Total newbie looking to buy an eBike, want some advice on a model!

[Karliah]

Hi all,

I am looking to buy an eBike, I have an offer of a Shengmilo MX05 for £750 Brand new in box, I'm not sure if I should take it or not or look elsewhere, my budget is definitely around that price point.

Some additional information:

I have a normal bike already that I love, so I am totally open to getting a conversion kit although it is more hassle, I do have the capacity to build my own lithium ion 18650 battery with the help of a qualified electrician, if it will save me a significant sum of money.

- The shengmilo has a really long range, My health is quite bad so I would want the comfort of knowing I can get back without pedaling much of that makes sense.

One person has told me that the MX05 is not road legal, looking for some advice on this as it says it conforms to UK law, can be limited to 15mph etc, looking for some advice on that.

If you need any more info please let me know, as I said I know nothing about this sector, so all advice is welcome

 

[soundwave]

the most expensive part is the batt and when they sell kits that cheap you have no idea what cells are used in the batts and if cheap chine knock off cells they work for about 3 months then get massive voltage sag so the bike cuts power.

48v – eBike Batteries

ebikebatteries.co.uk

 

[StuartsProjects]

The bike seems a no brainer to me, but what do I know? I was hoping I could have a definitive answer but evidently its more complicated than I thought

Please appreciate that some forum memberts might not be prepared to give advice on the use of electric bikes that are not legally compliant.

Do remember the forum rules;

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[sjpt]

That bike appears to be really heavy. Many ebikes are pretty heavy, maybe 25kg. That one is 37kg gross weight (***). That is massive. If you are ever likely to need to lift it or manoeuvre it anywhere with your poor health, good luck. It's legally a motor bike, it almost looks like a motor bike, and it weighs like a motor bike.

Despite the really attractive price you are being offered I'd go for something more like the normal bike you already love. As a bonus, it will probably be technically legal.

(***) see (https://shengmilo.net/product/shengmilo-mx05/) I guess gross means with battery.

 

[flecc]

I believe it is genuine. apparently the person has died so are selling of his possessions prompto, I am close by so will be able to view it brand new in box before purchasing if that helps.

And my requirements are undemanding I suppose, my budget however is right around that mark, and it saves quite a lot of time having it already done, especially if the price is similar to that of a conversion kit with a battery. that's my line of thinking.

Understood, it is an unusual situation if genuine. Some might be scared to buy it in case it's jinxed and they too instantly drop dead!!

But joking apart, I still wouldn't touch a illegal new pedelec, especially as that private sale has no supplier warranty or support.
.

 

[Chainmale]

Looking at the specs of the bike in question it would seem to fit into the category that some refer to as a "speed pedelec" ie a moped as far as it's legal status goes.

 

[soundwave]

s class is up to 28mph anything over that is race class then motor bike imo

 

[Chainmale]

s class is up to 28mph anything over that is race class then motor bike imo

Yes, it's listed as having a max speed of 45kph (28mph)

 

[Karliah]

Yes, it's listed as having a max speed of 45kph (28mph)

Yeah max is 28. But factory limited to 15 you can enter a special combination to change the max speed in the firmware up to 28, but it's 15 I believe

 

[Karliah]

Understood, it is an unusual situation if genuine. Some might be scared to buy it in case it's jinxed and they too instantly drop dead!!

But joking apart, I still wouldn't touch a illegal new pedelec, especially as that private sale has no supplier warranty or support.
.

That bike appears to be really heavy. Many ebikes are pretty heavy, maybe 25kg. That one is 37kg gross weight (***). That is massive. If you are ever likely to need to lift it or manoeuvre it anywhere with your poor health, good luck. It's legally a motor bike, it almost looks like a motor bike, and it weighs like a motor bike.

Despite the really attractive price you are being offered I'd go for something more like the normal bike you already love. As a bonus, it will probably be technically legal.

(***) see (https://shengmilo.net/product/shengmilo-mx05/) I guess gross means with battery.

Right, I think I'll go down that route then, probably a coversion kit something similar to this

https://www.amazon.co.uk/YOSE-POWER-Freewheel-Conversion-Battery/dp/B09R1CSVWZ/ref=sr_1_6?crid=3A82GLOHFDXF7&keywords=ebike%2Bconversion%2Bkit&qid=1686771518&sprefix=ebike%2Bcoversion%2Bkit%2Caps%2C96&sr=8-6&th=1&psc=1

Have you got any specific recommendations as soundwave mentioned above that you want to stay away from chinese knockoff cells as they will fail fairly quickly?

 

[StuartsProjects]

Have you got any specific recommendations as soundwave mentioned above that you want to stay away from chinese knockoff cells as they will fail fairly quickly?

Yes, ignore anyone who might suggest a 350W motor is OK or acceptable on UK roads, and order the 250W version.

Do you have a driving licence ?

 

[Karliah]

Yes, ignore anyone who might suggest a 350W motor is OK or acceptable on UK roads, and order the 250W version.

Do you have a driving licence ?

I'm more asking recommendations of brands to stay away from / ones that are reliable at a decent price point. I can go on aliexpress or whereever and find kits by no name brands, but are they going to break in 3 months like soundwave said? Is it better to invest a bit more and have it last longer? In which case have you got any brands in mind? - I'm not asking about the size of the motor, I will probably go with 250W as that seems the safe option based on what you and others have said, It will definitely do for starting out.

No, I do not have a driving licence yet.

 

[Woosh]

there are a few things to keep in mind when choosing a kit:
1. avoid Chinese cells in battery. Battery cells are graded. Those failing A grade and B grade are sold off cheaply without branding and found their way into cheapest batteries. Also, if you buy batteries from a reputable UK source, they have insurance which covers fire risk.
2. Avoid parts with long cables. Generic parts have cables that are longer than necessary, when your kit is finished, you will have to get rid of the excess cables. The only way is to cut out the excess cables and resolder. Nobody wants to waste time and effort doing that.
3. Avoid non waterproof connectors.
4. Avoid motors without screw lid. One day you may need to open your motor, so avoid motors whose lid requires a special tool (usually called a spider) to open.
5. Avoid so called 1:1 controllers. They have low quality processor and firmware. Best choice are FOC contrllers that have STM32 chip.
Best brands for batteries are Samsung, Panasonic, LG, Sony
The common choice for cable system on kits is the Julet cableset.
The common choice for hub motor cable is 9-pin short cable (10").

 

[sjpt]

How many speeds is your current bike, and is it cassette or freewheel?
For a rear wheel kit you need to get an appropriate kit or may end up needing to buy a few other bits.
eg For that kit a new freewheel if your current bike has a cassette; and maybe even new shifters if your current bike has lots of speeds and you can't get a matching freewheel.

I'd avoid a 350w kit for all the legal reasons mentioned above.

Look at the kits from Woosh (https://wooshbikes.co.uk/?hubkits). You'll pay a bit more than from Yose, but you'll get lots of advice and really helpful after sales service.

How good the controller is makes a big difference to the riding experience. I'm not sure how good the Yose batteries and controllers are --- not saying they are not good, just saying I'm not sure.

 

[soundwave]

when you buy a batt from china ect you take a gamble if you want decent brand tested cells get a batt from jimmy as he has a custom 30k spot welder uk based but only accepts bank transfer.

or

Bafang BBS01B (MM G430.250) motor kit 36V 250W

Bafang BBS01B 36V 250W mid-drive complete conversion kit

www.brightonebikes.co.uk

Batteries → Cogs Y Gogs - eBike Workshop Supplier & Installer

both in uk and will have warranty if you want the hole kit in one go

 

[StuartsProjects]

I can go on aliexpress or whereever and find kits by no name brands, but are they going to break in 3 months like soundwave said?

They might do, or maybe not.

There could be suppliers of very high quality, never fail stuff, on Aliexpress but I doubt it.

The real issue is if it goes wrong, and clearly that does happen, just read recent threads on here, what do you do ?

Buy a kit from a UK supplier, and if something goes wrong then there is a good chance it can be sorted, UK consumer regulations etc.

But if a kit from the far East\Aliexpress goes wrong then dont expect it to be sorted, "please return the kit" etc.

Yes stuff on Aliepress is cheap, but as Clint said "Do you feel lucky punk"

 

[Peter.Bridge]

There's lots of people that have gone with the yosepower kits and had good experiences eg @Cadence

There's a whole thread on yosepower kits, I think the controllers with the current kits are less configurable than the ones they used to offer

When I asked Yose power recently they said the controller assist levels were based on speed rather than % power which rather put me off but you could argue that I'm being overly fussy!

With any rear hub kit, if you are going to retain your current donor bike hub and gear configuration, you need to know if the rear hub is freewheel or cassette before ordering your kit

 

[StuartsProjects]

if you want decent brand tested cells get a batt from jimmy as he has a custom 30k spot welder uk based but only accepts bank transfer.

ebikebatteries.co.uk do also accept cheques.

But I fully understand if a lot of not long on the planet people have no idea what a 'cheque' is.

 

[soundwave]

he prob take gold and silver as well but i have another guy that can do the bosch batts now

 

[flecc]

Buy a kit from a UK supplier, and if something goes wrong then there is a good chance it can be sorted, UK consumer regulations etc.

Agree with Stuart, a UK supplier is preferable even if slightly more expensive. A company like Woosh who supply kits as well as complete pedelecs will always look after you and give helpful conversion advice if the need arises.
.

 

[Cadence]

Yep, i'm very pleased with the two kits I bought from Yosepower UK (not Aliexpress and both delivered in 3 days). I bought one kit without a battery and share one on the basis that I can only ride one bike at once!
I effectively got two bikes kitted out for the price I would pay for one elsewhere. However, @Woosh makes some valid points. The over-long cables are a bit of a pain but I was able to overcome this with some "creative" routing without cutting them. It does help to hide them if your bike is black! The long motor cable is perhaps the worst part if you get a puncture. If you are of a practical nature and don't mind taking time over it a decent job is possible.
Product support is very good but it is email from China so not as good as a UK supplier.
It's too early to say how the good the battery is (bought in March and getting to nearly 600 miles between the two kits), but I'm not expecting too much bearing in mind the price.