New bike or conversion for ME?

[06thundertrucker]

Hi,

So here goes, any advice welcome. For any that missed the intro I'll explain.

42 yr old cyclist of 30 plus years. Worsened ME/CFS now means, although I can still do a 40km routes fine at the time, I spend the next 2/3 days in bed recovering. With regards to mental health I need/want to carry on riding as much as possible. I also use the bike instead of the car whenever I can (approx. 12km journeys max). I should also point out that I always ride offroad where possible whatever the weather.

Conversion or new bike
I have a bike already that I use and it could be a donor for a conversion.



26" Steel hardtail ATB, Deore, V brakes etc. good spec in it's day. I am considering a yose front or rear wheel 36v 250w geared hub with a yose 36v 20ah battery (links below). I have the ability for the mechanics and maintenance/fixing.

yosepower 36v-250w-26-28-front-motor-kit

yosepower 36v20ah battery

Alternatively, I have seen an 'off the shelf' bike in Decathlon I am considering. (Link below).

st-100-electric-mountain-bike

Queries
1) Any ME/CFS sufferers find an electric bike helps with recovery?
2) Front or rear hub conversion?
3) Yose? Any good? Alternatives in this price range?
4) Decathlon e-bikes? Any good? Alternatives in this price range?
5) Realistic range with the yose setup v's decathlon bike? Eco mode mostly, fairly flat bridleways.
6) Conversion of an old bike or get new bike with updated geometry, technology, wheel size etc?
7) Will I be able to mix/match spares to fix a new bike once warranty runs out or am I stuck with branded parts?

I'm not expecting any one person will have the answers to all these questions, but if you have any experience relevent to any part of the thread I would love to hear it.

Thank you so much
Tim

 

[vfr400]

If you're already a cyclist, you don't need a 20Ah battery. 10Ah would probably get you 50 miles depending on your weight and how many hills you have.

A rear motor is always better than a front. If you have free-hub gears, you need a cassette rear motor

The thing that lets your bike down a bit is the brakes. Disc brakes would be much better for an electric bike because of the extra speed. Say you're average speed is 10 mph and goes up to 14 mph after electrification and the kit you add increases your weight by 7kg. The energy you'd need to dissipate would increase by 210%. In other words, if you added an extra pair of the brakes you have to each wheel, your braking still wouldn't be as good as it is now.

Those decathlon bikes look OK, apart from the gearing. If you want to use an electric bike for touring, you need a chainwheel with absolute minimum 42T. I prefer around 48T. That one looks to be about 32T, which is miles too low and it doesn't look like there's much room to increase it. I can't understand why they would make it so low unless they mean it to be a purposeful off-road bike. You'd be much better off getting a Woosh bike or something like that.

 

[06thundertrucker]

If you're already a cyclist, you don't need a 20Ah battery. 10Ah would probably get you 50 miles depending on your weight and how many hills you have.

A rear motor is always better than a front. If you have free-hub gears, you need a cassette rear motor

The thing that lets your bike down a bit is the brakes. Disc brakes would be much better for an electric bike because of the extra speed. Say you're average speed is 10 mph and goes up to 14 mph after electrification and the kit you add increases your weight by 7kg. The energy you'd need to dissipate would increase by 210%. In other words, if you added an extra pair of the brakes you have to each wheel, your braking still wouldn't be as good as it is now.

Those decathlon bikes look OK, apart from the gearing. If you want to use an electric bike for touring, you need a chainwheel with absolute minimum 42T. I prefer around 48T. That one looks to be about 32T, which is miles too low and it doesn't look like there's much room to increase it. I can't understand why they would make it so low unless they mean it to be a purposeful off-road bike. You'd be much better off getting a Woosh bike or something like that.

Food for thought, thanks for that. I did think that about the gearing on the Decathlon. I guess it's for new(er) peeps to the sport. My recovery is awful with my illness but my rides are still the same. The rigid donor has 26-36-48 with a 7 speed cassette that handles roads and most bridleways ratio-wise.
I could put a disc brake on the front of the donor, do you think that would help, or still not enough?

Many thanks

 

[vfr400]

Food for thought, thanks for that. I did think that about the gearing on the Decathlon. I guess it's for new(er) peeps to the sport. My recovery is awful with my illness but my rides are still the same. The rigid donor has 26-36-48 with a 7 speed cassette that handles roads and most bridleways ratio-wise.
I could put a disc brake on the front of the donor, do you think that would help, or still not enough?

Many thanks

Hydraulic disk brakes don't cost much and they'e easy to fit, The difference it makes to your braking and maintenance is unbelievable. I would never have anything else on a bicycle.

 

[scott gaza]

I dont have any preference front or rear and Yose are good for the price. There is no eco mode as such as they are speed controled lishui set up! I have a yose rear and its maxed out at 17mph and without the 350w sticker just about legal. And i have used xt rim brakes with kool stop pads for the last couple off years without issue but i am planing to use a disk front set up soon due to rim wear luckly i have disk brake mounts on my forks

 

[stevenatleven]

In your position I would not buy a kit because it could be tiring to fit and if you run into problems and most kits do have niggles it all detracts from the main goal which is to go cycling. I think the off the shelf option would be better in your case. The Decathlon bike has a good price but if funds allow get something better with a powerful motor and strong battery. This will cover you in case you get tired on route.
Get something local so you have back up should you have problems. I'm sure if you disclose your budget you will get lots of great suggestions