Hilly

I tried lowering my handlebars a bit to see if that improves aerodynamics a bit. I'll try it tomorrow morning and see if it makes much difference. Maybe just changing the tyres and putting a bigger chainring on would do the trick.

I spoke to the bike shop man this morning, he said it would be extremely expensive to convert it to something like the one in the picture. Basically because most of the components would have to be replaced because road bike and mtb components are incompatible. He also said the geometry of the bike might be a bit dodgy at the end of it : ( I'll check those tyres out. I'm put off aerobars by the fact that you can't reach the brakes. people drive like idiots around London, wouldn't like to compromise my stopping distance going down a hill.

I've had the current chain and sprockets on the Haibike for just over a year. I think with a 250w motor and by learning to change gears more carefully than you would with an 'analogue' bike you can greatly reduce the wear on the drive chain. How does the hub motor keep your hands warm in winter? I'm not saying that in an ideal world a hub motor wouldn't be better, just trying to make the most of what I've got. Buying a bike and hub kit at the moment and making sure you've got all the right stuff seems like a right old ballache at the moment. It seems like the mid drive kits like the Bafang are taking the lead at the moment. Hopefully in a few years when the Haibike bites the dust the kits will have progressed a bit.

I just found a thread on another forum where the guy had converted a Haibike to a road bike by swapping the forks, putting a drop bar on it and putting road wheels / tyres and a bigger chain ring on it. This is the thread I made it to work in 1hr 30m this morning with an average speed of 18.5mph so maybe doing this will give me the increase in efficiency an speed I'm after. It seems like the kit market is really taking off at the moment so maybe if I ride the Haibike until it dies then by that time the kit options will be better. Anyone got any thought on this?

Thanks for that. Surely the weight / aerodynamics of the bike and how much I'm pedalling will also have an effect? 8 hours charging time is not a problem. Also as I mentioned earlier I'm not going to be doing the journey twice a day, day in day out. At this stage I'm thinking that a more modest speed on a bike designed for road riding and and a modular kit (which won't have built in obsolescence) will be an upgrade from Haibike. I'll probably install the kit with a smaller battery to make sure it all works the get a feel for the range and the speeds that are achievable then make a decision whether I want to put it through the DVLA test and how big a battery I will need for the commute. Only when all that's done will I sell the Haibike.

Thanks for that. I contacted Planet X and they said the bike comes with quick release front and rear. The guy selling the bike on ebay has changed the forks so i guess that's why it's got a through axle on the front.

So what type of axle would be best? say if i was going for the Q128c rear hub motor?

Most of the ride is long straight roads with the occasional town. I work in willesden so only the last bit of the journey is urban and even then they're main roads.

I contacted Tony at Whoosh, he said the hub motors wouldn't stand up to doing 28mph for prolonged periods of time and that a bafang mid drive motor would be better.

btw, does anyone have experience with the bafang hub motors or know if they might be suitable?

I should have said that i can charge the battery at work so it's only 29miles each way.

I've noticed with the haibike, on the downhill bits if i get down into a more aerodynamic position then i can achieve more speed without pedalling than if i sit upright and pedal.

I'll maybe put a bid on the Planet X bike and see if I get it. I can always swap the bars for flat bars if I can't get used to them. I think the drop bars will be better for speed and efficiency.

The thing is, I have the car and I sometimes stay at my girlfriend's in London so I'm not doing it day in day out. The traffic in the SE is getting so bad now it would be good to use the bike more often especially if I need to travel in during rush 'hour' (which now lasts for about six hours every day). Also with the car I have to stay at work until at least 7pm even if I don't have much to do.

Do you think this would be suitable? Planet X London