choosing my first e-bike

[xtotxt]

Hi,

I have been searching around to learn how to choose a bike and turn it into an electric bike.

The speed I would go with my bike will be <15 mph and 10-15 miles should be sufficient for the range. Loading weight: <200 kbs (including bike weight). The road is mostly flat with some bumps.

I am trying to keep the budget as low as possible without compromising the durability and performance of the bike.

So I am looking at this kit 36V 350W motor kit from
http://www.elifebike.com/peng/iview.asp?KeyID=dtpic-2011-43-GR8W.234ME

together with the battery
http://www.elifebike.com/peng/iview.asp?KeyID=dtpic-2013-4W-BPJ1.853FD

or 360V 250W kit from greenbikekit:
http://www.greenbikekit.com/index.php/electric-bike-kit-1/front/36v-250w-gbk-100f-front-driving-e-bike-kit-with-bottle-battery.html

The bike I am looking at is this
http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_12605_SPM7566620008P?PDP_REDIRECT=false&ci_src=184425893&ci_sku=SPM7566620008&sid=IDx20130125xMPFITx010

Can anyone let me know if this combination will work? I am nervous about the bike and the possible fire by li battery.
I don't really need a folding bike but love to have a 20" (I'm only 5'). Thank you

 

[dogman dan]

The only pitfall I can see with your plan is that many folding bikes have 80mm front dropouts. Most regular bikes have 100mm, so the motors are 100mm.

So maybe look at bmx bikes and a front hub?

Buy as big a battery as you can afford. Even with a small motor, you will stress a larger battery less on short rides, and have more for long rides. So if you can get 10 ah instead of 8, get the 10.

The smaller motors can wear out fast because of overheating if they are forced to climb really steep really long hills. But 5% grades should be no problem. So find out how steep the hills, if any, are.

 

[wesnewell]

Welcome to ES****Do this before your first post or now (it's retroactive)*****
Please go to the User Control Panel, select Profile, and then enter your city, state/province, and country into the Location field (country minimum) and save it. This will help people help you. Example: Wylie, TX, USA. Without knowing what country you are in it's hard to make any recommendations and you will waste your time and others. Thank you.

 

[xtotxt]

Thanks Dogman! I will look for a bmx or a small frame 26" wheel instead.

As for the battery, I was wondering if it is better to buy a second 36V-8Ah pack or to buy a single 36V-10Ah. (I am thinking 2 x 8ah battery is only 40 dollar more than 1 x 36v-10Ah and we get almost twice the capacity). It s 5lbs extra in weight but I will have an option to bring it along or not it might not be a problem?

I am in a very flat area. how to measure the grade % though?

 

[xtotxt]

Welcome to ES****Do this before your first post or now (it's retroactive)*****
Please go to the User Control Panel, select Profile, and then enter your city, state/province, and country into the Location field (country minimum) and save it. This will help people help you. Example: Wylie, TX, USA. Without knowing what country you are in it's hard to make any recommendations and you will waste your time and others. Thank you.

I dit it. Thanks

 

[The fingers]

I am in a very flat area. how to measure the grade % though?

Basically, the percent of elevation per 100 ft.
So a hill having a 3 foot gain in elevation in100 feet of linear travel would be a 3% grade.
A hill with a 6 foot rise in 100 feet would be a 6% grade.
The higher the %, the steeper the grade.
http://www.1728.org/gradient.htm
Fully explained here.

 

[dogman dan]

Sounds flat enough for most routes to be less than 5%. I go to map my ride when I want to get % grade on routes. Map a short bit, to get the most accurate grades. In any case, you don't live in Colorado, where even 5% grades can go long enough to damage a motor.

If you need only short range, just get the 8 ah. Then consider more later if you want to ride 20 miles at a time or more.

 

[michaelkramer11]

Hey Hey xtotxt,

I just built my first ebike a few months ago and it's been awesome!!! Anyways, I just noticed you were up the road in College Station. I spent my 5 years there for school and am now back in Brenham. Anyways, keep us updated with the build and the guys on this forum are awesome help!!!

-Michael

 

[xtotxt]

Hey Hey xtotxt,

I just built my first ebike a few months ago and it's been awesome!!! Anyways, I just noticed you were up the road in College Station. I spent my 5 years there for school and am now back in Brenham. Anyways, keep us updated with the build and the guys on this forum are awesome help!!!

-Michael

I wanted to buy a cheap e-bike but then somehow i got suck into the idea of building one. Yay! I just got here for less than a month!

Yes, they are great help. I really appreciate it!

 

[xtotxt]

I go to map my ride when I want to get % grade on routes. Map a short bit, to get the most accurate grades.

Thanks.

Yeah, I probably won't have to go on any slopes. so you have some tools to record the elevation or just eye balling it?