Hi from Derbyshire

[Kramer]

Hi,

I am considering upgrading my current bike to help with my daily round trip commute of 10+ miles.

Woosh bikes predictor sums up my trip as follows: -

Steepest gradient: 10.3%
One-way: 5.2 miles, return: 10.4 miles, outbound elevation: 104m, inbound elevation: 97m
At 10mph: outbound consumption: 62WH, inbound consumption: 62WH, return trip: 124WH
At 15mph: outbound consumption: 74WH, inbound consumption: 74WH, return trip: 148WH

My bike is a B'Twin RockRider 5.1 (XL size, 2011 model) with the only difference from stock being these tyres.

I would like some advice on what type of kit I should purchase which would be suitable for my commute and also for recreational riding on roads and dedicated cycle paths.

Some kits I was considering are as follows: -

Woosh crank drive kit
8Fun crank drive kit
Alien kit

Any advice on suitability of these kits for my purposes would be appreciated.

Also, finally, I would like to add a NuVinci N360 (Harmony shifter would be ideal) at some point too, so kits would need to be compatible with this.

thanks for listening, I'm looking forward to sharing my ebiking experiences

 

[Deleted member 4366]

That makes the choice dead easy then. The Woosh kit isn't available yet, so you can cross that off. If you're sure about the Nuvinci, the 8Fun kit is the perfect companion. You'll be chucking your left gear-changer, which will make room for the thumb throttle. Fitting the kit will be very straight forward. You just have to decide on a battery now. That 10 aH bottle battery from BMSBattery would finish it off, but it looks very tight in your frame because you have to allow room to lift it off at the top. I can give you some minimum measurements if you decide to go in that direction.

 

[Kramer]

That makes the choice dead easy then. The Woosh kit isn't available yet, so you can cross that off.

If it's ready sooner rather then later I may be persuaded to wait. Does it compare favourably to the 8Fun one?

If you're sure about the Nuvinci, the 8Fun kit is the perfect companion. You'll be chucking your left gear-changer, which will make room for the thumb throttle. Fitting the kit will be very straight forward. You just have to decide on a battery now. That 10 aH bottle battery from BMSBattery would finish it off, but it looks very tight in your frame because you have to allow room to lift it off at the top. I can give you some minimum measurements if you decide to go in that direction.

This one?

If you have measurements I would appreciate them so I can check if it fits, nothing worse than buying something that won't.

Any idea what sort of range that would give? I may be tempted to go for a rear rack battery instead.

 

[Deleted member 4366]

I was thinking of that battery, but I forgot that it has the integrated controller and LCD display that you don't need because the 8Fun kit has its own controllerand display. i'll try and get measurements tomorrow:
bottle ebike battery

 

[timidtom]

Hi; might be worth your while to pop into Buxton and have a chat with Bob Wales at Juicy Bikes.
Welcome and be happy!
Tom

 

[Kramer]

I'll bear it in mind, thanks

 

[Woosh]

Hi Kramer

Glad to know you are interested in our kit. Unfortunately, we cannot supply the CD kit at the moment. There are too many issues that we feel we have not properly addressed.

Firstly, fitting the CD kit to your B'Twin RockRider 5.1 will lose you the front derailleur.
Our bottle battery's fitting has only limited range. On your bike, only one bolt is lined up, obviously inadequate to secure the battery to the frame. Also, we don't have the right brake handles for your bike.

Clearly, these difficulties are common with other kits such as the 8-Fun BBS01 that we have in stock. I feel we need more time and cannot supply these kits as they stand at the moment.
Last but not least we are aware that we will have to support customers who buy these kits.
This will need some staff training and at the moment, quite honestly, we are so busy it just can't be done.

Probably looking at another year before we start actively selling them therefore.

Good luck with the alternatives.

Hatti

 

[Kramer]

Hatti, I'm considering ditching the bike to be honest and starting from scratch. Can you advise what the cost of the BBS-01 from yourselves?

 

[Deleted member 4366]

Hatti, when you say you have them in stock, does that mean that you would sell them to those that don't want after-sales support, because the alternative for those that want them is to buy them direct from China also without support.

 

[Woosh]

Hello Kramer,

There are two versions of BBS01, 36V and 48V.
I only have the 36V model in stock, price £330 including P&P and one year limited guarantee.
Full details on this link:
8-Fun BBS01 CD kit | Chain Drive Electric Bike Kits from Woosh

d8veh:

Hatti, when you say you have them in stock, does that mean that you would sell them to those that don't want after-sales support, because the alternative for those that want them is to buy them direct from China also without support.

Yes, you are correct although we'll always do our best to assist.

Hatti

 

[Deleted member 4366]

That bike with the kit fitted on your website looks really nice. I expect you could sell a lot of them.Will you be selling them?

 

[Kramer]

This project got stalled along the way and I'm now looking to get started again.

Everything is the same as in original post, but I am unsure about the best kit for this bike. I still want to upgrade eventually with the NuVinci N360 Harmony, but not right away, so any kit would need to be a front hub or crank drive kit. I am eventually planning on dispensing with the mountain bike and replacing with a hybrid or commuter-type frame.

I would ideally like a bottle battery, could like with a pannier one if a significant advantage, but don't like the seat post variety.

dv8eh, perhaps you could resurrect those bottle battery measurements you mentioned a while back?

So, can anyone suggest the best kit that would suit my requirements, and the reasoning behind it?

 

[Kramer]

I have been thinking of getting this kit but it's not ideal

http://www.8funbike.com/detail.asp/sku=8F26F36B

I'd prefer the LCD display with more options rather than the LED one. I'd also prefer the bottle battery with integrated controller and perhaps a half-twist throttle instead of the thumb throttle.

Perhaps someone could advise on the individual parts to buy on bmsbattery.com to make up the same kit, but with the changes I'd prefer above?

 

[Deleted member 4366]

If you want LCD, Try the Cyclotricity kit at £500.

 

[peerjay56]

I have been thinking of getting this kit but it's not ideal

http://www.8funbike.com/detail.asp/sku=8F26F36B

I'd prefer the LCD display with more options rather than the LED one. I'd also prefer the bottle battery with integrated controller and perhaps a half-twist throttle instead of the thumb throttle.

Perhaps someone could advise on the individual parts to buy on bmsbattery.com to make up the same kit, but with the changes I'd prefer above?

You can get the cyclotricity kit with an optional lcd display, a 9ah bottle battery or 10ah rack battery. The standard throttle is a thumb type, but you can get a half twist elsewhere if you really want and use that instead.
As a matter of interest, most people seem to find the thumb throttle easier to use. It's less prone to 'slippage' as you go over bumps etc. HTH.