Giant Escape Conversion - newbie questions

[Gordon Copestake]

Hi All,
I'm completly new to pedelecs so please go gentle with me. I'm still finding my way and learning the basics.

I have a Giant Escape 1 hybrid that I use for commuting, 16 miles a few days a week, great bike and I love it. On my commute I have a few hills though, and I was considering buying a cheap front hub conversion kit to give me a bit of a boost up the hills. I'm not really looking for constant pedal assist or anything fancy, just a "push button" boost now and again. In fact what I want is the most simple, basic and cheap conversion kit. I dont need a huge battery as I'll only really be using the motor a few seconds at a time, and equally I dont want the motor to get in the way when I'm not using it. From what I've read a 250w front hub conversion is the easiest and cheapest option. Ideally I would like a rack mounted battery, but I'm fairly flexible on that.

I've looked at the Panda kits but to be honest I can't make head nor tail of the throttle options, and they seem to come with all sorts of bits and pieces I dont want. At this point I may go down the DIY route as I'm fairly mechanically minded.

Can anyone recommend any kits or resources?

 

[Gordon Copestake]

Hmmmmmm just read that carbon fibre forks are not recommended for front hub motors.... My Giant Escape has those..... so perhaps I'm looking at a rear hub motor instead. This complicates things, messing with gears and the like. Still doable though I hope

 

[D C]

Welcome Gordon,
I've been using a rear rack battery for over three years and have just replaced it with a down tube battery
http://ebike-sales.co.uk/product/rocket-ebike-battery-36v-10-4ah-silver
Down tube is much better for bike balance.
Could you replace your front forks with steel?
I used thumb throttle only until recently but now have upgraded to PAS system, bought from Panda who are very nice folk to deal with.
I don't find PAS of massive benefit off road, I used to use the bike as you intend, that is pedal most of the time and just a squirt of throttle when needed.
Just my personal preference of course.
Dave.

 

[Yamdude]

Oxydrive do a rear hub motor kit that is compatible with cassette gears, which your Giant Escape has.
You can have legal 250W or more powerful 350W...... comes with throttle and you can just not fit the PAS if you prefer. It also has integrated controller, which makes an easier and neater conversion.

http://www.oxydrive.co.uk/electric-bike-kit/oxydrive-cst-ht-13ah.html

 

[Gordon Copestake]

Oxydrive do a rear hub motor kit that is compatible with cassette gears, which your Giant Escape has.
You can have legal 250W or more powerful 350W...... comes with throttle and you can just not fit the PAS if you prefer. It also has integrated controller, which makes an easier and neater conversion.

http://www.oxydrive.co.uk/electric-bike-kit/oxydrive-cst-ht-13ah.html

Hi Yam,
The oxydrive looks pretty good, if more money than the panda (and more than the bike was new too!) I guess most of the money is in the cells, which makes sense.

I'll have a Google and read up on them

Thanks

Gordon

 

[Yamdude]

Hi Yam,
The oxydrive looks pretty good, if more money than the panda (and more than the bike was new too!) I guess most of the money is in the cells, which makes sense.

I'll have a Google and read up on them

Thanks

Gordon

Its a quality kit and has a good rep on here from those who have it.
My current front hub kit was done on the cheap, an 8fun kit that cost £425...... the Oxydrive kit is far better and i think its easily worth the extra money.

 

[electrickery]

you do emphasise cheap in your original post. On that basis I am going to recommend the 250 watt ebc kit from ebay. Is what I have and is pretty good for the money. Probably not as powerful as the oxydrive but gives me all the assist I need.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/250W-Electric-E-Bike-Conversion-Kit-36v-13amp-Lithium-Battery-Front-Rear-Wheel-/111894851838?var=&hash=item1a0d73f0fe:m:mU-F1ryU9OfEy-HAbXpRjxw

 

[Gordon Copestake]

you do emphasise cheap in your original post. On that basis I am going to recommend the 250 watt ebc kit from ebay. Is what I have and is pretty good for the money. Probably not as powerful as the oxydrive but gives me all the assist I need.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/250W-Electric-E-Bike-Conversion-Kit-36v-13amp-Lithium-Battery-Front-Rear-Wheel-/111894851838?var=&hash=item1a0d73f0fe:m:mU-F1ryU9OfEy-HAbXpRjxw

Thanks for the link electrickery, looks good. Cheap is always good! Seems there are a lot more options out there!

 

[Swytch Bike]

Hi All,
I'm completly new to pedelecs so please go gentle with me. I'm still finding my way and learning the basics.

Hi Gordon

Sorry to hear you couldn't make sense of the throttle options. The half twist throttle works like a motorbike throttle and you twist it with the palm of your hand. It is the best option unless you have twisty handlebar gear shifter.

The thumb twist throttle is a smaller fitting that can go next to a twisty handlebar gear shifter and it has a little lever you press with your thumb.

Note that throttles are not legal on ebike kits so fitting them is your decision and should only be used for off-road.

What were the bits and pieces that you didn't want? We would be grateful for some feedback

Regards

 

[KeithMac]

I work in the motorcycle game and have seen time and time again you get what you pay for, cheap is not always best..

 

[baldylox]

+1 for the Oxydrive kit, many options and keep an eye out for deals which come up from time to time.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk