Which type of conversion?

[Pitstop]

Hi all
New to this and thinking of an e-Bike. I currently have a Trek hybrid with hydraulic brakes that I rarely use and was thinking of possibly converting it with a kit. Will mainly be used on-road for round trips of up to 30 miles but I can’t decide on which conversion kit to use. Any suggestions with type and make with regards to front, mid or rear setup?

 

[Jonah]

Hi all
New to this and thinking of an e-Bike. I currently have a Trek hybrid with hydraulic brakes that I rarely use and was thinking of possibly converting it with a kit. Will mainly be used on-road for round trips of up to 30 miles but I can’t decide on which conversion kit to use. Any suggestions with type and make with regards to front, mid or rear setup?

Welcome to the forum.
For road use I would go for a rear hub motor. Woosh sell a lot of kits and provide a good overview of the options. Your weight, fitness and terrain will determine which motor to go for.

Woosh hub kits | Electric Bike Conversion Kits from Woosh

Woosh range of hub kits with choice of front or rear hub motors. Convert your bike into an electric bike.

wooshbikes.co.uk

 

[Benjahmin]

I agree, rear hub. Near bomb proof and easy installation. Don't be tempted into one of those cheap 'high power' offerings on e-bay. It's tragic how many people we get here who have.

 

[sjpt]

I agree, rear hub. Near bomb proof and easy installation. Don't be tempted into one of those cheap 'high power' offerings on e-bay. It's tragic how many people we get here who have.

Absolutely. There are pros and cons of hubs and crank drive, but there aren't any significant pros of those cheap 'high power' offerings on e-bay ... and they don't even end up cheap by the time you've found a suitable battery.

 

[Fat Rat]

Hi welcome

 

[PC2017]

Front hub (250w-350w) geared hub especially if your thinking cheap kit 200-250 rpm 36v over-volt it to 48v changing the controller 48v-14a recommended and battery (10-14ah) to 48v and get brake sensors, easy(ish) install, better weight distribution (if you are on the heavy side of life) great for hills and a suspension seatpost(good brand)... Either front or rear geared hub would be good for 30+ miles... If you are spending a few more bucks so not to go cheap then rear from Woosh is a safe bet and great support to boot.

 

[Kwozzymodo]

Another vote for a rear hub motor with a down tube bottle battery. Should cost about £350 with controller, PAS and display.

 

[bagss2]

Another vote for a rear hub motor with a down tube bottle battery. Should cost about £350 with controller, PAS and display.

Hi. Presumably this is the cost of a full conversion kit without battery?

Cheers, Baggers.

 

[Jonah]

Hi. Presumably this is the cost of a full conversion kit without battery?

Cheers, Baggers.

No, this is the cheapest DIY total cost if you get a small cheap battery and buy direct from China. For a UK kit with better parts and a decent battery cost would be £500ish.

 

[bagss2]

No, this is the cheapest DIY total cost if you get a small cheap battery and buy direct from China. For a UK kit with better parts and a decent battery cost would be £500ish.

Thanks. Does this mean staring in to the dark abyss of shopping on Aliexpress?

What is a 'small' battery? 24v rather than 36v? Or just less ah's?

Is 'Yose Power' a reputable source?


Cheers, Baggers.

 

[Jonah]

Thanks. Does this mean staring in to the dark abyss of shopping on Aliexpress?

What is a 'small' battery? 24v rather than 36v? Or just less ah's?

Is 'Yose Power' a reputable source?


Cheers, Baggers.

Just less Ah. Most bottle batteries will be 7Ah but still 36v. Yose Power are ok I believe. There is a massive thread about them.

 

[sjpt]

As Jonah says, quite a few people seem happy with Yosepower. They often seem to be out of stock of quite a few items. Most of their motors are rated 350w which is technically illegal for an unlicensed pedalec; but you are pretty unlikely to get charged for using one. Often the 350w and 250w motors are identical apart from the marking. You may well not get more power from a 350w one, and in any case you'll get peak values well above the rated power.

 

[Kwozzymodo]

There are companies that supply full kits based in the UK - so you get a good price on the kit and peace of mind regarding any technical issues.

A motor kit is around £175-£185 - depending on the type of handlebar display you want. A 36v 10ah battery should be around £175. If you can fit the kit yourself, it’s a cost-effective way of getting into ebiking.

 

[PC2017]

Is 'Yose Power' a reputable source?

There's a few threads devoted to YOSE and they are cheap just bear that in mind, I purchased a rear 350w silver and the wheel cracked after a year, now I am using my YOSE 250w front which is 2ish years old used for 8 months it was not good as a 36v motor when windy but as a 48v motor it is perfect and much better build quality that the rear although I do use all KT aftermarket components, controller & wiring, I have not used their batteries.

Aliexpress?

Budget for taxes and customs duty coming into the UK/EU, currency value could be effected by the current situation... Try PSWpower I have one of their German stock batteries, it was cheap but it works and works well, I have never used their kits but its shipped, like YOSE from the EU assuming they are still operating as of now.

 

[Kwozzymodo]

Taxes and VAT - duty on ebike kit is running at about 3.5% and you pay 20% VAT on the goods and the shipping. So watch out for inflated shipping costs. My last quote for shipping was 3x higher than I normally pay.

 

[darren66]

Another vote for a Woosh rear hub motor kit, just fitted one to my wife's bike, everything you need and really easy to fit.

 

[olever90]

I agree, rear hub. Near bomb proof and easy installation. Don't be tempted into one of those cheap 'high power' offerings on e-bay. It's tragic how many people we get here who have.

 

[Benjahmin]

Seems we have a ghost going around copying other peoples posts. Wonder why?

 

[PC2017]

copying other peoples posts

Either that or great minds really do think alike - word for word by the looks of it too

I actually thought it was a delayed email lol

 

[Wicky]

Albert12, olever90, Lucifer656 I suspect are forum spambots - a bit of a Turing test going on with their postings