E bike kit for Surly Long Haul Trucker
12-25-18, 11:52 AM
#1
The Idler
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E bike kit for Surly Long Haul Trucker
My wife has a surly disc trucker that I'm thinking of adding an ebike kit to. I literally don't know where to start. I want to order the parts and install everything myself. I've looked amazon and ebay and I'm not sure how to tell what's a decent brand kit. Any recommendations for front or rear wheel drive kits that have are known to be high quality and reliable. I'm still figuring out what size the motor and battery should be. I've watched a few videos and it seems a lot of people are ordering kits directly from Aliexpress in China. Thanks for any advice you can offer.
12-25-18, 12:10 PM
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It's not as simple as one solution for all. I've built front, rear and mid-drives. They all have positive and negative attributes depending on the goal. Read the ebikesca tutorial about hub drives since for FL (relatively flat AFAICR), they're probably best. ebikesca, ebikekit, ebikeling, YESCOM, Leeds and Hill Topper all have advocates and seem to be excellent (I've had success with ebikesca, ebikekit, YESCOM - ebay and Luna Cycle - mid-drive). The LHT appears to be a fine platform for a conversion.
12-26-18, 12:27 PM
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I have been agonizing over this for a while. I wanted a rear hub kit with a torque sensor BB as a PAS only install (no throttle). But could not make that happen the way I wanted (Bafang gear reduction hub kit, all OEM - H400 ). I wanted their nice clean minimal cable system with sleek controller.
The various suppliers push their own controllers. Most are OK, but leave a lot to be desired in terms of clean install. Most have wires running everywhere ... No matter what you buy, insist on a sine wave controller.
So I dropped back and ordered a Tongsheng mid-drive kit (TSDZ2). Still has the torque sensor so the motor add is proportional to your effort. And the controller is housed in the motor complex, so no extra wires running all over.
I got mine here: TSDZ2 Kit They seem like nice folks. Kept me appraised of the build and delivery progress. It's a nice small kit that mostly hides. It's only slightly larger than the front chainring.
Warning - systems with TQ sensors are susceptible to having any weight or foot pressure on the pedals when they are lit up. So both feet flat on the ground when turning it on. That is a hard habit for some folks to break ...
My DIL lives in Holland and rides a Gazelle with a front hub motor. It works well in snow and ice - sort of two wheel drive with you putting power to the rear.
Tire selection is important. Schwalbe Marathon's seem very popular with commuters on eBikes.
The rear hub can take a beating if the cogs are loose plates. They dig into the free hub body under torque. I use a Shimano cog set that is riveted to a carrier (Deore 850 and above). Saves wear and tear
The various suppliers push their own controllers. Most are OK, but leave a lot to be desired in terms of clean install. Most have wires running everywhere ... No matter what you buy, insist on a sine wave controller.
So I dropped back and ordered a Tongsheng mid-drive kit (TSDZ2). Still has the torque sensor so the motor add is proportional to your effort. And the controller is housed in the motor complex, so no extra wires running all over.
I got mine here: TSDZ2 Kit They seem like nice folks. Kept me appraised of the build and delivery progress. It's a nice small kit that mostly hides. It's only slightly larger than the front chainring.
Warning - systems with TQ sensors are susceptible to having any weight or foot pressure on the pedals when they are lit up. So both feet flat on the ground when turning it on. That is a hard habit for some folks to break ...
My DIL lives in Holland and rides a Gazelle with a front hub motor. It works well in snow and ice - sort of two wheel drive with you putting power to the rear.
Tire selection is important. Schwalbe Marathon's seem very popular with commuters on eBikes.
The rear hub can take a beating if the cogs are loose plates. They dig into the free hub body under torque. I use a Shimano cog set that is riveted to a carrier (Deore 850 and above). Saves wear and tear
02-22-19, 11:41 PM
#4
Senior Member
Your wish has been granted... https://electrek.co/2019/02/22/surly...ycle-big-easy/
Big Easy Tech Specs
- Motor: Bosch Performance CX
- Battery: 36V Bosch PowerPack 500
- Top speed: 20 mph (32 km/h)
- Frame: Chromoly
- Brakes: Tektro 4-piston hydraulic brakes with 180 mm rotors
- Tires: Tubeless-ready 26″ x 2.5″ for ride comfort
04-11-19, 04:00 PM
#5
Old and in the way.
Pretty much exactly what I want... only in an XXL frame. . . oh well.
04-18-19, 02:50 AM
#6
S'Cruzer
I put this cheap kit on my wife's 2009 Specialized Globe Carmel 1 step-through, and its working pretty good. it overheats if you haul around at high power for 30 minutes, and throttles back to 300W
$200 48V 1000W rear hub ebike kit
https://www.ebay.com/itm/48V-1000W-E...r/141992392246
$355 48V 18AH battery-rack,
https://www.ebay.com/itm/48V-18Ah-Eb...d/323527005615
work in progress...
$200 48V 1000W rear hub ebike kit
https://www.ebay.com/itm/48V-1000W-E...r/141992392246
$355 48V 18AH battery-rack,
https://www.ebay.com/itm/48V-18Ah-Eb...d/323527005615
work in progress...
