Rear wheel coversion kits

[chris667]

Hello

I have recently opened a home brew shop in Derby town centre, and two things are becoming apparent:

1. All the sitting down and access to hot, fattening foods and potentially limitless supplies of beer is not good for my fitness.
2. Most of my customers opt for free home delivery, which I am now losing money on.

A local organic food shop does deliveries by electric bike, and I'd like to explore the possibilities of doing this myself.

I'm thinking of converting a mountain bike. I would either fit a massive front basket and a pair of Magura brakes I have in my shed to a mountain bike, or replace the front wheel with a Noomad trike conversion kit:

WHAT IS NOOMAD? - Noomad Bike

I am big and heavy, and obviously the deliveries will also be quite heavy. I don't really care about noise or looks, I just want something that will help me get up hills, will be reliable, and has good spares availability. I will be doing no more than about 20-25 miles a day.

I was in the bike trade in the past, and I have worked on a couple of tandems with Currie Electro Drives, but apart from working on my neighbour's (awful!) ebike I haven't any other experience of them.

So what's best kit for me to dip my toe? Is the Currie still around, or is there something better? I have a couple of potential donor bikes, but ideally would not like to spend more than £500 to electrify them. Building wheels and general bike mechanics won't be a problem. Of course, if the idea worked, I'd be willing to spend considerably more.

Any suggestions welcome.

 

[Deleted member 4366]

Bafang BPM 36V500W Rear Driving Bike Conversion Kit - BMSBATTERY 201 rpm
36V 20Ah Li-Ion Shrink Tube EBike Battery Pack - BMSBATTERY
Spoke Wrench - BMSBATTERY
HWBS - Hidden Wire Brake Sensor 1pcs - BMSBATTERY x 2
EBike Torque Arm m12 size
14-28 Teeth Freewheel - BMSBATTERY

 

[chris667]

Thanks! That looks interesting, although buying things from abroad makes my bum go a bit funny. If it's worked for the community here that's good. Do people find it has issues with the axle bending? I do realise it's at the budget end of the scale, but it looks like there's a lot of unsupported axle there and it doesn't look like superb quality.

Has anyone built one of those dishless, with a singlespeed freewheel? Or would I be better buying a front wheel kit, and ditching the trike conversion?

 

[Deleted member 4366]

They're strong reliable and robust. I've never heard of an axle breaking or bending. With just about all the hub-motors with free-wheel threads, you get the occasional threaded part breaking off, but normally from strong guys that stand on the pedals. Loads of us have bought stuff from this supplier and it's rare to get a problem. There's effectively no warranty. You can't get this stuff in the UK. The nearest is an Ezee kit or Zipi kit, which are good, but expect to pay double. Your budget won't reach anywhere near.

 

[chris667]

I am a strong guy. I stand on pedals. Do you think I'd do better with a front wheel kit?

 

[Deleted member 4366]

You won't need to stand on the pedals with that motor.

 

[Cyclezee]

Hi Chris,

Welcome to the forum, the best place for advice on the subject.

I appreciate that our kits are well over your budget, but perhaps further down the road you might want to consider electric cargo/utility bikes. We have the Yuba el Mundo and the recently introduced eZee Expedir which is a very versatile machine.

You can find them on our website.

Regards,

 

[chris667]

Long bikes are interesting, John. But I suspect they are overkill for what I want to do. Plus the size puts me off; it would be a bit like manouvreing a tandem!
Do you do anything like a Pashley Mailstar with electric assist?

 

[Sacko]

I bought the exact kit Dave has linked you too, loved it.

I used a different battery which gave me a higher top speed, but bang for buck you wont get better.

...and im 6ft 4" 17st, had absolutely no troubles taking me up any hill.

 

[Cyclezee]

Long bikes are interesting, John. But I suspect they are overkill for what I want to do. Plus the size puts me off; it would be a bit like manouvreing a tandem!
Do you do anything like a Pashley Mailstar with electric assist?

Hi Chris,

The closest frame to the Pashley Mailstar that we have is the eZee Expedir, it is relatively compact compared to the Yuba, but still has a great carrying capacity and is quite manoeuvrable.
The frame was designed from scratch as an electric cargo/utility bike rather than a conversion of a non electric bike.