Carrera Subway 1 conversion 500w bafang which battery

[RobF]

Thanks Rob F
looks nice but ive got a budget of £1000 max. Thats pushing it. If I could stretch to that I would consider it. Thanks though. I figure £600-£700 for kit and £300 ish for the bike.

Costings look about right to me.

Worth buying the kit from a UK supplier.

Direct from China can be cheaper, but you are largely on your own if any of it doesn't work.

Warranty would be another benefit of the Oxygen if you could stretch to it.

They keep spare parts in the UK, and are known to be very fair with claims.

 

[Waynejoseph79]

Thanks for the replies all. What is a dongle? Flash drive with some sort of hack on it? Sorry.

https://www.badassebikes.com/

Thanks for that but looking at the systems they work with those bikes are well out of my price range. Or do they work for banfang etc?

 

[Waynejoseph79]

Costings look about right to me.

Worth buying the kit from a UK supplier.

Direct from China can be cheaper, but you are largely on your own if any of it doesn't work.

Warranty would be another benefit of the Oxygen if you could stretch to it.

They keep spare parts in the UK, and are known to be very fair with claims.

thanks again. Im buying at the end of the month so I might try and beg borrow. Ive got time to think about it. Cheers

 

[soundwave]

no just those motors

 

[soundwave]

Warranty would be another benefit of the Oxygen if you could stretch to it.

its worth the extra 200 quid just for that

 

[Waynejoseph79]

thanks all. Any clues on delivery time scales from BMS/china. Ive heard people waiting over a month. I'd sooner find a uk dealer with stock in house ready to go then wait and save a little money.

 

[soundwave]

dont forget import duty if buying from china

 

[selrahc1992]

Warranty would be another benefit of the Oxygen if you could stretch to it.

its worth the extra 200 quid just for that

I have the oxygen 13a battery 36v hub motor kit on a 700c bike. I'm probably not a good judge - I haven't really lived with any other pedelec - but I think I'm missing something: with it's on paper minimal power it bowls me along with 20 kg of stuff at times at an easy 22 to 24 mph and does moderate hills at 15 mph plus and very serious hills at 12 mph plus,again with very little effort. I'm not saying you should get an oxygen ( though I'm extremely happy with it), but I dont really understand why anyone would want more power unless they weigh over twenty stone

 

[RobF]

thanks again. Im buying at the end of the month so I might try and beg borrow. Ive got time to think about it. Cheers

Fair enough.

The bike parts of the Oxygen are superior to the Carrera, the motor and electric bits will be similar to the kit.

So from your point of view, the extra £200 gets you a better bike, a factory quality installation of the electrics, a decent warranty, and immediate availability.

Easy decision in my opinion, but only you know your finances.

Buying anything you cannot reasonably afford is never right.

 

[trex]

the $370 Q128H kit has the same power as the Oxygen kit and would suit somebody with smaller budget.

 

[Deleted member 4366]

You have to factor in £60 to £70 for duty for a complete kit. It seems to have gone up recently.

The Q128 at 48v and 20 amps has 50% more power than the Oxydrive kit. The 48v motor will just reach 20 mph, but it has immense torque. If speed is important, the 36v one at 48v will go 30% faster. There's a certain amount of DIY to fit it, like any kit, for which you need to be able to solder.

You only really need the that much torque if you're unfit, over 90 kg, and have hills to contend with.

For people less than 90kg, the Oxygen MTB takes some beating at £1200.

 

[trex]

Three years ago, if you want a quality e-mtb, it had to be a German made Bosch powered 300W e-mtb. The market is now very different because it seems that the most frequently asked question is 'how fast?' - that means Bosch bikes are not what most people want any more.
Still, I can't see Chinese e-mtbs selling for more than £1,200 because of the availability of competent kits like the Oxygen that will transform any quality MTB into a quality e-mtb for around £500. That will leave a budget of £7,00 for a bike with hydraulic brakes and a quality suspension fork.
Anyone looking into a crystal ball will see the imminent rise of self build e-mtbs.

 

[Deleted member 4366]

Three years ago, if you want a quality e-mtb, it had to be a German made Bosch powered 300W e-mtb. The market is now very different because it seems that the most frequently asked question is 'how fast?' - that means Bosch bikes are not what most people want any more.
Still, I can't see Chinese e-mtbs selling for more than £1,200 because of the availability of competent kits like the Oxygen that will transform any quality MTB into a quality e-mtb for around £500. That will leave a budget of £7,00 for a bike with hydraulic brakes and a quality suspension fork.
Anyone looking into a crystal ball will see the imminent rise of self build e-mtbs.

I think you need to try installing a few kits on £700 mountain bikes, then you will see that it's not as simple as that.

Fitting a kit to a bike is a lot of fun and always a bit challenging, so it gives immense satisfaction when it all works out; however, to achieve that you need basic DIY skills and tools along with some mechanical judgement and nouse. That would be a problem for some people. I'm not trying to put people off because there's always help from this and other forums, but fore sone people, a ready-made bike will always be a better option.

 

[trex]

fitting LCD, thumb throttle, battery and motor wheels is currently OK for most DIYers.
Only the pedelec sensor and the brake sensors are challenging. That's a design issue. Soon, there will be better solutions for PAS and HDB sensors.

 

[Deleted member 4366]

fitting LCD, thumb throttle, battery and motor wheels is currently OK for most DIYers.
Only the pedelec sensor and the brake sensors are challenging. That's a design issue. Soon, there will be better solutions for PAS and HDB sensors.

You obviously haven't fitted many kits.

 

[Waynejoseph79]

ok, thanks all.
Now im looking back at the kits as its been pointed out the frame for an oxygen mtb will be too small for a 6'4" fella.
Thanks RobF.
So Im looking at oxydrive kits but Im not sure how the brake levers would work with most modern bikes. The rest looks pretty simple. ( I am quite handy, honest). More advice would be great. Sorry folks and thanks so far.
Wayne

 

[pn_day]

As somebody else who is 6'4 I would concentrate on finding a frame that is comfortable. Adding the kit takes time but is easier than making a smaller frame comfortable!

 

[Deleted member 4366]

Now im looking back at the kits as its been pointed out the frame for an oxygen mtb will be too small for a 6'4" fella.

Who told you that, and on what basis?

 

[trex]

http://www.cycleworld.co.uk/page/121/CycleWorld_Sizing

he should be looking for a very large frame, 23".
The Oxygen 13AH MTB has 19" frame.

His original plan was to convert a Carrera with a BBS02 500W CD kit. That plan is still the most sensible, although I think the downtube on the Carrera is a bit too narrow to support a downtube battery.

 

[RobF]

Who told you that, and on what basis?

Dave,

I told him that, on the basis you were bound to ruddy well argue with it, as you always do.

Anyone who knows anything about bicycles will tell you a 6ft 4in rider will almost certainly be too big for a 19" frame.

That's a matter of fact, whether or not you are mates with the bloke selling the bike.

For what it's worth, I advised the OP to have a try on one, just in case he could get on with it.