Hello looking for advice on building and buying

[justwannasimplebike]

Hello all, after some lowlife scum decided to steal our bikes from a motorhome show a couple of weeks ago we have decided that we should take the chance to upgrade to e bikes.
What we need.........
basically we do a little bumbling about when we are parked up in our RV around the UK and in future around Europe, we just do a mix of around towns and villages, cycle paths and a little along roads. I can and do cope with a little bit of harder and further distances probably up to about 10 or 15 miles rides and hoping that with the aid of a bit of battery power we can both stretch our legs a little and aim for further distances.

So hopefully from that you can get a feel for what we need??

We've had test rides on a few different bikes, front and rear wheel motors and crank driven. What did frighten me was the prices!! My last bike that got stolen was just a Carrera Subway with no suspension which I was basically happy with and my wife's was a bought on style!! Pendleton Somerby complete with basket on the front!! She prefers to stay with this style, she has fallen in love with the Roodog polka dot bike but at £1,075 and then bikes I've tried that tend to be a similar price I'm a little worried about them sat on the back of the RV waiting to be stolen again!!
I'm tempted to by a good and hopefully better quality Hybrid bike and a kit, and probably the same Pendleton bike for Elaine again and a kit for that. so then do I go, front or rear wheel or even crank drive? I'm thinking front wheel for Elaine's bike for ease of conversion and for what she needs and front or rear for me? I'm a bit in your hands for that, though for some reason I'm leaning towards the rear wheel option. I want to stick with 250w motors to stay within the rules of the land though I think I would prefer a throttle control as well as assist drive.

Sorry for long 1st post but hopefully that gives you enough info for all you good people to give me some good advice!!
Oh and budget.........I'm Welsh and tight but within reason I'm happy to spend what I need to but don't want to throw silly money at it!! I've asked on a Motorhome forum but they are suggesting if I don't spend between £1,400 to £1,700 per bike and crank drive then I'm wasting my money, I'm afraid that is wayyyyyy of my budget and not what I've been led to believe from my googling and this forum!!

Thanks for any help you can give!!
Steve

 

[justwannasimplebike]

Oh yes sorry my mechanical ability is probably what you call better than just average, been stripping and rebuilding cars and motor bikes since I was a kid, including engines and gearboxes, so not too bothered about the fitting of a kit, although me and electrics do not mix well!! but plugging wires together I can cope with hahaha!! The base bikes I'm considering looking at secondhand this time to leave more in the pot for the E kit

Steve

 

[Nealh]

You can get a good reasonable bikes for under 1k from Woosh or cyclezee just to name two. If you go down the kit road then you might be able to do it again for about £750- 1k with a very good spec used bike off Fleabay or a good spec discounted bike new may be possible.
Allow £500 for decent kit form the uk that will include a nice 15ah battery.

 

[justwannasimplebike]

Thanks for that, so we're getting back to nearer my budget figures again from the £1,400 and £1,700 I was being pointed too!!
My worry with the factory built bikes was that if I went budget bike then the only way they can do it is the based bike quality is where they make their savings as the motor and battery cost is surely the main cost in most e bike kit?
I can get the Pendleton bike secondhand for around £150 and then she is back where she started on the bike she loved before, I also have sat in a shed an old Carrera subway left by a previous tenant in a house that I could and am thinking of nailing back together as a get me going then I can always upgrade the bike at a later date and swap the kit over when I know it is getting the use like I think it will? doing it this way will be a little less painful on the bank balance in one hit.......remember I did say I'm tight hahaha!! But I will listen and take on board all advice as that's why I'm asking not like another new poster on a thread I was just reading haha
I'd spotted the Panda kits last night, I also spotted kit's from these......
http://www.electricbike-conversions.com/conversions-kits-2-c.asp

The second link has a 250w kit with battery for £375, now I guess not the best quality battery or probably kit but does anyone have any experience of these or this company? Are they worth trying or are the worth avoiding and running?

 

[justwannasimplebike]

Should I be moving this discussion to the 'bike kit' section as well??

 

[RobF]

The cheapest option will be two kits, a second hand Somerby and the Carrera in the shed.

Nothing wrong with Carreras, they are good, sturdy bikes and ideal for conversion.

But that's still going to cost more than £1,000 and could be a lot of faff, dealing with suppliers and fitting both kits.

Woosh are Cyclezee bikes are about £800 each and I'm sure you could get a bit knocked off if you bought two of the same make.

I wouldn't mess around with kits and second hand bikes for the sake of what might only be a few hundred pounds, but obviously it's your time and money.

 

[Nealh]

There's very little info for the second link so you might have to email them for motor details ie rpm and make, same for the battery which cells are they made with.

 

[justwannasimplebike]

The cheapest option will be two kits, a second hand Somerby and the Carrera in the shed.

Nothing wrong with Carreras, they are good, sturdy bikes and ideal for conversion.

But that's still going to cost more than £1,000 and could be a lot of faff, dealing with suppliers and fitting both kits.

Woosh are Cyclezee bikes are about £800 each and I'm sure you could get a bit knocked off if you bought two of the same make.

I wouldn't mess around with kits and second hand bikes for the sake of what might only be a few hundred pounds, but obviously it's your time and money.

Thanks, to be honest I do agree with you thoughts on not messing for the sake of a few hundred quid, the fly in the ointment is that because the 1st E bike Elaine ever rode was the Roodog that is the one she set her heart on, unfortunately she likes to buy based on style and look rather than actual ride and quality........womens logic!!! Sorry to other women, I guess not all the same, just my women!!!
So by convincing her to stay with the Somerby at least we know what we are buying and there are plenty on Fleabay that are immaculate condition so worth buying secondhand.
The Carrera is there so might as well make use of it, and I get to have a day in the garage fiddling building the bikes with coffee being delivered by a wife who is looking forward to getting an electric bike!! The other thing is that if I build it then I know how it works when it goes wrong or want to upgrade it later on

 

[justwannasimplebike]

There's very little info for the second link so you might have to email them for motor details ie rpm and make, same for the battery which cells are they made with.

I shall give them either a ring or email and ask, so rev's and make are the key questions to ask along with battery cells type and make.........off I go, and will report back

 

[Croxden]

If theft is a worry having on the back of your RV, have you thought of folders?
These can be put inside out of site.

 

[flecc]

Regarding the quality if the bike parts that you mentioned, bear in mind that they can have an easier life on hub motor e-bikes due to the motor doing so much of the work. The supplementary effort you put in will wear the transmission much less than if you were doing all the work.
.

 

[justwannasimplebike]

Yes thought of folders and even took a couple for a ride from Silvers Bikes in Shrewsbury, took a couple of different price range folding bikes out there, at 1st in the carpark they seemed fine, then we took them on a bit of a longer ride up the road as they did seem like a good possibility, but on a bit of a run I found I soon out rode it and my legs were going like they were about to fall off!! Though I think they might do for Elaine it's a definite no for me!! Thanks for the thought though.

If theft is a worry having on the back of your RV, have you thought of folders?
These can be put inside out of site.

 

[justwannasimplebike]

There's very little info for the second link so you might have to email them for motor details ie rpm and make, same for the battery which cells are they made with.

Just spoke to Jamie from Electricbike-conversions.com seems very helpful and seems to now his stuff.....but then I'm probably easy to sell to at the moment!!!
They have the wheels made up for them and he did not know the motor make but said he could find out, I guess this could be a worry but is it really?? The batteries are Samsung Lithium cells which it does actually say about on their site here:-
http://www.electricbike-conversions.com/looking-after-your-battery-30-w.asp

He did say that if I went with the 500w motor and ran it restricted down to 15mph that it is then legal, my understanding was that 250w was the max is this not the case? Could I run a 500w motor legal if restricted down in speed? He also says their throttle levers can be disconnected and removed so no problem in Spain and they would also supply a Cert of conformity which I think is required, certainly in Spain if not here as well? If a 500w motor restricted down in speed is legal will I be better off running that and having the extra power option if I want it?
I must say that I am very tempted to just go for it and buy one and fit it too the Carrera and see what it's like.For £375 all in can I really go far wrong on a bike in a shed that has come for free anyway? I'm sure if I built it all up and ran it for a while if it was no good I'd get a good chunk of that back on fleabay anyway! What do you all think?

 

[Deleted member 4366]

You can't legally use a 500w motor on the road even if you limit it to 1W.


It's best to only fit front motors in steel forks. Many of us have fitted motors to aluminium forks without problems, so it's not a deal breaker, but if you have a choice, a rear motor has less risk. If you decide that you'd prefer a front motor, ask again for specific installation advice to avoid the pitfalls.

There's loads of kits to choose from now, which makes choice a bit more difficult. The Oxydrive kits are very nice, and I just heard that they're on special offer again.

 

[Croxden]

Yes thought of folders and even took a couple for a ride from Silvers Bikes in Shrewsbury, took a couple of different price range folding bikes out there, at 1st in the carpark they seemed fine, then we took them on a bit of a longer ride up the road as they did seem like a good possibility, but on a bit of a run I found I soon out rode it and my legs were going like they were about to fall off!! Though I think they might do for Elaine it's a definite no for me!! Thanks for the thought though.

What bike did you try, looking on Silvers web page they show quite a range but I see they have their own brand. It could be one of these you rode, as with everything else in life some are better than others.

My Birdy is not powered but can go as well as full sized bikes thanks to first class engineering & build quality.

I suggest you try others, an old gent near to me has a Kudos Secret and whizzes along (different than Wooshing).

 

[justwannasimplebike]

You can't legally use a 500w motor on the road even if you limit it to 1W.


It's best to only fit front motors in steel forks. Many of us have fitted motors to aluminium forks without problems, so it's not a deal breaker, but if you have a choice, a rear motor has less risk. If you decide that you'd prefer a front motor, ask again for specific installation advice to avoid the pitfalls.

There's loads of kits to choose from now, which makes choice a bit more difficult. The Oxydrive kits are very nice, and I just heard that they're on special offer again.

Thanks for that, 250w it will be then, I'm not a keen enough cyclist to need to risk getting caught out and fined for the sake of a bit more speed and power now for now again use, I'm not sure if they then start looking towards driving licence as well if over the size as I think they then start classing it a moped or moped rules? But I have NO space on my licence for any more points

I think I'd be better going rear wheel kit as well by the sound of it as well then just to keep things easier
I guess I better google Oxydrive kits now as well!!
Thanks for the advice keep it coming I'm very grateful and listening!!

 

[justwannasimplebike]

What bike did you try, looking on Silvers web page they show quite a range but I see they have their own brand. It could be one of these you rode, as with everything else in life some are better than others.

My Birdy is not powered but can go as well as full sized bikes thanks to first class engineering & build quality.

I suggest you try others, an old gent near to me has a Kudos Secret and whizzes along (different than Wooshing).

We tried the Battribike brand, he had a couple of those in, I think a ladies step through and a folding bike, they seemed ok but I'm pretty sure it was the Battri folding bike that I took up the road and was then not so impressed with, I think it was the Breeze that was the other folding bike which I think was better but I only took it up and down the carpark, Elaine took it up the road and was happy enough with it. We had a go on a Raleigh step through which was alright and I also went on a Gazelle with the Nuvinci rear hub.....now that was impressive thing very simple to ride no messing with gears just set the pedal Cadence and pedal away at a constant, but at a big price....well big for me!!! I also tried a Kalkoff or two as well, to be honest I lost track of what was what in the end!!! I think the Kalkoff was the one that was belt drive but I'm not exactly sure but there was definitely one belt drive though!! The last one I tried was a proper pile of crap that he never pushed I think that was either one of his own brand bikes or it was a cheapy chinese thing that he'd bought in a trial, in his defence before I even took it out he said it was crap hahaha!!

 

[Nealh]

Another kit not to over look if you have rear /rim brakes is the 2 speed Xiongda kit at Panda bikes, this is not the 145mm disc brake version that d8veh has but one for std dropouts of 135mm for v/rim brakes which is very well priced at £250 will need a battery on top of that though. If you read d8veh's thread on Xiongda's its a kit not to miss, and there is usually no higher recommendation on here then one from d8veh who's knowledge on this forum is unbound.