New Member, hoping to convert to an e bike

[NI Phil]

Hi,
I have been thinking about purchasing an e bike for some time so joined the site.
I’m now considering fitting a kit to my commuter. It’s a Boardman 10sp Hybrid with hydraulic disc brakes. I live in Northern Ireland so I reckon the kit will have to be via mail order.
Any advice in the right direction would be appreciated.
I’d ideally like to have a range of 40 odd miles.

 

[tommie]

Hi there Phil, and Welcome.
Also coming from your neck of the woods my kits were purchased from https://www.aliexpress.com/store/product/Bafang-BBSHD-48V-1000W-Ebike-Electric-bicycle-Motor-8fun-mid-drive-electric-bike-conversion-kit-C965/904105_32658549771.html?spm=2114.12010610.8148356.4.9f313b85c6fvTC i`ve found them to be honest and reliable, delivery approx 7-10 days.
I`ve converted a couple of bikes with their Bafang mid-drive motors, the last one (Bafang BBS HD) is something similar to your Boardman -->



Only thing i`d advise is buy your battery in the UK if possible, i always recommend Insat in London for these, if a chinese battery goes wrong you're entering a world of pain in getting it back. FedEx will charge you approx £30 or so in duty etc.
Or if you want to go with a hub drive then Woosh UK on here is a dependable dealer with good back-up.

 

[NI Phil]

Hi there Phil, and Welcome.
Also coming from your neck of the woods my kits were purchased from https://www.aliexpress.com/store/product/Bafang-BBSHD-48V-1000W-Ebike-Electric-bicycle-Motor-8fun-mid-drive-electric-bike-conversion-kit-C965/904105_32658549771.html?spm=2114.12010610.8148356.4.9f313b85c6fvTC i`ve found them to be honest and reliable, delivery approx 7-10 days.
I`ve converted a couple of bikes with their Bafang mid-drive motors, the last one (Bafang BBS HD) is something similar to your Boardman -->

View attachment 28222

Only thing i`d advise is buy your battery in the UK if possible, i always recommend Insat in London for these, if a chinese battery goes wrong you're entering a world of pain in getting it back. FedEx will charge you approx £30 or so in duty etc.
Or if you want to go with a hub drive then Woosh UK on here is a dependable dealer with good back-up.

Hi Tommie,
Good to see your not too far away from me in NI.

So can you order a kit from them on AliExpress without the battery?
If I wanted to go hub drive then I’d have the hassle of getting a wheel built to suit the Boardman disc hybrid?

What spec do you recommend I look at as your Whyte seems similar to my donor bike?

Thanks for replying to my first post

Regards

Phil

 

[tommie]

Hi Tommie,
Good to see your not too far away from me in NI.

So can you order a kit from them on AliExpress without the battery?
If I wanted to go hub drive then I’d have the hassle of getting a wheel built to suit the Boardman disc hybrid?

What spec do you recommend I look at as your Whyte seems similar to my donor bike?

Thanks for replying to my first post

Regards

Phil

Yes, my last order was for the BBS HD kit without a battery.

You can get say a 700c rim already fitted out with a motor, there`s quite a lot of info on other threads in here. For example on my first conversion i bought a wheel from Germany already built with an Alfine 8 IGH, cost around £200
The spec would depend on what the bike will be mainly used for, for me i couldnt manage the hills around here so it had to be a motor with a lot of torque, maybe in your case less would do if your fitter and have flatter terrain etc.

 

[Benjahmin]

All hubs (as far as I know) have mounting screws for discs.
If you go for a rear hub it's a bit more stealthy than the mid drive. Might be a consideration as e bikes are currently technically illegal in N.I., at least until the assembly can be bothered to get off their arses and do the job the tax payers are paying them for.
Woosh bikes, a good and reliable source for hub kits, inc. batteries.

My avatar is a front hub with front hydraulic disc.

 

[NI Phil]

Ok,
I’ll do a lot more reading!
I was worried about any chain alignment issues.
I do ride a road bike regularly.
I would be using it for the hills round here & quite a lot into the wind as I live near the coast.

 

[NI Phil]

I’m not worried about e bikes being technically illegal over here as the Police are on record as saying they are not enforcing that issue as it’s on the cards to be rubber stamped. (once our politicians get so bored that they return to Stormont).
Having said that they will enforce the law if someone brings themselves to their attention by being silly

 

[tommie]

Should say battery will be your most important purchase, the bigger aH the better, expect to pay £400 + for a quality item, range should be well over 50+ with a bit of input yourself.

 

[Benjahmin]

All my bikes are front hubs, easiest conversion imo. My riding is all road (hilly West Wales) very occaisional track. Front hubs can be a bit tricksy on loose or greasy very steep surfaces, but for the most part all you get is some slight scrubbing on very steep road. Nothing an experienced cyclist can't handle.
Rear hubs will give you better grip but I think you'd defininetly have to put the battery in the frame for weight distribution. Doesn't look to be a problem on your frame.
I've done about 7500 miles on my hub now with no motor issues. Mostly the motors seem to be pretty bullet proof.

 

[Fat Rat]

Hi Welcome
And have fun with your build

 

[NI Phil]

Just as an update, I read a lot of posts on here regarding builds, rear hub motors, front hub motors, mid drive motors etc.
My head hurts
I then spotted a 2015 Haibike for sale near me and went to view it. The previous owner had put helicopter tape around the frame to protect it. Low miles on it so I took a chance and bought it

 

[NI Phil]

Oops ‍ Wrong odometer pic first time

 

[wheeliepete]

Nice one! Hopefully your head should stop aching nowlooks like a nice clean bike. You may find the battery has lost some capacity being 3 years old, low miles isn't always a good sign of battery health, but hopefully this is reflected in the price you paid. At least the rest of the bike should be in good, unworn condition.

 

[NI Phil]

Cheers @wheeliepete , on a test of Charging cycles it's in the 0-100 range, in an Absolute Battery Capacity Test it's in the 75-100% range so I took the chance...........

 

[tommie]

good luck with the new bike - not many like that s/h here in NI