I might buy my first electric bike but I have questions.

Hello everyone,
I'm new to this forum and new to the ebike world in general and I was thinking of buying my first ebike (well, part of it) from Cyclone, but I have a few questions:

• Is it good for the money?

• Is the bluetooth controller good? When the controller is paired with a smartphone, is a Cycle Analyst still necessary?

• Is the battery included in the 1600$ kit good enough for, let's say, 30km when riding 45km/h?

• On the subject of the battery, is it a good deal for the additional money?

• Is it possible to turn this into a pedal-assist bike?

• If I were to buy this kit, what more do I need? (I know I need a chain, tires, hydraulic brakes, seat-post, saddles, handle-bars, e-brake sensor, and a derailleur but do I need anything else?) and for how much?

• Does Cyclone ship to Europe?

• Has anyone bought and reviewed this kit somewhere?

Thank you for taking the time to read this and I hope to get your answer.

ZBlu.

It looks interesting. I think it is one of the first "motor in frame" kits for home builders. That being said, I would be hesitant to say "go ahead, try it" to someone as their first e-bike project.


I looked at the dimensions; however I was not able to determine what "size" the frame actually is. I find that "one size fits all" generally doesn't fit me well.

ZBlu,

First before considering any bike/e-bike , where are you going to be riding it most all of the Time ?

Technical Off Road Single Track ?

Mostly on Road , with some Off Road on easy trails ?

Mostly on Road with off road being dirt car/jeep roads ?

Etc.

Since you are in Europe there are E-Bikes that meet all the Countries Requirements/Laws, and some or many have just in the last year come down in price to a price where they are at or very near the cost of building up a bike yourself.
( well at least the lower priced models like anything near $ 2,500 U.S. )

I just last week found out about a new bike ( 2018 year model that I think is for sale now ) the 2018 Specialized Turbo Vado.
It is a departure from the previous years of Turbo, in the Fact that the Vado is Mid-Dirve. This is great news for anyone who lives near Hills and/or Mountains.

ScooterMan101 said:

ZBlu,

First before considering any bike/e-bike , where are you going to be riding it most all of the Time ?

Technical Off Road Single Track ?

Mostly on Road , with some Off Road on easy trails ?

Mostly on Road with off road being dirt car/jeep roads ?

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I was thinking of commuting on it. So it'll be mostly on road and maybe some easy trails every now and then.

Since you are in Europe there are E-Bikes that meet all the Countries Requirements/Laws, and some or many have just in the last year come down in price to a price where they are at or very near the cost of building up a bike yourself.
( well at least the lower priced models like anything near $ 2,500 U.S. )

Click to expand...

I am aware of those options but the reasons I want to go for the DIY route are for the additional power and the low price. In November 2016 Belgium passed a law that allows for "speed pedelecs" that is, ebikes up to 4kw and 45km/h, to be legally ridden as long as you register your bike and have a driver's license.
So technically I think the bike can still be road legal if I program it to hit 45km/h, and find a way to make it pedal-assist, and get a license plate for it. And, before you ask, no, it doesn't need to have insurance.

Edit: I thought I'd mention if I do get the bike I'll only use it at 45 km/h on the street, I will put the 4kw to use when off of it.

Finally a law regarding E-Bikes that makes sense, Now if the Rest of Europe would follow Belgium's lead regarding this law it would be worth while having a vacation there.

You show a full suspension frame, But , you want to use your future E-Bike for most always commuting you say. Do you have to travel/commute over Cobblestone Roads ?

Where I live a slightly new style of bike called a Gravel Bike is becoming popular, around here you have to ride on paved roads for several miles in order to get to any dirt roads.
With their ability to use much wider tires , and with the proliferation of Disc Brakes now, this is a welcome change to the traditional Racing type of Road Bike.

Being in Belgium where Cyclocross is King , That could be a type of frame to look at.
Reason Being, it is much easier and much more efficient to get a Road Bike to Go Faster and Go Further , than a heavy full suspension bike.

ZBlu said:

In November 2016 Belgium passed a law that allows for "speed pedelecs" that is, ebikes up to 4kw and 45km/h, to be legally ridden as long as you register your bike and have a driver's license.
So technically I think the bike can still be road legal if I program it to hit 45km/h, and find a way to make it pedal-assist, and get a license plate for it. And, before you ask, no, it doesn't need to have insurance.

Click to expand...

ScooterMan101 said:

You show a full suspension frame, But , you want to use your future E-Bike for most always commuting you say. Do you have to travel/commute over Cobblestone Roads ?

Click to expand...

Well, I was thinking of it as a way to improve confort while commuting but it might be slightly overkill. Although there are quite a few cobblestone streets in Brussels and I do go through some of them in my commute.
When searching for an ebike quite a few sources recommended to max out confort if the bike was for commuting purposes. Most of them agreed that a steel hardtail was an ideal base bike to convert so for me a full suspension was just the next logical step forward and the frame is not that expensive (from what I can tell) for a full suspension. But you're right, it might be overdoing it.

That Full Suspension Frame is Overkill for commuting on the Streets of Brussels.
However
A good light weight XC Full Suspension would work great , it would be just a little heavier than a hard tail with front suspension fork. ( For light duty riding and lighter weight riders a Rockshox SID fork or other fork that is no more than 1800 grams will great for where you will be riding , for commuting you want a suspension fork at or less than 1800 grams )

Steel and Titanium bike frames are great , so can be Carbon but I would not build up a carbon bike for commuting unless you can take it into your office/workplace where it is safe from theft.

Of course a 29er full suspension bike would be good because you can put some 32 or 42 mm wide 700c commuting tires on it.

But if you could find an older " Soft Tail " bike that would be good ( it would be 26 inch which I rode for many decades so they are still good unless you are near or over 2 meters tall )

Types of Soft Tail Bike Frames are the older KHS , the Moots YBB, and all others like them.

Over in Europe I hear that Cannondale is popular . the Scalpel is good the Lefty Front fork is light weight, however they are not Cheep.

I like Specialized , also not cheep but very good quality , and now they have the new ...
" Future Shock Suspension " , the downside is that you have to buy not the lowest models but about 3-4 steps up from the cheapest model of Roubaix or Diverge to get it.
Specialized has some of the best invitations in Bicycle Frames/ Seatposts/Saddles , But they are not on the Cheep Side.

https://www.specialized.com/us/en/men/bikes/road/adventure/mensdivergecompe5/128909
A Diverge Comp 5 or next levels up of the Diverge , with a TSDZ2 Mid-Drive would be a good combination , ( Too Bad Specialized does not yet offer the AWOL Frameset with the new " Future Shock Suspension " ) If they did have the AWOL Frameset with it , that would be a near perfect frame to build up into a Road/Sometimes Off Road DIY , E-Bike .

ZBlu said:

Well, I was thinking of it as a way to improve confort while commuting but it might be slightly overkill. Although there are quite a few cobblestone streets in Brussels and I do go through some of them in my commute.
When searching for an ebike quite a few sources recommended to max out confort if the bike was for commuting purposes. Most of them agreed that a steel hardtail was an ideal base bike to convert so for me a full suspension was just the next logical step forward and the frame is not that expensive (from what I can tell) for a full suspension. But you're right, it might be overdoing it.

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