JohnT818
10 mW
Thanks for the review, Dogman! I got one of these a few weeks ago, but I've only taken it out a couple of times so far. I'm in SoCal and not planning on running it in the rain, but it's good to know I can if I want to, and I'm glad to hear it handles hills well. Here's a little about my experience.
My kit is also rear direct drive, but I got the 48v 13ah Lithium battery option. I took advantage of one of the many 15% off sales that E-BikeKit runs. It wasn't as easy to install as I'd hoped, but it wasn't too hard. I suppose you have to expect some issues in any DIY project. Actually, a couple of the problems I had were installing the rear rack and kickstand, which weren't included with my kit, although racks are available as options. I emailed E-BikeKit a couple times with questions and got answers right away. I put the kit on an extra-small (13") Trek 820 (hardtail, steel frame, 21 speeds). It's a couple years old, but I bought it new to convert and didn't get around to it until now, so it's only been ridden a few times.
--- THE INSTALL ---
I didn't have any problems mounting the Dashboard. My bars are pretty straight. Like Dogman, I used the half-throttle and didn't use the ebrakes. My brakes and shifters are integrated. I stubbornly struggled getting the original grip off until I found some rubbing alcohol, got a few drops inside, and it slid off pretty easily. I put the controller in a pocket in the included battery bag for testing, but it'll probably end up on the downtube. The battery won't comfortably fit in my small triangle, so it will probably stay in the bag. The axle isn't flush with the deepest part of the dropout, as their curves are different, but I sent pics to E-BikeKit, and they say it's in far enough. I'm glad to hear the torque arm is authorized (I noticed the similarity to Grin Tech's), but I'm not sure I'm happy with the way it fits my frame. I should shoot them another email and pic to see what they think. The bag I got with the kit has a velcro strap inside that I assume is supposed to secure the battery, but it's way too long. Maybe it's sized for SLAs. I'll ask them about that, too. Without the strap, my Lithium battery slides around in the bag, so I put a cargo net over the whole bag, and it seems pretty stable now. I'll have to think of something more elegant, maybe something locking. Oh, and unlike Dogman's, mine came with styrofoam supporting the hub, and the battery drop-shipped separately, packed as hazardous material should be.
--- THE RIDE ---
I've only taken a couple of test rides and one commute to work and back (about 4.5 miles each way). Hot off the charger, I maxed out at just over 30mph according to the Dashboard, on level ground, sitting upright. I went about 10 miles, cruising mostly from 15-25mph with a couple of slight hills, and the battery level indicator still showed full! I'm not sure if that says great things about the range or bad things about the indicator. That's another thing I should probably ask E-BikeKit about. I'm not an experienced bicyclist, so I don't know how bad the balance is with all the extra weight on the rear of the bike. It feels okay to me, but I'm doing mostly straight lines on large, suburban roads.
So far, I'm happy with the way it's going. I still need to figure out some small things and spend more time on the road. I was thinking about doing an ebike conversion for the wife, but she's been thinking she might rather have a scooter or motorcycle. She likes pedaling bicycles. We have a dealer not too far away that says he can get us a used Zero motorcycle, so I might take a closer look at that. We'll see what she thinks after trying my E-BikeKit.
My kit is also rear direct drive, but I got the 48v 13ah Lithium battery option. I took advantage of one of the many 15% off sales that E-BikeKit runs. It wasn't as easy to install as I'd hoped, but it wasn't too hard. I suppose you have to expect some issues in any DIY project. Actually, a couple of the problems I had were installing the rear rack and kickstand, which weren't included with my kit, although racks are available as options. I emailed E-BikeKit a couple times with questions and got answers right away. I put the kit on an extra-small (13") Trek 820 (hardtail, steel frame, 21 speeds). It's a couple years old, but I bought it new to convert and didn't get around to it until now, so it's only been ridden a few times.
--- THE INSTALL ---
I didn't have any problems mounting the Dashboard. My bars are pretty straight. Like Dogman, I used the half-throttle and didn't use the ebrakes. My brakes and shifters are integrated. I stubbornly struggled getting the original grip off until I found some rubbing alcohol, got a few drops inside, and it slid off pretty easily. I put the controller in a pocket in the included battery bag for testing, but it'll probably end up on the downtube. The battery won't comfortably fit in my small triangle, so it will probably stay in the bag. The axle isn't flush with the deepest part of the dropout, as their curves are different, but I sent pics to E-BikeKit, and they say it's in far enough. I'm glad to hear the torque arm is authorized (I noticed the similarity to Grin Tech's), but I'm not sure I'm happy with the way it fits my frame. I should shoot them another email and pic to see what they think. The bag I got with the kit has a velcro strap inside that I assume is supposed to secure the battery, but it's way too long. Maybe it's sized for SLAs. I'll ask them about that, too. Without the strap, my Lithium battery slides around in the bag, so I put a cargo net over the whole bag, and it seems pretty stable now. I'll have to think of something more elegant, maybe something locking. Oh, and unlike Dogman's, mine came with styrofoam supporting the hub, and the battery drop-shipped separately, packed as hazardous material should be.
--- THE RIDE ---
I've only taken a couple of test rides and one commute to work and back (about 4.5 miles each way). Hot off the charger, I maxed out at just over 30mph according to the Dashboard, on level ground, sitting upright. I went about 10 miles, cruising mostly from 15-25mph with a couple of slight hills, and the battery level indicator still showed full! I'm not sure if that says great things about the range or bad things about the indicator. That's another thing I should probably ask E-BikeKit about. I'm not an experienced bicyclist, so I don't know how bad the balance is with all the extra weight on the rear of the bike. It feels okay to me, but I'm doing mostly straight lines on large, suburban roads.
So far, I'm happy with the way it's going. I still need to figure out some small things and spend more time on the road. I was thinking about doing an ebike conversion for the wife, but she's been thinking she might rather have a scooter or motorcycle. She likes pedaling bicycles. We have a dealer not too far away that says he can get us a used Zero motorcycle, so I might take a closer look at that. We'll see what she thinks after trying my E-BikeKit.
