E-bikes (cycle)

[Gavinskii]

Hi Nick,

I just bought one of these

http://www.oxygenbicycles.com/e-bikes/s-cross-mtb

It's well screwed together and has a good range circa 60 miles with the 13 a/h battery pack. It's well styled so it doesn't shout at first glance to being an e-bike.

I have added a push throttle on it too.

Hydraulic brakes are great, front suspension perfect for the road and moderate trackways.

On the pedelecs forum, someone has pm'd me with info to derestrict it for use on private land I've not had a chance to mess around with the electronic settings to do this - but my understanding is it would lift the cut out on the assist to more than the statutory 15.5MPH limit.

Already in a short time, I have reawakened muscles and I can ride the same hills with less assist than I did when I first got it!

[KEITH640]

I was looking into this and found a company local to me that let me ride both the eBay conversions and the
hai bikes the hai bikes were so much better
The conversions felt like a conversion if you get what I mean
Hai bike s come with motor in the centre not hub drive and choice of motors Bosch or Yamaha

[Tramp]

these guys are well respected..

http://dillengerelectricbikes.co.uk/ele ... -kits.html

they also know whats what :cheer:

also these guys where helpfull...good guide for prices too...

http://www.electricbikeconversions.co.uk/

also check the torque in nm for rear hub and crank drive :woohoo: ..the difference is huge but again the chain absorbs some torque like a motorbike....some cycling clubs buy batterys in bulk direct for around half the price end sellers charge..like 20 min order...

Alibaba is your friend.....i really must get out more :silly:

[crofty]

You could do what I did, Carrera Kraken from Halfords about 350 new with a Oxydrive kit for 599. carrier and other bits and bobs under a grand

IMG_20160707_120700473.jpg (68.54 KiB) Viewed 2845 times

[AndyB]

A couple of what I think are important things to remember about crank drive ebikes are that even if you mess with the power output so the motor gives assistance above 15mph you still have to turn the pedals and you can't change the gearing very easily. There's also the minor issue that if you go above the legal limit for power it's a motorbike. Ok, that's not a big deal in itself but it does mean that legally you need to tax it, insure it, put number plates on it and stick to legal routes.

Now I don't know anyone who's been nicked for messing with the power but the simple fact remains that if you ever have a major accident where maybe a car driver punts you into the weeds someone might take a closer look at what you're using on the road.

More importantly to me is the fact that it's difficult to change the gear ratios away from standard so if you want to do 25mph on the road you'll be pedaling like a mad thing and even though you won't need to put much effort into it you still need to spin the pedals. As far as I'm concerned it's not worth the cost nor the risk because even at 57 years old and with a serious liking for alcohol I can keep my average speed over 15mph with no risk attached and use bridle ways to work my way from pub to pub doing whatever I want (thumbs)

[ipswichbiker]

Have you looked into servicing? I like to do all my own maintenance on a pushbike but when I looked into ebikes the guy I was talking to said it would invole connecting the motor to a computer to recalibrate it etc. That put me off

[Schoe000]

Have you looked into servicing? I like to do all my own maintenance on a pushbike but when I looked into ebikes the guy I was talking to said it would invole connecting the motor to a computer to recalibrate it etc. That put me off

Good point I had not considered that.

[Gedge]

Have you looked into servicing? I like to do all my own maintenance on a pushbike but when I looked into ebikes the guy I was talking to said it would invole connecting the motor to a computer to recalibrate it etc. That put me off

That's just silly...the motors are sealed units and the controller boxes are maintenance free...the rest is the same as any bicycle ....

[AndyB]

The only consideration I give the electric side of it is to put a dab of silicon grease on the connections between controller to the bike and the battery to the bike.

[Zappa]

Done some research into this myself. The conversion route is the option I am taking. There sre in the main 2 options
Rear hub drive, A motor that drives the rear wheel
Mid drive, a motor that drives from the peddles , front sprocket (and they do allow you to freewheel, the motors have a throttle too so no need to peddle at all.)

I bought a second hand donor bike of ebay (looked for the best frame manufacturer I could find then waited till one at a decent price came up) so got myself a Rocky Mountain for no money at all.
Mine will only be used off road, so I am going down the mid drive conversion route. The mid drive allows the motor to use the bikes gears so prolongs battery life, and provides better stability off road than a rear hub drive that spin up when traction is low.

However for your purposes a hub drive would be fine, you can pick them up fairly cheep and with a good second hand donor bike you will most likely end up with something that is far superior in many aspects than a purpose built factory ebike.