I'm thinking of doing an ebike conversion, either using my old 2021 Boardman Hyb 8.6, or else buying a cheap donor bike like a Carrera Subway 1.

 

The Boardman's drivetrain isn't functioning so well. Keeping it indexed correctly is a constant battle. I've clocked up about 8000 km on it, servicing it myself along the way, but my bike repair skills aren't great so I guess it hasn't gotten proper attention over the years.

 

My question is, would it be better to take it to a bike shop and get them get the drivetrain up to scratch before converting it to an ebike, or would it be better to trade it in for a cheap new donor bike like the Carrera Subway 1?

 

Also, would a mid drive or rear hub conversion kit be a better option with those bikes? I'll be doing a conversion that complies with EU law.

 

Edit..I should add that this bike will mainly be used for a winter commute (15k round-trip) in a moderately hilly area

Edited August 4, 2025Aug 4 by GaryRoyce

I'm thinking of doing an ebike conversion, either using my old 2021 Boardman Hyb 8.6, or else buying a cheap donor bike like a Carrera Subway 1.

 

The Boardman's drivetrain isn't functioning so well. Keeping it indexed correctly is a constant battle. I've clocked up about 8000 km on it, servicing it myself along the way, but my bike repair skills aren't great so I guess it hasn't gotten proper attention over the years.

 

My question is, would it be better to take it to a bike shop and get them get the drivetrain up to scratch before converting it to an ebike, or would it be better to trade it in for a cheap new donor bike like the Carrera Subway 1?

 

Also, would a mid drive or rear hub conversion kit be a better option with those bikes? I'll be doing a conversion that complies with EU law.

 

Edit..I should add that this bike will mainly be used for a winter commute (15k round-trip) in a moderately hilly area

When you have a motor to help you, you don't need all the stuff that you have on an expensive bike that makes it expensive. For a winter commuter bike, a cheap catalogue MTB bike is perfect as a donor as long as it has a triangle frame and disc brakes. You can buy such bikes from Facebook, Ebay, Gumtree and places like that for about £100. A decent kit would be about £400 plus.

 

On the other hand you can buy ready-made ebikes from Amazon and Ebay for about the same amount of money, which saves a lot of messing about.

 

The most important factors when buying or converting a bike are your weight, the type of hills you encounter, your fitness and how far you want to go. You didn't tell us any of that, so it's not possible to give specific advice. My general advice would be to get 48v if you're over 90 kg and 36v if you're less, but it all depends on the other factors too.

 

Hub-motors are better for commuter bikes. They're more reliable, lower cost, need less maintenance, give a better ride and give your drive-train an easy time. The only advantage of crank-motors that I can think of is easier installation on most bikes, but why would you want to save a little time and effort on installation, only to be condemmed to years of inferior riding.

Edited August 4, 2025Aug 4 by saneagle

Thanks Saneagle. I currently commute to work on the non-electric boardman hub 8.6, it's a 15km round-trip, the last 2km of which are an average 5% uphill gradient.

 

I'm 5ft10, 150lbs... That commute is fine for me in the summer, but it's a bit miserable at times in the winter so I think an ebike might help.

 

I'm really just trying to figure out if I should spend say £150 getting the Boardman drivetrain in shape, or trade it in at Halfords and get a new Camera Subway 1 for the same £150? 2nd hand is an option, but I wouldn't be great at recognising any issues a 2nd hand bike might have.

 

Once that bit is decided. I need to figure out if rear hub or mid-drive is the best option.

Boardman Hyb 8.6s are a great donor bike, nice and simple and light and everything fits but you would need to get the gears working properly. I've recently converted a Hyb8.6 for my friend's wife. I've also done a Carrera Crossfire for my niece - that works great, but I changed the brakes to cable actuated hydraulic brakes

 

https://www.pedelecs.co.uk/forum/threads/i-may-never-bother-to-pedal-again.36483/post-742164

Go to a Local Bike Shop and ask them to sort the gears and then convert that ?

Thanks Peter. That was my first thought, converting the Boardman.

 

What I like about the Boardman is that it's fairly light and nimble. Neither of those things will be a factor after conversion! What I don't like about it is that I really feel every bump on the road when riding it. For that reason I am considering something with wider tyres and more mountain bike style. I'm torn!

 

Did you use a rear hub or mid drive on your conversion?

Rear hub, the details are in the linked post. I think it came to about 16kg weight total including battery

 

If you take it to a local bike shop, ask what the max tyre width it would take. I have put 2.1" width tyres on some folders and that seemed to cushion the ride

Oh, I didn't notice the link. That's very helpful, thanks!

I converted a cheap Carrera with front suspension, she uses it every day for work, seems fine. Obviously a bit heavier but you don't notice it when you are riding

 

Just make sure it has disc brakes, on the advice of other forumites I upgraded this one to cable actuated hydraulic brakes (cheap and easy)

 

https://www.pedelecs.co.uk/forum/threads/revisiting-my-first-conversion.48596/post-744156

I have some reservations. If you can't sort out gears, you're probably going to have trouble with a conversion. The very least you have to do is adjust the gears to get correct indexing, but there are frequent other problems that need sorting. You have to get all the spacing correct with a hub-motor and the chainline correct with a crank motor, plus it's quite common to find the chain keeps jumping off a single chainwheel crank motor, so you have to figure out some sort of guide system to keep it on. If you're not capable of sorting out your gears yourself, I think you should be looking for a complete ready-made ebike, not a conversion.

I wondered if it was something slightly more complicated, e.g. bent derailleur hanger

I wondered if it was something slightly more complicated, e.g. bent derailleur hanger

In a fit of AliExpress sales madness, I bought this, which I may never have need to use.

 

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005006340222478.html

 

 

...but I have yet to reassemble my 26" Dahon Espresso folder, so who knows, I may yet.

Yea,I think I'll take it to a bike shop a let them identify the issue and see how much it would cost to fix and then go from there.

 

I'd like to either fix the Boardman or trade it in/buy cheap doner and convert for £600 or less. I'll see if that's possible....I would imagine you get more bang for your buck with a cheap conversion that a cheap Chinese brand bike?

Outer gear cables can be filled with gunge sometimes, making indexing tricky. I always throw the old ones away, outer and inner, whenever I buy a used bike. Your bike seems well used.

 

I haven't had cause to try one but, mobile bike repair services are cropping up in my area, now that local bike shops have closed, offering lower prices than they did or Halfords does. A dude rolls up with a van filled with tools and bike parts, does it onsite whileuwait. Bonus if the dude's van doesn't have fake plates and he doesn't nick your bike.

Edited August 4, 2025Aug 4 by guerney

You say your Boardman has done 8000k and you do the servicing yourself. How many chains have you replaced and how often? Have you replaced the rear cassette or front chain set? If not it's likely at that mileage that all will be worn and need replacing. If you just fit a new chain on worn cogs it will probably jump off. If you go to a bike shop be prepared for a big bill!

I am taking delivery of a shop-soiled Subway 2 with hydraulic disc brakes tomorrow (at £231.00 inc. delivery it's a bargain with only a few minor scratches). It will be my fourth Yosepower conversion and they are very straightforward to fit. If you aren't confident though, I would take saneagle's recommendation to buy a ready made cheap ebike from Amazon or Ebay. You can always come here for advice on how to upgrade it afterwards if needed.

Post some links here before you buy anything.

Edited August 4, 2025Aug 4 by Cadence

Yes, for example https://www.yosepower.co.uk/products/36v350w-26-28-rear-e-bike-conversion-kit-for-cassette-with-36v13ah-hl1-battery

 

£325 for 28" wheel + kit + battery

8000 kilometres (rather than miles) in the 4 years I've had it... My 'servicing' has amounted to a new chain every 12 months and a couple of gear cable changes along the way. I clean and re-lube the chain every couple of months... Definitely not enough, I know, which is probably why it's not in a great state of repair!

8000 kilometres (rather than miles) in the 4 years I've had it... My 'servicing' has amounted to a new chain every 12 months and a couple of gear cable changes along the way. I clean and re-lube the chain every couple of months... Definitely not enough, I know, which is probably why it's not in a great state of repair!

 

Sorry, yes Km not miles. Your maintenance is a lot better than some, but I think at that mileage (kilometerage? ) your cassette and chainrings might be due for a change.

New alternative, with good customer support

 

https://wooshbikes.co.uk/?faro

Just on the drivetrain question, you could fit a very decent Shimano setup with long term perfect indexing for probably cheaper than a bike shop might charge to fix what you have.

 

My original 9 speed Alivio was rubbish. After the first couple of months, wouldn't go a week without constant fiddling. After about 18 months or so, upgraded to 11 speed M5100 and have had perfect indexing over 18,000 miles. I'm on the third cassette. Up and down shifts, click and it's done.

 

Shop around for the components and it can be done for not much more than £100. I get up to 9,000 miles from a cassette.

 

You don't need 11 speed on a hub motor, but goes very nicely on a mid-drive. I use 11-51T for great hill climbing ability.

Yea,I think I'll take it to a bike shop a let them identify the issue and see how much it would cost to fix and then go from there.

 

I'd like to either fix the Boardman or trade it in/buy cheap doner and convert for £600 or less. I'll see if that's possible....I would imagine you get more bang for your buck with a cheap conversion that a cheap Chinese brand bike?

VARUN Electric Bikes for Adults, 27.5" Mountain Bike with 48V 624Wh Battery, 55NM 250W Motor, LCD Display, 5 PAS, Electric Bicycle 21 Speed Gear, Mileage up to 100KM : Amazon.co.uk: Sports & Outdoors

 

Don't forget that the kit you're thinking of buying is all Chinese and most of your present bike comes from China and Taiwan.

For the commute you describe and your (light) weight you will change gears far less often than with a non electric bike

 

Even with just 100w from you and a controller and motor that are quite modest power you are flying up that hill at 23 km/h

 

Edited August 5, 2025Aug 5 by Peter.Bridge