NiGoCo

Seriously thinking about converting the commuter bike. My commute is 8 miles one way. I need to do this as cheaply as possible but I also need it to be reliable. I'm looking at one if the cheaper kits on Amazon. I'm not willing to spend the money on a mid drive kit at this time.

I'm leaning towards keeping it pedal assist only unless someone can convince me otherwise.

Anyone have any thoughts or suggestions?

MNebiker

I did this about 2 years ago. I just turned 80, and I think my knees are 2 years older than that. I had reached the point that riding was no fun anymore and looked for alternatives. I decided to convert my 24 speed 700C bike to electric. i bought a front wheel 500W 36V kit from eBikeling.com and picked up a 36V 12A LIFEP04 battery online. Batter mounts on the rear rack, wiring is cabled neatly, terminated in a small box behind the seat for weather protection. I bought the front wheel kit because there was not enough space between the rear frame for a motor and 8 speed hub. Total investment with kit, battery, torque arm, & misc stuff was about $450. When I retired I worked part-time for 7 years as a bike tech, so the install was pretty simple

The conversion has basically given me back my biking, and I have put over 2100 miles on the bike. mostly riding the local bike trails. I ride it only in the pedal assist mode, low level, which gives a net speed of about 13 - 14 mph., but I usually turn it off on on level grounds. A typical day for me is about 24 - 28 miles. - before the conversion my knees would complain at 5-6 miles. It has been a great investment for me.

NiGoCo

That's good to hear. My knees are the main reason I'm considering this.

fietsbob

If lowest cost is a priority accept lesser quality too .. may not be a long term reliable

a motor in a wheel is for the flats , .. ..

Hunters want mid drives , here..

NiGoCo

It's mostly flat around here. Got a couple bridges that are sorta steep up and over but at least 7.5 of the 8 miles I'd consider flat.

2old

Hub motors are great for street riding with no big hills. Rear conversions excel unless there is an over-riding issue for front (IGH, drum brake etc). My YESCOM kit cost about $200 and has been reliable for three years, not surprising since it's direct drive (DD) and has only one moving part. Don't skimp on the battery though (look at Luna Cycle). The DD motors are heavy (15 pounds or so), and a geared motor (look at ebikeling among many others) which could be around six or so pounds may be more acceptable for you. You need to decide how much power you "need".

NiGoCo

I'm leaning towards 36v 500W at the moment. I've been eyeing an ebikeling kit but am still debating DD vs geared.

2old

IMO if you're considering a lower-powered system there's not too many reasons to go DD unless their longevity is vital to you. Look at Leeds, Clean Republic, ebikesca, em3ev, ebikekit as well as ebikeling which myself or others on the forum have had great success with.

Doc_Wui

I have several ebikeling geared motor kits mounted on my bikes. For pedal assist, I prefer their less expensive LED kit. It only has three PAS levels, but I do not recommend their recent 5 level PAS kits with the LCD display. The PAS levels are too strong, even in level 1, and if I tweak the parameters to make the bike more rideable at low speed, the pedal response lags and is still too high.

The LCD allows 36V or 48V operation, but the speedometer goes to zero when coasting with the geared motors, which also affects the odometer. A $10 bike computer coupled with the LED version is how I address this.

That said, the controller is a sturdy 22A model, and will run the 500W geared motor up to 20 mph on throttle with 36V or 24 mph on 48V. My first kit from 2015 runs well. I haven't taken the motor off the bike (no flats) since it was installed on my steel frame Trek. The axle nuts are still tight. Has about 1200 miles on it, only because I ride other ebikes too,

My current riding style is like MNebiiker, fairly slow. I have gone over 50 miles using about 10Ah out of my 36V battery, My original conversion costs were also under $500, $200 for motor/wheel, and $280 for battery,

NiGoCo

That's great to hear. That's the direction I was thinking if going anyway.

This is all very encouraging.

MNebiker

I opted for the gear drive because they have more low speed torque and freewheel while coasting. But it it is noisy when pulling hard on a hill. DD are quiet, but have some drag while coasting. If you go for a front wheel kit in an aluminum fork, a torque arm is a must. I live in the NW metro Twin Cities, in an area with many trails. Terrain varies from flat to some serious hills and the 500W motor handles this fine - and I'm not a little guy. These metro trails are mixed use - hikers, dog walkers, joggers wearing earbuds,families with kids, idiots in spandex riding like they were on the tour, etc. so I don't really want a lot more speed than what this package produces. My goal is to just get some exercise - I hate walking.


RE: Quality - The ebikling kit is inexpensive, but I didn't want to tie up a lot in what was an experiment, and I was pleasantly surprised. The rim and spokes are very solid and the wheel was dead true out of the box. Other components are not fancy, but have proven to be serviceable. Simple to install - the one glitch I encountered was that the pedal pickup was not compatible with the bottom bearing on my bike. I just secured it to the bearing housing with a couple of dabs of epoxy that can easily be removed is I ever need to service the bearing. The only thing I didn't like was that the motor cable has no connector to disconnect the motor at the hub, making it awkward if you need to fix a flat. At about 1500 miles I blew a MOSFET in the controller. From what I have read this is not an uncommon failure, but rather than just change the transistor, I just replaced the controller with one having a higher current rating and more MOSFETs. Ebikeling was great to work with when I needed the part.


Before I did the conversion I checked the MN statutes re: ebikes. There are state requirements: Must have saddle - not a chair seat, must have pedal drive capability, 100W max motor, 20mph max top speed, motor cutoff when brakes applied. But there are always those that ignore the rules. One day I was on a trail rolling down a hill at about 20 mph when a guy on a custom ebike blew past me like I was stopped. I caught up to him at a rest area and asked about his rig. He said he built them to order, claimed a 4000W 48V system with a monster battery pack, dual shock fork like a minibike, over 40 mph top end. A true electric moped and a menace on these metro trails.


Go for it - your knees will thank you.

Sohaib

That's helpful.