Cheap e-bike? £600?

Bonzo Banana · Jun 5, 2022

Max1980 said:
Wow that is really cheap! £150 for this and that's the whole kit (I think) for £200.

Ebike Conversion Kit, KT Control System Kit, for 500W /750W Ebike Motor, KT 22A Controller and KT LCD3 USB Display Without Motor Wheel : Amazon.co.uk: Sports & Outdoors

Shop Ebike Conversion Kit, KT Control System Kit, for 500W /750W Ebike Motor, KT 22A Controller and KT LCD3 USB Display Without Motor Wheel. Free delivery and returns on all eligible orders.

www.amazon.co.uk

This is the other one I'm looking at. I believe it's from the same line.

BFSWX02 48V 500W - G020.500D/DC mode
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Conversion-Wheel-Electric-BAFANG-Display/dp/B09R7TDWHJ?th=1&psc=1

I guess the question is whether it's worth spending more for the native 48v hub kit?

That top amazon kit wouldn't be suitable for the Bafang based wheel. You need to pair the correct type of controller, that sports direct wheel will be 250W/350W and will need a suitable controller with the correct connector for the wheel and there will be other important parts of the spec to match. I think I've read such a wheel can be paired with KT-15A and KT-17A controllers with the correct cable to match that motor but you'd need to do some research with the seller to check for compatibility. A quick look on amazon shows this;

Dekaim Scooter Controller,Solomi 15A 6 Tubes Electric Bike Motor Controller for 36V/48V 250W/350W Motor : Amazon.co.uk: Sports & Outdoors

www.amazon.co.uk

Which seems to have a suitable connection for the Bafang motor. Also its dual 36V/48V so in theory would work with your existing battery but then how would the Bafang motor cope with 48V when designed for 36V. A quick look shows the Bafang motor under its older product name has been over-volted to 59V. The G020 is the new name for SWX02.

Overvolting Bafang SWX02 to 59V after 1000 miles

Been overvolting my Bafang SWX02 36V 250W hub motor to 59V at 15A and completed 1000 miles on it. Now I have replaced it with a Bafang G020250 DC, so I can fit a cassette and make full use of my 8 gear shifters again. In the process I had a strip down to see what the insides looked like. I was...

www.pedelecs.co.uk

Unfortunately though until you have the sports direct wheel in your mitts its not worth buying anything extra. They have a poor reputation for customer service and over-selling or mis-describing products so you could end up with nothing or something very different to what you expected. They could have only 3 of these wheels to sell but taken orders for 50 etc. If they have loads then why? Perhaps the bikes came fitted with the wrong hub motors and so they have had to sell them separately and wait for replacement wheels to fit to the bikes. If they are the wrong motors then they won't be as description. Likely higher wattage motors perhaps not legal in the UK market etc hence the big discounting. All a bit of a mystery but definitely worth a punt for a Bafang hub motor at that price.

esuark · Jun 5, 2022

will be interesting to know whats written on the hub..............

Bonzo Banana · Jun 6, 2022

Max1980 said:
It's shipped, looks like I got the last one.. my guess is the original bike is out of warranty so they are selling the spares. They don't sell any other Ebikes with the same rim size.

I ordered one myself and also shipped so we will see what happens. Best of luck to the both of us. Yes they may have had a certain number of spare wheels for warranty claims but then found out the hub motors are more reliable than they expected and just weren't using those spare wheels. There is a video on youtube of the Bafang factory and they buy all their hub motors from another factory but assemble them themselves and have a great testing regime so typically Bafang motors have a excellent reputation for reliability because they go out the door with better final assembly and proper testing which isn't always true of other manufacturers. Maybe Evan's were used to other hub motors with a much higher failure rate. In which case its an even bigger bargain.

However with that said it could all going horribly wrong being sports direct and we get something nothing like the description and will have to rely on their not so awesome returns process. What else could they claim to have a £255 value on such an ebike though. It's got to be the motor but will it come laced to a rim or just the hub motor if so this will be the first wheel I've ever fully laced or will it be the wrong model wheel which they bought as spares but were actually fitted with the wrong spec motor not suitable for the Mercury. I've seen the Pinnacle Mercury get some pretty glowing reviews, often described as a Carrera Subway ebike beater as it has a more reliable motor setup than the Suntour HESC system of the Subway. Although the Subway has a torque sensor so delivers its power in the same way as most mid-drive ebikes. However most people will take reliability over performance and poor reliability.

Bonzo Banana · Jun 6, 2022

I think the 13 at the end indicates windings which the more you have means more torque less speed I think and will mean the current draw is less so perhaps better suited for the fairly low capacity battery of the Pinnacle Mercury. I can't see the other side is it a freewheel thread or a freehub on the other side. I'm a bit confused by various specs online they say 36/43/48V but is that different models or the same model is compatible across all voltages. It reads like 48V compatibility is standard to me and you aren't hacking it as that is official.

The hub has hall sensors so you need a controller that supports hall sensors I believe. I think most of the cheaper ones support hall sensors but not sure or I may have got completely confused on that issue. Mines been despatched but I only went for cheapo standard delivery. I ordered 2 days before you so I'm presuming you coughed up for fast delivery.

This could be a case of the blind leading the blind as my ebike experience is not as extensive as some of the posters here so hopefully we can both get working ebikes out of this discounted wheel.

I was going to use a Pinnacle mountain bike frame that I had but now realise that is a 29er frame so I have a 27.5" Saracen frame I will use instead. I've got everything I need for the build except I'm not sure I have any particularly decent forks, probably have some Suntour XCM forks to use. The battery I have is a 48V 15Ah.

Bonzo Banana · Jun 7, 2022

Max1980 said:
@Bonzo Banana Yeah I couldn't wait It's a freehub I believe. The specs are all a bit confusing, my guess is it's just one model and companies just spec the windings and voltage they want. I'm guessing this was specced to hit the UK speed limit. I think most legal 48V kits use code 16 for the same reason.

Just reading this thread and it seems Woosh used code 13 for their Rio which had the same hub. They say it's safe up to around 24mph at 48V which points to a 17A controller. Should be more than enough for me!

That Saracen looks lovely! Can't wait to see the finished thing.

This hub has definitely opened up the budget a bit. I think I can get into something second hand with hydraulic breaks and front suspension (bad wrists). Somewhere between £150-250.

I'm not 100% sure of the frame yet as when I try to fit the hub there could be issues with dropout spacing and the dropout design. I may go with a frame with the beefiest looking dropout that will best fit a torque arm. However I have the Saracen frame and I think a Carrera Subway frame and that's it at 27.5" I wish I had a 27.5" steel disc frame to be honest. Makes life easier as you can bend dropouts if you have to and the material is denser so if you have to file out a dropout to suit its less compromised plus they are generally a stronger frame. You will need a torque arm, running 48V through it and its a pretty high torque motor hub anyway.

Once fitted it will be a little more difficult to remove than a standard rear wheel with quick release so bear this mind. You may want to run tubeless so you don't need to remove the wheel to repair punctures or you may perhaps want to go with a downhill inner tube and maybe a tyre liner. Just ways of reducing the need to remove the rear wheel.

Bonzo Banana · Jun 7, 2022

Max1980 said:
I've seen a few Subway conversions, here's hoping it's straight forward!

I'm looking at a Carrera Vulcan locally as it has front suspension and hydraulic brakes. Should be well within budget even with new wheels. The 27.5" size has limited the options somewhat but it's not a massive issue.

Now to source a controller that won't take a month to arrive!

I'm keeping to mechanical disc brakes just so I can use standard cut off brake levers.

Bonzo Banana · Jun 8, 2022

My wheel has arrived, very minimal OEM packaging. Includes a bag of nuts/bolts etc but no paperwork at all included with the wheel apart from receipt on the outside of the box. Definitely looks fairly small, not much surface area to dissipate heat and can't be a particularly large planetary gear setup. Still bigger than a lot of geared hubs you see nowadays like the Swytch kit hub but as someone used to direct drive hubs very small. Very nicely made and a freehub, amazing value.

Bonzo Banana · Aug 13, 2022

Max1980 said:
Finally found some time to get back into the project. I managed to find an unloved Carrera Vulcan that used to be an ebike conversion for £100. Ideally I would have spent more for one in good condition but there isn't much available locally. It's a bit of a frankenbike at the moment unfortunately.

Anyway -

Couple of issues -

1 - The shifters are 8 speed but the rear cassette is a Shimano HG400-9 which has 9 cogs. I am unsure what size chain is on it currently.

Does it matter if I can't get to the smallest cog?

If so am I better off buying 9 speed shifters, removing a cog (assuming this is possible) or swapping for an 8 speed?

I'm planning on paying a local bike shop to sort the gears out once I've got the wheel fitted at least.

If its a 9 speed cassette I would go for a 9 speed shifter as the cheapest solution unless of course the 9 speed cassette is heavily worn and you might as well just get a 8 speed cassette anyway.

Aliexpress does reasonably priced shifters. I've had a quick look so not recommending this as you may find cheaper;

4.89￡ |Shimano Derailleur Lever | 9 Speed Shift Levers | Shimano Shift Levers - Bike - Aliexpress

Smarter Shopping, Better Living! Aliexpress.com

www.aliexpress.com

If you see a chain that says 5-7 speed compatible its a 7 speed chain which will also work on 5 and 6 speed but may not last as long as has thinner side plates. So if you have lets say an 8 speed cassette and a choice of a 5-8 speed chain or a 8-9 speed chain the 5-8 speed chain is the best option as its an actual 8 speed chain but still works on 5,6 and 7 speed cassettes.

Do you have a picture of the bike you bought, I'm curious plus if you have any additional questions it helps to see the bike you have.

Bonzo Banana · Aug 13, 2022

Max1980 said:
I think I'm going to avoid Aliexpress purely due to shipping times. If I can get a suitable 8 speed cassette I can get started right away.

Do I need an 11-28 cassette or 12-32?

You would probably get away with 11-34T if you wanted that.

You need to find the spec of the X4 derailleur for its year, what length of cage it has (there may be multiple models with different cage lengths) and find out its rear capacity. You only really need to do this if you are attempting a wider cassette than normal like a 11-36T. I'm sure a 11-32T would be fine without having to work anything out.

Looks a nice bike with some decent components although they do seem a bit random.

Cheap e-bike? £600?

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