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Ian10666

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Nov 28, 2021
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Hi all my name is Ian,Im 51 and live in Derbyshire .I currently own a Raleigh Evo 2 folding bike that I bought from Halfords (dont laugh everyone) in early 2019 .I enjoyed it and got quite proficient on it ,taking it away on holidays etc and I achieved the ambition in September of that year of completing the Blackpool Illuminations Ride The Lights event in both directions approx 12 miles of the illuminated sea front .However in 2020 just before the pandemic began I was diagnosed with a condition that affects my stamina and since July of that year my bike has remained in its bag untouched.Ive been looking at electric bikes and kits and have decided I dont want the hassle of selling my bike and starting again .Ideally I'd like to convert it to electric to give me as much assistance as possible and to give me the scope of getting home if I get tired etc. Can anyone advise on a suitable kit for this type of bike ,whats involved and an idea of cost. I see so many ads on FAcebook for ebikes and so on its hard to judge which are genuine and which are suspect . Thank you in advance
 

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Nealh

Esteemed Pedelecer
Aug 7, 2014
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Show us a pic of the bike and then we can see what might suit best.

For you needs the ideal kit will be a cadence PAS one with 5 power levels , a simple pedal rotation kit that can propel you along with ease and of course a thumb or twist throttle that should get you home. A bike with a throttle though eats thru the battery quite rapidly so you will have to give us a an idea on max range you will want.
 

Ian10666

Just Joined
Nov 28, 2021
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Hi will that do ? I dont plan on going miles and miles on it but say 10 to 20 miles .The town I live though is quite hilly and the main shopping street is steep so would need to cope with that .IMG_20190322_121232.jpg
 

Benjahmin

Esteemed Pedelecer
Nov 10, 2014
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Hi Ian,
I converted two similar bikes for my neighbour. The difficulty you'll have is with the folds, there will be cables going across them and you have to make provision for the fold with a loop of cable.
The kit I used was from Yosepower, rear wheel geared hub with a rear rack battery. Had to make some alterations to the battery slide attachment, but, on the whole, it was a straight forward conversion. Controller box was slung under the front of the rack on home made brackets. This way the only cables going to the handle bars are low power/low voltage ones. Left hand thumb throttle, display unit and change left brake lever for switched one. These cable routed to the controller. Pas dectector on the crank, cable to controller. Sounds complex, but really, with all the help here, it's very douable for some one who knows the difference between a spanner and a screwdriver.
On testing I found that if you stood on the peddles (at start up) and using throttle, they did show a tendency to wheelie. Just be aware of the possibility, nothing to be afraid of.
I think if you allow £6-700 that should get you a decent kit and quality battery.
Beware 'cheap' motors on e-bay. Lots are direct drive and will not suit you at all.
I would also consider upgrading your front brake to a Magura HS11 hydraulic to give the extra stopping power you'll need.
 

Benjahmin

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In fact I've found the thread I did, it's here:
 

Nealh

Esteemed Pedelecer
Aug 7, 2014
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One will need a hub built in to a wheel I would say firstly contact Woosh to see which kits they have and I wouldn't rule out a front motor wheel. Unless experienced then getting one built may be an issue, most LBS don't or won't touch them.
A battery for 20 miles and hills will need to be 12 -13ah esp with any throttle use, on flat terrain then opt to use PAS level 1 or 2 to conserve the battery power. If the front forks are steel (try the magnet test) then I would opt for hub motor.
 

sjpt

Esteemed Pedelecer
Jun 8, 2018
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Beware 'cheap' motors on e-bay. Lots are direct drive and will not suit you at all.
I would also consider upgrading your front brake to a Magura HS11 hydraulic to give the extra stopping power you'll need.
Certainly the most important point is to avoid the cheap direct drive motors; heavy on battery, poor on hills.

I'm not a great fan of the Magura HS11 brakes; we have them on our Raleigh Motus. They work well when properly adjusted, but not that much better than good V-brakes. The main problem is that they are an absolute pain to adjust. I'm not convinced you need new brakes anyway. You probably won't be going significantly faster in future with the motor than you used to under your own power, just using the motor to help get to that speed. That's especially true downhill which is where the brakes really matter; you won't be using either your power or the motor's. There will be a little extra weight on the bike, but probably not enough to warrant new brakes.

It's also worth considering a front wheel conversion; fewer cables to cross the fold. Main downside is risk of slipping on steep uphills with slippy surface (loose gravel, or whatever). Most people with front wheel drive don't have any such problems. The rear/front tradeoff also partly depends how often you want to fold.

Look at https://wooshbikes.co.uk/?hubkits for various choices (front and rear) and some discussion on pros and cons. Woosh give excellent service. Slightly limited choice with 20" wheels. There is the XF07 front. We have one of those (in 700c) on our tandem. Somewhat underpowered for that; enough to give us help on the hills but certainly needing lots of our effort too. It always seems pretty nippy when I ride the tandem by myself for whatever reason. I'd have preferred a little more powerful, but there was very limited legal choice when we made our conversion a bit over three years ago.

'Quite' hilly means different things to different people. If you mean what I would call really hilly the XF07 won't be enough. You might ask Woosh if the motor on the 20" wheel is wound differently than on the bigger ones. If not it will reduce top speed, but give significantly better climbing.
 

Nealh

Esteemed Pedelecer
Aug 7, 2014
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I think for a front motor the AKM100 is likely the best candidate for 100mm drop out width, though predominantly it does mean buying from Topbikekit.
The xf07 yes is a bit weak for serious hills.
 

AndyBike

Esteemed Pedelecer
Nov 8, 2020
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They work well when properly adjusted, but not that much better than good V-brakes.
"Properly adjusted"
I'd had magura's pre disc, and that was post v on ceramic rims, magura rim crushers were by far better than v's and in the wet better than v's/ceramics. V ceramics in the dry were pretty amazing.
Lol, that is the exact same argument for cantis versus v brakes and v brakes versus disc. Well done on adding another to that equation. ;)
 

Benjahmin

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Nov 10, 2014
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I have Magura on one of my bikes, I live in seriously hilly west wales and I can testify that the Magura is heaps better than a standard Vee brake. Set up is fiddly but once done they perform admirably.
Front hub is certainly an option (all my bikes are front hubs) but, on a folder, this has the disadvantage of high current cables going across the folds. Silicone power cable is very flexible but it's larger diameter means leaving plenty of slack across the fold to avoid strain. This leaves quite a loop of cable when the bike is in riding position.
A way round this would be to have the battery on the handlebars, in which case look at Swytch kits. Not an option I would favour, however, as it must affect handling.
As an example here is an offering from BMSB:
It's for cassette, suitable for 8 gears or more. (If you have 7 gears or less you need the Q128h.
You need to select the wheel size, and you will need the 328rpm version. Then need controller, display etc. We can help.