lmike6453

I recently bought a Niner RLT Rival 3 Star (steel frame) just last year a "do it all" gravel bike that is good for pavement / commuting:
RLT 9 STEEL 3-STAR RIVAL

I love it but have noticed that my commute is of longer distance and like to optimize my time by getting there asap. I'll be moving closer to work still and the commute will be 6-8 miles one way depending on where I live (12-16 miles round trip), with hills.

Should I sell this bike and buy a dedicated eBike? Or convert it?

Needs:
- PA Street legal (max 28 mph and no throttle / only pedal assist).
- Flat roads for commuting, as well as weekend adventure gravel grinder.
- 30-100 mile range depending on assist level.
- Rear rack and fender capable.
- No suspension.
- Upright / comfortable riding position.

I was looking at the erad conversion but it looks like it uses a throttle. Not sure if the throttle part is optional to be street legal...
https://electricbikereview.com/e-rad...onversion-kit/

I'd probably go with something like a Specialized Vado or Trek Crossrip+ if I bought something new for the Bosch smoothness and reliability.
My current bike:

Buddha2499

350htrr

Converting your nice bike is going to be more affordable, and you can get a better/bigger battery with it for less than buying a new bike too...

starkmojo

8 miles each way? I would invest in some an extra water bottle and cowboy up. 8 miles is easy unless there are some killer hills or something.

fietsbob

Have either hub motors or mid drive , conversions.. mid drive has hill climbing torque..

lmike6453

This is relieving to hear. Do pedal assist conversion kits generally work without the throttle hooked up?

Trying to optimize time to be able to commute more often while also not sweating as much. Need to carry some weight for work and hills are killer.

Definitely leaning toward mid drive over hub motors.

350htrr

Mid drive's are great for hills, but, you do not really "need" them If you still really want to ride an E-Bike "as a bicycle"... IMO

lmike6453

Bump

zze86

I say buy a dedicated ebike and keep the regular bike as a backup. It's fun to change things around. N+1 and all that.

Elvo

I have a Haibike Urban Plus ($1600) and a Gravel Bike. The mid drive conversion kits are very fit specific and are designed for older bikes with the older threaded bottom bracket shells so it might be a tight fit. Your best bet is a hub drive conversion but I don't know of any that take the thru axles that your bike is designed around. Another recommendation to buy a dedicated bike with a warranty. For the price you will spend on a conversion with a 500 watt-hr battery, you can just buy this:

https://www.crazylennysebikes.com/product/st1-elite-20/

InTheRain

I converted a touring bike to an ebike 3+ years ago. I love it, and it has served me well. However, with what is available today in ebikes, I would never consider a conversion for the purposes you state. In your case, I would go for the specialized vado - one of the upper end models. As opposed to a conversion, the frame is specifically built for an ebike. Yes, I love my conversion, but even the lower end vados are better ebikes than mine. Ebikes have come a long way in a short time. I'm excited to see where we are in 5-10 years when it's time to replace mine.

TheLibrarian

I wouldn't convert a nice bike, depending on budget either get an older mtn bike to convert or buy a purpose built e-bike which there seem to be a few makers selling some around the 1k mark.

nfmisso

As noted by others, your current bike is not a great conversion candidate.

If you want to convert something, an '80s or '90s MTB is a great choice.

Next step: steep hills or almost no hills. Hub motors do not function well below about half their maximum speed under heavy loads, so don't work well on steep grades. Mid drives are about $400- and up; and work well on grades because they take advantage of your bikes gears.

rolandk

350htrr

Why not? You can always un-convert it and put it back to stock... Then buy a type of bike you would like to use as an E-Bike... I converted my nice bike and never looked back.

ggoytia1

Met a guy at a supermarket and was bs'ing with him about his ebike. Can't remember the name but he mentioned it is the only one costco carries. If i remember correctly he dropped $1k out the door and still has the 2 year warranty. He only uses his truck for work but practically lives on the bike.
Here it is ... https://www.costco.com/Jetson-Adventure-Electric-Bike.product.100370011.html

lmike6453

I'm leaning toward selling my bike and getting a dedicated e-bike as the majority here have stated. Starting to think about how to go about selling my bike to get a good amount of what I spent on it back though.

noglider 

It's always a time/money tradeoff. To get top price, you have to put in the time to describe it and take great pictures and put it on ebay. And you have to pack and ship it. Also, clean it before taking pictures. And if it doesn't sell at your asking price, either lower the price or wait longer.

SylvainG

How about this?

https://www.geoo.com/

350htrr

What you really NEED to decide on, is what "type of an E-Bike" you really "want"...
IMO anything with a throttle is a moped...
IMO anything with a crank rotational sensor can be used like a moped..
IMO about the "only" type of an E-Bike that "remains" a "bicycle" is the one where there is a pedal "pressure" sensor" for the "true" bicycle feel, and "true" bicycle ride...
IT, is about as simple as that... Now there WILL be others that say differently but, take my "hint" after riding an E-Bike for the last 6+ years I do have a bit of experience as to how thing work, or more IMPORTANTLY, how things do end up working in the "REAL" world for the average E-Bike rider that decides pedaling is an "option", but keeps on telling themselves, that "they are still riding a bicycle", because sometime they actually do pedal,, but use some assist, (sometimes in their minds), most of which (the assist) is done by how hard they press the throttle with their thumb, NOT how hard they press on the pedals with their feet...

EDIT; What I mean is if you WANT to be riding the E-assisted bike as a normal bicycle, you pretty well need to have the pressure sensor type, if you just want to ride with less pedaling get what ever...

lmike6453

Thank you all for the replies - just listed it for sale on eBay: https://www.ebay.com/itm/123373453139

Now it's time to decide on an eBike...test rode 3 today at Trek store and the most sensible one is the XM700+ @ $3000, while the Ferrari model Super Commuter +8s is $5200.
The Super Commuter +7 would be good @ $3700 but it only offers assist up through 20mph so I cancelled that one out.

XM700+: https://www.trekbikes.com/us/en_US/b...xm700/p/16641/
Super Commuter +8s: https://www.trekbikes.com/us/en_US/b...?colorCode=red

I'm kinda torn between these 2 mid drives to choose from that offer assist up through 28mph, and have been feeling turned away from the Specialized Vado after reading many bad posts about their customer support / service.

Thoughts / Suggestions?

chas58

Good idea to sell. You really don’t want to put a hub motor on a carbon bike, and it woudn’t fit anyway. Might be able to put a mid drive on it, but that is a sweet bike – it would be a waste to add 20lbs in motor/battery to it.

I put a hub drive on some nice aluminum bikes, but you really need a steel fork (dropout) or strong track dropout. Plus you have to be comfortable futzing around with that crappy wiring the kits use, and debugging things when plug and play doesn’t work like it should.

I always liked the specialized turbo – its kind of what I designed my first bike after (4 years ago).
https://www.arkansascycling.com/prod...o-221478-1.htm $2500 is better than the original $7000 they wanted for it.
But at these price points, you should choose the bike shop that will support you. Treck and Specialized are pretty competitive with eachother, its your LBS that will make the difference to ya. I'm a sucker for the battery in frame look though. Some companies are getting pretty innovative with that type of design.
(Costco had one of these the other day that looked intriguing for a low end bike ($999) https://www.amazon.com/Jetson-Advent.../dp/B06VTTDYDD

That ERAD is a Bafang mid drive. Luna has them on sale now for $499 (BBSHD). I probably should not have told you that, lol.

I agree about ‘90’s mountain bikes. They have today’s modern “gravel bike” geometry with beefy brakes and tires. Perfect conversion candidate (well, I like mine!). You can get them in good condition for a couple hundred bucks.

chas58

This is an interesting bike that basically looks like it copied my bike from 4 years ago (still using it today). My bike has a small frame bag though (with an energy dense battery). Heck, I even put a brooks cambium and bar tape on my bike (These guys copied me!!!) . Both this bike and my old bike weigh about 13.7kg, but I'm very sure mine is a lot faster. I do love having a light weight ebike. I did eventually take the bull horn off and ended up with 32mm tires, although I would be happier with 40mm tires for urban street riding. Still, its super stealth (even with the frame bag) and surprises people with its speed.



https://justebikes.co.uk/products/cob...ric-road-bike/

Classtime 

acidfast7

Best in the e-bike business.

https://www.ebike-manufaktur.com/en/e-bikes-2019.php

Wouldn't waste my time anywhere else.