Hi all
I thought I would share my experience of adding electric power to a new bike and what I have learned in case there are any newbies like me who are trying to decide whether to DIY or buy a ready built off the shelf bike
I have wanted an electric bike ever since I owned an electric moped type bike when I lived part time in China just before I retired a couple of years ago. This was a clod hopping thing with lead acid batteries and pedals that were a token gesture to some obscure Chinese law. It was great for getting around Shenzhen though as I dared not drive there. The whole bike cost under £100 and had quite a turn of speed. There were thousands of them and you could ride them anywhere. Contrary to popular belief the Chinese are totally into electric power and their policies are years ahead of ours. The problem is that there countless heavily polluting factories and each one has a rich owner and he and his family want an Audi, BMW etc.
Anyway, I had no idea as to a donor bike but bought a Cannondale Quick because it had the equipment I thought I would like - hydraulic disk brakes, reasonable quality gears etc. It also had front suspension which I did not really want but I figured that the motor could share the strain of lugging round the extra weight. The bike itself was light for its class (but nothing like my 1970's racing bike !).
I then went on a well know auction site and started to look for power. I was reassured with the large amount of choice. I then read up on the law and my instinctive reaction was 'stuff that' - you can get what you want from China and who is going to check anyway. The next stage was to research the motor and I found this site which has proved a fantastic resource. I started to read that it was not quite as simple as I first thought. Initially I wanted say a 1000W motor, twist grip throttle, who needs a pedelec sensor - in effect a small electric motorbike.
As I read more on here, doubts crept in - high powered motors use a lot of power so bigger (heavy) batteries are needed. Some of them are not of the highest quality. Someone mentioned that pedal assist is a nice relaxing ride. It was time for a rethink.
I started to realise that there was a guy from Woosh bikes that replied helpfully to many threads. I got in touch with him and told him of my desire for lots of power and his reaction when he found out that I was slim and light was that I did not need it. I saw he had a 350W rear wheel kit for a 700C bike and I started to contemplate buying through a UK bricks and mortar supplier. A bit more cost but ..... support. As it happened, as of a few weeks ago he was o/s of the 350W motors in my size wheel and could only offer me a 250W motor but again he assured me it would propel me nicely up all but the most severest gradients. I thought if I was not happy I could always sell it and swop it out later and really did not want to wait a couple of months for the larger motor.
I dived in and ordered a 250W rear wheel kit from Woosh. I read all the disclaimers that said you had to be quite skilful to install the kit but I reckoned that as I built my first racing bike out of bits I scavenged as a skint teenager and now have a decent set of tools, I could do it. I was also determined not to go crying for help at the first hurdle. I would have to check, but by this point before the kit had actually arrived I guess Tony had replied to over 20 emails seeking advice ranging from which bike to buy, would this and that be suitable and so on.
The kit arrived the day before we went on holiday so I had to wait 2 weeks to start it which I did on Monday this week. I think I read somewhere that it takes 3 or 4 hours or even less to install a kit. Not in my case
. It took me a day before I sent my first cry for help from Tony. I was relieved and impressed when the reply to my question arrived within 10 minutes or so. Over the course of the past few days I have had to send more than 10 requests for help - all were answered quickly and courteously. I should add that installing the kit was not that difficult. I was being very over cautious working on a bike that cost far more than I ever spent on a bike before. I ended up hardly being able to believe how well it all fitted. Even the disk brake rotor slipped in to the calipers with very little adjustment. Standards are very useful sometimes !
Finally it was all in and I took the bike out to the road outside my house. I had not tested the motor or anything but was going so slowly I was sure I had not made any mistakes with the wiring but nevertheless when I got on board, switched on and started to pedal there was a scream of delight when I started to woosh along
Things I learnt ; I am so pleased I did it all myself. I learnt so much about my new bike being so up close and personal with it for 3 days. For example, to get the rear motor wheel in I decided to take off all the mech (learnt that word too !). Now the disc brake calipers or the rotor hold no mystery. Even the rear derailleur which is so much more complex than my old 1970's Italian one was not that different. I did a lot of the work on a bike stand I bought but should have turned the bike upside down much earlier in the process. I got carried away with the novelty of having the bike suspended in front of me but with the rear wheel, gravity is your friend and I struggled at times when I did not need to. I think I made the right decision to go very slowly. I bought the Park Tools bike maintenance book and read about each stage in that. I shelled out on a good quality 1/4" torque wrench which is a joy to use.
My final thoughts for any other newbies to consider (all you with so much more experience please feel free to contradict me if I am wrong) are: I am so happy I took Tony's advice that a small 250W motor would be enough. It accelerates so well, it is quite lightweight which means I could get the largest battery/range option but most of all it is so amazingly quiet. I have gone from wanting the largest motor available to being so glad I got the smallest. It really is enough for me. The bike rides without power nearly as well as it did before I motorised it (you have to remember though this is no light weight road bike).
Finally, for me, buying from Woosh was definitely the right option. Had I been adding power to an old bike I had lying around it might have been different but on a new bike I did not want to make any mistakes. I could have asked questions on here but it was a luxury having someone to hold my hand at the other end of an email connection. As to anyone considering going down the DIY route, I would encourage anyone who is half handy using tools to give it a go. I found the build process very enjoyable and did not want it to end ! The end result is nothing short of amazing. It is such fun to ride and makes getting around much faster.
Lastly, to Tony if you read this. Thank you - you have the patience of a saint
Disclaimer: I have absolutely no connection with Woosh.
I thought I would share my experience of adding electric power to a new bike and what I have learned in case there are any newbies like me who are trying to decide whether to DIY or buy a ready built off the shelf bike
I have wanted an electric bike ever since I owned an electric moped type bike when I lived part time in China just before I retired a couple of years ago. This was a clod hopping thing with lead acid batteries and pedals that were a token gesture to some obscure Chinese law. It was great for getting around Shenzhen though as I dared not drive there. The whole bike cost under £100 and had quite a turn of speed. There were thousands of them and you could ride them anywhere. Contrary to popular belief the Chinese are totally into electric power and their policies are years ahead of ours. The problem is that there countless heavily polluting factories and each one has a rich owner and he and his family want an Audi, BMW etc.
Anyway, I had no idea as to a donor bike but bought a Cannondale Quick because it had the equipment I thought I would like - hydraulic disk brakes, reasonable quality gears etc. It also had front suspension which I did not really want but I figured that the motor could share the strain of lugging round the extra weight. The bike itself was light for its class (but nothing like my 1970's racing bike !).
I then went on a well know auction site and started to look for power. I was reassured with the large amount of choice. I then read up on the law and my instinctive reaction was 'stuff that' - you can get what you want from China and who is going to check anyway. The next stage was to research the motor and I found this site which has proved a fantastic resource. I started to read that it was not quite as simple as I first thought. Initially I wanted say a 1000W motor, twist grip throttle, who needs a pedelec sensor - in effect a small electric motorbike.
As I read more on here, doubts crept in - high powered motors use a lot of power so bigger (heavy) batteries are needed. Some of them are not of the highest quality. Someone mentioned that pedal assist is a nice relaxing ride. It was time for a rethink.
I started to realise that there was a guy from Woosh bikes that replied helpfully to many threads. I got in touch with him and told him of my desire for lots of power and his reaction when he found out that I was slim and light was that I did not need it. I saw he had a 350W rear wheel kit for a 700C bike and I started to contemplate buying through a UK bricks and mortar supplier. A bit more cost but ..... support. As it happened, as of a few weeks ago he was o/s of the 350W motors in my size wheel and could only offer me a 250W motor but again he assured me it would propel me nicely up all but the most severest gradients. I thought if I was not happy I could always sell it and swop it out later and really did not want to wait a couple of months for the larger motor.
I dived in and ordered a 250W rear wheel kit from Woosh. I read all the disclaimers that said you had to be quite skilful to install the kit but I reckoned that as I built my first racing bike out of bits I scavenged as a skint teenager and now have a decent set of tools, I could do it. I was also determined not to go crying for help at the first hurdle. I would have to check, but by this point before the kit had actually arrived I guess Tony had replied to over 20 emails seeking advice ranging from which bike to buy, would this and that be suitable and so on.
The kit arrived the day before we went on holiday so I had to wait 2 weeks to start it which I did on Monday this week. I think I read somewhere that it takes 3 or 4 hours or even less to install a kit. Not in my case
. It took me a day before I sent my first cry for help from Tony. I was relieved and impressed when the reply to my question arrived within 10 minutes or so. Over the course of the past few days I have had to send more than 10 requests for help - all were answered quickly and courteously. I should add that installing the kit was not that difficult. I was being very over cautious working on a bike that cost far more than I ever spent on a bike before. I ended up hardly being able to believe how well it all fitted. Even the disk brake rotor slipped in to the calipers with very little adjustment. Standards are very useful sometimes ! Finally it was all in and I took the bike out to the road outside my house. I had not tested the motor or anything but was going so slowly I was sure I had not made any mistakes with the wiring but nevertheless when I got on board, switched on and started to pedal there was a scream of delight when I started to woosh along
Things I learnt ; I am so pleased I did it all myself. I learnt so much about my new bike being so up close and personal with it for 3 days. For example, to get the rear motor wheel in I decided to take off all the mech (learnt that word too !). Now the disc brake calipers or the rotor hold no mystery. Even the rear derailleur which is so much more complex than my old 1970's Italian one was not that different. I did a lot of the work on a bike stand I bought but should have turned the bike upside down much earlier in the process. I got carried away with the novelty of having the bike suspended in front of me but with the rear wheel, gravity is your friend and I struggled at times when I did not need to. I think I made the right decision to go very slowly. I bought the Park Tools bike maintenance book and read about each stage in that. I shelled out on a good quality 1/4" torque wrench which is a joy to use.
My final thoughts for any other newbies to consider (all you with so much more experience please feel free to contradict me if I am wrong) are: I am so happy I took Tony's advice that a small 250W motor would be enough. It accelerates so well, it is quite lightweight which means I could get the largest battery/range option but most of all it is so amazingly quiet. I have gone from wanting the largest motor available to being so glad I got the smallest. It really is enough for me. The bike rides without power nearly as well as it did before I motorised it (you have to remember though this is no light weight road bike).
Finally, for me, buying from Woosh was definitely the right option. Had I been adding power to an old bike I had lying around it might have been different but on a new bike I did not want to make any mistakes. I could have asked questions on here but it was a luxury having someone to hold my hand at the other end of an email connection. As to anyone considering going down the DIY route, I would encourage anyone who is half handy using tools to give it a go. I found the build process very enjoyable and did not want it to end ! The end result is nothing short of amazing. It is such fun to ride and makes getting around much faster.
Lastly, to Tony if you read this. Thank you - you have the patience of a saint
Disclaimer: I have absolutely no connection with Woosh.
