So then.... Whats the best conversion kit

[AndyBike]

I know I've been less than enthusiastic in the past about them, but after reading many threads on here maybe(just maybe) my attitude towards them is changing a bit.

Now I dont want to get into things that require deep thought, and working out currents and resistance and fitting this and soldering that. Just a bog standard plug and play.

I've an old 26er i used to ride daily, which has fallen by the wayside after buying the genius 920, but the ebike is heavy, and rather expensive o be popping into the city center and leaving it for an hour or two without seriously worried about it attracting the wrong sort of attention*, and while the 26er is pretty high end, its not cost me anywhere near the Scott.

It weighs about 12kg(the 26er) so i was now thinking maybe a conversion kit would A. keep it in service and B. be something ill worry less about.

Go outdoors, alpine sports,blacks etc have started selling Swytch type kits with 250wh batteries, prebuilt wheels at about £550. The only downside-if it is a downside is its controlled by an app on a smartphone. I'm not electrically or modern minded- I could strip and rebuild a steam engine, but electrical leaves my head spinning :lol:

So what do the conversionists recommend ? Bafang ? are they about the best ?

Also preferring something with a prebuilt wheel. again prefer a rear but front is just as good and battery power doesnt need to be beyond 250wh really. This is more about a 15 mile round trip, half of that likely in freewheel.

Thank you kindly for your time.
Bike I intend to convert -
.
*I was thinking about bike covers - you know the type, simple covers to keep the rain off, but if used to cover an ebike when locked up, it cuts down on the high end visual nature of them, and maybe makes it all a bit less conspicuous. Plus it can happily pour from the heavens and the bike isnt sitting there getting saturated.

 

[Woosh]

You have a very nice donor bike which can take any coonvenional front, middle or rear motor and a downtube battery. So what are your priorities? Stealth, range, weight of the motor, programmability, tidiness of installation? The choice can then be whittled down further if you are overweight or you live in a very hilly area.

 

[AndyBike]

Aha, Woosh. I keep forgetting you do kits and not just prebuiilt. How handy

Ermmmm. TBH its not any and at the same time all of the above. Ease of fitting would be the best thing. Weight to a minimum and as to range, its not for use as an mtb but just for shopping trips to the town. I probably built that bike for under 600 so i have no problem leaving it in the city and have done many times. Just these days the leg is a bit suspect and i dont have the strength in it to ride home easily. I mean small children and grannies overtake me easily these days lol, so i need the power to help the return journey more than anything. Its probably a 10 mile round trip, or a bit longer if i go to the west end for coffee/buns

So to recap - range 10-15,20 tops. Light as possible. Ease of fitting without hassles. Programmability im unconcerned about.
Tidy would be good. Im not one for plate fulls of spaghetti hanging out
I think a mid drive would be neater, and less to do and ive heard a few tales of ease of fitting but i dont really know tbh. its not a subject ive immersed myself in preferring to research the bosch type rather than hub or kits etc. What are your recommendations ?

Overweight ??? im a dainty 15 stone 6'3" How dare you sir
lol
Naw, a bit plumper these days i admit.

Suggestions ?.
OOh price. Free would be nice but i guess i wont be getting that. But ive spent £5k on the Scott, and thats my main rider, so maybe 700 ish bit more, bit less

 

[guerney]

If your bottom bracket is compatible, I think you should consider investing in a battery made using high quality cells capable of more providing more than 20A, and install a BBS01b kit - if it can't power your dainty self up very steep hills, you will have the option to increase the amps using the programming cable. That being said, my BBS01b has pushed more than 90kg up steep hills with just 15A. I used this sort of sleeving, to keep the bike looking tidy:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07FW3GTXB/

Easy to install:

From what I've read on this forum, the Swytch kits are not very adjustable - you might not want to make adjustments with a programming cable, but it's nice to have the option to make small adjustments to suit you. But not everyone likes cadence sensored kits... I've become used to it.

Lots of spare parts are avialable for the BBS01b, and will be for a fair few years (I think).

 

[jimriley]

^^^^ this. ^^^^

 

[AndyBike]

@guerney
Your amazon link is to a bit of protective covering for wiring



No swytch would be my last choice, it was only an example. In truth it will probably be from Woosh given their rep on here and trust pilot. Plus being on here any probs im more than sure can be easily ironed out.

I think, fairly sure its going to be BB mounted. Basically its going to balance the weight better than a hub motor, and thats because of the type of frame more than anything else. And i like the idea of it really just the motor and battery set up so keeps things neat. I can fit another rack suitable to mount the battery in(I think you probably know the type)
I just need to know the requirements. Its a freeride Cove Stiffee frame so was never meant or envisioned on having a motor fitted to it, so I'll need to know some sizes, how the chainstays might impact on fitting.

I've found a hub mounted on this stiffee frame so for hub it would be ok, just need to find an example of mid drive. One the pic this is kind of the thing im trying to avoid. Just looks too cluttered, and i like things to be neat and tidy.

 

[Nealh]

The above pic has a 5kg D/D drive motor in the wheel and the controller mounted just above the wheel in free air. By the looks of it ideal for that user in dry nice weather.

 

[Woosh]

I would recommend the Tongsheng TSDZ2 48V 250W kit which is the nearest to what you currently ride (Scott Eride 920).
The TSDZ2 has torque sensor, is smaller and lighter than the cadence sensored BBS01B.

 

[guerney]

The above pic has a 5kg D/D drive motor in the wheel and the controller mounted just above the wheel in free air. By the looks of it ideal for that user in dry nice weather.

Is that a second battery - gaffa taped black object between the aluminium controller and the thudbuster, with a white connector exposed to mud/rain splashes, because he doesn't have a rear mudguard?

 

[guerney]

@guerney
Your amazon link is to a bit of protective covering for wiring



No swytch would be my last choice, it was only an example. In truth it will probably be from Woosh given their rep on here and trust pilot. Plus being on here any probs im more than sure can be easily ironed out.

I think, fairly sure its going to be BB mounted. Basically its going to balance the weight better than a hub motor, and thats because of the type of frame more than anything else. And i like the idea of it really just the motor and battery set up so keeps things neat. I can fit another rack suitable to mount the battery in(I think you probably know the type)
I just need to know the requirements. Its a freeride Cove Stiffee frame so was never meant or envisioned on having a motor fitted to it, so I'll need to know some sizes, how the chainstays might impact on fitting.

I've found a hub mounted on this stiffee frame so for hub it would be ok, just need to find an example of mid drive. One the pic this is kind of the thing im trying to avoid. Just looks too cluttered, and i like things to be neat and tidy.
View attachment 45328

I'm sure your conversion could look a lot neater than that AndyBike. For a 10 to 20 mile range, your battery doesn't need to be as large - measure the frame for one of Woosh's downtube batteries?

I don't know your frame, and if it were me looking to convert it - I'd actually take out the crank and measure and inspect the bottom bracket properly, looking out for any odd obstructions inside.

 

[guerney]

My next battery will be from here - they quote measurements, and most are made with quality cells from Samsung and Panasonic, with high continuous discharge amp ratings:

eBike Batteries – eBike Batteries

ebikebatteries.co.uk

 

[egroover]

another vote here for a BBS01b 36v 250w kit, and a smallish hailong battery as I think it'll be more robust and reliable than the Tongsheng mid drives

 

[guerney]

another vote here for a BBS01b 36v 250w kit, and a smallish hailong battery as I think it'll be more robust and reliable than the Tongsheng mid drives

Any sign of a resurgence of that amazing bbs01b deal you found a few weeks ago egroover? I was sooo tempted to chuck another one onto another bike!

 

[egroover]

Any sign of a resurgence of that amazing bbs01b deal you found a few weeks ago egroover? I was sooo tempted to chuck another one onto another bike!

Sadly not guerney, they are back up to about £380 on Aliexpress with no discount codes worth mentioning, so at that price you can go to Woosh and get them. Glad I got one as a spare at £230 back when it was on offer/price glitch, but if I ever see another deal like that will post it here

 

[guerney]

Sadly not guerney, they are back up to about £380 on Aliexpress with no discount codes worth mentioning, so at that price you can go to Woosh and get them. Glad I got one as a spare at £230 back when it was on offer/price glitch, but if I ever see another deal like that will post it here

That was one sweeeet deal! We may never again see the like... I shoulda coulda woulda...

 

[guerney]

@AndyBike - If you were going to go with a BBS01b, I would recommend the seller I bought mine from, who provided knowledgeable technical support, but he's based in China, or his "Diagnostic facility" is, and I had to mail the controller I killed by mistake to this said facility, at a cost of £20 postage, only to be told that no real diagnostic work was carried out... but he did mail me a brand new controller for free, even though I had murdered the one I sent to him (my poor soldering skills at the time killed that controller, much improved since ). Plus he doesn't have any in the UK at the mo. You're better off buying from someone based in the UK, unless there's another sweeeeet egroover deal.

 

[Nealh]

Is that a second battery - gaffa taped black object between the aluminium controller and the thudbuster, with a white connector exposed to mud/rain splashes, because he doesn't have a rear mudguard?

No I doubt it, to me it's just a shroud to hide wiring.

 

[guerney]

No I doubt it, to me it's just a shroud to hide wiring.

I'm obsessive about keeping moisture out of bike electrics, every connection on my bike is covered with self-adhesive marine heat shrunk plus self-amalgamating rubber tape. Does seem unwise... how many fine rainless days are there in the UK? Mind you, looks like Spain, southern France, Greece or pretty much anywhere warmer and sunnier than blighty ie pretty much anywhere else.

 

[guerney]

I know I've been less than enthusiastic in the past about them, but after reading many threads on here maybe(just maybe) my attitude towards them is changing a bit.

It's great that you're seeing the light! Do it Andy! You won't regret it... or maybe you will just a little, but not much, or not very very much. You sound like an experienced bike builder (far more than me!). I'd wager that once you convert one, you'll be hooked and sizing up others for conversion. I'd wager 100ml of Guinness.

 

[guerney]

@AndyBike I'm not fit and have a couple of worsening medical conditions, the worst of which may well be old age - but another advantage of some kit coverted bikes, is that you can dial up the assistance to such a high level, one not need make any effort all cycling (or pretending to). My BBS01B convesion is pretty much a moped started off by pedalling. I don't know how easy it is to make a Tongsheng tsdz2 be as helpful. Douglas Adams was righ: Youth is wasted on the young.