Hello from South Shropshire

[grittite]

Hello, I came to this fabulous forum after hunting about on the internet for information about retro fit pedelec kits. I live in South Shropshire which is a beautiful part of the country but very hilly, not monsters but frequent. My house is at 1100 ft so I have to go up a hill in order to get home after a ride.
As a young person I rode quite a lot but after a lifetime sitting on my backside in an office I find the idea of hills is putting me off starting to cycle again in retirement.

Does anyone think that £500 would get me a kit that was worthwhile?

Last year we walked from the UK to Italy, on a whim, never walked before but I reckon that a similar trip on a bike would be fun, if it was a pedelec.

Cheers

Mike

 

[Deleted member 4366]

For about £420 you can get a kit from 8fun or Cyclotricity:
8Fun Ltd
Electric Bike Kit - from £399 with brushless 250W motor. Buy online at Cyclotricity
These are OK as long as you're not too heavy (90kg +). I used one when I first started ebiking and I weigh 100kg, but on the steeper hills I puffed a bit. Before that, I could hardly pedal up any sort of incline, so it was a million times better. There's other kits with more power for better hill-climbing, but you'd need to go up to £550 - £600.

If you told us exactly which bike you want to convert, it would be easier to give more specific advice.

 

[grittite]

Phew, that was quick. I have a Claude Butler hybrid, it needs some TLC but is quite good I think. I weigh about 90 Kg at the moment, but this is heavy for me as we have been spending time in Italy with friends recently and the food and wine was more too good to resist.
I used to be able to climb the 1 in 6 up to my house years ago but the other day I nearly fell off as I ground to halt.

 

[JuicyBike]

Our kits are £495

 

[grittite]

So many to choose from. I'm sure that they are all good but, as a total beginner, I don't know what questions to ask in order to get the right one for me. What do I need to pull me up my 1 in 6 hill after a pleasant ride??

 

[Deleted member 4366]

Need more details about your bike. What gear-changers and brakes do you have? Is yours the ull suspension version? Photos would help.

1 in 6 is steep. You need some serious torque for that, which means more DIY.
The choice is much more limited now. I'd use one of these two.

Bafang 500w Bpm motor and 20 aH battery - about £450 to £500 for kit and battery.
Bafang BPM 36V500W Rear Driving Bike Conversion Kit - BMSBATTERY
36V 20Ah Li-Ion Shrink Tube EBike Battery Pack - BMSBATTERY

GNG Gen 2 crank-drive kit - about £270 delivered battery extra.
36V350W/48V400W geared mid drive brushless kit
Battery as above or choose any 36v with 15aH or more.

You need to factor in other costs like soldering iron and multimeter if you don't already have them, plus rack/bag/box for battery and controller, and miscellaneous items like cable-ties and connectors.

 

[grittite]

I'm not too sure about gear changers and brakes but I've taken a few pictures. There isn't any suspension, except that in the saddle and not much of that. I need to toughen up my backside.

I have a soldering iron, solder, cable ties etc already

 

[Shroppielass]

Welcome to the forum Mike. I agree South Shropshire is beautiful. There is another member of the forum from your way, in the Hope valley, who posts occasionally.
Did your walk to Italy feature in the local paper? Its ringing a bell with me and I can't imagine there are too many people who walk from Shropshire to Italy.

 

[grittite]

Hello Shroppielass, yes, it was me in the paper.Thanks very much for the welcome. We had a great time and I fancy having a crack at it on a bike now.I have seen a couple on giant pedelecs about, it could be them who are members.