Converting bike for Deliveroo coursier

rank52

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Joined
Apr 14, 2018
Messages
4
Location
Grenoble
Hello everyone!

I have been roaming this forum for the last month, searching for information how to convert my bike for work as a deliveroo coursier.
While there are responses for converting a bike for touring and commuting purposes, I have found little information for my own requirements and thus the reason for creating this topic.

Bike specs:
Genesis tour de fer 30
Weight about 17kg
10SP rear , triple plate (I intend on reducing the rear to a 7sp and the triple to a double)
Disc brake, mechanical, TRP Spyke's
I built this bike up myself

Terrain:
Situated in the city of Grenoble in the french alps which is known for being one of the flattest cities in France, the surrounding parts are mountainous, and parts of the city can go upto 600m, although I will only need to deliver to 2 places where you need to go up. For the most part it is flat.

Requirements:
I have already owned a MTB Ebike with rear hub 250w that could reach 30km (it was stolen, Grenoble is also known for its bike theft..my 3rd bike within 5 yrs to be stolen haha). The bike had that horrible MTB flashy ebike look, no wonder it go taken. I found it to be a bit slow and didn't take into consideration my pedaling. I usually cover 50-80km in a day, doing on average 25-30km (19mph?) speed wise. Lots of start and stopping as you can imagine, between clients, restaurants, traffic lights, pedestrians etc. I'm looking for something that will reduce my fatigue as I do this normally 6 days a week, easily 300km a week in total.
Autonomy is therefore important as well as being able to achieve 30km p/h. As I do lunch and evenings, 3 hour intervals, I could recharge in between shifts thus allowing for potentially a smaller battery and therefore less weight.

What I have considered so far
Rear Hubs seem to be the most reliable, however I really would like something that allows me to pedal (assisted) and that does'nt have loads of drag when not functioning for example. I have read many good things from Mac 10t, Q100-128 36v, magic pie etc. Specifically I found a post from someone that was considering touring with a Q128 I believe, however I can no longer find the post to link.
Front hubs are the obvious choice for easy installment, however I am not phased by DIY. I fell off my bike recently onto a metal post, cracking my rib because the front wheel slipped whilst turning This makes me wary of front motored installation.
Most coursiers that use ebikes have mid drives that they rent out monthly, type Bosch, Yamaha. Bafang BB02 B seems like a obvious choice in this category 350w? or larger motor running it on lower wattage, not to sure. Tong shen TDZ2 was very promising, what with the torque sensor that takes into consideration pedaling and so a natural feel element, however reading the whole 72 page topic, it seems the motor may not be so reliable for daily usage.
Battery wise, because of autonomy, something large towards to 18ah seems feasible but as mentioned, I can recharge in between.

plus:
Mid drives allow me to swap onto my other bikes if I were to use this for other purposes, however, it is not essential as I could always use the same battery for different motors.

If there are any suggestions, please feel free. It would be nice to post up the finality to allow other people in the same predicament as myself to have a bases for a similar build. I have attached an image of my bike to animate the topic. :)
 

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Potential

Motor:
Q128c wheel already built, don't know about the quality of the spokes and rims though
https://bmsbattery.com/ebike-kit/769-q128c-135mm-500w-rear-driving-ebike-hub-motor-wheel-ebike-kit.html

controller :
This sinewave s09p controller with bluetooth looks very handy
https://bmsbattery.com/controller/849-s09p-bl-36v48v-450w-controller-for-with-bluetooth-ios-app.html

or
https://bmsbattery.com/search?controller=search&orderby=position&orderway=desc&search_query=s09p&submit_search=
Which comes with the parts. I don't understand if this is the same as the first or without bluetooth

Battery
Get 2 of these batteries
https://bmsbattery.com/ebike-battery/817-48v116ah-case-08-bottle-panasonic-battery-pack-battery.html
 
Mid drive would make a lot of sense, for some reasons, including no drag when you just pedal.

But your needs sound like they would easily be satisfied by a geared type hub motor, just one stronger than you had. Get one that is rated 500w on the motor, which means you can easily run it on 1000w if you want more hill power, and speed. 48v with this type motor gets you into what EU calls a speed e bike, with different laws than you ran under with 250w.
If you run 36v with the same motor ( a ten turn winding) you should still fall under easier laws to live with, yet reach 30 kph.

Front hub will work with that bike, and allow you to not modify your gearing in any way. This might be the best approach for this particular bike. But I would say get a rear 7 speed hub anyway, because you might find another type bike works better later on.

For delivery, you might find a rugged steel beach cruiser with 7 rear gears and rim brakes all you need. On the other hand, sounds like keeping it long enough to have that matter might be a problem.

What really works IMO, is the ugly bike.
 
dogman dan said:
What really works IMO, is the ugly bike.

... Or a cargo bike.
Cargo bikes are not attracting thieves, and are easy to build, for battery placement especially. They are also ideal for delivery, leaving the rider free of backback or courrier bag. Building with integrated locks for both, bike and cargo container, it could be parked and started quickly.
 
Great info but Im not looking to change the bike, owning 6 already and living in an appartment without garage limits my biking activity to an extent.

with regards to using a 500w motor, are you refering to my link above? Im not too bothered about the laws, the police here are seriously not checking ebikes. Does anyone agree with the above links i posted?
 
Your link is a 500w geared motor. It is suitable for your requirements.

6 bikes? Maybe a few too many...
Cutting and welding, making one cargo bike with one of them, maybe using parts of a second, is not so difficult to do yourself if they are steel. :wink:

Many of us are into building purpose specific bikes, to optimize our rides. One for work, one for sport, should be all you need.
 
MadRhino said:
Your link is a 500w geared motor. It is suitable for your requirements.

6 bikes? Maybe a few too many...
Cutting and welding, making one cargo bike with one of them, maybe using parts of a second, is not so difficult to do yourself if they are steel. :wink:

Many of us are into building purpose specific bikes, to optimize our rides. One for work, one for sport, should be all you need.

:lol: ok then, where did I leave my angle grinder?
 
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