Hello,

[PhiltheFluter]

Hello all,
I've just joined the forums as I'm looking to buying a conversion kit. I'm enjoying reading previous advice given, but am still a bit puzzled as what's going to suit my needs best.
I used to do a little cycling around North London. Mainly to bits of shopping and socialising. I gave my old mountain bike away a few years ago when ill health made it look like I'd not be able to ride again. Since then I've had a few operations and it looks more than possible to do a few miles - especially with either assisted pedalling or throttle only (this would be handy in case I was struggling to pedal home). Climbing a few hills would be a bonus too. I really like the look of the Batang kits I've seen, but keep wondering if a rear hub might be better. I'm 52 and will probably have to rely on the motor/battery more than average, so I'll be looking for something that'll be able to handle that.
I'll carry on reading through the previous posts as there's loads of relevant advice already here, but if anyone has any ideas of anything that might be of interest to me I'd be very grateful.
Cheers.

 

[Fat Rat]

Hi welcome
Enjoy the site

 

[flecc]

Welcome to the forum. The Bafang SWX02 kit from Woosh Bikes would suit you, very powerful rear hub motor and can have a throttle. Read through the important points, all the information on this web page

If you haven't got a bike to convert yet, you can buy the same motor complete with bike from Woosh and it doesn't necessarily mean more expensive. Here's the link.

Or if you want mudguards and carrier there's this model with the same motor in the front wheel.
.

 

[PhiltheFluter]

Welcome to the forum. The Bafang SWX02 kit from Woosh Bikes would suit you, very powerful rear hub motor and can have a throttle. Read through the important points, all the information on this web page

If you haven't got a bike to convert yet, you can buy the same motor complete with bike from Woosh and it doesn't necessarily mean more expensive. Here's the link.
.

Thanks, I specifically want a kit. It's not about saving cash, I want a project to get on with while I'm not working. I'm not good at buying anything "off the shelf". From computers to bread, everything's better when you have some input.

 

[PhiltheFluter]

Hi again,
I've been stalled in my attempt to research what donor bike I'll be using(I've had an emergency operation with a 3 week hospital stay) , but have my conversion kit. Before I went into hospital I was put in touch with a friend of a friend of a friend. He and his wife have the bbshd and bbs02 which they were kind enough to allow me to test ride both for a couple of hours. Most of the time the bbs02 was more than adequate, but on some of the steeper hills it seemed to be struggling and as I have to climb these hills quite often I'd worry that it would hammer the motor. The bbshd ate these hills up, almost laughed at them. So I've bought a 1700w 52v bbshd kit from Electron Cycles who have been very helpful, I don't think I could of got the kit cheaper unless I went and bought everything individually. There was delivery problems with my 20ah triangle battery, but they offered me a cheap upgrade to a 26ah one. I've noticed they have a 42t Chainring that's made in the same factory as the Lekkie for £59.50.

BBSHD 42T Chain wheel NOT Lekkie Bling Ring BLACK | Electron Cycles

BBSHD 42T Chain wheel similar to but not Lekkie Bling Ring anodized BLACK finish

www.electroncycles.co.uk

Has anyone tried this?
I now need to decide on a bike to put it on. I'd like something that fits the battery quite snuggly inside the frame triangle. I have a couple of non-profit/charity second hand workshops that get their bikes from donations, and the police. Both seem to give their bikes good servicing before selling on at reasonable prices. They seem to have good stocks of Carrera, Cube, Specialised, Cannondale, etc. All their bikes seem well priced too, at £50-£300 I'd hope to get something better than my £400 new budget. I think it'll be best for me to take my battery along and try for size to make sure it fits.
Apart from the triangle fitting the battery and the bottom bracket size, is there anything else I should be aware of? I was going to insist on hydraulic brakes. I'm quite happy to swap over anything else on the donor bike that doesn't suit, ie handlebars, seat, etc. So I should hopefully find a suitable frame quite easily. I also have use of a workshop to do the work in. It doesn't have specific bike tools (for bb removal), but I have my own anyway. It does have everything else including an arc welder should anything serious need adjusting.
So my quest goes on, but as soon as I'm physically able I'm sure one of these stores will have what I'm looking for. After being lucky enough to have a test of these motors I'm quite excited about getting it fitted.
I've also realised how lucky we are in London having new and second hand bike shops everywhere, there seems to be twice as many as a decade ago when I last looked.
Any input and advice would be very appreciated.