February 17, 20242 yr So I'm thinking of just buying all the kit for the conversion of my Genesis Vagabond soon. An upcoming commuting increase to 5 miles each way with nursery drop one way and some elevation gain the other means I'll probably need some help if I'm too avoid feeling knackered by the weekend. So far my shopping list is as below: Bafang Bbs01b - probably from eBay Germany (I'm in the UK) can't see that it's loads cheaper from AliExpress, looking at about £315 for basis kit same battery. Greenlance 48v 13ah battery - will this play well with the 36V motor? £205 w/discount Hydro brake sensors - included in above kit SW102 display - included in above kit Gear shift sensor Programming cable Lockring tool so I can use my torque wrench Loctite 222 Zip ties I'm hoping I might be able to use my Middleburn cranks but I think the taper is quite short on the bafang. Anything in missing, or hot tips on better places to buy? My budget is a little flexible but I've a few other bits to get like new tyres and bars so definitely as low as possible without regretting it later.
February 17, 20242 yr https://reddragonebikes.co.uk/product-category/bafang-motors/ if you use the programming cable to push more amps you loose the warranty which is fair enough but more amps= more speed and less range. cheap batts from china dont last long buy cheap buy twice
February 17, 20242 yr Author https://reddragonebikes.co.uk/product-category/bafang-motors/ cheap batts from china dont last long buy cheap buy twice Do Greenlance fall in to this category? Definitely keen to not skimp on the battery or charger. Would also happily pay for a charger that shuts itself off when it's reached capacity if such a thing exists, although maybe this would encourage complacency from me. I wonder if Red Dragon are local to me, they appear to be in Wales though I can't place exactly where.
February 17, 20242 yr Author The other thing that puzzles me is whether 2 water bottle bosses are enough for the battery mounting, assuming it fits in the frame in the right place.
February 17, 20242 yr yeah there in wales and wont sell you a cheap naff batt in the first place as just not worth it sure it is a bit more money but any problems and will get sorted. there is a custom batt builder in my sig but is very busy and not cheap, more for custom builds. m8 has a bbshd maxed at 30 amps on the controller and his batt is held on with 2 bolts and some green lock tight stuff that needs 300c to remove it
February 17, 20242 yr Author Not sure I fully understand the amps thing, I'm not looking to go outside of EAPC spec as I'll be getting the sprog. Seen the high torque mod model from that Brighton company but I won't be pulling much weight uphill most of the time so I think stock BBS01B should do me most of the time, just aware I might want to tweak a few things.
February 17, 20242 yr Bafang Bbs01b - probably from eBay Germany (I'm in the UK) can't see that it's loads cheaper from AliExpress, looking at about £315 for basis kit same battery. Greenlance 48v 13ah battery - will this play well with the 36V motor? BBS01B controllers aren't dual voltage.
February 17, 20242 yr 48v controller needs a 48 amp batt same for 36 and 52 batt has to match the controllers voltage.
February 18, 20242 yr So I'm thinking of just buying all the kit for the conversion of my Genesis Vagabond soon. An upcoming commuting increase to 5 miles each way with nursery drop one way and some elevation gain the other means I'll probably need some help if I'm too avoid feeling knackered by the weekend. So far my shopping list is as below: Bafang Bbs01b - probably from eBay Germany (I'm in the UK) can't see that it's loads cheaper from AliExpress, looking at about £315 for basis kit same battery. Greenlance 48v 13ah battery - will this play well with the 36V motor? £205 w/discount Hydro brake sensors - included in above kit SW102 display - included in above kit Gear shift sensor Programming cable Lockring tool so I can use my torque wrench Loctite 222 Zip ties I'm hoping I might be able to use my Middleburn cranks but I think the taper is quite short on the bafang. Anything in missing, or hot tips on better places to buy? My budget is a little flexible but I've a few other bits to get like new tyres and bars so definitely as low as possible without regretting it later. I have two Greenlance batteries. Other forum members have bought them too. No problems reported so far. According to the spec, the cells are top quality. The batteries are CE marked from a UK supplier. Delivery is lightning fast. The guys at Greenlance are very accommodating and helpful. What more could you ask for?
February 18, 20242 yr Author BBS01B controllers aren't dual voltage. Ok thanks for confirming. So they do a 16ah 36V battery for £250 so will probably go with that. As far as I can see the BBS01B is only available in a 36V version.
February 18, 20242 yr For some reason I can't find individual batteries on Greenlance site ! Was trying to find what the maximum current output is for the battery you spec. It needs to be around 25% more than the maximum current you program the controller to deliver, in order to not stress the battery.
February 18, 20242 yr Ok thanks for confirming. So they do a 16ah 36V battery for £250 so will probably go with that. As far as I can see the BBS01B is only available in a 36V version. There is a BBS01ET that is 48v - Woosh have them
February 18, 20242 yr For some reason I can't find individual batteries on Greenlance site ! Was trying to find what the maximum current output is for the battery you spec. It needs to be around 25% more than the maximum current you program the controller to deliver, in order to not stress the battery. You click the top left battery labelled "electric bike battery buy now" on the shop page to see the individual batteries. In the details it says 30A BMS, which is fine for Polygon.
February 18, 20242 yr Author You click the top left battery labelled "electric bike battery buy now" on the shop page to see the individual batteries. In the details it says 30A BMS, which is fine for Polygon. This one https://greenlance.co.uk/products/greenlance-e-bike-battery-samsung-electric-bike-battery-36v-16ah?variant=44352834896101 Edit: sorry replied to wrong post there. Another newb question: it says 25-30 mile range, but presumably this isn't fully draining the battery? At what % should I be recharging?
February 18, 20242 yr Author There is a BBS01ET that is 48v - Woosh have them That's actually not a bad price, about £170 more with a 15ah battery, but I'd also need the hydro brake switches on top. Not sure if I'll need the extra 20nm on a day to day basis, but it might be handy to tackle some steeper hills to the north of Cardiff with child on the back occasionally.
February 18, 20242 yr Author Sense say's buy a tsdz instead , the riding t is much better imv . Better in what way? I must say torque sensing does appeal, but for my use case (i.e commuting where the end goal is to expend as little effort as possible for a relatively short distance) from what I have read, it might not actually be the best option. Plus, it's anecdotal, but I'm reading more stories of reliability issues with those than the Bafang.
February 18, 20242 yr This one https://greenlance.co.uk/products/greenlance-e-bike-battery-samsung-electric-bike-battery-36v-16ah?variant=44352834896101 Edit: sorry replied to wrong post there. Another newb question: it says 25-30 mile range, but presumably this isn't fully draining the battery? At what % should I be recharging? There's no such thing as battery range on a pedal assisted bike. How far you can go depends on how hard you pedal, what sort of hills you have and how heavy you are. By way of an example, I set my bike to pedal assist level 5 and emptied the battery in 15 miles. I charged it up, then set my pedal assist to level 1 and it took 129 miles to empty the battery. Any statement that anybody makes about their range is pretty well meaningless unless they put it into context, but, even then, its always going to be subjective.
February 18, 20242 yr That's actually not a bad price, about £170 more with a 15ah battery, but I'd also need the hydro brake switches on top. And the gear sensor. One thing to look out for is that you have the typical modern wide chainstays and small chainwheel. You should check whether there's enough clearance to get a crank-drive in on the right side. That's been a deal-breaker on other bikes. Edited February 18, 20242 yr by saneagle
February 18, 20242 yr Is the 48V BBS01ET controller programmable or locked? The 36V version isn't. At least one BBS02 controller has been reported to be locked on this forum (IIRC [mention=19370]peter.c[/mention]'s), to some extent, for controller current limit at least, also a BBSHD (IIRC [mention=11305]soundwave[/mention]'s mate's). A locked BBSXXX controller would be disappointing for the OP's use case. Edited February 18, 20242 yr by guerney
February 18, 20242 yr Hi, I had to fit this to my downtube as the bottle bolts on the frame were not in the centre of the frame https://www.sigmasports.com/item/Wolf-Tooth-Components/B-RAD-Mounting-Base-3-Slot/HVBO?utm_source=google&utm_medium=base&co=GBR&cu=GBP&glCountry=GB&id=833748&ds_eid=3823279037&ds_e=GOOGLE&ds_c=&ds_cid=20927601266&ds_ag=&ds_agid=161134957601&ds_k=&ds_kid=pla-428528779826&ds_kids=pla-428528779826&gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAiA8sauBhB3EiwAruTRJiILecISb49LQK3uUj1T4aZhwfa1PE1KvAMaYgotVYAqBFaWxfzOqRoC1ugQAvD_BwE I would also recommend buying from velcro straps to hold the battery onto the downtube. If doing this out some helicopter tape on the underside of the downtube to stop scratching the paint, buy 3M stuff, a lot of other stuff is poor quality. If you have crud catcher bolts on the underside of the downtube put the straps in-between the frame and crud catcher. The crud catcher helps keep the straps and battery clean from road under spray. Hope this helps.
February 18, 20242 yr Author Cheers, I'll running full guards so spray shouldn't be a problem. From memory I think I can get an oversized bottle cage on the seat tube plus a ticket one on the down tube so hopefully that means the mounts are reasonably high on the DT.
February 18, 20242 yr Author Is the 48V BBS01ET controller programmable or locked? The 36V version isn't. At least one BBS02 controller has been reported to be locked on this forum (IIRC [mention=19370]peter.c[/mention]'s), to some extent, for controller current limit at least, also a BBSHD (IIRC [mention=11305]soundwave[/mention]'s mate's). A locked BBSXXX controller would be disappointing for the OP's use case. Just to be clear I'll be keeping this UK compliant. The programming cable was an after thought in case I wasn't to tweak other settings.
February 18, 20242 yr Just to be clear I'll be keeping this UK compliant. The programming cable was an after thought in case I wasn't to tweak other settings. Wanting to 'own' stuff you buy needs no qualification ..
February 18, 20242 yr Just to be clear I'll be keeping this UK compliant. The programming cable was an after thought in case I wasn't to tweak other settings. There are other conversion kits you can use, for your stated uses. BBS01B kit sellers might not honour the guarantee if you fiddle about with the firmware, but IIRC Red Dragon bikes don't seem to mind. Best read this thread re: legalities: https://www.pedelecs.co.uk/forum/threads/pedelec-law-the-details.37594/ ...if it takes too long, learn this first https://www.amazon.co.uk/Speed-Reading-Book-revolutionary-comprehension/dp/1406610216 ...then read what the firmware settings do: https://edrivenet.com/bafang-programming/ ...and take a look at my firmware parameter settings. I haven't installed a throttle and there's nothing illegal, yet my particular 20" wheeled folding bike conversion is extremely easy to pedal about all over the place. I'm not fat. If you do buy a 36V BBS01B kit, there are several BBSXXX owners on this forum - I suggest you try your conversion, and post a question should you encounter a niggle. Edited February 18, 20242 yr by guerney
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