There's a clearly a market here for somebody to step up and provide a European retail interface between the DIY market and all the various suppliers. The problem is that it takes quite a bit of capital to carry the stock and handle the warranty side. The OP is not the only person to ask questions like this.
I'm not sure where this is going to come from. Whether its one of the big bicycle retailers like Evans or ChainReaction, one of the existing shops like Alien or the Electric Transport Shop or people like Mechaniker expanding their business.
Whisper and their Daahub is one approach that really just makes what Alien were doing with their kits but more professional. There are some fairly obvious complete packages that could be made up for DIY conversions. The problem is those of us who are never quite satisfied or want something a bit customised or different from the package. We want to be able to mix and match with a specific SB (BMS, Puma, etc) motor in a specific rim to a specific controller to a specific battery and battery mounting system and then to be able to get all the individual bits (switches, sensors, controls, plugs, sockets, torque arms, brake levers, etc etc) to make it actually work.
A lot of that is just traditional bicycle shop stock in a slightly different area. For the big bits, it should be possible to reduce the range to a few key components. The trick is to pick the right ones and have some custom assembly (like rim lacing) at point of sale. I should be able to spec 48v BPM 26(13) in a 700c rim, or QSWXH 36V(20") - 7 speed shimano, 26" rim. Batteries might be hard, but even here we're converging on 2 voltages, 2 capacities, 2 chemistries and 2 mounting techniques. That's a lot of combinations but several of them can be ignored. Even working with Ping for truly custom packs could be improved by a European specialist who provided the interface between the end-user and the manufacturer.
NRG: I'm sure you will, but do please keep us informed of how your Alien GS-E-Crazyman upgrade goes.
I'm not sure where this is going to come from. Whether its one of the big bicycle retailers like Evans or ChainReaction, one of the existing shops like Alien or the Electric Transport Shop or people like Mechaniker expanding their business.
Whisper and their Daahub is one approach that really just makes what Alien were doing with their kits but more professional. There are some fairly obvious complete packages that could be made up for DIY conversions. The problem is those of us who are never quite satisfied or want something a bit customised or different from the package. We want to be able to mix and match with a specific SB (BMS, Puma, etc) motor in a specific rim to a specific controller to a specific battery and battery mounting system and then to be able to get all the individual bits (switches, sensors, controls, plugs, sockets, torque arms, brake levers, etc etc) to make it actually work.
A lot of that is just traditional bicycle shop stock in a slightly different area. For the big bits, it should be possible to reduce the range to a few key components. The trick is to pick the right ones and have some custom assembly (like rim lacing) at point of sale. I should be able to spec 48v BPM 26(13) in a 700c rim, or QSWXH 36V(20") - 7 speed shimano, 26" rim. Batteries might be hard, but even here we're converging on 2 voltages, 2 capacities, 2 chemistries and 2 mounting techniques. That's a lot of combinations but several of them can be ignored. Even working with Ping for truly custom packs could be improved by a European specialist who provided the interface between the end-user and the manufacturer.
NRG: I'm sure you will, but do please keep us informed of how your Alien GS-E-Crazyman upgrade goes.