Cattwg Posted July 9, 2019 Share Posted July 9, 2019 Just musing. My wife and I both have ‘conventional’ bikes that we really like but recently e-bikes have entered our conversations. So, I was just wondering if anyone has first hand experience of converting ‘conventional’ bikes to e-bikes. I’m not looking to save money but more towards keeping the bikes that suit us. Cattwg :-D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Will86 Posted July 9, 2019 Share Posted July 9, 2019 That's exactly how the motorcycle was born when an engine was fitted into a bicycle frame. I would imagine all the required parts could be bought separately and reassembled in your existing frames Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cattwg Posted July 9, 2019 Author Share Posted July 9, 2019 Will86 - 2019-07-09 5:25 PM I would imagine all the required parts could be bought separately and reassembled in your existing frames Thank you for your reply Will. Yes complete kits can be bought and fitted. It’s the performance of these kits and their associated batteries that I am wondering about. John :-D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hallii Posted July 9, 2019 Share Posted July 9, 2019 Ask the question on "Pedelecs" forum, I looked into doing this myself and there are several people who have done it on Pedelecs. Remember that the parts of an ordinary bike may not be strong enough for the stresses of electric drive. The legal requirements need careful consideration. After I did my research I went and bought a couple of e-bikes, unfortunately I bought some Chinese small wheel bikes, they did not wear well. I replaced them with German made bikes and I have never had any problem with them, not even a puncture. H Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevec176 Posted July 9, 2019 Share Posted July 9, 2019 Try this site but there are others https://www.cyclotricity.com/uk/custom.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thebishbus Posted July 9, 2019 Share Posted July 9, 2019 Pander E bike Kits Cytronex Dillenger E bike kits. Various types of kits there plus E Bikes. Brian B. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flicka Posted July 9, 2019 Share Posted July 9, 2019 Many e-bikes operate with the motor in the wheel hub, so in theory conversion would consist of a wheel change, battery mount & handlebar controls. However many e-bike users, including myself, prefer crank drive motors, which wouldn't be viable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peterjl Posted July 9, 2019 Share Posted July 9, 2019 Cattwg - 2019-07-09 5:19 PM Just musing. My wife and I both have ‘conventional’ bikes that we really like but recently e-bikes have entered our conversations. So, I was just wondering if anyone has first hand experience of converting ‘conventional’ bikes to e-bikes. I’m not looking to save money but more towards keeping the bikes that suit us. Cattwg :-D Hi.. About 7 years ago I converted my wife’s mountain bike to electric with the motor in the front hub. I was excellent and lasted about 5 years before the controller died and unfortunately the company had gone out of business. I converted my wife’s bike, rather than buy an electric bike, for the following reasons: Electric bikes have a longer wheelbase than ordinary bikes with the consequent larger turning circle and additional weight. The converted mountain bike was light and nimble. Conversion involves changing the wheel, brake leavers ( brakes must cut motor when applied), adding rack for battery, and adding additional controls to handlebars and sensors to crank sooooo it’s not a quick job and not cheap. The wiring was difficult to hide because of the number of connections so, whilst performance was brilliant I was never really happy with how it looked. In terms of performance, with mbt gearing and motor it could climb any hill at speed. My wife used to wait for me at the top as I trundled up on my old bike. These days they make electric mountain bikes with shorter wheelbase and battery built into the frame so they don’t look like electric bikes, really neat, but they are not cheap. I have one and it can climb 3000 ft of ascent off road. With this in mind I would never convert one again. Peter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cattwg Posted July 11, 2019 Author Share Posted July 11, 2019 Thank you to all who replied to my ‘musings’. I’ve come to the conclusion that it’s best to invest in two new e-bikes. If/when we buy e-bikes then at least one of them will have to be a folding bike for transportation. Our bike rack will not accommodate the weight of two e-bikes. A S Bikes specialise in folders and seem to have a good reputation and as we are going to the Malvern Show we’ll have a long chat and a trial with them. John :-D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colin Posted July 11, 2019 Share Posted July 11, 2019 I remove batteries and QR front wheels, this makes them lighter on the rack. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cattwg Posted July 11, 2019 Author Share Posted July 11, 2019 Yes I agree regarding the batteries but the two e-bikes we have in mind would still be over the maximum 35kg limit of the bike rack. Ours is an Adria Twin PVC with the rack on the back door. I don't want to go down the towing hitch route. We've enough room under the fixed bed for at least one folded e-bike. Cattwg :-D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonyishuk Posted July 14, 2019 Share Posted July 14, 2019 Only to comment that a front wheel motor hub is not good, because you can lose grip on some surfaces and introduce skids on the front wheel. Rear is generally cheaper but can make the rear end a solid ride. Mid engine is a good weight distribution. A sprung seat pillar is a consideration, Rgds Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terry Sankey Posted August 9, 2019 Share Posted August 9, 2019 We have road bikes, mountain bikes and electric bikes. We now always take the electric ones on a bike rack that is mounted on our towbar. Electric bikes are naturally heavier than others and the additional pull on a rack mounted on the rear panel may not be good for the van. I really would go for a purpose built electric bike even though they are not cheap. They will serve you far better. Also try them out first.!! Even if you then buy on line. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ColinM50 Posted August 9, 2019 Share Posted August 9, 2019 If you're going to carry them on the bike rack on the back of a m/h, double check and really do make sure that the rack is through bolted with steel doubler plates on the inside. 8-) Mine fell off when used for the first time when brand new, they'd only held the rack on with half inch self tappers. Before using it I double checked with Fiamma and they confirmed their rack can happily carry 60kg bad fixing not withstanding. My two electric bikes without batteries or saddles that I carry inside, weigh just 40\kg so well within limits but they are a bit of a pfaff to get on the rack. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fast Pat Posted August 11, 2019 Share Posted August 11, 2019 I did it for my wife's bike to help her back into cycling after chemotherapy. Starting point is how "good" are your current bikes? Worth less than £1,000 probably not worth spending anything on, if you have a good base bike then worth doing. I used Cytronex which was a further £1,200 but the finished bike is worth it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kennyh Posted August 11, 2019 Share Posted August 11, 2019 I did a conversion on a Specialized Hybrid, with a front wheel motor The kit was pretty heavy on such a light bike and the handling was not good after that; very top heavy and steering was challenging with the power coming from the front wheel. I then bought new eBikes for my wife and I - much better than a conversion (in my opinion). IMHO - if you’ve a great (non-Electric) bike, leave it that way and buy a dedicated ebike. We love ours and of course you can switch off the power at any time to keep the heart pumping. We use ours to pull a trailer with our elderly dog in it. He loves goes out in it and wags his tail all the way on our journeys. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cattwg Posted August 11, 2019 Author Share Posted August 11, 2019 Thanks again to all who replied to my musings on e-bikes. We are definitely going to go for two new e-bikes. However, my wife insists we’ll last another year with our conventional ones. (I think secretly she doesn't want to admit that we are getting older!) Due to circumstances we have not been able used our bikes much this year - eight weeks in France and Spain in the autumn will be the cruncher! Cattwg :-D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
malc d Posted August 11, 2019 Share Posted August 11, 2019 Cattwg - 2019-08-11 10:30 AM Thanks again to all who replied to my musings on e-bikes. We are definitely going to go for two new e-bikes. However, my wife insists we’ll last another year with our conventional ones. (I think secretly she doesn't want to admit that we are getting older!) Cattwg :-D In recent times my bike rides were getting shorter - and took more planning to avoid hills - so I decided it was time to go electric. Good decision, as I no longer have to avoid hills - and can cycle much further without planning and without too much more effort. It's taken me back to the trips I made ten years ago. Before you buy I suggest plenty of investigating what is available as there is now such a range. My bike will do at least 50 miles between charges - some will only do 25 miles or so - you need to decide how much you intend to use it. Battery size can make quite a difference. ….and we do also still use our " old " bikes from time to time - so we haven't given anything up. ;-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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