thanks all. Any clues on delivery time scales from BMS/china. Ive heard people waiting over a month. I'd sooner find a uk dealer with stock in house ready to go then wait and save a little money.

dont forget import duty if buying from china

Warranty would be another benefit of the Oxygen if you could stretch to it.

 

its worth the extra 200 quid just for that

I have the oxygen 13a battery 36v hub motor kit on a 700c bike. I'm probably not a good judge - I haven't really lived with any other pedelec - but I think I'm missing something: with it's on paper minimal power it bowls me along with 20 kg of stuff at times at an easy 22 to 24 mph and does moderate hills at 15 mph plus and very serious hills at 12 mph plus,again with very little effort. I'm not saying you should get an oxygen ( though I'm extremely happy with it), but I dont really understand why anyone would want more power unless they weigh over twenty stone

thanks again. Im buying at the end of the month so I might try and beg borrow. Ive got time to think about it. Cheers

 

Fair enough.

 

The bike parts of the Oxygen are superior to the Carrera, the motor and electric bits will be similar to the kit.

 

So from your point of view, the extra £200 gets you a better bike, a factory quality installation of the electrics, a decent warranty, and immediate availability.

 

Easy decision in my opinion, but only you know your finances.

 

Buying anything you cannot reasonably afford is never right.

the $370 Q128H kit has the same power as the Oxygen kit and would suit somebody with smaller budget.

You have to factor in £60 to £70 for duty for a complete kit. It seems to have gone up recently.

 

The Q128 at 48v and 20 amps has 50% more power than the Oxydrive kit. The 48v motor will just reach 20 mph, but it has immense torque. If speed is important, the 36v one at 48v will go 30% faster. There's a certain amount of DIY to fit it, like any kit, for which you need to be able to solder.

 

You only really need the that much torque if you're unfit, over 90 kg, and have hills to contend with.

 

For people less than 90kg, the Oxygen MTB takes some beating at £1200.

Three years ago, if you want a quality e-mtb, it had to be a German made Bosch powered 300W e-mtb. The market is now very different because it seems that the most frequently asked question is 'how fast?' - that means Bosch bikes are not what most people want any more.

Still, I can't see Chinese e-mtbs selling for more than £1,200 because of the availability of competent kits like the Oxygen that will transform any quality MTB into a quality e-mtb for around £500. That will leave a budget of £7,00 for a bike with hydraulic brakes and a quality suspension fork.

Anyone looking into a crystal ball will see the imminent rise of self build e-mtbs.

Three years ago, if you want a quality e-mtb, it had to be a German made Bosch powered 300W e-mtb. The market is now very different because it seems that the most frequently asked question is 'how fast?' - that means Bosch bikes are not what most people want any more.

Still, I can't see Chinese e-mtbs selling for more than £1,200 because of the availability of competent kits like the Oxygen that will transform any quality MTB into a quality e-mtb for around £500. That will leave a budget of £7,00 for a bike with hydraulic brakes and a quality suspension fork.

Anyone looking into a crystal ball will see the imminent rise of self build e-mtbs.

I think you need to try installing a few kits on £700 mountain bikes, then you will see that it's not as simple as that.

 

Fitting a kit to a bike is a lot of fun and always a bit challenging, so it gives immense satisfaction when it all works out; however, to achieve that you need basic DIY skills and tools along with some mechanical judgement and nouse. That would be a problem for some people. I'm not trying to put people off because there's always help from this and other forums, but fore sone people, a ready-made bike will always be a better option.

fitting LCD, thumb throttle, battery and motor wheels is currently OK for most DIYers.

Only the pedelec sensor and the brake sensors are challenging. That's a design issue. Soon, there will be better solutions for PAS and HDB sensors.

fitting LCD, thumb throttle, battery and motor wheels is currently OK for most DIYers.

Only the pedelec sensor and the brake sensors are challenging. That's a design issue. Soon, there will be better solutions for PAS and HDB sensors.

You obviously haven't fitted many kits.

ok, thanks all.

Now im looking back at the kits as its been pointed out the frame for an oxygen mtb will be too small for a 6'4" fella.

Thanks RobF.

So Im looking at oxydrive kits but Im not sure how the brake levers would work with most modern bikes. The rest looks pretty simple. ( I am quite handy, honest). More advice would be great. Sorry folks and thanks so far.

Wayne

As somebody else who is 6'4 I would concentrate on finding a frame that is comfortable. Adding the kit takes time but is easier than making a smaller frame comfortable!

Now im looking back at the kits as its been pointed out the frame for an oxygen mtb will be too small for a 6'4" fella.

 

Who told you that, and on what basis?

http://www.cycleworld.co.uk/page/121/CycleWorld_Sizing

 

he should be looking for a very large frame, 23".

The Oxygen 13AH MTB has 19" frame.

 

His original plan was to convert a Carrera with a BBS02 500W CD kit. That plan is still the most sensible, although I think the downtube on the Carrera is a bit too narrow to support a downtube battery.

Who told you that, and on what basis?

 

Dave,

 

I told him that, on the basis you were bound to ruddy well argue with it, as you always do.

 

Anyone who knows anything about bicycles will tell you a 6ft 4in rider will almost certainly be too big for a 19" frame.

 

That's a matter of fact, whether or not you are mates with the bloke selling the bike.

 

For what it's worth, I advised the OP to have a try on one, just in case he could get on with it.

A lot of people tried it at The Cycle Show. I don't rememner anybody saying it was too small for them. There's plenty of room on it. Don't forget that it has 27.5" wheels, which adds to the size of the frame. I can't see it being a problem for someone that tall. I guess he'd have to try it to be sure. The guy that won the World Championships on it was about 6'2". It didn't look small on him. The same with my neighbour, Saneagle. He's well over 6 ft too.

hi all.

I'd just like to finish this tread by saying thanks to all who advised me. I ended up going for a new claud butler and bought the OXYdrive coversion kit as it dropped by £200. Reading the reviews I'm sure its gonna do all I need whilst staying legal. 've placed the order so no going back now.!

 

I went off crank drives when I heard about snapping of chains etc which I can really do without on the way to work.

I'll post a review of things once Ive fitted and trailed it for a few weeks.

 

Thanks again to all.

Which one did you get?

 

Are you still going to fit it to a Carera Subway?

 

It might be a good idea to order a torque arm from Cyclezee or his Ebay listing. Another thing that might be useful is a crank-puller, which you can get from Ebay for about £3. You might not need it, but it might make fitting the magnet disc easier.

13ah rear hub oxydrive kit on 26" wheel ( they dont offer 27.5 kits). Im putting it on a new claud butler as my old bike was a claud and has done me proud. It seems all the newer bikes like the carrera 's are 27.5 wheels. So i figure i'd stick with what I know and I can strip the old bike for any spares I need.

...

I went off crank drives when I heard about snapping of chains etc which I can really do without on the way to work.

.

 

where did you hear snapping of chains?

youtube mostly. inexperienced riders snapping chains and wearing out drive trains. I would be one of those me thinks........

I might try a mid drive on my off roader . maybe go for a 500watt. but for now with finances i hope ive made the right choice.

you have made a good choice, don't worry about that.

About broken chains, they usually have nothing to do with the motors, you need a lot more power to brake a good chain than a 750W motor.

Hi there. Just thought id update this thread.Thanks to all.

My oxydrive kit arrived and ive fitted it to my old battered bike as the new one i ordered still hasnt arrived and i couldnt wait.

Rode it for the first time this morning and couldnt stop smiling all the way to work.

Very smooth. Easy to fit. Easy to use and more than fast enough to get me up those welsh mountains. I really didnt think 250 watts would be enough but this kit is awesome. Granted ive got nothing to compare it with as its the only ebike ive ridden but it does not disapoint.

 

Well done OXY drive.. 1 very happy customer!

Don't forget to use the three power settings as well as the six speed levels in the display.

yeah ive set max speed and acceleration to max. its fab. For a guy who grew up in the fens I just cant cope with the mountains up here.Now I don't need to. Worth every penny.