March 12, 20206 yr Hello, I was wondering if anyone has advice or comments to help me realise my diy e-bike dream?! I basically want to get me, my mountain bike, my 20 month year old son and four bottles of Efes beer up a mountain in Turkey. My boyfriend is building a log cabin at the top of a mountain in Turkey. I can get down the mountain the 7miles to the nearest town relatively easily! So that’s area is covered! Getting back up has proved difficult/not do able. At least for me anyhow! I hired a 250watt hub motor e-bike and attempted the first part of the journey which has a 10% incline and and got about a third of the way home before I had to stop and collapse. I tried the slightly less steep way home without the weight of my child and did manage however. Was a bit out of puff but managed it. Anyhow here is some info I have gathered that should help. If anyone feels like helping me... E-bike calculations... My weight = 54kg Wrigglebum weight = 12kg take into consideration how much Wrigglebum will grow. The seat will take 22kg max Bike weight (including seat) = 20.5kg Bike basket = 1kg (I think, don’t have a basket yet) Nappy bag with water for me and Wrigglebum bottle=5kg X4 Beers =0.35kg Total weight = 92.85kg Mid motor weight=? Battery pack weight=? Total weight now is=? Distance (to centre)... There (downhill) = 6.4miles say 7 miles? Or 12km Back (uphill some is 10% gradient but it’s ALL uphill, sometimes gravel sometimes tarmac) = 6.4miles say 7miles? Or 12km 24km there and back Could calculate just for back? My watts input= ? Not sure, I am slim but that doesn’t mean I’m fit! Hopefully I will get fitter but want to find something where it requires me to do minimum input. I don’t want to go fast. Just want to get up the mountain I am pretty sure I am going to buy my kit from aliexpress tr. I would get a Bafang but unfortunately they don’t ship those to Turkey. Or if they do they charge you the price of the motor again in tax. I have seen a few kits that don’t seem to be branded for about £156. But they are only 450watt. Then looks like I’ll be getting the battery separately. Seen one for £96. They are 500 watt I think. My boyfriend is an Electrician and is going to fit it for me. He has had a bit of input and says I have to make sure I get the right volt of controller. I am aware of the laws in Turkey and they are the same as the UK roughly. If over 250 watts it has to be registered with the police and have tax and insurance. A lot of my local pals say it can’t be done! But I’m sure it can! Any help is greatly appreciated!
March 12, 20206 yr to climb a mountain, you'll need plenty of torque which is the power that turns your motor wheel. As with most things in life, it's a trade off. For the same amount of power, if you want more torque, you trade speed for torque. It means in practice you need a crank motor so you can change gears easily and climb hills slowly. The 250W, 350W, 500W labels on the motors etc are just indications. They are guaranteed not to burn out if you apply continuously that much power to these motors. However, for legal reason, you should choose a 250W motor. What you need first is a good combination to suit your budget and your bike. Let us know how much you want to spend and which bike you want to convert.
March 12, 20206 yr Author Thanks for your reply! so how do I make sure the motor I purchase has lots of tourque? Will it be listed in its specs? Probably have the wrong end of the stick here! I would like a motor bigger than 250 watts. As I said the 250 watt hub motor I tried didn’t work out for me. I am willing to get tax, insurance etc... just whatever it takes. The bike will be staying in Turkey and not going back to the UK. Here you insure the vehicle not the driver so friends could even use it whilst I’m in the UK. My budget is as low as possible really! £300 ish mark. I have been looking on aliexpress tr.It is all in Turkish but I can get a friend to check it over before I order. i have attached a pic of my bike below. hope this extra info helps and thank you again!
March 12, 20206 yr so how do I make sure the motor I purchase has lots of torque? If you want a hub motor, choose a geared hub. If the vendor lists gear reduction ratio: higher ratio is better. If the vendor lists dimensions: larger motor is better. Post the link to what you intend to buy here, we'll check for you. If you want a crank drive motor: choose Bafang BBS01B - it has lots of spares you can buy.
March 12, 20206 yr Author I would like a mid motor or crank drive motor as I have heard they are better for steep hills. I would like a Bafang but they don’t seem to ship to Turkey or if they do it’s about £300 tax/shipping on top. I didn’t even know you could buy bits on this site! Very new to this site. Would you be able to ship to Turkey? Would it be tax free?
March 12, 20206 yr Would you be able to ship to Turkey? Would it be tax free? I can, but you would have to pay VAT on importing from the UK. Your budget is not enough for the whole kit, even with Chinese battery cells. Take a look at local suppliers first, as most suppliers on Aliexpress don't ship to Turkey. You need to budget at least £400-£500 for the kit and taxes.
March 12, 20206 yr Author I will have a look at suppliers here first. Where I will find them I’m not sure but I will try. i could stretch to £400. What would you suggest? Link me! Quote the vat for me too please so I know how much extra that is.
March 12, 20206 yr you can try https://www.greenbikekit.com/ http://www.pswpower.com/ven.php? They ship more cheaply from Germany. Look for BBS01B + 13AH battery. If money is tight, try XF08C rear hub kit + 13AH battery http://www.pswpower.com/ven.php?cargo.2020-35-brmt
March 12, 20206 yr Will an XF08 do it? I thought it was pretty much the same as the XF07 for rear hub. Looking at https://www.ebikes.ca/tools/simulator.html?motor=MXUS_XF07&batt=B3614_PF&hp=25&grade=10&wheel=700c&cont=C20 it looks as if it might be working below 50% efficiency; which will be a lot of heat, especially when the weather is hot. I was maybe a bit pessimistic about OP's input, but even so ... and she will be tired in the heat. And the lower efficiency will take it out on the battery range. We don't know how much is really steep. Does OP know the total height gain up the mountain?
March 12, 20206 yr Author Im not very fit. Trust me! Although as I said I did manage on a 250watt hub but that was without my son or luggage. I’m really not sure how steep it is it’s a curvy road that winds up the mountain so different gradients all along. Never seen anything electric go up it. Only petrol or diesel vehicles. Really want to make this work. my boyfriend thinks 500watt mid drive and battery will work.
March 12, 20206 yr Author Thank you for filling in the calculator for me sjpt! I saw that calculator and I was a bit confused!
March 12, 20206 yr Will an XF08 do it? I thought it was pretty much the same as the XF07 for rear hub. that's the budget choice. I'd rather fit the BBS01B if I were doing it.
March 12, 20206 yr Author I like the green bikes site as it’s easy to navigate. Just tried adding it to my cart to see how much shipping/tax would be and it asked me lots of set up questions. Dunno if I got them right.
March 12, 20206 yr avoid powerful crank motors. They shed a lot of heat, unless you can keep your cadence above 80 RPM. Their controller is more fragile, dies more often. They also require a very good battery to power them. Stick to the 250W BBS01B.
March 12, 20206 yr Author I just spoke to a local supplier and they showed me a motor that is on the back cog. I wasn’t pedal assist. I don’t think in Europe these are allowed. You can pedal if you like but the motor will work without you pedalling. They also said it’s really hard to get anything from China at the moment.
March 12, 20206 yr they are correct. In Europe, you don't use the throttle, you pedal to get assistance but you don't have to push hard on the pedals.
March 12, 20206 yr Author He also suggested a front hub motor. But said some people don’t like to do this as there can be a risk of accident. But said I could go for a lot of watts with this option and it might be good to balance out the weight as my child is on the back.
March 12, 20206 yr He also suggested a front hub motor. But said some people don’t like to do this as there can be a risk of accident. But said I could go for a lot of watts with this option and it might be good to balance out the weight as my child is on the back. That's not good advice because the front is light. A powerful front hub motor can just wheelspin, especially on a loose or damp surface. .
March 12, 20206 yr One problem with front hub can be grip on hills, could be an issue for you where you mentioned gravel on the hills. Child seat on the back could make that worse. (whoops, missed flecc's post) (We have tandem with the XF07 on front ... with weight distribution on the tandem it has never been an issue.) Another is that it requires strong stout front forks and careful fitting (especially with suspension forks) ... as long as those are OK there shouldn't be any extra accident risk.
March 12, 20206 yr A 250w Bafang bbs01 will haul you, your boy and luggage up anything you like I have one my mtb and have hauled my twins in a towing carrier up to top of South downs with a picnic also. In low gear so not fast but that's not the aim here If you can find or stretch to the above Bafang motor I dont think you'll be disappointed. The xf07 i also own and it doesn't have the same torque, having said that it is a great little motor with way more torque that I had expected from the small package.
March 12, 20206 yr 6 - 7 miles up hill is a big ask for any motor, low gearing and a good cadence is essential. Gearing for BBS01 is vital if you don't want to fry the controller. You need to be very fit and a Hoy or a Thomas to climb that mileage with 10% inclines. With the hub motor you tried it really depends on the motor rpm , for hill climbing you need high torque hub a 201rpm wound one or lower rpm. Getting a hub lower then 201rpm is like finding a hen with teeth. Front hub is not ideal for hill climbing if the terrain is loose or you have a lot of rear weight, so either a mid drive with low gearing or 201 rpm hub also will benefit from low gearing as well. Use a good system with lcd & 5 - 0 levels of assist power to give up to 500w of assistance but be warned 6 -7 miles at high assist will and can fry controllers and motors so use extra power only when needed, you will need a good battery. Edited March 13, 20206 yr by Nealh
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