Hi, I'd just like to say hello. Been reading the forums for some time and find them very interesting.
Decided after a lot of research to convert a bike rather than buy one, as I have a tiny budget and I struggled to find a ready made ebike that suited my needs. I had a girl's bike with a rear child seat which suited me quite well for just going out and about. But then I moved house and found it a little too hilly to do the school run, then go to work (all hot and bothered), also carrying a laptop and other items. So I looked into pedelec options. My ex bought a Burisch a couple of months ago, the 21" edition, which is very nice and I almost bought the 17" version (but, prefer 19 or 20" frame as I'm 5ft 8").
Problem with many ebikes though is fitting the available child seats.
So I bought the 8Fun kit and a cheap bike that would fit it, and have since had FUN setting it up (with a friend's help as he has some of the tools needed). There've been many issues and we are still trying to get pedelec working, although we only installed that yesterday afternoon and ran out of time as friend has operation today so needed to prepare for that. It'll be next week before we can resume sorting that out, when new bottom bracket arrives. I'll have to do all the work as friend won't be able to . So that should be FUN. Ordered a slightly longer bottom bracket, but I'm a little concerned that the the sensor wheel might not properly fit onto the bars (not sure of correct term) so that it rotates when the bike's peddled. We placed the sensor wheel onto my bottom bracket and it did this fine, but it was too short, so the pedelec didn't work. We tried two others, but the sensor wheel freely moved on the bracket bars which was no good. So, some adapting might be needed (hope not). The throttle and other bits work though - but, of course, need Pedelec to be legal.
Oh and been using my ex's battery as the 8Fun one, although connected correctly, fell off while cycling (i.e. it was connected to bike, but not being used) and the case broke. We're using a strap to provide extra security now. My ex is doing the same as a preventative measure.
In total, the bike + conversion (excluding our time) is about equal to the price of the Cyclotricity revolver (so about £650), but it's on a hybrid 20" bike, which was fairly lightweight (before the additions). It also has the correct size and shape poles to fit the rear child seat, cross bar child seat with footrests and various battery options, including the bottle battery. But, to convert you need the right tools and it can be fiddly in relation to the pedelec installation. Fingers crossed I get it working.
Anyway, happy to discuss conversions, though I'm just learning what the terms are of some of the bike components.
Decided after a lot of research to convert a bike rather than buy one, as I have a tiny budget and I struggled to find a ready made ebike that suited my needs. I had a girl's bike with a rear child seat which suited me quite well for just going out and about. But then I moved house and found it a little too hilly to do the school run, then go to work (all hot and bothered), also carrying a laptop and other items. So I looked into pedelec options. My ex bought a Burisch a couple of months ago, the 21" edition, which is very nice and I almost bought the 17" version (but, prefer 19 or 20" frame as I'm 5ft 8").
Problem with many ebikes though is fitting the available child seats.
So I bought the 8Fun kit and a cheap bike that would fit it, and have since had FUN setting it up (with a friend's help as he has some of the tools needed). There've been many issues and we are still trying to get pedelec working, although we only installed that yesterday afternoon and ran out of time as friend has operation today so needed to prepare for that. It'll be next week before we can resume sorting that out, when new bottom bracket arrives. I'll have to do all the work as friend won't be able to . So that should be FUN. Ordered a slightly longer bottom bracket, but I'm a little concerned that the the sensor wheel might not properly fit onto the bars (not sure of correct term) so that it rotates when the bike's peddled. We placed the sensor wheel onto my bottom bracket and it did this fine, but it was too short, so the pedelec didn't work. We tried two others, but the sensor wheel freely moved on the bracket bars which was no good. So, some adapting might be needed (hope not). The throttle and other bits work though - but, of course, need Pedelec to be legal.
Oh and been using my ex's battery as the 8Fun one, although connected correctly, fell off while cycling (i.e. it was connected to bike, but not being used) and the case broke. We're using a strap to provide extra security now. My ex is doing the same as a preventative measure.
In total, the bike + conversion (excluding our time) is about equal to the price of the Cyclotricity revolver (so about £650), but it's on a hybrid 20" bike, which was fairly lightweight (before the additions). It also has the correct size and shape poles to fit the rear child seat, cross bar child seat with footrests and various battery options, including the bottle battery. But, to convert you need the right tools and it can be fiddly in relation to the pedelec installation. Fingers crossed I get it working.
Anyway, happy to discuss conversions, though I'm just learning what the terms are of some of the bike components.
