Hi & advice needed :)

[gazc]

hi - new to the forum and pedelec/ebikes but am a keen cyclist a little out of fitness at the moment after just having our first child a month ago. i cycle to work every day at the moment which is fine for 2miles each way, but intend to cycle every day when we move in the new year. my new commute will be extended to 13miles each way with a generally uphill (+700ft climbing) ride on the way home (downhill most of way in! ). this will be majority gravel/old train line cycle path with a few miles of urban cycle paths and roads, but also some very steep but short hill blasts thrown in too. after having a little look around whats available for electric assisted bikes i'm very keen to find out more about them and possible conversions as i want to make cycling every day a possibility whilst still retaining energy to spend time with my girlfriend and daughter and for doing the house up too

i have a steel touring bike i use for commuting now. i am very happy with it and its set up but just want to add a little extra help for the way home when loaded with work clothes/shopping etc but a little research has given me a few options:

1) buy a new pedelec/ebike such as the kudos tourer which seems a good price at £599 with the deore 9 speed kit (i'd prefer 9speed as compatible with all my current gear) .: Kudos Cycles - e-bikes with style :.

2) convert my bike with uk available kit. i want rear drive with 9 speed compatible freehub. don't want to bolt on a mid drive motor and definitely not a front drive as i can see it loosing traction on the steep uphill climbs when fully laden and don't want to put the stress on my forks/frame. however my budget may not stretch to the costs of this

3) convert my bike with chinese import stuff ie: bms battery. have considered the 36v 350w Q100C CST hub with a 36v 10a bottle type battery for ease of fit/compatability - but not sure on what controller/sensor/throttle etc kit i'd need to go with it (i know not entirely uk legal but hey ho if i get stopped tough cookie eh?). 500w bafang CST may be a little overkill?


for info i'm 15 stone and intend to do a lot of the work (don't intend to sit back and throttle along like a moped!!!)

if anyone has any experiences/advice would be greatly appreciated, but any shops/manufacturers trying to advertise kit please consider budget of about £500 for the conversion or under a grand for c2w scheme

 

[banbury frank]

Hi I would post on the Electric Bicycles part off the fourm this is not read by everybody or

Electric Bike Conversion Kits


Frank

 

[averhamdave]

For your budget I'd buy a font hub set up from BMS Battery. There's no way you'll "break traction" with such a modest set up. (I run 1000w through my front motored eZee with not too much of a problem).

Buy the whole thing as a complete kit with controller, pas and LCD meter.

Also just a query but why does it have to be 9 speed? 7 or 8 are plenty IMO. On my Saracen, 3 or even 2 would be enough!

 

[JuicyBike]

Hi and congrats on the kiddy - best ever life changing event save for an electric bike!

In view of the miles your new commute is going to consume, and the steepness of the hills, I'd suggest you look at disk brakes and front suspension, with the possibility of adding hydraulics to your spec.

13 miles each way (26 miles between charges) will stretch the typical 10AH battery and you may benefit from adding a couple of AHs.

Rule of thumb is to keep your battery above 50% charged for your regular trips, only discharging completely now and again. A 10AH battery is generally good for a 30 mile range, so either charge at work if possible or consider a 12AH spec.

Good luck with your search...

 

[RobF]

Also just a query but why does it have to be 9 speed? 7 or 8 are plenty IMO. On my Saracen, 3 or even 2 would be enough!

Dave is spot on about the gears.

I have a six speed Brompton with a Nano conversion.

On some rides I hardly change gear at all, so three would be plenty.

As you intend to 'do some work' that will apply in your case.

Buying a second bike looks to be your best bet.

As you've worked out, it need not cost any more and you would still have your tourer as a spare or to sell.

The Kudos bike you've looked at would do the job, although I would have the hub gears - cleaner, less maintenance, so better on a commuter.

It's already specced with mudguards and a carrier, which you will need, and a basic light set although you will probably want to add to that.

Another budget brand to consider is Woosh.

 

[KirstinS]

Congrats on the little un !

As you are a fit cyclist I would encourage you to try a few ebikes. You may find that the extra weight and the legal 15mph limit ( in reality often significantly less when going up hills) is actually too slow for your needs

I have a front hub and have not found loss of traction to be an issue

 

[jackhandy]

I bet your girlfriend would have something to say about you claiming to have had the sprog

13 miles with 700' climb on the way home, when you've done a day's graft is not to be sneezed at.

You may well find you want a tad more assist than a standard 8fun, with 8.8ah bottle battery, provides.

You really should try a few bikes, to ascertain your power requirement, before making up your mind.

 

[Deleted member 4366]

Looks like you've done a bit of homework. You seem to have got most things figured out apart from the bit about a front motor breaking traction. Only on the steepest hills will it skip a bit, but it's not in any way unsafe. Even on slippery grass, the wheel might spin a bit, but it's very stable when it does it - more-so than when the back wheel spins. having said that, for me, the best combination is a rear motor with a frame mounted battery. It's much quieter and more stealthy. I commuted 15 miles each way for a year on my cheapo Chinese bike with a 9aH battery. I also had a sizeable climb on the return journey, but I never ran my battery flat. i used to average about 6aH wirth steady pedalling. I'm 100kg, so you should get better range.

 

[gazc]

thanks for the replies

i'd like to run 9 speed gears as i have 9speed on my other bikes as well as shimano XT 9speed drivetrain on my commute bike which i'd like to keep using. its not a matter of how many gears mainly the compatability across bikes for chains/cassettes etc

i take your points about the front wheel drive, my route includes steep sections of gravelly track which is why i was worried about traction but given you guys know what your talking about i understand its not so much of an issue as i originally thought

i'd be keen to try an e bike to get an idea of power and speed with uk spec kit. i saw an ebike in a shop locally recently so i think i'll quiz them about having a wee test

i think rear motor with battery/controller mounted within the triangle is my ideal preference as d8veh mentions, ideally want it to look as much like a regular bike as possible to avoid the magpies...(!)

 

[OxygenJames]

thanks for the replies

i'd like to run 9 speed gears as i have 9speed on my other bikes as well as shimano XT 9speed drivetrain on my commute bike which i'd like to keep using. its not a matter of how many gears mainly the compatability across bikes for chains/cassettes etc

i take your points about the front wheel drive, my route includes steep sections of gravelly track which is why i was worried about traction but given you guys know what your talking about i understand its not so much of an issue as i originally thought

i'd be keen to try an e bike to get an idea of power and speed with uk spec kit. i saw an ebike in a shop locally recently so i think i'll quiz them about having a wee test

i think rear motor with battery/controller mounted within the triangle is my ideal preference as d8veh mentions, ideally want it to look as much like a regular bike as possible to avoid the magpies...(!)

Are there no crank drive bikes for under £1000? I thought there were. A crank drive bike is going to be so much better if you've got loads of hills. I know I have both and believe you me the crank drive bike is the one you want when there's a hill in front of you.

I remember somebody here making a song and dance about some new crank drive bike that was around a grand. Can't remember exactly who or what the bike was but it sounded fine.

And 26 miles on a 10ahr is pushing your luck - especially if you do have hills - and given you're not the lightest guy on the planet. Good luck though - electric bikes are the way to go my friend.

And I dont know if anybody else has mentioned this but I read in the Times that the Traffic cops in London are being told to write out 20 tickets a week to cyclists right now after all those deaths - I got one yesterday for jumping a red. Life eh?

 

[OxygenJames]

Are there no crank drive bikes for under £1000? I thought there were. A crank drive bike is going to be so much better if you've got loads of hills. I know I have both and believe you me the crank drive bike is the one you want when there's a hill in front of you.

I remember somebody here making a song and dance about some new crank drive bike that was around a grand. Can't remember exactly who or what the bike was but it sounded fine.

And 26 miles on a 10ahr is pushing your luck - especially if you do have hills - and given you're not the lightest guy on the planet. Good luck though - electric bikes are the way to go my friend.

And I dont know if anybody else has mentioned this but I read in the Times that the Traffic cops in London are being told to write out 20 tickets a week to cyclists right now after all those deaths - I got one yesterday for jumping a red. Life eh?

Oops. That was 20 a month.

 

[Emo Rider]

A 700c wheeled ebike with an 8 to 10ah battery should give you what you need. I presently ride a similar distance with hills on an 8ah BH City 700 and get about 40 to 45 miles depending on how energetic I am. It has an 8 speed Alivo mech btw.