I'm going to save the Ogre!

[save_the_ogre]

Hi everyone.

I tried an e-bike when I was on holiday in Germany and instantly decided that I wanted one. The trouble is that when I looked at the prices I was immediately put off. I don't mind spending good money on good quality stuff but I can't be the only person that thinks that four grand for a pretty average bike and a Chinese motor is poor value for money when I could go on auto trader and grab a V8 Jaguar for half of that.

So I lost my mind and decided to restore and electrify the bike that I got for my 11th birthday. I'm 30 now.
It's a Raleigh Max Ogre 21 with bald, flat tyres and rust just about everywhere.

Any advice would be very much appreciated. (apart from telling me that I'm nuts to waste money on it. - I know.)

 

[anotherkiwi]

I don't mind spending good money on good quality stuff but I can't be the only person that thinks that four grand for a pretty average bike and a Chinese motor is poor value for money when I could go on auto trader and grab a V8 Jaguar for half of that.

Do you have a brand name for such a bicycle? Most German bikes have German, Swiss or Japanese motors.

 

[save_the_ogre]

Do you have a brand name for such a bicycle? Most German bikes have German, Swiss or Japanese motors.

Can't remember the brand of the bike itself but it was based around a Bosch crank motor. I am hoping to fit a rear hub motor on my bike.

 

[anotherkiwi]

Bosch is a German motor not Chinese.

 

[Nealh]

For around 2k you can get a decent e bike in the style of a mtb KTM do a rather nice Panasonic 47v hub model or have some Bosch drive systems.
If your Raleigh is sound then one upgrade worth it is a new front Hydraulic disc brake hub/wheel, majority of kits are Chinese and work very well however Cyclezee also do some German kits but expect to pay 40 or 50% more for one.
For more help let us know what type of riding, terrain and range you may be looking for.

 

[Yamdude]

Hi everyone.

I tried an e-bike when I was on holiday in Germany and instantly decided that I wanted one. The trouble is that when I looked at the prices I was immediately put off. I don't mind spending good money on good quality stuff but I can't be the only person that thinks that four grand for a pretty average bike and a Chinese motor is poor value for money when I could go on auto trader and grab a V8 Jaguar for half of that.

So I lost my mind and decided to restore and electrify the bike that I got for my 11th birthday. I'm 30 now.
It's a Raleigh Max Ogre 21 with bald, flat tyres and rust just about everywhere.

Any advice would be very much appreciated. (apart from telling me that I'm nuts to waste money on it. - I know.)

I would agree that a lot of ready made ebikes are overpriced for what they are and some are a total rip off.... although there are reasonable priced ones as well.
For a rear hub kit, i think electricbikeconversions on Ebay have some of the best bang for your buck kits around.

 

[save_the_ogre]

Can't remember the brand of the bike itself but it was based around a Bosch crank motor. I am hoping to fit a rear hub motor on my bike.

When I mentioned the price of e-bikes I wasn't talking about the one that I hired in Germany. I was talking about the bikes available on ebay etc that use low cost bike frames, Chinese conversion kits and sell the fully built package for a considerable profit.

 

[save_the_ogre]

I plan to use the bike on the road 75% of the time and on canals or bike trails the other 25% of the time. Mostly for commuting but some high power off road use on the bike trails would be nice. I live in an area with lots of steep hills so I was thinking of going for one of the 1000w kits to give it the best chance possible of pushing the heavy oversized steel frame around.

 

[trex]

it hardly justifies the effort unless you start from a good or very good base.
You could spend £500-£600 to convert your Raleigh Max Ogre

Raleigh Max Ogre:

compare the result with a ready built Woosh Karoo that you can buy for £749.

Woosh Karoo:

http://wooshbikes.co.uk/?karoo

you can be sure that the traders advertising on here don't make a huge profit!

 

[Yamdude]

I plan to use the bike on the road 75% of the time and on canals or bike trails the other 25% of the time. Mostly for commuting but some high power off road use on the bike trails would be nice. I live in an area with lots of steep hills so I was thinking of going for one of the 1000w kits to give it the best chance possible of pushing the heavy oversized steel frame around.

Grabs popcorn.

 

[save_the_ogre]

it hardly justifies the effort unless you start from a good or very good base.
You could spend £500-£600 to convert your Raleigh Max Ogre

Raleigh Max Ogre:

compare the result with a ready built Woosh Karoo that you can buy for £749.

Woosh Karoo:

http://wooshbikes.co.uk/?karoo

you can be sure that the traders advertising on here don't make a huge profit!

The Karoo looks great! Especially for the money but I'm attached to my worthless junk Raleigh and really want to do something fun with it. I'm fine with spending around 600 pounds on the conversion kit but not much more than that.

I've already ordered Suntour front forks which was the only one I could find with the 1" diameter needed for the bike. Also ordered seat post suspension. I'm talking to a local company about getting the frame sand blasted and powder coated too. (yes I know it's insane when I could spend the money on a new bike)

 

[save_the_ogre]

Any thoughts on this kit? http://www.pandaebikes.com/product/panda-power-48v-1000w-electric-bicycle-e-bike-conversion-kit-11-6ah-samsung/

 

[soundwave]

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/cube-cross-hybrid-pro-400-e-bike-2016/rp-prod141464

the motor and batt are 1000 quid on there own

 

[Nealh]

I plan to use the bike on the road 75% of the time and on canals or bike trails the other 25% of the time. Mostly for commuting but some high power off road use on the bike trails would be nice. I live in an area with lots of steep hills so I was thinking of going for one of the 1000w kits to give it the best chance possible of pushing the heavy oversized steel frame around.

If it is an ebay 1000w kit then will be a Chinese direct drive hub, from my recollection no one who has bought one has actually come on here and praised them for there off road climbing ability or given any details of performance. Generally they are heavy about 6kg of low torque but capable of quite high speed ideal for flat roads. For off road use you are better with a lighter low speed torquey hub or a mid drive.
On the other hand the Heinzman D/D or Panasonic D/D hub are a different proposition for an idea speak to cyclezee and Eddie PJ respectively for an honest opinion.

 

[Nealh]

Any thoughts on this kit? http://www.pandaebikes.com/product/panda-power-48v-1000w-electric-bicycle-e-bike-conversion-kit-11-6ah-samsung/

Very hard and difficult to fit as its out of stock.

Have a read of it over at ' endless sphere ' the 1kw Shengyi is said to be ok on a flat road giving low to med power, for hill climbing then consider an awd /2wd build haven't read enough of it to gauge its off road ability. Don't just buy do a bit of homework first, don't buy on a couple of answers.

 

[Alan Quay]

CST Kit from Woosh will be about perfect:

http://wooshbikes.co.uk/?hubkits

Or, if you want a bit more power buy the S/H Kit I'm selling on Ebay:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/272189135420?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1555.l2648

 

[trex]

the CST kit will be upgraded by the end of April, beginning of May.
The new controller is integrated to the base of the HL battery, like on the woosh Karoo.
Much neater wiring.

 

[save_the_ogre]

Thanks for all of the replies guys! Really helpful. One thing I forgot to mention is that the Ogre has a 130mm rear drop out. Do you think the rear hub motor kits will fit that ok?

 

[Alan Quay]

Thanks for all of the replies guys! Really helpful. One thing I forgot to mention is that the Ogre has a 130mm rear drop out. Do you think the rear hub motor kits will fit that ok?

Yes that's normal. You will need to file the dropouts a few mm deeper.

 

[cavaleri71]

I have an Ansmann rear hub that is Swiss motor and it's very good for me.