helecats

I got no instructions with my kit but your supposed to fit the sensor on the RHS. There was no way I was going to mess about removing the bottom bracket there was no room anyway with 3 chain rings. So I put it on the LHS. Just dremeled the hole in the ring so it fitted over the bottom bracket, took the LHS pedal off and stuck the ring with sensor in place with silicon sealant. Oh I had to turn the sensor round by 180 deg by drilling the ring and refitting the sensor as LHS pedal turns the wrong way. As for the question on cutting the ring then I don't see why cutting it would make any difference I've read that some people remove the sensor from the ring and stick them in place.

Just a standard 8fun 250 watt kit. I should rephrase loads of power what I meant was I have power all the time when I am pedalling with not much effort. I like to pedal but have a bad knee so light pedalling suits me. I found on the Bosch that I needed to push a lot harder to get power. Maybe I just needed to to ride the bike more to get the best out of it.

So basically the purpose of a torque sensor is to increase the range and make the bike harder to ride! I prefer my cheapo kit where I'm getting lots of power all the time and if I pedal harder I can see the current come down or the speed increase.

If cadence and torque are measured then I don't know why manufacturers don't give you the option of selecting a preference like switching the torque sensor off or changing the percentage mix of the two. I have a conversion kit on my bike no torque sensor and it is effortless to ride. I had my heart set on a KTM Macina race but found it hard work compared with my bike. In fact most times I've ridden a torque sensor bike I say to myself I thought this bike was supposed to be electric! I find with the torque sensor when I push hard on the pedals you get some power, but when you have achieved the required speed you ease off the pedals slightly and the power has gone and your riding an unpowered bike even on the highest setting. I must be missing the point or doing something wrong!

Hi, thanks for the excellent comparison. I have been looking for new bike and find this information very useful. I want a quality mountain bike as light as possible with a good range 60 miles plus with lots of power, legal and will climb hills. I assumed the Bosch drive would be the best. After riding both the Bosch and the BH extreme I felt that my 8fun kit had as much if not more power but probably a lot less range. Admittedly I did not ride these very far or up hills so I may need a longer ride to evaluate them properly. I think one of the problems may be that my kit works off cadence only but on bikes with torque sensors you have to put a bit effort in, which I wasn't doing. I wondered if you considered trying the new kalkhoff Xion hub drive fitted to Raleigh, Focus and kalkhoff bikes. I am asking as I'm interested in the focus Jariffa offroad it comes with a 15.5Ah battery, has regenerative braking and Focus are quality bikes. FOCUS Bikes: Bikes 2013 Google Translate There is no chance of me trying one as there are non available in the UK, I would need to just order one, but it would be interesting to hear some views on the Xion drive on other bikes. I haven't seen any reviews on this motor at all, I guess they are quite new.

I wonder if someone on this forum could explain what battery conditioning is for. I read somewhere that it was to set the battery level gauge. As far as I have read one of the worst things you can do to a li-ion battery is fully discharge it. I use LIPo's quite a lot in RC helicopters if they are discharged down to 3.3 volts per cell they are damaged, I thought li-ion were similar. I guess the controller must limit the level of discharge voltage to prevent any damage, but I would have thought 3 discharges in a row would be risky?

How about this Lit c1 Lit Motors

Hi Martin I think 29ers are becoming more popular than 26, eg when I asked in the LBS "do you have any 29ers" the response was nearly all our mountain bikes are 29ers".I think die hard mountain bikers may want 26ers for maneuverability and light weight for jumps etc. For riding on trails and and roads like I do then I think a 29er will be a better ride. As for size I think I will probably need to get a 26er unless I want my anatomy squashed! The LBS suggested I would need a 16 inch (40cm) so I don't think a 45cm frame will fit. See test below. 26er Versus 29er: The Shootout You've Been Asking For | News | mountain-bike-action

Hello, no I haven't tried a 29er. There are no available bikes to try in a 200 mile radius as for as I know! I could go into bike shop and trying a non electric one but I feel a bit guilty doing this when I have no intention of buying one. I have read a lot about them an they seem to have a number of advantages over a 26 inch wheel. I also like the look of them and to be honest I'm a bit of a sucker when it comes to new fads and technologies.

Hi Martin, thanks for your help on this but on reflection I need to try a few bikes. it's not just standover height I would need to test it's the reach to the handlebars and the general fit of the bike. I don't think I could just buy one and have it delivered, if I'm spending that much it needs to be spot on. I'm going to try and attend the Redbridge event in April and try some bikes, thanks.

I would like to buy a 29 inch wheeled high spec mountain bike but my inside leg is only 29 inches. I think the only options may be the KTM Macina race (frame size 430mm) or the Focus Jarifa offroad Premium XLS (frame size 420). Most other bikes I have seen e.g. Haibike Xduro RC 29, smallest frame size is 450mm which are too big. Most non electric bikes go down to frame size 16 inches, but not electric. On my current bike a 17 inch rockhopper I have about 0.5inch clearance from the top tube. I tried a 17.5 (444mm) inch frame rockhopper 29R in a shop and I had no clearance and was virtually sitting on the frame. As it's impossible to try the bikes mentioned above for size, no one in the UK seems to have one, I wondered if anyone has experience of 29R bike sizes verses leg length.

I needed some way of adding switches to the hydraulic disk brakes on my rockhopper 8Fun conversion to cut the motor. The kit was supplied with brake levers with a cable and built in switch for cable operated brakes, which plugs into the controller, no use for hydraulic brakes. I went onto Ebay and bought a pack of 3 mini micro switches for 99p + 70p p&p. [ATTACH]5237.vB[/ATTACH] I cut the cable from the supplied brake lever and soldered the wires to the microswitch normally closed contact (open when the switch is pressed). I then wedged the switch into the brake lever (see pics) so that the switch button was pressed. When the brake lever is operated the button is released. I had to file a small amount of plastic off the switch to make it fit. The switch is now a really tight fit, plugged the cable into the controller and it works fine. I think the switch would stay wedged in place on its own but I added a couple of drops of epoxy just to make sure it wouldn't move. [ATTACH]5238.vB[/ATTACH] [ATTACH]5239.vB[/ATTACH] [ATTACH]5240.vB[/ATTACH] The photos show the lever in the normal position and then pulled, releasing the button. [ATTACH]5241.vB[/ATTACH] I just needed to bend the soldered pins to refit the handebar grip and then tidy the cable. It looks neater in reality than it does in the close up pics and you don't even notice it's there. I have no idea how reliable or durable these switches are or how many operations they can do but after testing and a ride yesterday they have had at least 30 ops and are still working, only time will tell. Not water proof but they could be coated with tape, silicon sealant or epoxy.

Hi Electro, I think the controller I'm using is quite an old one, nearly 18 months old as I bought the kit second hand. There were no markings on it other than the current rating which stated 10 amps and max 16 amps. There are separate wires comming out for the throttle and the led display. If you havn't got a throttle connection you could buy a new controller I have seen them on ebay for around £20. Have you contacted 8Fun as they seem quite helpfull, I notice on their web site that it states the current kit comes with a thumb throttle.

Hi Lynda, Your right I live in Boldon, been there for 20 years. Originally from South Shields. My other interest is sailing, not so much now, spent a lot of time in the north sea, and South Shields Harbour! Also buggying with a kite on the beaches and the Lees, but packing that in, because I got dragged in the air last year and dumped hard on the ground and injured.

Hi, one of my favourite trips is from Boldon to Jarrowthrough the Tyne pedestrian Tunnel then to North Shields then across the ferryto South Shields up the coast to Whitburn and back to Boldon about 25 miles. Derek