Does bicycle weight really matter?

[Kudoscycles]

I don't understand why not more bike shops take on conversions. They only need to keep two basic kits, the Oxygen kit or similar for people who like hub drives, BBS01/02 or woosh GSM for people who like crank drives. It's not like it's difficult to do. Fit them to £300 hybrids and they can flog these bikes all day long, I reckon to every fourth customer who walks in the shop.

Trex....that is very naive.....even selling complete bikes, bike dealers get all sorts of telephone questions....imagine the number of phone calls when the installation of a kit requires a bit of head scratching.
Many of the pedelecs forum members are good engineers who can overcome minor fitment problems but the average guy out there is not that mechanically capable. When I used to build rally cars for a living, I would make a bespoke bracket to mount components but now if you don't sell a bracket they can't do it.
Also insurance companies don't like these pedelecs,mine specifically banned kits from product or public liability insurance because there is no guarantee how well a customer would fit the kit.
KudosDave

 

[james@justebikes.co.uk]

To me e-bike implies full time assist or something near to it. These are more occasional assist and far easier to ride unpowered than the vast majority of e-bikes.

For those reasons I don't think of them as e-bikes and I don't compare them to regular e-bikes. They are a different animal, road bikes with some assistance only when needed.
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Flecc some context: In 2009 Sparta sold more e-bikes than most of the rest put together; they produced then (and stlll do now) the most popular e-bike in Europe. The 2009 model weighed 29Kg, had a battery of 264Wh, and a motor producing 22Nm. Maybe 6 years old but still an e-bike, no?
The COBOC frames are hand built just outside Heidelberg in Germany and the bikes are all assembled at Coboc’s production facility in Heidelberg, they weigh 13.5kg, have a 32Nm motor, and a 350Wh battery .... Its most definitely an e-bike!

 

[flecc]

Flecc some context: In 2009 Sparta sold more e-bikes than most of the rest put together; they produced then (and stlll do now) the most popular e-bike in Europe. The 2009 model weighed 29Kg, had a battery of 264Wh, and a motor producing 22Nm. Maybe 6 years old but still an e-bike, no?
The COBOC frames are hand built just outside Heidelberg in Germany and the bikes are all assembled at Coboc’s production facility in Heidelberg, they weigh 13.5kg, have a 32Nm motor, and a 350Wh battery .... Its most definitely an e-bike!

I know the specs can make the COBOC an e-bike and it could be used that way, just like the Sparta. But the person who buys one isn't going to be using it like the Sparta, they want it for it's road bike like characteristics, and the Sparta for all it's many merits will never be like that.

They are totally different and will be used for very different purposes. That's what I'm emphasising.
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[trex]

in that case, the kind of buyers you speak of would give a lot of attention to the mechanical bike. I would expect that they'd be more interested to have their ideal bike converted by a professional mechanic rather than buying a ready built. The only concession would be the shape of the battery case.

 

[flecc]

in that case, the kind of buyers you speak of would give a lot of attention to the mechanical bike. I would expect that they'd be more interested to have their ideal bike converted by a professional mechanic rather than buying a ready built. The only concession would be the shape of the battery case.

Mainly true Trex, but there are always those who are different and like the idea of a designed whole machine with more style.

Cycling has many variations and I object to those who try to straight jacket everyone into certain well recognised sectors. There are customers for everything out there and it only remains to be seen whether there are enough to sustain this sort of bike.

Meanwhile I'm all for the widest range of choice and can't see why others can't accept things that don't fit their preconceptions. That's being just as bigoted as those who call e-biking cheating.
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[trex]

@Yamdude Re my D5 conversion project.
I've got my new wheel. Weight: 4.2kgs replacing the 1.95kg D5 rear wheel. So the motor only adds 2.2kgs. Same black spokes, new wheel looks OK on the bike. Total bike weight at the moment: 12.5kg.
Will post picture later. So far so good. Only have to get a new lightweight HL battery, lighter than the one I borrow from Woosh at the moment.

 

[james@justebikes.co.uk]

@Yamdude Re my D5 conversion project.
I've got my new wheel. Weight: 4.2kgs replacing the 1.95kg D5 rear wheel. So the motor only adds 2.2kgs. Same black spokes, new wheel looks OK on the bike. Total bike weight at the moment: 12.5kg.
Will post picture later. So far so good. Only have to get a new lightweight HL battery, lighter than the one I borrow from Woosh at the moment.

Sounds great, looking forward to seeing pics when complete!

 

[Yamdude]

@Yamdude Re my D5 conversion project.
I've got my new wheel. Weight: 4.2kgs replacing the 1.95kg D5 rear wheel. So the motor only adds 2.2kgs. Same black spokes, new wheel looks OK on the bike. Total bike weight at the moment: 12.5kg.
Will post picture later. So far so good. Only have to get a new lightweight HL battery, lighter than the one I borrow from Woosh at the moment.

Nice one, sounds like it'll be a pretty lightweight road ebike conversion. Look forward to seeing it.

 

[Yamdude]

I think a Cyclocross bike would make a good base for a lightweight road bike Ebike conversion, that could also be used for light off road.

Good deal for one here.......
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/201373372552?rmvSB=true

 

[trex]

I'll take my Giant + Woosh out for a ride and post some pictures tomorrow. It's fitted with a 15AH HL battery at the moment. Total weight: just under 16kgs. To do: replace the battery and the BB with a torque sensor.

 

[trex]

my new 16kg e-bike:

with 15AH HL battery on loan from Woosh.

Throttle and LCD:

Motor:

 

[Yamdude]

my new 16kg e-bike:

with 15AH HL battery on loan from Woosh.

Throttle and LCD:

Motor:

Looks excellent Trex, really nice job.
The only thing that would make it look even better for me, is to have matching tyres.

 

[trex]

yes, I spent so much time fiddling with the pedelec sensor. It was getting dark by the time I finished making the new strap for the throttle, I forgot to change the tyre before going out. I'll sort the tyres out tomorrow.

 

[Yamdude]

The wheel the motor is laced into really does match well...... its the one thing about the look of the conversion on my hybrid that bugs me. The motor wheel has silver spokes & rims, which looks really odd with the rear wheel that has black rims & spokes.

 

[trex]

The wheel the motor is laced into really does match well...... its the one thing about the look of the conversion on my hybrid that bugs me. The motor wheel has silver spokes & rims, which looks really odd with the rear wheel that has black rims & spokes.

point taken. It's fixable, I'll sort it soon.

 

[Yamdude]

point taken. It's fixable, I'll sort it soon.

Are you going to put the original Giant 700/25 tyre on the rear motor wheel..... or replace both tyres with something else ?
I've thought about putting 28's on mine.

 

[trex]

I'll replace the SR2 set with something else to match the rear wheel with same tyre with reflective band, rim and spokes. The problem is spoke length, can't re-use the SR2's rear spokes. Originally, I was looking for a lightweight crank drive to keep the Giant SR2 wheelset. Now I am going to keep the hub kit at least until end of 2016.

 

[Yamdude]

I'll replace the SR2 set with something else to match the rear wheel with same tyre with reflective band, rim and spokes. The problem is spoke length, can't re-use the SR2's rear spokes. Originally, I was looking for a lightweight crank drive to keep the Giant SR2 wheelset. Now I am going to keep the hub kit at least until end of 2016.

Must admit, i far prefer the look of a rear hub motor on this type of bike, definitely less conspicuous than a CD.
Its what i shall do if i decide to fit a kit..... a smaller battery would probably suffice for me as well.

 

[EddiePJ]

The saddle angle needs changing.

It's a very nice build, and gets a big thumbs up from me.

 

[trex]

will do, thanks Eddie.