Help choosing a conversion kit?

[JLTinsley]

Hello all!

I'm very new to biking but want to get an e-bike kit to help with the *VERY* hilly commute to school and work. There are a few things I need though from this conversion kit. I'm thinking of fitting it to the Breezer Uptown 8 http://www.breezerbikes.com/index.php/component/content/article/36-bicycles/66-uptown-8 which has a Shimano 8speed internal gear hub and v-brakes. If I don't do the Breezer Uptown 8, I'd like a bike with either a 7 or 8speed IGH and preferably disc brakes or possibly rollerbrakes (bad weather where I live, I need all-weather braking, not rims).

Chances are I will be taking it to a LBS to get it installed because I have NO mechanical skill whatsoever, so I guess easy-intall doesn't matter too much, but I also don't want to blow a fortune having someone install it.

So what I'm looking for is something that is:

• 1. Compatible with a 7-8 speed IGH and disc or drum/roller brakes. I'm a total newb so I don't know what this business about "freewheel" means...I also don't know if I want a direct drive system, or something geared....But I think I want rear-wheel rather than front.
  2. I'm not large (5'7", 135lbs) but I do need decent power to get up the steep hills, and I will be using this to do shopping/transporting too so I need help getting a load up those hills as well.
  3. I need a range of at *least* 20-30 miles.
  4. I would prefer a battery other than SLA but I don't know what other batteries are superior to this?
  5. Lower prices are nice because I am a student
  6. Something quiet and/or discreet gets extra bonus points. I particularly like the kits that mount on a rear rack (like some of the BionX kits, but they are VERY expensive!) or in a triangle shaped frame bag.

Does anyone know of kits that will fulfill these specifications, or am I better off biting the bullet and buying a ready-made e-bike? If so, what e-bike would fit these desires of mine (IGH, disc or roller brake, etc). Or, does anyone have a suggestion of a regular bike similar to the Breezer Uptown but with disc or roller brakes that a kit would fit well to? As an aside, I'm a female and prefer step-through frames...and maybe something girly and cute. lol.

Thank you ahead of time for all of your help! You all are wonderful!!!!

 

[JLTinsley]

Also, how much would a LBS charge to install an e-bike kit? Thanks!

-JL

 

[LI-ghtcycle]

Welcome to the forum!

First off, if you are looking to go IGH, you have a couple options.

For the easiest way to electrify the bike and still have the IGH, you would need to have a front hub motor, and this would also be the most inexpensive installation at your LBS.

You could go with a geared hub motor, but in the end there would be more maintenance, and of course you could use a mid-drive, but that gets much more complex and expensive.

For batteries, you have several options, but the most cost effective are something like the Ping LifeP04 batteries:

http://cgi.ebay.com/36V-15AH-LiFePO...617?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3369c67fc9

I would recommend that battery size at minimum, most kits are designed for 36V, and although 48V is generally a better choice IMHO, it's also a couple hundred $$$.

There are several kits to choose as well, and since you are wanting to climb hills, depending on how steep they are, I would recommend something like this:

http://www.ampedbikes.com/completel.html

(This is just the kit & battery not including the bike pictured)

This company has a very nice battery that I believe is still not offered as a "plug and play" battery in the sense that it has an even better battery chemistry Lithium Polymer (LiPo) but is unique in that you don't have to have a fancy charger or worry about the voltages since it has a built in BMS & comes with a charger the kind that you can pretty much leave on the bike, and plug it in at night so it's ready the next morning.

Something else you really should have is a torque arm:

http://www.ampedbikes.com/images/torque.JPG

The bike you are looking at is a very good choice in that it has a steel frame so the drop-outs will be stronger and more forgiving than aluminum, but I still highly recommend a torque arm to keep things safe.

The amount of hills, the grade of said hills, the weight of the groceries and how much you pedal are all going to factor into the range of the battery.

Conservatively I would say you should get 20+ miles range with moderate pedaling in most cases, and even closer to 30 miles if you do things like pedal first from stops, and pedal with the motor.

You might look into some of the used kits people have in the for sale section too, and don't be afraid of checking with the LBS and seeing if they have a used bike that would fit your needs.

One thing to note, I looked at the bike you linked, and it has a set of water bottle mounts on the set-through frame, and the only thing you would have as a compromise is that is where the Amped Bikes battery is usually mounted, however given that you will be using a front hub motor, you could also mount the battery on the back rack if it would be in your way on the water bottle mounts at the front of the step-through area of the frame.

As far as how much it would cost to get the kit installed, you might be best off to find if there are any ES members in your area that would help with the instal, but any competent LBS should be able to handle it, it's not too difficult, I would expect if they are experienced installing E-Bike kits a typical install should be 1 hour's labor, if not then 2 hours (assuming nothing ends up being more difficult than normal)

P.S. one more thing ... if your front forks are designed for quick release as most modern bikes are, you will also need to fill the space that the quick release axle goes into, they are typically called "Lawyers' Lips" and will need special washers to fill that space so you have a flat surface for the hub motor to bolt onto:

http://www.ebikes.ca/store/store_connectors.php

Hope this helps!

 

[Gordo]

Hello all!

I'm very new to biking but want to get an e-bike kit to help with the *VERY* hilly commute to school and work. There are a few things I need though from this conversion kit. I'm thinking of fitting it to the Breezer Uptown 8 http://www.breezerbikes.com/index.php/component/content/article/36-bicycles/66-uptown-8 which has a Shimano 8speed internal gear hub and v-brakes. If I don't do the Breezer Uptown 8, I'd like a bike with either a 7 or 8speed IGH and preferably disc brakes or possibly rollerbrakes (bad weather where I live, I need all-weather braking, not rims).

Chances are I will be taking it to a LBS to get it installed because I have NO mechanical skill whatsoever, so I guess easy-intall doesn't matter too much, but I also don't want to blow a fortune having someone install it.

So what I'm looking for is something that is:

• 1. Compatible with a 7-8 speed IGH and disc or drum/roller brakes. I'm a total newb so I don't know what this business about "freewheel" means...I also don't know if I want a direct drive system, or something geared....But I think I want rear-wheel rather than front.
  2. I'm not large (5'7", 135lbs) but I do need decent power to get up the steep hills, and I will be using this to do shopping/transporting too so I need help getting a load up those hills as well.
  3. I need a range of at *least* 20-30 miles.
  4. I would prefer a battery other than SLA but I don't know what other batteries are superior to this?
  5. Lower prices are nice because I am a student
  6. Something quiet and/or discreet gets extra bonus points. I particularly like the kits that mount on a rear rack (like some of the BionX kits, but they are VERY expensive!) or in a triangle shaped frame bag.

Does anyone know of kits that will fulfill these specifications, or am I better off biting the bullet and buying a ready-made e-bike? If so, what e-bike would fit these desires of mine (IGH, disc or roller brake, etc). Or, does anyone have a suggestion of a regular bike similar to the Breezer Uptown but with disc or roller brakes that a kit would fit well to? As an aside, I'm a female and prefer step-through frames...and maybe something girly and cute. lol.

Thank you ahead of time for all of your help! You all are wonderful!!!!

The most valuable piece of advice I see so far is to find someone from ES in your area. Sometimes this is not so easy as, like yourself, we do not know where many of the ES members are on this planet. Even a wide general area is a starter, state, province, country?
As you are light, and if you keep your groceries down to 20-30 pounds, you will not need a very powerful setup. I just finished my second built of 48V X 1000W with a 24" rear wheel and find it is overkill. I am an old, crippled up guy and I can still pedal this ebike up a 20% hill (rise of 20' in 100') in my highest gear. My 135 pound daughter can blast by me, with only pedals. Now I want to find a balance between just enough power (maybe 750W @ 36V with 26" wheel) and not too difficult to pedal.
If you can't find an ES member, it would be best to buy a complete kit from one supplier. The time, knowledge and cost to connect one manufacturer's battery to another's controller, to another's motor, to a throttle will drive you nuts and cost you 50% more in someones time and trouble. I bought my first few parts from http://www.ebikes.ca/store/ I bought two more complete kits directly from China and saved 50%. BUT, one motor had a broken connection inside, the spokes are loose, the cassettes are not concentric, the charger plugs did not match our outlets, screws and lockwashers were missing from the controller and hub covers. The kit did not fit the first bike I tried. Someone suggested a Giant bike as an easy install. I had one and the kit fit very well on it. I spent most of a day on the first bike, but only 45 minutes to install the complete kit on the Giant. ebikes.ca stand behind what they sell 100% and don't give you the "not my fault, I'll take your problem up with the manufacturer BS."
Good luck with your ebike.

 

[docnjoj]

Even if the front fork is steel use 2 torque arms! This is one place you don't want the wheel to fall off!
otherDoc

 

[dogman dan]

I can't find the other thread we were talking on, don't recall where it was.

Does this breezer have disk brake mounts on the front forks. They look like steel, but I'm seeing rim brakes on that bike.

So you may need to replace the forks. That shouldn't be impossible for you local bike shop to handle. But as I said before, they may not want to touch an ebike with a ten foot pole. So look into that. You might have to travel some to find an lbs willing, or you might have 2 in town that will.

There are some pre built bikes out there, but I have no personal experience with em. Invariably though, they will not have 30 mile range. Unless you mean pedal 20 miles and motor 10. So if you find a pre built bike you like, make sure you can add a battery to extend range. Some types won't allow it. You'll need a lot of battery to motor 30 miles at 20-25 mph. A 36v 20 ah battery could be enough at slower speeds, but really you need to carry more so the battery is not 100% discharged every ride. 100% dod will shorten battery life. So two 36v 15 ah batteries, or charging at 15 miles with a 36v 20 ah if possibe would be best.
If you do carry two batteries, you'll need a good strong pannier rack, so you can carry the batteries low. Too much battery high on a rear rack affects the bike too much.

Here is a guy who may be able to help you, if your lbs won't install a motor.

http://www.chicagoelectricbicycles.com/