What conversion kit should I get?

I've recently moved and unfortunately my commute to work has significantly increased, and now consists of about 30-40 minute ride along a canal, plus an additional 20 minutes of steep uphill on my return journey.

 

As a result of this I'm looking into whether or not a conversion kit might assist me. I'm currently looking at two options for a conversion kit and I was wanting some advice on them both or if anyone has any other alternatives that might work well for me that I can obtain in the UK.

 

Option 1: This is from a Company called Bike tails. From the installation video it looks like it would be very easy to install which is a nice plus point and it looks like a fairly straight forward system, I also would be very surprised if this didn't work on my bike as I already have a pannier rack fitted. My concern is that I'm not sure how well it would cope with the steep hill and I've also heard that friction drives aren't as good if the tires are wet, or if it's raining.

• Bike tail site
  
• Amazon Listing
  

 

Option 2: Is a mid-drive system from Pedalease. This claims to solve the problems I was worried about with the friction drive option, in that it claims to cope well with hills, and this is back up with other information I've read about mid-drive systems, because they are able to make use of the gearing. My concern is how easy it would be to fit myself and if I would need to take it to a local friendly bike shop, and also if it would be possible to fit on my bike at all.

• Fish Type Battery
  
• Bottle type Battery
  

Has anyone had any experience of these brands before? Will the friction drive cope with the hills near me?(according to http://veloroutes.org/ the gradient of my hill is ~8%) How hard are most mid-drive systems to fit? Are there any better options?

We need to know what your bike is. Friction drives are good on paper rarely on the road.

I've got a carrera crossfire, but I can't remember the exact model. I believe it is the carrera crossfire 3.

 

http://www.halfords.com/cycling/bikes/hybrid-bikes/carrera-crossfire-3-hybrid-bike?cm_mmc=Google+PLA-_-Bikes-_-Hybrid+Bikes-_-266499&_$ja=tsid:60494%7Ccgn:GoogleShopping%7Ckw:266499&istCompanyId=b8708c57-7a02-4cf6-b2c0-dc36b54a327e&istItemId=wriaitra&istBid=tztx&_$ja=tsid:35522|cid:344520484|agid:24344217364|tid:aud-80976662749:pla-224053420084|crid:83789280484|nw:g|rnd:930216018533728767|dvc:m|adp:1o2&gclid=CjwKEAjwrIa9BRD5_dvqqazMrFESJACdv27GDgMPBhRqs611P8FF5Z1xXgWXZM62numGowBh661e9xoCbBnw_wcB

That is a good bike for the pedalease kit.

 

If you don't have the proper tool you can ask your LBS to take the bottom bracket out. Then you need some Allen keys, spanner, screwdriver to mount everything.

I've seen alot of people mentioning the 8fun bbs01/bbs02 kits looking around it looks like the price would be around the £600 mark. Do you know how good they are/how they perform next to the pedalease kit?

Disclaimer: I am a satisfied Woosh client

 

Very good, been around for a while and performance of all these 250 W mid motor kits is very similar. I have a Bafang clone, the GSM from Woosh who also do the Bafang and who have great support.

The third option is a hub motor. A front hub motor can be a very easy conversion, probably slightly easier than a mid drive as you don't need any special tools.

 

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Forget friction drives. Been around for 100 years and always been dumped.

Alternative is the halifrauds selling a new e Carrera for £800. Interest free guaranteed etc. Otherwise I'm happy with BBS 01 easy to fit and no issues so far other than buying a hub gear to improve the stop start bit.

Here's a thread on converting exactly your bike:

http://www.pedelecs.co.uk/forum/threads/converting-a-carrera-crossfire3.21965/

It's an Ezee front hub kit, perhaps the easiest to fit. There are cheaper ones available, but this is reliable and photo's will give you some idea.

Kits are mostly plug and play, so providing you can wield a spanner, there should be no problem.

Right so I think I'll rule out friction motors then.

 

How do hub motors compare for providing power up hills, my previous understanding was that certainly the front hub ones can struggle a bit because the drive is in front of the center of gravity so you end up with a lot of wasted power. Are there any advantages for going with a hub motor over mid drive.

 

I had a quick look at the GSM, it looks pretty good, is whoosh a fairly reputable brand/company?

Hub cheap and cheerful. Front can lose grip in slippy conditions but some recommend it as two wheel drive for commuting. Then if chain brakes you can still go on throttle.

Slight technical advantage to CD but new hubs make the difference very little.

How easy are rear hubs to install? I thought they were almost as much of a pain as mid-life systems. What sort of things do I need to consider when looking for one?

 

Out of curiosity would powering yourself home using the front motor after snapping the chain still be legal in the UK for road use?

Most kits seem easy to me. Battery size, spares, support, weight, upgrade ability. Are general. Torque vs sensor and throttle as well.

 

Probably ilegal, but a get you home measure with oily chain in pocket?

I'd probably describe my bike maintenance ability on the more novice side, I've not done a huge amount before now. But in my favour I am a mechanical engineer so I do have some familiarity with the tasks involved even if I've never done any before.

IT will be a piece of urine then for you. It's electrically as complex as a new tv and cable box with DVD and interweby.

Out of interest, whereabouts are you in the UK?

Yorkshire. Why do you ask?

Yorkshire. Why do you ask?

 

There's a lot of helpful members on here, of varying levels of expertise and experience. Maybe someone is nearby to you and could give you advice first hand. Or, at least a go on their bike to help you make an informed decision.

 

I've pm'd a suggestion to you.

Fitting a hub kit to a bike usually requires the axle to sit approx 3mm deeper in the dropouts so a small amount of milling is required, a dremmel type tool makes that easier. The std bike axle is 9mm hub motors are 12 or 14mm which means they don't sit in the drop out quite enough.

I've got a carrera crossfire, but I can't remember the exact model. I believe it is the carrera crossfire 3.

 

http://www.halfords.com/cycling/bikes/hybrid-bikes/carrera-crossfire-3-hybrid-bike?cm_mmc=Google+PLA-_-Bikes-_-Hybrid+Bikes-_-266499&_$ja=tsid:60494|cgn:GoogleShopping|kw:266499&istCompanyId=b8708c57-7a02-4cf6-b2c0-dc36b54a327e&istItemId=wriaitra&istBid=tztx&_$ja=tsid:35522|cid:344520484|agid:24344217364|tid:aud-80976662749:pla-224053420084|crid:83789280484|nw:g|rnd:930216018533728767|dvc:m|adp:1o2&gclid=CjwKEAjwrIa9BRD5_dvqqazMrFESJACdv27GDgMPBhRqs611P8FF5Z1xXgWXZM62numGowBh661e9xoCbBnw_wcB

 

I fitted a 8fun front hub motor kit to my Crossfire...... It fitted dead easy, although i did have to remove the granny ring, so i could fit the PAS disc on the chainring side. Also just had to file about 2mm from the inside of one the fork drop outs to clear one side of the motor. Never had any problem with traction with the motor being on the front. Apart from those two slight mods, fitting was a piece of pss.

 

http://i187.photobucket.com/albums/x315/BikerJeff/003_zps9srzkvgd.jpg

Having 3 kg in the front wheel helps keep it on the ground but...

 

- even then you can spin it from a standing start in the wet

- 3 kg plus the front wheel taking the brunt of potholes etc means watch your spokes, like before any long ride, and buy good tyres like the Schwalbe Marathons

- I hate the handling, I like my front wheel light and bikeish

- steel dropouts or torque bars required

This thread is worth a read,

http://pedelecs.co.uk/forum/threads/cyclotricity-kit-versus-8fun-kit.15722/page-2#post-193112

particularly post #27 which nicely explains how and why you need to file the drop outs.

Dave.

None of it is hard, especially if you have an understanding of engineering.

 

For a front hub in steel fork, you just need to file the dropouts a few mm deeper. 8mm round file and 5 mins work. In a ally fork (most suspension forks) a torque arm is recommend.

 

Same goes for a rear hub, but you will also need to decide on cassette/freewheel and get the correct removal tool.

 

With CD you will need crank removal tool and BB extraction tool.

 

 

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As people can see in that thread that was linked above, its now been three years since i fitted my 8fun kit.

Never had to file out the drop outs, motor axle & nuts sat in them fine. I've never had a spoke break with this front hub motor. Used the torque washers, but didn't see the need for torque arms and i still dont as the drop outs on the Suntour forks are quite thick & substantial. I didn't bother fitting the brake cut out switches either, i feel they're not needed on just a 250W motor and its never caused me any issues. Only got punctures because of some swarf in the front rim, since i found it and removed it, not had a single puncture since on either wheel, but i always run at 85/90 psi. For about 2 years i only had the throttle fitted, but i've recently fitted the PAS as well.

Kit has been rock solid reliable..... It was a good buy.

I will add...... if i were fitting a more powerful (illegal) motor, i would use torque arms and probably would fit brake cut out switches as well.