Greetings from Yorkshire, UK!!

[Johnnyleeds]

Hello Everyone!

I'm new to this forum as of now. Thought I should make a quick introduction for you all. I'm Johnny from Leeds, West Yorkshire, UK. I've been into cycling all my life and have been involved in all kinds of bike related stuff for years. I've collected, restored and sold vintage Raleigh Chopper bikes from the 1990s until a few years ago.

I've been involved in cycle activism by attending Critical Mass bike rides where we held up rush hour traffic in Leeds and London city centres in the name of cycle safety and the environment, plus I've owned and ridden bikes of all kinds my whole life.

Recently I've learned about electric bikes and motorised bikes and I'm very interested in owning one of my own. However the prices seem prohibitive for factory made models by the likes of Specialized but DIY versions appear to be more affordable and feature better specifications.

I'm finding the whole electric bike thing somewhat bewildering and I'm not sure where to start. Would a conversion kit to make my existing bike into an E-Bike be the way to go? Or should I look for a used E-Bike on Ebay / Gumtree etc?

Where I live in Leeds there are very few E-Bikes and the only one I have seen is a very conspicuous model that a young guy rides around the city centre. His bike looks to be a converted version of one of those Schwinn "Sting-Ray" bikes that were marketed in the UK several years ago. As if the bike wasnt eyecatching enough he has customised it with light up LED strips that flash on and off!!!

Its obvious his bike is electric powered because he rolls along keeping pace with the traffic but not pedalling. I believe one of these "Sting-ray" bikes would be somewhat impractical for me to use as an E-Bike conversion as they are rather small in frame size and not really a great bike for everyday use (commuting / off-road use etc). So apart from this one the only other E-Bike I've seen in use around the Leeds area was one of those E-Scooters which was a cheap looking chinese moped type version that looked about 10 years old and judging from the way the guy was riding it very slowly it appeared to be on its last legs as it dragged itself away from the traffic lights.

So other than what I've seen on the internet I've not got much experience of E-Bikes, I've never ridden one and it could be I dont like the experience and I could be wasting my time. I'm not a great fan of motorcycling as the few times I've been on motorbike I have ended up injured... So I'd quite like to experience riding a typical E-Bike before committing to spending any time or money building or buying one. Any idea where I might be able to do this?

If I am happy with the E-Bike experience, which I imagine I will be, then I'd very much like to get hold of an E-Bike, or convert my own mountain bike ASAP. I'd like to be able to use my E-Bike for both commuting into the city centre as well as riding out to and around the Yorkshire Dales which are only about 15 miles from where I live in North Leeds. I have all sorts of questions about what the range of E-Bikes are, I realise each one is different and that the style of riding affects battery life plus rider weight, battery size etc etc. I would like to own something that can be ridden as both a pedal assist thing as well as being able to ride up hills with the minimum of effort and get up a good speed along the main roads. I'm wondering if I will be able to find any facilities for recharging an E-Bike battery on campsites. Maybe if there are caravans with electric hookups they may let me plug in my charger for a couple of quid?

Anyway I look forward to speaking to many of you over the coming months!

Ta!

Johnny

 

[Gubbins]

Hi Johnny.
I am not too far away in keighley and went through the convert my mtb or buy a proper one... and after much deliberation I bought a branded crank drive mtb.... 3 years on and am still delighted..
I would advise getting yourself to a shop that sells them and have a look. ..
Phill

 

[Johnnyleeds]

Thanks for your helpful reply Phil, do you know of any shops in theWest Yorkshire region that allow test rides of bikes I might consider purchasing? It alright going to shops to have a 'look' but I can do that online, the real test is physically trying it out and considering the purchase price of a new bike I think its not a lot to ask.

 

[Gubbins]

Thanks for your helpful reply Phil, do you know of any shops in theWest Yorkshire region that allow test rides of bikes I might consider purchasing? It alright going to shops to have a 'look' but I can do that online, the real test is physically trying it out and considering the purchase price of a new bike I think its not a lot to ask.

I bought mine from what is now ilkley cycles and they let me ride one up onto ilkley moor which was impressive to say the least. All terain at Shipley and chevin cycles at otley/skipton now sell Ebikes so a phone call would soon answer your question..

 

[Gubbins]

As an after thought..
I am 66 and quite fit and the ebike effect was quite surprising. . One might expect the help would make the bike feel lighter or easier to ride, or even moped ish. . But it actually feels .. empowering! I feel it's me that's doing it, not the bike. Hub drives may be different but that's how my bosch crank drive feels..

 

[Johnnyleeds]

Oh right, I might give some of these a call today and see if I can have a test ride. Can you tell me Phil is it realistic to think that with an E-bike I could get from north Leeds up to lower Wharfedale - Bolton Abbey etc for the day and tootle around using a combination of pedal and battery power? I hope this is something that I could reasonably expect if I were to only use the battery power on bits where pedalling becomes too laborious. If I can get 30 miles range from an E-bike then this should be possible.

 

[Gubbins]

Oh right, I might give some of these a call today and see if I can have a test ride. Can you tell me Phil is it realistic to think that with an E-bike I could get from north Leeds up to lower Wharfedale - Bolton Abbey etc for the day and tootle around using a combination of pedal and battery power? I hope this is something that I could reasonably expect if I were to only use the battery power on bits where pedalling becomes too laborious. If I can get 30 miles range from an E-bike then this should be possible.

You will get many answers to that question, and all of then will be true as there are so many variables. In my case I have done 60 miles on flat roads and have done 40 miles around Bolton abbey. Worst case is using highest power mode all the time and going up big hills in winter will always give me at least 25 miles. I bought a cheap copy battery as a spare so for me it's not a problem . And if it does run out its still rideable. ... barely!
There is also a specific ebike shop in Knaresborough. Ebike shops are better than bike shops that sell Ebikes.

 

[D C]

Hi Johnny, nice first post.
I use my bike in a similar way to how you intend to use yours. It's a DIY kit fitted by myself and I'm happy with the way it performs.
I have throttle only, not most folks choice but I pedal all the time on the flat or slight inclines and only use the motor on steep bits which are sometimes only a few yards and maybe to top off the odd longer hill if my dodgy knee is beginning to hurt.
It's pretty hilly where I live and I use the bike mostly on off road tracks and paths. Using the bike like this I can guarantee myself 35 miles range with a 10ah battery which is now a couple of years old.
The kit will change the feel of an existing bike quite considerably so maybe best not to fit it to a favorite bike, perhaps source a second hand bike if you go down this route. I have a front wheel hub and rack battery which does put a lot of weight over the back wheel coupled with my own not inconsiderable weight and when time comes to replace my battery it will be with a battery within the frame triangle.
I'm happy with front hub motor position for it's simplicity and find it gives me all the help I need plus two wheel drive for the muddy bits.
I thought the front tire would wear quickly but it seems to be doing ok, it is possible to spin the front wheel on loose gravel but once I learned to use the throttle gradually instead of as an on/off switch, this became easy to avoid.
These are my own individual thoughts and experience over a couple of years so listen to other folks advice as well, we all have different requirements and preferences.
It is quite difficult to decide which course to follow, I bought a kit as at the time there were no nearby places to try a ready built bike and mail order was too hit or miss.
Enjoy choosing and whatever you decide I'm sure you will enjoy the end result.
Dave.

 

[Alan Quay]

If you are handy with spaners, and enjoy messing with bikes, a conversion is the answer.

You sound reasonably fit and active, so a 15 amp (250 watt) kit should do it. With a 15ah battery you will have a 30 mile range with some to spare.

Budget c. £500 for the kit, plus the bike.

DIY bikes don't have to be conspicuous. You can get really good downtube batteries, and other stuff can be easily hidden.

Rear wheel hub drive is the least conspicuous, especially if you have disc brakes.

A big advantage of a kit is that you can easily move it from bike bike, giving you lots of options.

I'm sure you'll enjoy the experience either way.

 

[Benjahmin]

Hi Johnny,
I live in west Wales and went through the process you're going through now. I ended up converting my old steel framed hybrid as a first go. I went for front hub motor, for simplicity, and rack battery, 'cos it's lockable. I also felt that I would know more about it if anything went wrong. It ended up looking like this:

However I found that the extra mass of the motor caused quite a sharp jarring through my wrists and into my neck. So I bought a hybrid Carrera with front suspension and transferred the kit to that. It looks like this:

The panniers hide the battery and a lot of people seem to think that the motor is a dynamo or brake.
The kit is a 250W motor with 15Ah battery ans takes me 25miles plus around welsh hills. I use it mainly on setting 2, from 5, giving me a flat speed of around 12-14 mph with mild sweat from me. I've retained two rings on the front so 16 gears giving a good spread.
Your main choices are:
Hub or crank drive.
Torque or cadence sensor.
Each feel different and you need to try each type if you can.
Whichever you go for I can guarentee an E-Bike grin