nice to be able to put the original front wheel back on for pleasure riding too. My only confusion is the sort of motor to go for. So, can anyone recommend a decent motor/controller/battery combo that is going to give a good assistance on the climbs? I don't need huge speed, 15mph would be more than enough up a hill, but I do need a fair bit of torque to pull 125kg of me up a hill!
If anyone could offer any recommendations as to good motor/controller combos (and suppliers!) to look into, I would be grateful. Apologies for the long post too
Thanks
Andy
I've been lurking on this forum for a while now, trying to read as much as I can, before taking the plunge and adding a motor to my existing bike. I've decided that this year, I'm going to try and do a bit more commuting to and from work on my bike, so I'm looking for ways to make it a bit easier, and not mean I end up at work a hot sweaty mess (no showers
)So, I live in North Wales, and my daily commute would be about 17km each way if I take the coast route, or 13km if I take the back road route. The coast route is largely flat, the back road route has a fair bit of climbing (166m ascent, 179m descent according to my gps log). I'm a bit on the heavy side, approx 125kg, and whilst I am more than happy to cycle either way with no issues, Its the lack of a shower when I get to work that is making it not pleasant! The idea of electric assistance for the uphill bits, would be fantastic.
Now, I've already got a pretty rugged bike that I have adapted over the years. It's a 1998 Kona Lava Dome frame, with all the components beefed up when they need replacing. It has easily withstood me doing some of the mountain bike trails at Llandegla and Coed-y-Brenin, but now is "road" form (i.e. semi slick tyres!).
What I am looking for, is an e-conversion that would give me an electric assist on the uphill, but not add too much resistance for the flat/downhill bits of my commute. I would like to leave the bike as un-molested as possible, so that suggests to me a front wheel hub motor, built into a seperate wheel. It would be nice to be able to put the original front wheel back on for pleasure riding too. My only confusion is the sort of motor to go for. So, can anyone recommend a decent motor/controller/battery combo that is going to give a good assistance on the climbs? I don't need huge speed, 15mph would be more than enough up a hill, but I do need a fair bit of torque to pull 125kg of me up a hill!
If anyone could offer any recommendations as to good motor/controller combos (and suppliers!) to look into, I would be grateful. Apologies for the long post too
Thanks
Andy
