Which Alien Kit Shall I Buy & What Can I Expect?

NRG · Mar 18, 2010

I'll try and answer:

1) Makes sense

2) The legal 250W kit is capable of getting you along at 20mph with suitable gearing. The GSII 44/14 is a little low I found but going to 48T or even 52 if your strong would be OK when used in conjunction with the throttle. Going faster than 20mph takes a lot more power due to the wind resistance so the benefit may be offset by the need for a larger battery.

3) There is a big difference in speed between 36v and 48v, however, more speed comes at a price...IE more drain from the battery and the need for a larger battery especially with SLA's.

4) SLA's are heavy, very. They dislike heavy discharge in terms of cycle life and the voltage sags quicker than Lithium. If you can keep DOD to 50% or less they can give 500 cycles or thereabouts. The lower the DOD the better for life.

5) Yes, I did on my Peugeot.

6) As I said above going above 20mph needs a lot of power and SLA's may be a non starter from the off just because of the sheer bulk.

eddieo · Mar 18, 2010

There was a bike with SLA's when I was in ETS last year and you could not lift it of the ground....Do you seriously want a bike like that?

cogs · Mar 18, 2010

My Alien kit uses the 250w motor. It is able to give me approx 20 mile round trips very regularly, and although heavy wind can reduce that a bit, I imagine for most purposes the 36v kit would be fine.

On the flat 17/18 mph is easily achieved, and my steed has only a 42t chainring (on a hubgear). That seems plenty fast enough to me, and TBH, I can't really understand people's obsessions with achieving high speeds. These are push bikes aren't they? Coming a cropper at high speed can have really serious consequences.

Perhaps a good set of lights would be an asset for the section of your journey that is busy with petrolhead types who are driving too close and too fast for comfort and safety kwackerman?

I'd go for the road legal.

Stumpi · Mar 18, 2010

Another vote for the road legal kit here

Its the same as fitted to my GS11 and so far has proved very reliable, quick enough and plenty of range.

Looking at the threads on here regarding folk who have fitted the kit they all seem happy and it appears to be very straight forwad

tepol · Apr 10, 2010

What is the " full power " assist mode like ?

I was told I it could do 20 miles without the need to peddle , if I encountered any problems or couldnt pedal ,but I suspect this probably unrealistic even on mostly flat ground.

I heard the 48v was pretty impratical .

Rab C Nesbitt · Apr 10, 2010

cogs said:
On the flat 17/18 mph is easily achieved, and my steed has only a 42t chainring (on a hubgear). That seems plenty fast enough to me, and TBH, I can't really understand people's obsessions with achieving high speeds. These are push bikes aren't they? Coming a cropper at high speed can have really serious consequences.

Perhaps a good set of lights would be an asset for the section of your journey that is busy with petrolhead types who are driving too close and too fast for comfort and safety kwackerman?

I'd go for the road legal.

Got to agree with Cogs on this one - I would throw some money at a serious set of lights as the section of A road you describe is probably one of the the worst scenarios possible for a cyclist (night time, no lighting etc).

Definitely lights . . . and maybe a big wide sticker saying "Danger - Plutonium In Transit " or something like that - just get off of that A road quickly . .

Rab

barrycoll · Apr 10, 2010

which alien kit

without doubt, please do go over the top with lighting..

the most immediate car problems will come from the rear, so buy a 5-7 LED light and fit it to your right ankle with velcro...as you peddle it will oscillate and be very visible from the rear...
I also attach a white LED to the front of my right ankle, as again a moving light is more visible than a static one...
I also use ones attached to the bike front and rear

as a senior instructor for the Institute of Advanced Motorists, I see on a daily basis the lack of observational skills, even by drivers who are not 'just out of bed after a late night', but actively keen to learn....
so as a cyclist, I am "dead" keen to force my presence on the motorist

all the best barry c.

hgbiker · Apr 10, 2010

I would go for the Alien 36V Road legal kit. I fitted one to a new Haro Heartland DLX 26" wheel bike last year and its great. Plenty of range and not too heavy. I found it fairly easy to fit and good value. You can adjust the potentiometer to get a bit more speed but this will cause a bit more drain on the battery.

Caph · Apr 10, 2010

barrycoll said:
without doubt, please do go over the top with lighting..

the most immediate car problems will come from the rear, so buy a 5-7 LED light and fit it to your right ankle with velcro...as you peddle it will oscillate and be very visible from the rear...
I also attach a white LED to the front of my right ankle, as again a moving light is more visible than a static one...
I also use ones attached to the bike front and rear

I second that and I'd like to recommend the pedalite pedals. They are fit and forget and produce a very noticeable flash pattern at night to the front, rear and side.

Old Timer · Apr 10, 2010

kwackerman said:
Hi All,

I have decided to convert my Giant ATX750 mountain bike into an E-bike and would like some advice from my fellow ebikers.

1) The Alien Kits look pretty good and seem excellent value. My commute is approx 7 miles each way which my cyclomatic folder has been coping with quite well but part of my journey is on a very dodgy fast A road which I travel on at night in the pitch black and because of this I would like to be able to zip along this section of the route as quick as possible.

2) Bearing in mind that a round trip of 20 miles is likely to be the absolute maximum distance I will travel and I will put plenty of pedal effort into the ride which Alien 'off Road' kit should I go for.......the 500w or 1000w?

3) 36v kit or 48v kit? ( Will I notice much difference)

4) How heavy are the SLA batteries and given the usage indicated ( 4 trips of 15 miles each per week in all weathers) how long are they likely to last?

5) Can I replace the SLA's with Lithium type batteries in the future?

6) I'm not too worried about the legality of the bike. I ride very sensibly and my route does not bring me into contact with many pedestrians even over the Severn Bridge. Having the ability to travel on the throttle on the A road section of my route at hopefully in excess of 20 mph is the main aim of my conversion.

Thanks for any advice you can give me

Regards

Andy

Hiya Andy

Do I still have credibility with you

SLA batteries

I converted my 20 year old Evans MTB to the 36V road kit. Not a big job but worth just taking time to get it neat.
The bike is actually faster than my age (did you see my video?)
It`s not as comfortable as my Powertrek e bike because it has no suspension but is probably (with the battery out) light enough to put on the roof of my car which might be a big plus for you but certainly light enough to go on a rear hatch type mount. The alien battery is as good as it gets as far as I`m concerned and I often run my powertrek on that battery via a cable patch lead because of it`s lastability. When I suspend my bike to the roof of my bike shed and spin the motor up with the throttle and then let go the wheel runs on almost as good as a normal front wheel so drag doesn`t seem to be a problem. The nice thing about the alien conversion is that you can remove the battery and get back to a reasonable standard MTB. If I`m in a hurry to get somewhere then I just open the throttle up full and pedal like crazy and the bike zips along. Don`t know just how accurate my computer is but I`ve registered anywhere from between 18-22mph on the flat without killing myself( I`m 65 remember)
The hub doesn`t have Hall sensors so is more or less pure grunt.
The only thing I have ever kicked against is that the pedelec seems to work opposite to my other E bikes which means that I get more help when I`m pedalling fast rather than pedalling slowly but to be fair the throttle overides everything and away you go.
I sort of solved the pedelec by fitting a pedelec disk with 6 magnets rather than the 5 it came with and now it thinks I`m pedalling faster and helps me more at lower cadence.
I think that someone that wants to get on and get somewhere in a decent time and is young enough to put some effort in then it can`t be beat.(it isIMHO not a conversion for poodling around on but more a trainer or a commuter with a purpose.) which is probably what you are looking for. Lets put it this way, if I had to ride to the fire station because my phones were out and my house was burning down and time was of the essence it would be my Evans with alien conversion everytime.

Lighting
I ride with lights all the time day or night. I have a 53 led chinese front light that I set on flashing during the day and full constant light at night and it works fine for me(but I don`t do a lot of night riding)
Rear lights are again chinese, and they are set on flashing(two of them) combine that with reflective cycle clips, arm bands,bike reflectors and a high visibility vest and if I can`t be seen then I don`t know what else to do. I have also wired in rear stop lights into my brake micro switch wires so that when i brake they come on and when it`s a bit dull I flick the brakes a few times if a car is coming up behind for extra " I`m here"

Others might disagree but it`s not my bike of first choice when I want a leisurely country ride but sure is when I want to get somewhere faster( much much faster than riding the Evans without assistance) I don`t reckon there can be many cyclists that come through our country lanes that would be able to shake me off if I were on my alien conversion.

PS the battery rattles a bit in the carrier but easily solved.

Dave

Old Timer · Apr 11, 2010

Andy

Forgot to mention(if you don`t already know) you can fit the pedelec on the left hand side rather than disturb your chain rings. If you have a triple chain ring(like mine) there might not be room for the pedelec without removing the inner ring.

Rab C Nesbitt · Apr 11, 2010

kwackerman said:
Going forward I still fancy upgrading or buying a kit for my Giant, I just don't know what to go for so will wait and see what Alien come up with to replace the GSII. I might even go for a better quality and hopefully faster folder....any suggestions?

Cheers Lads

Andy

Andy
I bought and fitted the Alien 36v kit a while back to my trusty touring bike and it's never missed a beat - thoroughly pleased with it and would recommend it as I do a similar size commute to you and I also don't mind putting in a bit of work in the pedalling dept. (not too much though . .)

Only other issue I would check is that your Giant MTB has all the appropriate screwy-inny attachment bits (stop me if I'm going over your heads with the technical gubbins) for attaching the pannier to hold the battery.

Rab

Old Timer · Apr 11, 2010

Broken spokes in the rear wheel

I think that maybe the regular commute might be proving a bit much for the Cyclamatic Folder, you`ve probably done more miles now than mine will see period.

After replying to you this morning and seeing as the weather here is very sunny today I dragged the alien kit bike out for a spin. (about 12 miles or so)
I had recently fitted a saddle with rear springs to help with the rough lanes around here and that made a big difference. I was considering trying to change the front forks with a set of suspension forks but then thought about it and realise that it would change the bike completely and make it more like my Powertrek which although more comfortable is a fair bit heavier and takes its toll on the battery.
Anyway! it`s the first time the bike had been out for a while so I wanted to make sure what I was talking about. It really is a bike that can eat the miles away, for sure there is more of an urgency when riding it so I stand by what I have said in the past about it not really suited to poodling around the lanes for leisure but more of an exercise bike/commute bike. The Alien Gents might be a slightly different thing because it`s going to be heavier and that will without a doubt tame the power somewhat and it won`t run away with you quite so much. I did some testing and on the flat I was riding the bike with ease in top gear (48 front 13 rear) at around 20mph ( a younger pair of legs would be able to improve on that and maybe cycle slightly in front of the motors power) but at my age and fitness I have to stay at the top of the power with a small amount of assistance as the power is dropping off. The thing I have found in the past is that even at that speed where the pedelec power is dropping off, if i open the throttle fully i get a touch more speed(around 22mph) on the flat. Downhill is a joy because I feel no sense of cogging or drag and the bike runs away with me. I purposely took it to one of the steepest hills on my local routes (see what you have me doing on a sunday

not sure what the gradient is but on a non powered bike it is a get off and walk hill. I could have gotten up it in 2nd gear(out of 6) but taking notes from die hard cyclists with ageing knees like mine I dropped into 1st and with a fair amount of input sailed up. So, basically what I said in my earlier post holds true that it would be a fine bike for going places with intent.
I touched on the pedelec operation as favouring fast pedalling as opposed to slow pedalling and to a certain extent that is still true but remember I cheated a touch and fitted a magnet ring with one extra magnet which has fooled the pedelec into thinking I`m pedalling faster than I actually am and the power comes in earlier which means for me that cruising in top gear assisted at the top end of assisted travel is very possible now. Again i must point out that my legs and knees have been through the mill a few times and a younger fitter rider would probably be quite capable of holding top gear with very little pedelec assistance once up to speed.

I notice that Rab C mentions panniers, I think he must have meant the rear pannier rack that holds the battery and i can`t see any problem with fitting it and even if you have no lugs what so ever the latest P clips that i found would easily be strong enough to support the supplied rack plus battery.

I tried to lift my bike as if to put it on the roof of my car and even standing on a box I think I would struggle but again a younger pair of arms might do it. A rear hatch or boot mount would be fairly simple even for me though and there is always a tow bar mount to be considered. I rode up and down without the battery in and yes, the front of the bike is obviously heavier with the front hub motor than the standard wheel but it was very much like riding a MTB. Lastly, if you were to be riding the bike flat out with the use of the throttle then one of the Crampbusters that Stumpi put us on to(meant for motorbikes) is a must have in my book.
If we lived close you would be welcome to take the bike for work one day and perhaps there is someone closer that could oblige.

Good luck in your choice but having a decent MTB must put the kit in the running.

Dave

flecc · Apr 11, 2010

Old Timer said:
I tried to lift my bike as if to put it on the roof of my car and even standing on a box I think I would struggle

This is what you need Dave:

Bicycle lift
.

Old Timer · Apr 11, 2010

flecc said:
This is what you need Dave:

Bicycle lift
.

Nice one Tony! I could leave Anne sitting on the bike and all ready for the ride at the other end

Which Alien Kit Shall I Buy & What Can I Expect?

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