Which conversion kit

[Gogs]

Hi all,

Being a bit of a hoarder, I still have my unassisted Saracen Hy road 21 speed tourer sitting in the garage, and would like to fit a conversion kit to it so I can use it again.
I can't ride unassisted bikes any more due to a foot problem, and now being unable to put a lot of pressure on the pedals.
The bike has 28" wheels, front suspension, and 21 speed shimano gearing, and shimano rim brakes front and rear.
It is very light so should make a good convert.
Any suggestions would be appreciated

 

[IanA]

Hi Gogs,

I've just finished a conversion using a 26" 8Fun kit with bottle battery (I understand from another post here that they will supply the bottle battery in a 28" kit if you ask).
I've been working on a step-by-step photo guide expaining issues I had with the kit and how I have resolved the issues. I hope to post the full guide by the end of the week if you can wait that long. Hopefully you'd be able to get some ideas from it.

Good luck,

Ian

 

[Gogs]

Hi Ian,

Thanks for that info, it sounds just what I'm looking for, I will wait and see how you get on with the kit, and look forward to seeing the step by step guide, and hearing of any problems you may have had with fitting it .

all the best,

Gogs.

 

[Cyclezee]

Hi Gogs,

Welcome to the forum.

I would recommend that you read as much as possible before making any decision.

My unashamed and completely biased suggestion would be to buy an eZee kit. If you check my signature below you will see why.

In my opinion, and I am sure some others would agree, they are not the cheapest available or the most expensive by a long way, but have an excellent track record, are reliable, powerful and represent good value for money. You also have peace of mind with a 2 year warranty.

 

[Gogs]

Hi John,

Many thanks for the info, I will have a look at your kits along with the rest, I am not in any big hurry as I currently have a Wisper 905 se sports with the 14 a/h battery, and also an Alien cruiser with a 36v 10 a/h battery.
I do want to do the conversion though, and would like to get the best bang for my bucks so to speak, so will listen to as much advice as I can get on the subject.

All the best,

Gogs.

 

[eddieo]

Surely you have got to have a look at the latest kit from Wisper...The DaaHub is a fabulous bit of kit!

 

[Gogs]

Hi Eddie,

Yes I will be checking this out as well, there doesn't seem to be much information on them online apart from the actual specs, could do with seeing a few reviews!

 

[banbury frank]

Hi 2 links for Daahub


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-JVmmInVwho

Daahub Installation Video | Wisper Blog


Frank

 

[Gogs]

Thanks Frank, had a look, I can see I'm going to have to put all the names in a hat shortly lol.

 

[Gogs]

Hi Ian,

I decided to use the 8 fun kit, and have now finished the conversion on my Saracen Hy Road.
I have made a stainless steel bracket to hold the pedelec sensor on the left side, and this is bolted onto the bottom chainstay bracket, between the bracket, and the kickstand.
The magnet ring fitted perfectly behind the left pedal when it was tightened up.
I haven't used the brake lever cutoff switch as the Shimano gear and brake combo levers would not allow this, but there doesn't seem to be a problem with stopping the bike, with the Shimano rim brakes doing the job nicely, they are better than some discs.
First run out on the bike was pretty impressive, and out performed the Wisper 905 in many respects.
The bike feels more solid, with no rattles whatsoever over rough roads, the front suspension is superior, as is the seatpost suspension, so all in all a more comfortable ride.
I have so far only used two of the three chain rings, with no need to go down to the lowest gearing as yet, and the bike climbs the couple of one in ten hills I have on my usual run, better than the Wisper!
This will be down to the extra gear ratios I have available though.
The bike is also light enough, (haven't weighed it yet), to be pedalled without power a lot of the time, so the range should be pretty good also.
I did two trips on the first charge, one of 6 miles, and the other later on of 14 miles.
Coming up the last hill to my house, which is a killer, the one bar light was showing, and this recovered to two lights on the home stretch, so pretty good for a first charge of the bottle battery.
I have inserted a few photos on photobucket, taken on my lawn, will try and get some better ones when I get time.
I hope your bike is still going strong.

all the best,

Gogs.

Pictures by gogs4 - Photobucket

 

[banbury frank]

Hi

Well done looks very good to me

Frank

 

[Gogs]

Hi Frank,

thanks for that!

Gogs.

 

[barrycoll]

Congrats Gog, that looks like a very neat end result. And seems like a simpler fitting than Ian's one, using Dr Ding.

.....but a better description of your pedelec sensor bracket would be interesting

For pedelec readers who don't want to do the conversion themselves (for one reason or 'another'), I can again recommend Bob at Juicy Bikes, as he sells a similar kit to the 8Fun and is happy to do a fitting too.

The new kits have a quick release on the electrics to the front wheel if there is a need to replace the original wheel, but but the 'helping hand' from the pedelec sensor is just too addictive to do without.

The magnetic ring seems to have fewer magnet fittings than the 8Fun, and so encourages a bit more input from the rider to bring in the power. As the bike is my wife's, she is very happy with the balance between her input and that of the motor. She still has the thumb throttle for quick getaways, but the pedelec keeps the motor in the very quiet zone, and on downhill runs, the motor seems to have no noticeable drag.

Others seem to notice drag, but I think that it is the increased bike weight when cycling with the power off.

But all in all, a great result, and even more so, as somebody else did he work!

cheers Barry C.

 

[Gogs]

Thanks Barry,

I will do a better description of the sensor bracket, with pictures, when I get time, as it may help some others fitting the same kit.

I am also going to mould a case to cover the wiring and the controller box also, in g.r.p. Been in the moulding business for 25 years now so ..... ahem ...... should be able to come up with something to tidy things up, and waterproof as well.

It's good there are people like Bob from Juicy bikes around to fit these kits, as not everyone wants to go down the diy route, but I have always enjoyed lifes little challenges, and am lucky enough to have a well enough equipped workshop to have some fun in my spare time. (not that I get much)!

It sounds like your wife is enjoying her conversion!

I kept the thumb throttle also, they are handy for quick getaways as you say, I haven't noticed much drag from the 8 fun motor either, and it is reasonably quiet too!

The 8 fun kit also has a quick release connector near the front wheel which will save a lot of time should it need to come off for any reason.

all the best,

Gogs.

 

[banbury frank]

Hi Be careful if you enclose the controller you may have heat build up giving you problems

We now mount our controller under the rack they then run cold we tried putting in a nice bag but got HOT

Frank

 

[Gogs]

Good advice Frank, may just shorten the wiring and tidy it all up then use waterproof insulating tape on all

the joints instead.

Do you get any problems with water ingress?

all the best,

Gogs.

 

[John L]

Very nice conversion Gogs

 

[banbury frank]

Hi


we use some big heat shrink slide over the cables plug them in then slip over the plugs and cable tie each and like a Christmas cracker

Heat Shrink Tubing 40 mm 5 pcs Black Sleeve Sleeving | eBay

Hope this Helps

Frank

 

[Gogs]

Thank's John,

much appreciated!

Gogs

 

[Gogs]

Hi Frank,

cheers for that, and I have some of that heatshrink kicking around somewhere that I got from rs components for a job ages ago, Hmmn now where did I put it?

Gogs.