ANOTHER NEWBIE

[bob d]

Hello out there, I’m more or less new to all this and am looking for a kit to convert my bike to electric assistance.

I’m currently only interested in pedal assistance but will perhaps occasionally want the bike to self propel without any pedalling. Also I think with a minimum of 3 levels of assist.

I’m retired now and have spent half of my life fixing old motorcycles and being an engineer in the first place gives me some confidence regarding the fitting of a kit hopefully wont be a problem, and to keep things simple I’m sure a front hub motor type will be adequate for what I want.

It wont be used for anything other than 5 mile ish trips to the shops and visiting friends and wont be used to climb mountains and riding in the rough stuff and the wet will be avoided.

The kits I’m currently looking at is a Voilamart 26” front wheel 36V 350 Watt arrangement and a BMS Tech 26” front wheel 250 Watt. Both are supplied without batteries.

I’m wondering if anyone has any experience with these kits.

Any comments/help would be most appreciated.

Many Thanks

Bob D

 

[thelarkbox]

Dont be misled by motor wattage ratings, a motor with 350w stamped/etched on it is illegal to use on the rd and could be way less powerful than systems with motors rated at only 200 or 250w..

Front wheel hub motors are more prone to wheel spins and loosing traction than rear hub motors as there can be less mass pushing down on the front wheel.

I bought my conversion kit last summer from Yose-power Circa £400 inc battery.. Very happy with it and its performance pulling me uphill (NOT SMALL) with my weekly shop from tesco too..

If buying again Yose-power would certainly be considered but i would also contact Woosh who also contribute in here as your getting the best kit from china with UK sales/support staff..

 

[thelarkbox]

Watts = Volts X Amps.

superficially 'on paper' , yes its more complex but....

Most ebike kits come supplied with a 15a (peak power) controller a 36v battery fully charged carries 42v of potential. so a 15a controller supplied with a 42v battery can provide 630w which is significantly more than the 250 or 350w motors are rated at. and aftermarket controllers with 17a and even 22a can be fitted quite legaly to power 250w rated/stamped motors..

 

[saneagle]

Front motors are pretty bad. There are safety considerations, they're noisy, they wear out the tyre quickly because of the lack of traction, and they can upset the steering. If you must have one because you have hub gears, the Kirbebike kit is good because it has the very desirable KT controller.
36V 48V 250W Electric Bike Conversion Kit Front Wheel - Kirbebike

It's impossible to advise you without knowing your weight, how hilly your rides are, how fast you want to go and how hard you want to pedal.

Generally, if you want a really nice (to ride) conversion kit, think about buying the components separately.

There's not a lot to choose between motors unless you have some specific requirements. The speed is ver important. Choose one with a maximum speed about 1.3 times your expected modal riding speed. A small one, like AKM100/Q100 is good if you're not too heavy, otherwise get a medium sized one.

Battery needs to be 48v if your 90kg+ and not particularly fit.

As mentioned, KT controllers give a unique and desirable pedal assist function. You can buy the complete kit from Topbikekit and other Chinese resellers; or you can buy just the controller, lcd, pedal sensor, and throttle, and buy the motor elsewhere. They're also on Ebay and Amazon. Ebike kits direct from China are relatively expensive now because of the shipping. You can save money by buying just the motor with your kit and lace it into a rim yourself. It's not worth buying batteries from China.

A lot of members have bought kits from Woosh and Yosepower, and they seem to be happy with them, but I guess they never tried a KT controller. Personally, I hate the power algorithms in their controllers. It's a bit like hydraulic brakes: once you have them on your bike, there's no way back to crappy cable brakes.

 

[Nealh]

For flat terrain with no big hills ,I can recommend the excellent Bafang G370 mini front hub an ideal trailer towing hub which is light and doesn't give any handling or steering effect. Rides without power without one noticing it until one looks at the display and can't see any readout .
Mine in my Cotic Road Rat happily tugs a loaded Carry Freedom cargo trailer with 90kg load and has managed a 125kg load, the only thing that was of concern with the latter load was the trailer axles giving out as max rec payload was 90kg.