Newbe 1230 am rambling.

I am 53 years old, overweight (270lbs) and want to get back into biking. I have spent the last few days researching (hovering over lunacyles website in particular and youtube of course) and trying to figure out which way I want to get back into it.
I would like to use the bike for a very occasional 5 mile commute on glorious mornings, with gentle hills, and mostly just to ride and get away from a desk chair and the internet.
Here is the Bike I have had for years, still in reasonably good shape with new rims and tires last fall.
https://www.bicyclebluebook.com/SearchListingDetail.aspx?id=70397&make=689&model=47522&ss=
El cheapo, but still here maybe 20 years later. Rides nice. Apparently worth a couple shots of real good whisky at a high class bar now.
I would like to convert it, and here is the choices as I see it:
A) Go with maybe a mid drive BBSHD, and $500 bottle battery
B) Go with a golden pie V and same battery, Rear wheel drive.
C) Buy a whole new Bike, perhaps with a suspension for about 1K more.

I like A) because I feel that I can transfer over everything in case I really like it, get way into it, to a more modern bike with a suspension. (53 year old back) Seems like more complex, not as easy to install (but no problem really - I've swapped engines in cars, build drones, computers, etc.) It seems like a few installations, wind up grinding this or that to make work.
I like B) because simple, silent, and (? maybe) stealthy. If I go this route, hopefully would be happy with the end product and not have wasted $450 on a dead end avenue.
I like C) because, well new. Hydraulic disc brakes and whatnot, but 2K is a lot easier than 3K.

Hey man, thanks for hanging with me this far. What does the experienced hand have to say?
Thanks,

L.

Narrow down your list by coin flips.
Whichever choice wins gets built.
As soon as you are riding it start ordering parts for the next one.
Always have a build or two in progress.

Oh ya and,
Welcome to the Sphere.

The bike itself is very close to ideal for a conversion to electric. Sturdy steel frame can be perfect.

Well, not knocking mid drive, but what you describe really does not need mid drive.

Even at your weight, it does not sound like the hills are bad enough to need more than a typical 500w rated hub motor, either geared or direct drive. But because of your weight,, a 48v kit would be a good choice.

Your weight does rule out hills with the very smallest hub motor kit though, you need more than a tiny motor and 36v.

If you have big ambitions for later, after you ride yourself into shape, then the mid drive could be better then. I mean riding up real mountains.

Pedal yourself into shape on the e bike. Set a gear you like, for the speed you like to cruise. Add throttle till it pedals easy, but not too easy. Get into a nice heart rate, but not so hard you can't whistle while you ride. Then,, ride a LOT farther than 5 miles. Its EASY. Take the long way home. Soon you will find the long duration mild exercise very good for your waistline, and for your endurance when doing other things. Know what I mean, nudge nudge, wink wink.

^^^Thanks mate, you're channeling me.
I think I convinced myself to go with a Golden Pie V and a 48 volt bottle. Worse comes to better, I can sell it off, or maybe put it on my Wife's (She has same bike in a woman's style) and build a full suspension later.

https://endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=66302
Your bike looks good for conversion. See link for recommendations.

(B) is your best bet. it's a simple, straightforward design your bike is perfect for.
(A) is what I would do now, after 6 hub motors. More flexibility, less simplicity, more maintenance. Maybe not the best first Ebike choice, unless you have steep hills and hard dirt trails to conquer.
(C) is what you'll be doing next year, because almost every ebike rider builds at least 1 more. you mentioned drones. I bet you have a bunch, because anyone in RC flying has many airframes. That's just how it works. Ebikes are the exact same thing, hardly anyone owns just one.

Maybe go with plan B now, and combine plan A and C for your next build

Yeah, B it is. One other question, is a geared hub without power essentially friction-less? The direct drive will "cog" without power, I get that, but if the battery were dead or system not working, and you had 5 more miles to go, would you be glad you had one like this? https://lunacycle.com/geared-hub-ebike-kit-750w-for-front-or-rear/ installed?
I have a feeling the 750 watt would suffice, I have little desire to go more than 20 mph on that bike! Or just stick with the more brawny GM and operate it less stressed?

I really like the GM for another reason, that the controller is integral to the hub for less "crap" stuck somewhere on the bike. Clean is good.

I love a mid-drive, but you should get a magic/golden pie. I have a Magic Pie on my street bike and it works great. Top speed on mine is 31mph and it is smooth and dead silent. I have a 6-speed freewheel, but I think a 7 will fit too.

Another hub I am considering is the 2 speed from Luna, wired for 52 volts.
https://lunacycle.com/double-gear-double-torque-motor/
I've searched here, and not seen a lot about longevity, just a few threads when they came out. I like it because it would be stealthier, and I can gear down for the mass of my ass when needed. I do not like that it has an external controller, and maybe no brake shut off function?
Maybe worthy of another thread, or maybe I missed a thread on my search. In particular, I am concerned about all the gears and monkey motion going on vs. reliability.

EDIT: Found this thread: https://endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=58490&start=1350

Lost said:

Yeah, B it is. One other question, is a geared hub without power essentially friction-less? The direct drive will "cog" without power, I get that, but if the battery were dead or system not working, and you had 5 more miles to go, would you be glad you had one like this? https://lunacycle.com/geared-hub-ebike-kit-750w-for-front-or-rear/ installed?
I have a feeling the 750 watt would suffice, I have little desire to go more than 20 mph on that bike! Or just stick with the more brawny GM and operate it less stressed?

I really like the GM for another reason, that the controller is integral to the hub for less "crap" stuck somewhere on the bike. Clean is good.

Click to expand...

With the DD you are basically turning a generator that has no load attached to the output. The geared hubs have a clutch (I think rachet would be a more appropriate term) so that the electrical components are physically not turning. It is pretty much like riding a standard bike with a bit more weight.

I have a GM Smart Pie (geared front hub). First it is much heavier that a similar DD or comparable geared drive but the worst thing about GM is their controller's glacial ramp up speed (aka soft start). It will not get off Top Dead Center until you are half way across an multi-lane intersection ... the one place where you really need it.

Also be advised that the GM system expects to have a switch ahead of the motor/controller, unless you plan to leave the bike powered on all the time.

In the end I just said the heck with it, and ordered a Rover from rad power. At $1450, it was less expensive than the cart I had set up at luna for (albeit a more powerful) mid drive on my existing 20 year old bike.

I imagine I will spend some more for various "upgrades", but the various videos I saw of it sold me on the polished finished look and performance of it.

I've not demoed the rad bikes, but on the website they do look like they put together nice bikes.

For your use needs,, the fat tire is actually not a bad choice. Just inflate to hard as you can for good range, but not so hard your back suffers. Likely that will not be sand ride soft, but far from as hard as a beach cruiser tire inflates to.

If you rode more distance,, you'd find keeping it in tires expensive, but the distances you describe won't wear out tires all that fast.

Welcome to the e bike world Lost. Everyone above gave great advice. I was in your position last June and went the DD hub motor route. I now am doing the hovering thing on the Luna website, about to pull the trigger on a BBSHD setup with the hot rod programming. The Radrover looks awesome as a great all around bike. Save your other bike, it'll be awesome with a BBS02 setup. Hope you have as much fun as the rest of us, it's addicting.

Probably would not have been my first choice but we all have different tastes and desires.
Enjoy your new machine and let us know how you like it.

The Rover with addition of a suspension seat post looks ideal to me.

Let us know how it works for you.

^^^Ordered a seat post the very next day, a suntour, with a extra firm spring.

As far as tires go, if the fatties dont work out, other people are having good luck going with thinner mtb tires onh fatty rims.

Mr. Lost, enjoy the new Radrover. Next summer, you may be electrifying something for Missus Lost. Maybe a lower power geared hub for her, like their RadCity,