Vekkit

pb21

Just Joined
Sep 9, 2020
3
0
Hi All, I am looking for a conversion kit and have come across https://vekkit.com/ which seems very similar to Swytch without the mystery pricing and many months of waiting. I am struggling to find reviews from actual people who have bought the kit only marketing materials from the company, the only reviews out there are not true hands on reviews just marketing information.

From the website it looks like just what I need a simple all in one easy assembly kit at the right price and delivery time from Europe. Has anyone had any experience of these kits? would be great to get someone's opinion who has purchased, installed and used the kit.
 

vfr400

Esteemed Pedelecer
Jun 12, 2011
9,822
3,985
Basildon
I haven't used one. The only thing I'd say is that it uses a wireless pedal sensor and control panel. There have been other kits that used wireless sensors and controls, but they were fairly problematic. Maybe these people have made their system more robust against interference. All I'd say to summarise is to proceed with caution and be careful of any reviews from anybody but genuine verified users.
 

pb21

Just Joined
Sep 9, 2020
3
0
Thank you for your reply. I think I will continue to look around due to the lack of information about them, even on social media I can’t find anything apart from marketing from the company. It’s a shame as it looks exactly like what I am looking for, will continue to monitor things in case more appears eventually, would be great if someone did a YouTube video of Kit and attaching it to a bike followed by a review of how what it was like in use. Well if I do decide to go for it eventually maybe I need to be the first to do an actual customer review.
 

hey_pavel

Finding my (electric) wheels
May 1, 2020
9
4
Hi All. I'm Pavel from Vekkit. Yes, there are no reviews yet. It looks like our customers don’t have free time to write reviews. Anyway, you can order the kit, receive it, try and return back if you don't enjoy it. We have spent more than one year to develop our wireless cadence sensor. Yes, it's a really complex task to make the sensor robust against interference but we did it. We don't use BLE like other sensor productions do. We use a proprietary RF protocol. It helps to deliver data from the sensor to the motor controller very fast and securely.
 

pb21

Just Joined
Sep 9, 2020
3
0
Hi Pavel, is the cost of shipping included when returning the kit as this would be quite significant? As I say I think the kit looks great and is just what I am looking for but would be good to hear from people who have used the kit as it is a lot of money to spend without any reviews. Are you planning to get people to review the kit? Thanks.
 

hey_pavel

Finding my (electric) wheels
May 1, 2020
9
4
yes, the cost of shipping is included when returning the kit because we can provide test rides in Krakow only. About reviews - we don't plan to send kits to review but we'll publish links on reviews by our customers.
 

SeanF

Just Joined
Sep 19, 2020
2
0
Find it interesting that during whole summer until now there are no reviews to be found anywhere, so I wonder how many kits could be delivered so far
 

Fatheralice

Finding my (electric) wheels
Oct 9, 2020
9
1
So my Vekkit was delivered on Wednesday, and I must say I am very impressed.

Not having used an ebike before, I have nothing to compare it too, but I took it for a test ride to work and back, which is about 8 miles each way, on mostly flat cycle paths, but there are a few of those over the dual carrageway type bridges to go over, that have slopes and 180 degree turns half way up, which would normally make you work, or at least change gear to get up.

I'm hoping to try my other work route of about 10 miles each way, which involves a few more climbs, as it heads up onto Dartmoor over the weekend, so will be interested to compare.

Anyway, first impressions.

Kit arrived safely, albeit delayed by about 4 weeks from the original eta. Communication was excellent throughout.

Fitting was straightforward. Tools were provided to cover all eventualities, including spacers, a multi tool and file, which is a nice touch.

Since my order was placed a seat post mount was developed in late August, and I was advised both handlebar and seat post mount would be included. These are now selectable during the order process, so I assume you would only get one now. Anyway, only the handlebar mount was included, which I fitted and found fine to use, however I was really after the seat post mount, as it frees up the handlebars for lights, phone holder etc, and also balances up the weight.
Anyway, an email to Pavel from Vekkit, at 11pm on Wed evening was replied to straight away, and a seat post mount sent via express courier which arrived today FOC. Most impressive customer service, and having fitted it this afternoon, it really works well.

My test ride today was using the handlebar mount, and it was absolutely fine, so either version would work well, however I think I would recommend the seat post mount for the reasons given above - especially to balance the weight, as the front wheel can get a little heavy when resting the bike against a wall for example, causing it to twist, whereas it feels more stable at the back.

The cycling experience was very good. Very smooth, and the assistance kicked in straight away, but in a controlled manner. The speed controller on the handlebar seemed effective, and putting it up to 3 for any climbs meant the bike sailed up with ease, but for the rest of the ride, 1 was enough to keep the bike travelling at near the 25kph UK limit. I actually set it to 32kph in the app which is easy to do if desired, and appropriate, but the gearing on my bog standard Giant 21 speed mountain bike didn't allow me to actually reach that speed on the flat, as my legs didn't go round fast enough! Anyway, the entire ride was completed in top gear, including climbs from a standing start. I'm guessing steeper hills would be easily dealt with by changing down a gear or two if needed.

Both front or rear bag mounts seem very secure, and include locks for both the bag, and the battery, meaning you can just remove the battery for charging, or unclip the entire bag, and the power cable if preferred. The single cable is neatly secured by some bespoke cable clips
which seem easy to use and reuse, giving a very tidy finish, that is quick to unclip if wanted.

The sensor and remote both work wirelessly, and were faultless in operation today. They are recharged by a micro usb connection, but still show 99% and 100% power in the app, after an hour of riding today, so will last for ages between charges. (I think I read that the kit still works without the sensor in the event it runs flat mid cycle, and it could be recharged from the USB charging port on the battery in such an event)
They are both held by an rubber band, so easy to remove if needed. I guess my only worry would be if the rubber perished over time, but I guess a cable tie could be used if more security was desired. Its not actual rubber, so may well not be an issue anyway?

My only issue was that the app, which looks to be quite good in terms of functionality, lost connection to the bike on both journeys. The phone was in my pocket, rather than on the handlebars, so unsure why or when, but when I got back, I noticed there was an update on the play store, released yesterday, which included bug fixes for lost connections so we'll see if that helps. Apart from speed selection, and stats, the app is just a nice add on, and the bike worked perfectly without it.

App development and firmware updates seem to be quite frequent judging by their blog, so I'm confident that this won't be an issue ongoing.

Anyway, a bit of a ramble, but like others, I was interested to see some real world reviews, so thought this might be useful for some.

I'll report back after some more challenging routes, but as a non cyclist, who last used his bike about 6 years ago, I was very impressed with how well it worked, and how I was able to average about 16 mph over the hours cycle, without much effort on mountain bike tyres - the plan is to ride it to work, and I can certainly do that without getting hot and exhausted judging by today's trial. I could feel in my legs that I had cycled, and also on my bum!, but for a first ride in years, it was a doddle.

The dilemma now is do I let my daughter use it on her bike whilst she is at Uni in Bath, (the fact it doesn't look like an electric bike is a big draw in terms of security here) and order a second kit, or perhaps an actual ebike via the cycle to work scheme, as I think I might be sold on e-biking to work!
The kit is so easy to swap that It will fit on my Wife's bike for example, so won't be wasted, even once my daughter has finished at Uni.
 
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Fatheralice

Finding my (electric) wheels
Oct 9, 2020
9
1
edit just realised I forget to mention battery charge -it was showing about 70% after the 65 minute ride, which was about 16 miles, so range looks perfectly adequate for a 2-3 hour ride.

I have the 7ah battery, and the 250w traveller motor btw.
 

vfr400

Esteemed Pedelecer
Jun 12, 2011
9,822
3,985
Basildon
Can you show some photos, especially the motor from both sides, as their website shows at least two different motors, one of which looks like a Q85.
 

Fatheralice

Finding my (electric) wheels
Oct 9, 2020
9
1
hopefully that worked. no markings I can see on motor other than the code on the top shown in the pics.

When I ordered the options were 200w or 250w motor.
They seem to have added some different options including a rear wheel one more recently.

The bag mount utilises the lockable klickfix fixing, with a bespoke mount for the rear, and a standard handlebar mount on the front.
 

vfr400

Esteemed Pedelecer
Jun 12, 2011
9,822
3,985
Basildon
hopefully that worked. no markings I can see on motor other than the code on the top shown in the pics.

When I ordered the options were 200w or 250w motor.
They seem to have added some different options including a rear wheel one more recently.

The bag mount utilises the lockable klickfix fixing, with a bespoke mount for the rear, and a standard handlebar mount on the front.
200w must be AKM75SX (Q75)or AKM85SX (Q85), and 250w would be AKM100SX (Q100). The Q75 is larger on one side than the other, so easy to differentiate, but it's difficult to tell whether you have a Q85 or Q100 from a photo - probably a Q100 if you have 100mm wide forks. Q85 used to be 85mm between drop-outs, but the listing for AKM85SX shows 100mm. Maybe that's a mistake. They're nice motors - generally very reliable, and they pack a big punch for their size. They come in three flavours: 201 rpm (15mph max), 260 rpm (20mph max), and 328rpm for 16" and 20" wheels.
 
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Fatheralice

Finding my (electric) wheels
Oct 9, 2020
9
1
update to say I did my other commute this morning - about 10 miles each way and a bit more hilly
Had to use the gears a bit more up the steep bits, but the assistance performed perfectly, and makes a huge difference. Arrived feeling fresh, and not hot and sweaty, so certainly would work as a commuter bike.

Battery had about 30% left after a 90 min ride, (50% at half way, as it is uphill on the way) and a pretty steady average of about 15mph for both directions, which seems to be about my max for the combo of tyres / gears / cadence etc. I'm sure that would be increased with a better bike

No lost connections to the phone app I'm pleased to say, so hopefully that glitch has been sorted after the app update.

This is the motor from both directions if it helps.
 

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vfr400

Esteemed Pedelecer
Jun 12, 2011
9,822
3,985
Basildon
Just as well you showed that. You've put the motor in upside down. The cable should exit downwards if you don't want it to fill with water. You have to take the tab washers off the axle and turn them through 180 deg, then reinstall the wheel. Don't forget the plastic cap, which will give the cable some protection if your bike falls on that side.

Be careful of battery indicators. they don't take into consideration that the battery accelerates downwards towards the end, so you run out quicker than you think. Also, the power goes down as the battery discharges, so you might need to turn the power up when it gets low, which makes it run out even faster.

Just an observation: Your wheel has been laced with a three-cross pattern. Most people use 2- cross, otherwise you get a bit of a bend between the nipple and the spoke, though that depends on what size spokes are used, the depth of the rim and the size of the holes in the rim. the bend doesn't seem to do any harm, as it's quite common to get that with a 2-cross pattern and larger motors with 13g spokes.
 
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KenR

Finding my (electric) wheels
Oct 11, 2020
22
1
Thanks for this very good review. It will be very interesting to see how the wireless sensor stands up to the daily commute in winter. Hope you will keep us informed.
Is the battery modular? They claim it can be carried by air and has a capacity of 93.6Wh. If so this is a very useful piece of kit. As far as I know the only other modular battery is from Grin in Canada https://ebikes.ca/36v-ligo-battery.html.
 

hey_pavel

Finding my (electric) wheels
May 1, 2020
9
4
It's Pavel from Vekkit. Thanks a lot for the review. we developed the 5.2Ah (187,2Wh) battery which contains two 2.6Ah (93.6Wh) separate batteries. That's why you can take them on planes.
 

Fatheralice

Finding my (electric) wheels
Oct 9, 2020
9
1
Used the Vekkit both Wed and Thursday to get to work and back - 30 mins each way, for about a 15 mile round trip, and a days work in between. Really impressed, and faultless operation throughout. Car journey time is often pretty similar due to traffic, so I can see myself riding quite often when the weather is fair.

Wednesday I started out with only 75% battery, as I forgot to plug it in the night before! - arrived back with about 25% remaining. Today I started at 100% and finished at about 50%. The app shows my travel times and average speed, and they were pretty much the same for both days, so battery power seems reliable even as it drains. The handlebar remote and cadence sensor I haven't bothered charging, as they still have loads of power left.

Just waiting for a new rear freewheel to be delivered so I can replace the current 14-28T one with an 11-28T version, as I could definitely go faster with a higher gear, so it will be interesting to see how the assistance works at higher speeds