Hi!, this is my Raleigh Pioneer 1 21" frame fitted with the Alien 36v 250W 700c kit. Fitting was reasonably straightforward, with a few little hiccups along the way! This is my first ebike but 1 of 3 bikes I have (1 hybrid for normal unassisted cycling and a folding Dahon for taking in the car or train).
The biggest problem was that the original fork was not wide enough to house the motor so was replaced with a very nice Kona Project 2 fork. Although the fork came in black and the rest of the bike is silver, I'm not planning to spray it as I really like the way the fork looks! This also required a new headset & stem as it's a threadless fork and the previous fork was threaded. I've kept all the original parts so I can put the original parts back on if I ever decide to move the kit on to another bike.
There was a lot of excess wire left outside the controller box (on the rack which also houses the battery) and I did not want to cut those wires due to 1) laziness & lack of knowledge of such things and 2) keeping the option open to fit the kit to a different bike later. To tidy this up a bit, I bought a very cheap (£2.99 incl postage) triangle frame bag off ebay. This just about fits between the seat and the rack so is sited there to leave some space in the frame for a bottle and maybe lock rack later on.
I'm still waiting for a cheap front mudguard to arrive. There's not much space between the bottom of the fork and the tyre so it needed to be one that fits behind the fork only.
I'm really happy with how the bike rides especially with the nice help from the motor in assist mode. I have a 12 mile journey to work which i usually make by car but would like to cycle a few times a week in the spring/summer. There are a few hills to navigate and we don't have any change facilities or showers at the office
. The fact that I can use my ebike to get to work without needing to change out of sweaty cycling gear and without needing an hour or two to cool down but still get some nice fresh air in the morning and feel like I've done a little bit of exercise is fantastic! On testing it for battery life, the battery ran out a few hundred yards from the office so the first cycle home was unassisted - the bike is obivously heavier than it would have been without the kit but was far from unmanageable and having the 18 gears was useful for the hills.
There are quite a few commuting cyclists in the area I live (Surrey) but I've yet to see any ebikes around apart from when I've gone into London. Will keep an eye out for any!
Jamie.
The biggest problem was that the original fork was not wide enough to house the motor so was replaced with a very nice Kona Project 2 fork. Although the fork came in black and the rest of the bike is silver, I'm not planning to spray it as I really like the way the fork looks! This also required a new headset & stem as it's a threadless fork and the previous fork was threaded. I've kept all the original parts so I can put the original parts back on if I ever decide to move the kit on to another bike.
There was a lot of excess wire left outside the controller box (on the rack which also houses the battery) and I did not want to cut those wires due to 1) laziness & lack of knowledge of such things and 2) keeping the option open to fit the kit to a different bike later. To tidy this up a bit, I bought a very cheap (£2.99 incl postage) triangle frame bag off ebay. This just about fits between the seat and the rack so is sited there to leave some space in the frame for a bottle and maybe lock rack later on.
I'm still waiting for a cheap front mudguard to arrive. There's not much space between the bottom of the fork and the tyre so it needed to be one that fits behind the fork only.
I'm really happy with how the bike rides especially with the nice help from the motor in assist mode. I have a 12 mile journey to work which i usually make by car but would like to cycle a few times a week in the spring/summer. There are a few hills to navigate and we don't have any change facilities or showers at the office
. The fact that I can use my ebike to get to work without needing to change out of sweaty cycling gear and without needing an hour or two to cool down but still get some nice fresh air in the morning and feel like I've done a little bit of exercise is fantastic! On testing it for battery life, the battery ran out a few hundred yards from the office so the first cycle home was unassisted - the bike is obivously heavier than it would have been without the kit but was far from unmanageable and having the 18 gears was useful for the hills.There are quite a few commuting cyclists in the area I live (Surrey) but I've yet to see any ebikes around apart from when I've gone into London. Will keep an eye out for any!
Jamie.
