PeterCo

My 1951 Raleigh Superb-e has a four speed Sturmey Archer and a Yose e bike front hub set up. The saddlebag contains the battery etc. I have only done a few hundred miles of mainly twenty mile trips. I rather enjoy it.

It's an excellent ding ding bell and still made and I think the modern ones are only a tenner on eBay.

It's been a successful conversion and it rides very smoothly. Weighs about half a hundredweight but when it's rolling that's ok. Had to file the fork dropouts a little to get them to fit. Lacing up the motor into the matching rim went well. Had to fit a longer bottom bracket axle to fit the cadence sensor. A couple of wires were extended and I tried to hide as many of them in the saddlebag along with the 10ah battery. I seem to get a range of 25 miles on level 3 ( mid one) before I begin to be anxious! Yose kit from eBay. Brakes are only just ok. I use it for meandering on quiet lanes.

I have a Volt metro folder on my boat. I managed to snap the key off in the lock so deep that I couldn't remove it. After talking to the really helpful folk at Volt I posted the battery to them and they replaced the two locks and sent it all back really promptly with three new keys. I know this doesn't solve the OP's issue but I did feel I should rebalance the view of the company. I've now done a couple of thousand miles over the last four years and it's a really useful tool for me. I've had very little trouble with it.

A group of us went yesterday on the Monsal trail in Derbyshire. About 17 miles on our vintage Raleighs. (Yes we did all dress up too!) .....not an electric bike day....just a bimble along ride with lashings of lemonade and cake at the end. The trail, an old rail line, was absolutely packed with folk cycling. It was lovely to see so many families out enjoying the sunshine. There were plenty of hikers and dog walkers sharing the space. There are four longish illuminated tunnels too so it's a good place to observe cycle lights. Our old bikes have the traditional ring bells which appeared quite effective. A couple had ding ding bigger bells equally useful. There were quite a few teenagers....mainly girls....with headphones on. They heard nothing! Usefully most had some sort of 'minder' nearby. Everyone was most accommodating but bells are incredibly useful in packed areas and the walkers seemed to appreciate their use.

Try googling "Tweed cycling helmet"

Most campsites will let you plug in and charge up your battery......usually for free when you ask nicely!

No need to remove wheels in a Berlingo or Doblo. Both fit 3 full size bikes upright. Berlingo rear seats are a doddle to remove.

I have used folding e bikes on boats now for the last decade. When you lift them in and out it's most annoying if they begin to unfold as you lift them. The Brompton has solved this whilst the Volt needs a tight bungee. Maybe yours has some sort of device. Mudguards and maybe lights are useful too. An obvious carrying point at the balance point is helpful. Protection for the derailleur is useful as has been mentioned already. Side stand too. Maybe market two models. Fully dressed Pineapple and the stripped down Pineapple Lite.

Aldi cycling clothes for me too. Third winter now. Cheap....wash well....reasonably long lasting.....so far...

I should have also mentioned that the display only shows kph and not mph so I solved this by buying an aldi cycle computer for a fiver. It's slightly easier to reset the odometer also. I imagine that three years on Volt will have sorted this issue for the UK market.

I have a Volt Metro folding bike. We use it extensively on our narrowboat. Three years old now with no problems. Good range for me. I can confidently plan for twenty to thirty miles knowing there will be some left in the battery as a reserve. The bike is well made and quite well put together. I like the stainless fittings. I managed to break the key off in the battery lock some while ago and I sent it to Volt for help. It was returned and repaired very promptly indeed. I would recommend the firm. Keep the tires pumped up hard. I had a puncture in the first week in the Lake District.....none since luckily. I've done many hundreds of miles so far. No rust appearing anywhere. The only wear is the derailleur protecting guard which bent lifting it onto the boat.

It's not quite answering the question but many of us living on narrowboats also have e bikes, often folding ones. My charging is always done with the boat engine running usually as we travel along. My set up is fairly typical. There are four 110 a/h leisure batteries charged by the 70amp alternator. In addition there are two 100w solar panels feeding into the batteries via a mppt solar inverter. This often shows 10amps in the sun but they do little more than trickle charge the batteries in winter. The boat has a Vetus 1000w inverter to provide 240v power which we use for charging the Volt 12ah bike battery, my wife's hair straighteners, an electric drill occaisionaly, small vacuum etc but not the tv, lights or fridge. We are a low use 12v system on the whole. We have no problems keeping the bikes battery charged up. Mind you it's only used two or three times a week. I get normally a comfortable thirty mile or so range.

It was from Electric Bike Conversions in Stoke on Trent. Simply advertised as a Cyclotricity 250w rear hub kit.

I have fitted one of these to my Marin hybrid. Do any of you know who the manfacturer is and any further specification? No details came with the 700c supplied wheel and motor and there seems almost nothing labelled on the motor itself. Thanks.

A Volt Metro folding bike works well for us. Folds to very approx Bromton size and sits in the corner of of the engine room in our narrowboat.

What about a Carradice bag. Good traditional stuff.

Yes, but the cost increased from that with the bigger battery option plus the more advanced handlebar display. Still worth it I feel.

Yes, I bought the 250w rear wheel kit. It was a straightforward fit. The battery might appear a bit bulky at first sight but I've got used to it now. I live on the edge of the Lancashire plain and so most of rides are without big climbs. The wind can be a factor though here. My Marin seems to have a comfy speed of up to 18.5 mph. The gears are the old Nexave Shimano ones but i only very rarely use the full range. Today was a lovely ride out to Southport with a friend on his Freego. Mine is a lot less effort than his! The man who sold me the kit from his unit/shop on a trading estate in Stoke on Trent was very knowledgeable and helpful. I was unsure whether it was worthwhile spending quite so much on an old bike or should i spend a lot more on a new e bike. He thought the Marin was basically a good bike and was worth upgrading. The bike cost £600 new 17 years ago. So far he has been correct.

I recently changed my 17yr old Marin Sausalito hybrid to an e bike using a rear wheel kit from electric bike conversions in Stoke on Trent. I am very happy with it indeed. I bought the 15ah battery ad this gives me a comfortable range. So far I haven't done more than 50 miles in one trip and the display shows two bars remaining then. Since the conversion last month ive done about 500 miles with no issues yet. The handlebar full speed control is a tiny bit out of comfy reach but as ive rarely used it its not an issue. Resetting the trip distance on the display has been awkward on a couple of occasions due to my big fingers mainly.

The mini hand pump works fine at both high volume and high pressure but I find it fairly hard work to pump up to 40psi on 20" tyres on a Volt Metro folding bike. I ended up putting the last bit in with a car foot pump from B&M Bargains at £3.99! The small gauge isn't accurate on either the foot pump or the mini pump so I used my much more reliable digital one I use on the car and motorbike. The mini hand pump is great to carry being light and reasonably small. On a small wheeled folder I find it very important to keep the tyres, especially the rear one, accurately pumped up to avoid punctures.