Need help choosing an appropriate kit for long ride

[wlowry]

Hi, I'm looking into the most appropriate kit for my commute. It's a long one (about 20 miles) but I can charge at either end. I'd like to know whether a hub or crank drive would be best for speed as I don't expect to deal with too many hills. I've attached an elevation profile of my journey and hope it helps. I'm open to 250 or 500 watts as some of the roads near my home are quite fast but don't have much room for bikes.
The bike I want to convert is a Giant Roam 4 with 700c wheels.

Thanks in advance

 

[Woosh]

that's 40 miles a day, 12,000 miles a year.
I think you would be better off with a Bosch CX motor because it is better built than Chinese crank drive motors.

 

[danielrlee]

Your requirements sound perfect for a direct drive hub motor with their high speed efficiency and bulletproof reliability. Definitely steer clear of crank drive unless you relish the though of a fortnightly maintenance schedule.

 

[Croxden]

Your requirements sound perfect for a direct drive hub motor with their high speed efficiency and bulletproof reliability. Definitely steer clear of crank drive unless you relish the though of a fortnightly maintenance schedule.

What fortnightly maintenance? There's nothing in the book that came with my bikes said anything and at 9000 plus miles I've much to do having done nothing.

 

[Woosh]

Your requirements sound perfect for a direct drive hub motor with their high speed efficiency and bulletproof reliability. Definitely steer clear of crank drive unless you relish the though of a fortnightly maintenance schedule.

DD kits are too greedy on battery, then he'll need Lithium iron phosphate for the number of charges over two years, the whole thing is very heavy for his Giant Roam 4 with 700c wheels, which is a cheap £350 bike with front and rear V-brakes.
Bosch CX is in my view fast and durable. It may not last 24,000 miles but he can call on the warranty.

 

[danielrlee]

What fortnightly maintenance? There's nothing in the book that came with my bikes said anything and at 9000 plus miles I've much to do having done nothing.

Okay, fortnightly might be somewhat overstating the situation, but 200 high speed miles every week will have the OP replacing chains and cassettes fairly frequently. Sorry, but i can only see the downsides of a crank drive here and all without needing any of the advantages that a crank drive offers.

 

[danielrlee]

DD kits are too greedy on battery, then he'll need Lithium iron phosphate for the number of charges over two years, the whole thing is very heavy for his Giant Roam 4 with 700c wheels, which is a cheap £350 bike with front and rear V-brakes.
Bosch CX is in my view fast and durable. It may not last 24,000 miles but he can call on the warranty.

I took the OP’s requirements as high speed cruising with little to no climbing, for which a DD motor is best suited. Efficiency should be pretty good in this scenario and weight not really an issue for road use. V-brakes could be a problem though for any high milage bike.

 

[Woosh]

weight not really an issue for road use

Andy Bluenoes said his 1000W Stealth with mugduards, rack and lights weighs 28kgs. If his battery is swapped for Lithium iron phosphate, you'll add another 1kg. It's a lot of unsprung weight. Even then, it's not enough for 20 miles. Don't forget the OP will have to charge twice a day, 600 times a year and it will take quite a few hours to finish the charge.

 

[danielrlee]

Andy Bluenoes said his 1000W Stealth with mugduards, rack and lights weighs 28kgs. If his battery is swapped for Lithium iron phosphate, you'll add another 1kg. It's a lot of unsprung weight.

My DD Xlyte H3540 3kW hardtail build weighs about 40kg and I can say for sure that the weight isn't an issue while I'm on tarmac or smoother hardpack trails.

 

[Woosh]

all I can say is the OP has plenty of information to make his choice. I would hesitate to supply a kit to someone knowing that it's his transport and he needs a reliable bike for 12k miles a year.

 

[danielrlee]

To the OP: How fast are you wanting to travel?

 

[wlowry]

To the OP: How fast are you wanting to travel?

Probably only upto 20 miles an hour. A lot of the time I'll be in London traffic and even with the bike lanes I won't be that fast. Sometimes I'll be travelling very early in the morning and would like to not be too slow then. My main concern is when I'm a few miles from home the road speeds are 40mph going uphill and I'd normally be pretty tired after cycling 17 miles by that point and would want the bike to do most of the work.

 

[Andy Bluenoes]

Andy Bluenoes said his 1000W Stealth with mugduards, rack and lights weighs 28kgs. If his battery is swapped for Lithium iron phosphate, you'll add another 1kg. It's a lot of unsprung weight. Even then, it's not enough for 20 miles. Don't forget the OP will have to charge twice a day, 600 times a year and it will take quite a few hours to finish the charge.

My main commute is 15 miles, pretty much flat...the stealth just manages that distance in 250 watt mode, high assist settings. My average speed is around 16-17mph, although I can hit 24 or so on the flat, nice tarmaccy bits.

What i Have noticed of late, testing parts of what will be my new commute which contains more hills....the stealth puffs and pants its way up those. I can confirm that its just not suited for hilly terrains.

 

[Nealh]

Mentioning the T word after 17 miles consider a nice 18/20A BPM or CST hub kit with 5 assist levels, the pas sensor kicks in even when tired all it needs is a gentle rotation of the cranks to go along at 15mph. 201rpm will toot a long up to 21mph with good input @36v and a few more mph @48v.
15ah battery with Samsung 30 Q cells or a nice Sanyo GA cells for 17.5ah, Quality cells will out last lesser cells.
For a high spec battery at a price not far off a regular OEM battery Jimmy at BGA/Insat will build a 50cell 10s 5p battery in a down tube case like dolphin case, though obviously check for a quote first.

My 24v 26.5ah battery being built with 5300mah Boston Swing cells I was given a price of approx. 280.

 

[Nealh]

Probably only upto 20 miles an hour. A lot of the time I'll be in London traffic and even with the bike lanes I won't be that fast. Sometimes I'll be travelling very early in the morning and would like to not be too slow then. My main concern is when I'm a few miles from home the road speeds are 40mph going uphill and I'd normally be pretty tired after cycling 17 miles by that point and would want the bike to do most of the work.

The last thing you need is a drive system that requires you to put significant effort in when you are tired though in time fitness might improve. A torque drive or Mid drive both will require you to pedal harder.

 

[Croxden]

The last thing you need is a drive system that requires you to put significant effort in when you are tired though in time fitness might improve. A torque drive or Mid drive both will require you to pedal harder.

I thought we were supposed to be bike riders?
Man up for goodness sake.

 

[Nealh]

I thought we were supposed to be bike riders?
Man up for goodness sake.

Drive system doesn't bother me as I'm peddler and enjoy the exercise but responding to OP's requirements not going to recommend a kit that sounds unsuitable for his end of day needs.
Not knowing his fitness or stamina only he will know what may suit him given the facts he can cypher from the posts.

Also not all we's who post or ask for advice on here are regular or keen/sporty riders, some want a boost to get to A to B without getting sweaty or steamed up so a D/D , TS or Crank drive will not appeal to them.

 

[danielrlee]

Probably only upto 20 miles an hour. A lot of the time I'll be in London traffic and even with the bike lanes I won't be that fast. Sometimes I'll be travelling very early in the morning and would like to not be too slow then. My main concern is when I'm a few miles from home the road speeds are 40mph going uphill and I'd normally be pretty tired after cycling 17 miles by that point and would want the bike to do most of the work.

Okay, that changes things somewhat. I definitely misinterpreted your original post and thought you wanted to travel faster. 20mph isn't fast enough to take advantage of a direct drive motor, so now I would recommend a geared hub motor for your commute instead.

 

[Deleted member 4366]

I would use a 500w Bafang BPM motor at 48v and ariund 20 amps. Those motors are real workhorses and more ssuited to stop-start riding than a direct drive motor.

A normal battery would last about a year, but if you get Jimmy to make you up a 15 or 20 Ah one with his Boston cells, it should last four times as long. You could put the battery and controller in a bag like this:

 

[Woosh]

Probably only upto 20 miles an hour. A lot of the time I'll be in London traffic and even with the bike lanes I won't be that fast. Sometimes I'll be travelling very early in the morning and would like to not be too slow then. My main concern is when I'm a few miles from home the road speeds are 40mph going uphill and I'd normally be pretty tired after cycling 17 miles by that point and would want the bike to do most of the work.

I suggest you check out the Woosh Karoo, it is capable of doing 40 miles runs because its smaller motor consumes less battery than the Rio. A few people ride it on this sort of distance.
We don't support derestriction though.
http://wooshbikes.co.uk/?karoo