How funny, used to live in that part of the world and Bushy Park was our old stomping ground so I know it well. It's a possibility so will bear it in mind. In all honesty am thinking it will be another few months till I'm well enough to sit on a bike (which is why I've just started looking/researching) so am thinking it'll be after Xmas or spring before I actually get one. There's no point in it sitting in our damp garage all winter either. But thanks for letting me know - the Secret does seem like a good bet.

Thanks to everyone so far who has helped me choose which bike to purchase. After a bit of deliberation and some hill climbing advice yesterday (much appreciated) I've narrowed it down to a 20" folder such as Volt Metro/Wisper/Kudos Secret/Juicy. Look forward to trying them out. It suits me to buy a ready made bike.

 

However, my partner is still itching to have a go at a conversion. We may well buy one and convert another so we have one each. It might be better if he joins the forum as I am not technically minded but in the meantime can I ask those of you in the know a few questions? Not sure if I should start a new thread elsewhere for this.

 

Evans have some ex demo bikes such as the Tern Link D8 and the P9. Are either of these bikes suitable for (a very easy!) rear conversion? Is one easier to convert than the other?

 

They weigh about the same as a Brompton M3L (11.5kg) so what can we expect it to weigh with a rear motor, throttle etc...incl or excl the battery?

 

Are the small hobby batteries such as zippy suitable for this purpose? I see some people mention using two - is one a spare or are they both connected?

 

The conversion must be stealthy with the batteries hidden in a frog or small pannier bag.

 

Roughly how much would the equipment cost (excl the bike)?

 

And finally is it possible without any cutting or soldering? Is it a case of slot the motor in and connect a few cables :-) ?

 

Thank you, it's all a bit confusing for those of us new to these things.

Oh yes, and would like to stick to the legal limits in the UK

If you're going to convert a bike, you'd be better off getting a nice used one from Ebay. Most good quality folding bikes have narrow forks, so you need a rear motor, but most rear motors have the thread for free-wheel gears, which brings a whole load of gearing problems. That leaves very few motor options. I'm just about to try the Cute Q100C from BMSBattery. I already have the normal Q100 on my Dahon, but I want to restore the gearing to 8 speed. The Q100C has the spline for cassette gears, but I'm not sure yet if the overall width is OK because the Dahon frame is very stiff, but I think it should be OK.

 

The weight of a complete kit with a 10aH frog battery would be about 5kg added to your bike, so 17kg overall should be possible.

 

R/C batteries are OK if you know how to manage them. From your questions, I'd say that they're unsuitable for you. There's not much advantage from them if you want to stick to legal speeds, but they become a good option if you want to go faster.

 

A kit with battery from China is about £400 including duty.

 

There's always a bit of fiddling about with the stuff from China. Most of the things just plug in, but it's common to have to solder a connector or two and adjust the spokes in the wheel. There are some kits that are more plug-and-play, but I don't know of any decent ones for decent 20"-wheeled bikes.

 

Keyde also do a nice kit that's very easy to fit, but it has no throttle, and there's a few rumours of reliability problems.

OK, I can get my head around most of that except for the gears but will pass the info on to OH in the hope he comprehends better than I. Would a one or no gear bike be better i.e. easier to fit and how would that affect the performance? My partner is looking for it to run on a par with the bikes I'm looking to purchase (mentioned above).

 

Not as lightweight as hoped. Surprising how much the kits weigh. What about the kits from the UK that people post links to on here e.g. Ezee? They are pricey though.

 

These are the sort of bikes he's thinking of (yes second hand ebay maybe)...

 

Tern Link P9 2013 Folding Bike | Evans Cycles

 

Tern Link D8 2012 Folding Bike (Soiled) | Evans Cycles

the Ezee kit is powerful, but heavy. They have free-wheel gears, so you need a 7 speed DNP gearset as well (about £25 to £35), and that'll mess up your gear-change system. It'll probably be OK on the 8 speed, but you'd need a new changer on the 9 speed. As far as I know, all UK kits have the same problem. Most are front-wheel kits that won't fit because of the narrow forks that can't be widened (easily).

 

One other option is a crank-drive kit like the Bafang BSS01, but, like always, nothing is simple. You'd need one with a chainwheel of at least 44 teeth for comfortable pedalling. They're very easy to fit on most bikes, but I'm not sure about the Terns because the frame is different at the bottom. Cyclezee sells them, so he should be able to tell you if they're OK.

Does sound a bit complicated. There was a 7 speed Tern (C7 I think) so are you saying that would be better?

 

I have just seen the Juicy Bikes conversion kit - seems more reasonable but is 8kgs?

 

Will have to speak to the kit suppliers and see if they can help too.

 

I have just seen the Juicy Bikes conversion kit - seems more reasonable but is 8kgs?

 

 

Must get around to weighing that kit precisely, but note the weight includes everything - wheel, tyre, controller, levers, nuts etc etc. So much to do...

Hi Bob,

 

That's not so bad if it includes the tyre. And the battery I assume?

 

Would it work with a 20" wheel folder? Is it rear or front wheel? And is it easier with any particular amount of gears/speeds?

 

It's all Greek to me really but thanks...

I'll save you the trouble, Bob.

Motor 3.3 kg

Battery and mount about 4.5 kg

Controller and sensors about 0.5 kg

 

Total about 8.3kg.

 

I under-estimated the weight of the battery in a previous post because I forgot about the weight of the mount. The Q100C kit would therefore be about 7.2kg.

 

These figures are how much you need to add to the weight of an existing bike to get its new total weight, not the complete weight of the kit.

Thanks d8veh, that is helpful.

 

Would still like to check on whether it is a rear or front wheel motor and what sort of bike speeds it would best suit.

 

OH sitting next to me looking pleased that you just swap the wheel. He thought he was going to be stripping the bike down completely and off searching for parts to make it fit!

Hi Cricket,

 

Regarding a Tern/Dahon electric conversion with a Bafang Mid drive I have looked extensively into it and have concluded it would only be acceptable with the bespoke Bafang 52T chainwheel.

 

Unfortunately these are not currently available from Bafang at present but are listed as an option for future production.

 

The bottom bracket appears to be the standard size on both models so should not present a problem to fitting the kit, see blog:

 

Hands On Bike: Guide to Upgrading your Dahon / Tern Folding Bike

 

The smallest wheeled model which would accept the current kit and give reasonable speed would be the newly announced 24" Tern Node.

 

p.s. I can get 2 folded Bromptons on the back seat of a 4 door Aygo but not even one in the boot without dropping the rear seats, it is too tall.

Edited October 24, 201312 yr by shemozzle999

the small wheels of the folding bikes will garantee good climbing ability - I can't see why you would want crank drive?

This definitely seems a bit complex for me and OH looks a bit lost too. This leads me to the conclusion that we should go shop bought all the way! All the info has been great though as it does help sort out in your mind which way to go.

 

Interesting about the Bromptons in the Aygo shemozzle. Our car is even smaller plus we need to get the dog in. So whichever folder(s) we get are going to need an external bike rack.

the small wheels of the folding bikes will garantee good climbing ability - I can't see why you would want crank drive?

 

I have heard that about the small wheels Trex....will definitely be hub drive.

I have heard that about the small wheels Trex....will definitely be hub drive.

 

If you want an off the shelf folder check this out:

 

Dahon Ikon Electric Folding Bike Black - City Bikes - ACYCLES

If you want an off the shelf folder check this out:

 

Dahon Ikon Electric Folding Bike Black - City Bikes - ACYCLES

 

Thanks. I've seen the Ikon before (I remember the different wheel colours) but didn't have it on my list for some reason. Seems about the same price as the Wispa 806 Classic (which is a few hundred pounds more than the other bikes I listed) so I probably need to look into why that is and whether I need to splash out on that certain something if it makes it a 'better' bike in any way. I'm not very knowledgeable on the spec of the different bikes - to me the Wispa and Dahon look on paper about the same as the other bikes I mentioned.

One key difference is that the Wisper has hub gears so it is a case of whether you want a bike with hub gears or not. Good luck with the search!

Thanks d8veh, that is helpful.

 

Would still like to check on whether it is a rear or front wheel motor and what sort of bike speeds it would best suit.

 

OH sitting next to me looking pleased that you just swap the wheel. He thought he was going to be stripping the bike down completely and off searching for parts to make it fit!

 

The most helpful member on these forums!

 

All our bikes are restricted to the legal limits for the UK: 15.5 MPH for the electric bikes and 30MPH for the electric scooters. We supply the Police, amongst others, and are members of BEBA, so take this seriously (no, we don't tell you how to de-restrict them)!

 

Our built bikes are rear wheel driven, as we think bikes are designed to be so. The new Urban Compact Clicks also have a 48 tooth chainwheel and 13 toothed cassette in top gear (6 speed), as recommended by existing riders.

 

Our kits, on the other hand, replace the front wheel, for convenience - no need to fiddle with gears already configured on the existing bike. The only issue I have then is that the bike becomes a front wheel drive and so stability of the bike is compromised when accelerating through loose surfaces (gravel for instance). Not everyone agrees this is a serious issue and some argue that two-wheel drive is better (rider on the rear wheel, motor on the front).

 

To fit the kit into the front forks requires good quality forks (strong, especially at the drop-outs) and a minimum distance of 98mm between those drop-outs, parallel along the forks for 60mm or so.

 

Have you discovered The Bike Centre at Romsey, which may be even closer to you than Swindon, though with a smaller range of makes to try.

 

Hope this helps.

Edited October 25, 201312 yr by JuicyBike

One key difference is that the Wisper has hub gears so it is a case of whether you want a bike with hub gears or not. Good luck with the search!

 

Do they make a big difference then Electrifying Bicycles? I see you sell that particular bike - am I right in thinking it has a soft start throttle feature and the lights also operate separately should you run out of charge?

Bob - you have been very informative which is also good to know if one does purchase a Juicy bike or kit as it inspires a little more confidence. I'm definitely going to go for a ready made bike now as it just isn't worth trying a DIY job with the choice of bikes now available. I look forward to reading about your new Urban Compact when it is up on the website. The changes sound good and on a purely superficial level I like the tan accessories...especially with the olive colour :-)

Bob - you have been very informative which is also good to know if one does purchase a Juicy bike or kit as it inspires a little more confidence. I'm definitely going to go for a ready made bike now as it just isn't worth trying a DIY job with the choice of bikes now available. I look forward to reading about your new Urban Compact when it is up on the website. The changes sound good and on a purely superficial level I like the tan accessories...especially with the olive colour :-)

 

Well, that's very kind of you to say. Thankyou.

 

We're gradually adding the new ranges to our new website, which you can sneak a preview of here, though it is not "live" yet.

The Urban compact is not yet listed, but you can glimpse a new colour range (Heath) which will be available to the Compact range. Currently Heath is shown at the Sport Click gallery images.

 

Any feedback about the new site gratefully received.

All the homework in the world is irrelevant if you don't feel good on the bike...you are at the stage of getting out and test riding some bikes....KudosDave

All the homework in the world is irrelevant if you don't feel good on the bike...you are at the stage of getting out and test riding some bikes....KudosDave

 

KudosDave - you are quite right and in an ideal world that is exactly where I would be right now...test riding all your lovely bikes, wind in my hair! But as I mentioned earlier in this thread I am not quite fit and healthy enough for that yet (being at the tail end of a severe M.E./CFS relapse) so it will be a little longer till that is possible. In the meantime (in my excitement at the thought of having an ebike) I have thoroughly enjoyed researching the options and have learnt an awful lot (thanks to all you helpful forum members) and narrowed it down to 3 or 4 suitable bikes. This will save a lot of time and energy when it comes to testing them out. As they say, knowledge is power :-)

Do they make a big difference then Electrifying Bicycles? I see you sell that particular bike - am I right in thinking it has a soft start throttle feature and the lights also operate separately should you run out of charge?

 

Hub gears are just easier for riding in town and lower maintenance. That is not to say there is anything wrong with Derraileur gears, just best to decide what suits you. The bike has an independant throttle (twist grip) up to 15mph.