Conversion or ready made bike in Vancouver?

Mo Sizlak

10 µW
Joined
Jun 16, 2014
Messages
5
Location
Vancovuer, Canada.
Hi,
I'm looking at this bike: http://www.eprodigybikes.com/banff.aspx
Or should I save some $$$ and get a conversion kit? If so, which do you recommend for my needs?
I'm an active, urban commuter, 175lbs & would like a little help going up hills, max distance of 10-15 km per day.
Thanks.
Cheers!
 
Welcome to the forum. That's an interesting bike, Its not cheap, but not overly expensive either. I have no knowledge of the quality, but I usually can find some obvious reason in most prebuilt ebikes why they should be skipped (Most are truly junk) With this one, I can't see anything from their add that would lead me to think it's bad. 36v 8.8ah battery, 350watt motor, Shimano 3 speed.

The only bad(ish) point I see is the battery size. 8.8ah. That would be rather small, and won't be able to cover your distance with 100% battery power at full speed. That may be fine if you want to pedal, but most people find once they have motor power, they like to use it a lot more than they planned.

Sometimes it's nice to have a bike all built and ready for you. Other times it's nice to have a bike that is exactly what you want because you built it your self. That can be a hard choice to make.
Still, you can build a bike with more capability for that price, using some better parts.
How good are you with basic hand tools?

Since that bike is loaded with baskets, I'd assume you want to haul more than just your lunch around. If you're going to be moving cargo, you may want to go up to a 500 watt motor. I'd also about double the battery size, from 8.8ah to ~15ah. For a step-through bike with top heavy baskets, 36volts is appropriate.
 
I've found nothing that compares to the satisfaction I get from building my own primary transportation. Our systems are so simple that with only a slight learning curve you can troubleshoot any problem, and Endless-Sphere is an incredible resource. You do have to invest some time.
 
Definitely an advantage having Grin where you are. Go talk to them before you spend on anything.
 
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