Custom climber for elderly rider

[aliasrichmond]

Hi,
My dad has tried 2 ebikes, but they wont pull up steep hills without pedaling (which he cant do) so I'm considering building him something that will. Speed is not a requirement, 20mph would be plenty, so torque is what I'm after. A simple 3-7 speed donor bike with gears robust enough to take the extra power or perhaps a front wheel kit? would this be the easiest to put togther? has anyone else tried this setup? most threads seem to be speed oriented...unless I havent searched properly
Can someone suggest a kit and perhaps a donor bike (step-thru)

 

[Kudoscycles]

I think you would be better buying a motorbike or a scooter. I know of no legal e-bike that will go up steep hills without pedalling and most of the illegal e-bikes won't achieve that without big motors and consequently big batteries.
These bikes are pedal assist machines not mopeds.
I see a lady riding a throttle old Powacycle every day I go to work,she pedals it a bit to get up a curb but I never see her attempt a hill,she tells me she cannot pedal much so never tries hills,her journey is pretty much on the flat.
I have ridden the KTM Panasonic e-bike which is the most powerful of any e-bike I have ridden but it still needs pedalling to climb steep hills.
Dave

 

[Deleted member 4366]

How heavy is he and how steep are the hills? Can he not pedal at all,or is he just unfit?

 

[Kudoscycles]

Just reading the Sunday Times...there is a new motorbike supplier known as Lexmoto....they have a bike Lexmoto ZSX 125 at £1500.00 this looks an ideal legal way of going up hills.
Dave

 

[trex]

Hi,
My dad has tried 2 ebikes, but they wont pull up steep hills without pedaling (which he cant do) so I'm considering building him something that will. Speed is not a requirement, 20mph would be plenty, so torque is what I'm after. A simple 3-7 speed donor bike with gears robust enough to take the extra power or perhaps a front wheel kit? would this be the easiest to put togther? has anyone else tried this setup? most threads seem to be speed oriented...unless I havent searched properly
Can someone suggest a kit and perhaps a donor bike (step-thru)

There are lots of bikes with full power throttle, mostly Chinese bikes. Can you dad pedal a little? if he can, then that widens the choices.
An Ezee step through would certainly pull 100kg up 10% hills, d8veh has tried an Xiongda XD motor last week, it pulled him (100kg) up 14% hill on throttle without pedalling, so kits are also possible.
which e-bikes has he got? members may work out how much more assistance he'll need.

 

[aliasrichmond]

UK law not applicable, its in Spain (if they have a law its not enforced) he's unfit and tried Ezee Forsa and Pro-Rider. I was wondering about the 1000w front wheel kits you can buy on ebay, the 2 speed motor looks a good option though

 

[Geebee]

The 1000w kist on ebay are mostly direct drive and won't climb as well as the geared 250w hubs without major pedalling.

 

[Stephen Gray]

I have a Heinzmann 200w rated rear motor kit fitted to my Specialized Rockhopper mountain bike. I certainly go up 15% hills without any pedalling,if I choose to. The motor is 53Nm and legal, as the controller is 30A and the battery can deliver this, I think this must be among the highest torque motors legal in the UK.

I found this on these forums, a good second hand buy.

Don't give up yet.

 

[Deleted member 4366]

Yes, I forgot about the "200w" Heinzmann. Let's see if I can remember my maths from school. 40v x 30 amps = how many watts? Ah yes, i've got it, 40 x 30 = 200. I promote myself to the top of the class.

N.B.For those that think I got it wrong, this is the German method, where if you multiply two independent variables together and the answer comes to exactly 1000 more than the answer you're allowed, you conveniently can forget about the 1000 and just keep the rest.

PS I'm not complaining. I use this method on my own bikes to keep them legal.