Types

[bill1957]

Hi wondering on your thoughts on a good donor bike I’m against having a mtb thinking of a road bike or urban type bike.

 

[sjpt]

You need to say what sort of riding you expect to do; how far, roads and/or paths, how hilly, how fit you are, etc etc.

 

[bill1957]

You need to say what sort of riding you expect to do; how far, roads and/or paths, how hilly, how fit you are, etc etc.

mainly road and path , fairly hilly and not very fit about 10 mile trip

 

[sjpt]

I'd go for a hybrid. If you haven't already got the bike it might be easier to buy a complete electric bike.
eg https://wooshbikes.co.uk/cart/
If you go for a conversion also look at Woosh, and do NOT go for a cheap direct drive kit (often marketed as 1000w or 750w) which is heavy, illegal, bad at hills and chews through battery. Look on other threads here from people who did.

 

[bill1957]

I'd go for a hybrid. If you haven't already got the bike it might be easier to buy a complete electric bike.
eg https://wooshbikes.co.uk/cart/
If you go for a conversion also look at Woosh, and do NOT go for a cheap direct drive kit (often marketed as 1000w or 750w) which is heavy, illegal, bad at hills and chews through battery. Look on other threads here from people who did.

thanks , do you mean the hub kits to keep off ?

 

[sjpt]

thanks , do you mean the hub kits to keep off ?

No, most hub motors are fine. They have internal fixed gears so the motor can spin fast (which is best for electric motors) without driving the wheel too fast. Direct drive motors don't have these gears, so they are quite good at going illegally fast on the flat, but not much good at anything else. In particular see ebay adverts for Voilamart kits. The direct drive ones are temptingly cheap, but need expensive batteries so they don't end up that cheap in the end, and still remain unsuitable for everyday use.

 

[bill1957]

No, most hub motors are fine. They have internal fixed gears so the motor can spin fast (which is best for electric motors) without driving the wheel too fast. Direct drive motors don't have these gears, so they are quite good at going illegally fast on the flat, but not much good at anything else. In particular see ebay adverts for Voilamart kits. The direct drive ones are temptingly cheap, but need expensive batteries so they don't end up that cheap in the end, and still remain unsuitable for everyday use.

What type would you suggest as I need mainly help with banks as I have a leg problem

 

[sjpt]

Depends a bit how steep the banks are. Mid drive motors are better on big hills as they take advantage of the bike's regular gears (*). Most seem to have torque sensing, but as long as you can push a bit that should be ok.

Have a discussion with Woosh; he (or she if its Hattie) will give advice both on whether to buy a complete bike, or a separate bike and convert, and either way what a good option for you should be. https://wooshbikes.co.uk/?contactus 01702 435566 They are working a bit differently than usual at the moment but I'm not sure the details.

(*) separate from any gears within the motor itself.

 

[Nealh]

Look at 700c or 650b CX bikes that give you the option of wider tyres up to about 50mm.

 

[Benjahmin]

If you have leg problems then I would steer clear of torque sensing bikes, this rules out all the Bosch powered and pretty much all mid drive bikes.
With a pas sensored bike, if your legs get tired, all you have to do is ghost peddle to get home. Not true on torque sensing as they multiply the torque you put in. If you put none in you get none out.
Most geared hub drives are pas. All hub kits are pas, as far as I know. Woosh do Bafang mid drive kits that are pas.
I would suggest a hybrid framed bike with front suspension. Allows mild off road but good on road, gearing range to suit both.