What do I need, and which one suits?

[samc]

I want to convert my existing bike to an ebike, as I'm not fit enough to actually use it to get to work. The journey is about 4 miles, up a fairly constant hill (I live at the bottom of the city, work is at the top). I would like a thumb throttle, though I'm not adverse to having pedelec assistance as well.

My bike is a Specialized hybrid, with front shocks, and hydraulic disc brakes. The gap between dropouts appears to be 99mm.

I'm looking at the following three kits, and I'm not sure which is most suitable. I need to buy one of these as I want to use my employers cycle to work scheme to fund it, which will reduce the cost by about 30% and this is what the local shops offer (unless someone knows of another conversion kit selling shop in Bristol)

Conv-e Kit, Oxygen Kit, or a Sparticle kit.

The Conv-e and Oxygen both have 36v 9Ah batteries, which are nicely packaged. The Sparticle kit has an unpackaged battery (I think the shop puts a racktop bag on the bike into which they drop the controller and battery)

What can people advise me, my budget is about £850 before the cycle to work discount.

 

[trex]

with your budget, you can have a ready made bike - why bother?

 

[flapajack]

Yeah. You can go for one of the Woosh bikes, fully built and ready to ride.

 

[Cyclezee]

Hi Samc,

Welcome to the forum.

We have kits that would fit within your budget......only just and if you would like to know more please have a look at our website.

One thing I should point out though is that you can't get Cycle to Work discount on a conversion kit, it has to be a complete bike and as Trex has already mentioned you can get a complete bike for that money that would be quite capable of of your relatively short journey.

 

[samc]

I'm inclined towards a conversion kit, as I already have a nice bike, with fairly posh components (disc brakes were a revelation). The ready built ebikes within my price range all seem to have bottom of the range components, and weigh a significant amount.

Both work and one of the shops told me the rules have changed recently w.r.t purchasing conversion kits on cycle to work.

 

[Cyclezee]

Hi again Samc,

The CTW change in rules is news to me and not something that we currently participate in. The best that we could do would be an eZee Mk2 kit with a 10Ah battery for £750 rather than the standard 14Ah.

 

[trex]

is it this one you've got?

 

[Artstu]

http://www.jejamescycles.co.uk/trek-fx-electric-bike-id70273.html

 

[samc]

http://www.evanscycles.com/products/specialized/crosstrail-pro-disc-2011-hybrid-bike-ec024135 is the bike I've got.

woosh bikes are interesting, but I'd want to try before buying and I'm ntot sure either of the bristol shops sell them

 

[samc]

http://www.jejamescycles.co.uk/trek-fx-electric-bike-id70273.html

unfortunately not available within several hundred miles, thanks though

 

[trex]

woosh sells direct - the shops won't have them. You can ring and ask Hatti if she knows someone local who's got the bike you are interested in.
The main problem is that the kits you mentioned above aren't better that the Woosh bikes in your budget range and you spoil the look of your weekend bike after a few weeks in the Bristol rain.
The Oxygen kit is the best of the three.

 

[samc]

I'm less worried about the look, and the advantage of all of these kits is they can be removed. I had glandular fever about 2 years ago and basically struggle to go more than a mile or two on the flat. Hills are a non starter. The idea is to use the electric kit for a year or two until I can get up the hill by myself again.

 

[trex]

then you need the throttle and also, may need to look into foldable bikes, in case you need your wife come and rescue you with the car or get a taxi home.

 

[Cyclezee]

I'm less worried about the look, and the advantage of all of these kits is they can be removed. I had glandular fever about 2 years ago and basically struggle to go more than a mile or two on the flat. Hills are a non starter. The idea is to use the electric kit for a year or two until I can get up the hill by myself again.

That does make good sense, you have a nice bike but can't make good use of it right now. One of the advantage of kits, the conversion is reversible and you can easily restore it to it's original condition, the kit can be sold on or transferred to another bike, just got to choose the right one.

 

[Pat_68]

Hi, you also need to decide if your going for a front or rear wheel kit, also disc compatible. I did a rear wheel conversion and had to change the rear gear set to 8 speed from a 9 speed. I also had to shim the disc to realign with the hydraulic calliper.
The Oxygen kit looks very slick and trouble free.

Good luck

 

[Deleted member 4366]

For a 250w kit, it makes little difference. There's advantages and disadvantages with both.

It's safer to fit a rear motor if you have alloy front forks especially if the drop-outs aren't very strong, but you can get gearing problems. A cassette motor will solve all that, but they're a bit more expensive than the free-wheel ones.

You need to make sure that there's no pressure on the lawyers lips from the first washer when fitting to the front, and a properly installed torque arm is advisable.

Rear motors are quieter than a front one (for the rider).