February 5Feb 5 After initial introductions in my welcome from sunny Cornwall thread I am looking at the following bikes. https://crazybirdbike.co.uk/products/crazybird-c3-ebike or https://www.punkride.com/products/duotts-c29-electric-bike-single-battery-750w-motor-25-km-h-max-speed-100-km-range-29-2-1-tires-shimano-21-speed-disc-brakes-front-suspension-rear-rack-foldable-design?variant=45856912277653¤cy=GBP&country=GB&tw_source=google&tw_adid=&tw_campaign=21973630988&tw_kwdid=&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=21977608921 Bike will be used mostly for around town and bi-weekly visits to the ice cream shop/sorry black coffee no sugar shop in Looe. That is a 14 mile around trip with some steep inclines. Hope to expand as fittness improves to get at some of my favourite places around Cornwall and Devon I have not been able to get too over the last few Years due to not being able to walk more than a few hundred yards from car. I have serviced and maintained my own motorbikes for 40+ years so with that and a max budget of £700 I am looking at either a chinese bike or second hand from a trusted seller. As long as the basic design and build is sound I can improve things as time and funds allow. Interested in opinions on the two bikes above or any alternatives. My initial thought is I prefer the 7 speeds on the Crazybird rather than the 21 speed. K.I.S.S.
February 5Feb 5 Note the 250w version of the crazybird is not available, and the 500w one is illegal. The punkride is 750w, so not legal. Saneagle pointed out the 250w in your other thread; maybe he didn't stress enough that is a legal maximum. In the past you might have got away with an overpowerful motor, but the police have been really cracking down recently. The 250w maximum is a continuous rated value, what the manufacturer says. They all can push much more than that peak. The rules come from the EAPC (electrically assisted pedal cycle) regulations for ebikes you can ride as if they were a bike. Anything above that counts as a moped; license, registration, insurance, helmet, etc required; and no riding on bridleways, cycle paths etc.
February 5Feb 5 First of all, if you are 6' 6" and weigh 15 stone and live in a hilly area, a 10 Ah battery is never going to be enough. Next, no electric bike needs 21 gears. Next, 29" wheels, although fashionable, are a hinderance, the smaller the wheels the more torque for getting up hills. 26" wheels are a good option. My advice would be to buy any bike that Saneagle recommends, he has a lot of knowledge, and has an eye for a bargain. Edited February 5Feb 5 by Waspy
February 5Feb 5 After initial introductions in my welcome from sunny Cornwall thread I am looking at the following bikes. https://crazybirdbike.co.uk/products/crazybird-c3-ebike or https://www.punkride.com/products/duotts-c29-electric-bike-single-battery-750w-motor-25-km-h-max-speed-100-km-range-29-2-1-tires-shimano-21-speed-disc-brakes-front-suspension-rear-rack-foldable-design?variant=45856912277653¤cy=GBP&country=GB&tw_source=google&tw_adid=&tw_campaign=21973630988&tw_kwdid=&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=21977608921 Bike will be used mostly for around town and bi-weekly visits to the ice cream shop/sorry black coffee no sugar shop in Looe. That is a 14 mile around trip with some steep inclines. Hope to expand as fittness improves to get at some of my favourite places around Cornwall and Devon I have not been able to get too over the last few Years due to not being able to walk more than a few hundred yards from car. I have serviced and maintained my own motorbikes for 40+ years so with that and a max budget of £700 I am looking at either a chinese bike or second hand from a trusted seller. As long as the basic design and build is sound I can improve things as time and funds allow. Interested in opinions on the two bikes above or any alternatives. My initial thought is I prefer the 7 speeds on the Crazybird rather than the 21 speed. K.I.S.S. The first one's battery is a bit on the small side. It'll give you a range of about 30 miles if you pedal moderately hard. The second one says it has a 750w motor, so you're out. You don't need to worry about 21-speed gears. The gears on both bikes are the same, except the 21-speed has three rings at the front, which you don't have to use if you want to. 48v bikes are generally a bit more expensive than £700. here's one I found that's nice and standard so easy to repair and upgrade: VARUN M27-1—Ideal for All-Terrain Use, Shimano 21-Speed with 27" Tires – Varun Electric Bike Edited February 5Feb 5 by saneagle
February 5Feb 5 Author First of all, if you are 6' 6" and weigh 15 stone and live in a hilly area, a 10 Ah battery is never going to be enough. Next, no electric bike needs 21 gears. Next, 29" wheels, although fashionable, are a hinderance, the smaller the wheels the more torque for getting up hills. 26" wheels are a good option. My advice would be to buy any bike that Saneagle recommends, he has a lot of knowledge, and has an eye for a bargain. Hi, looking more like fprgeting the C29 and looking a the Crazybird which is available in 250w motor guise. When you say 10ah not enough are you talking about duration? I am guessing the bat would be minimum of 1c discharge so would put out 500w well above the 250 w continuos power that the motor can achieve.
February 5Feb 5 The 250W version is not available today, don't be fooled by the discounted price into buying the 500W version. If you are found out it goes straight to the crusher, and your licence gets a few new codes on it. Not worth it. Plenty other similar basic bikes available. 48V 10Ah is 480Wh which with your weight and significant hills limits range. Some of the alternatives have up to twice the battery capacity and not necessarily much more expensive.
February 5Feb 5 Note the 250w version of the crazybird is not available, and the 500w one is illegal. I made an error there. The 250w version is available in orange. As waspy points out, a 10Ah battery may not be enough. It depends on the quality of the cells how reliably and consistently it can drive the current you need without significant voltage sag. The riding distance exceeds 70 miles is optimistic, light rider, flat road, good road surface, no wind, etc. For you in Cornwall it could be down to 20 miles. You might be better off with 26" wheels, but 700c (even with big tyres) shouldn't be a deal breaker. It is a very heavy bike. 25kg is typical for a robust hybrid style ebike. This one is 35kg. You may be used to that if you used to have motor bikes, but it is quite a lump.
February 5Feb 5 Author I made an error there. The 250w version is available in orange. As waspy points out, a 10Ah battery may not be enough. It depends on the quality of the cells how reliably and consistently it can drive the current you need without significant voltage sag. The riding distance exceeds 70 miles is optimistic, light rider, flat road, good road surface, no wind, etc. For you in Cornwall it could be down to 20 miles. You might be better off with 26" wheels, but 700c (even with big tyres) shouldn't be a deal breaker. It is a very heavy bike. 25kg is typical for a robust hybrid style ebike. This one is 35kg. You may be used to that if you used to have motor bikes, but it is quite a lump. Yes Orange (5 Laverda Jotas for any old motoecyclists out there all in orange!) is my preferred colour so I knew it was in stock, but not going to be able to afford it untill 19th so fingers crossed they do not go up in price or out of stock. Whats the score with making your own batteries up or aftermaket batteries, what I am thinking is buy the bike, toodle around town while I build fittness level up, then when funds allow buy spare battery or make one up, have plenty of 48v Lipos here already most only 5mah but all very good at delivering up to 50c bursts.
February 5Feb 5 Yes Orange (5 Laverda Jotas for any old motoecyclists out there all in orange!) is my preferred colour so I knew it was in stock, but not going to be able to afford it untill 19th so fingers crossed they do not go up in price or out of stock. Whats the score with making your own batteries up or aftermaket batteries, what I am thinking is buy the bike, toodle around town while I build fittness level up, then when funds allow buy spare battery or make one up, have plenty of 48v Lipos here already most only 5mah but all very good at delivering up to 50c bursts. Back in the old days before we had decent batteries, I used to use lipos. They work, but you have to consider the dangers and how you're going to monitor them and cut off when they're empty. It's not really worth it now when you consider the low cost and convenience of charging ebike batteries. If you want to swap batteries around make sure that the bike you buy uses a standard battery that you can get from Ebay.
February 6Feb 6 https://ebay.us/m/51RhE7 I've got one of these (I bought direct from the manufacturer via Alibaba, seller Duotts Technology Co Ltd (make sure you buy the 250w version - mine has 250w stamped on the motor but no other stickers). This seems to come with hydraulic brakes ( mine was cable brakes when I bought it and I upgraded to hydraulic) Despite 29" wheels it is very good on hills (has a 48v 20A controller). Tyres are crap. The pedal assist is very laggy, takes some time to kick in and some time for the motor to stop once you stop pedalling (although pressing the brakes stops the motor immediately). Eta Another option is to get a nice well maintained / hardly used bike off Facebook and convert it yourself using generic parts. You will have a much better spec bike with a nice control system and be able to maintain it yourself and replace / upgrade parts in the future for a total of £700. Say ££200 for aa second hand bike and £500 for motor wheel, controller, display, pas sensor and battery. The bikes I've converted are much better value than the ones I've bought Edited February 6Feb 6 by Peter.Bridge
February 6Feb 6 Author https://ebay.us/m/51RhE7 I've got one of these (I bought direct from the manufacturer via Alibaba, seller Duotts Technology Co Ltd (make sure you buy the 250w version - mine has 250w stamped on the motor but no other stickers). This seems to come with hydraulic brakes ( mine was cable brakes when I bought it and I upgraded to hydraulic) Despite 29" wheels it is very good on hills (has a 48v 20A controller). Tyres are crap. The pedal assist is very laggy, takes some time to kick in and some time for the motor to stop once you stop pedalling (although pressing the brakes stops the motor immediately). Eta Another option is to get a nice well maintained / hardly used bike off Facebook and convert it yourself using generic parts. You will have a much better spec bike with a nice control system and be able to maintain it yourself and replace / upgrade parts in the future for a total of £700. Say ££200 for aa second hand bike and £500 for motor wheel, controller, display, pas sensor and battery. The bikes I've converted are much better value than the ones I've bought Thank you apart from the large wheels that seams to fit all the recommendations that Seneagle suggested. I realise with my budget I am going to have to make some compromises. The lag I am sure i could get used to, cannot be worse than the turbo lag on my old GPZ 750 turbo, that was truly terrifying when you backed off at 120mph and it felt like the bike speeded up. Will have to contact them about battery size they say 15ah then in the spec it's 13.5ah, definitely a contender and if I can still get it at £50 off in two weeks the cheapest option so far, leaving enough to replace the stock tyres with whatever people recommend.
February 6Feb 6 Author https://ebay.us/m/51RhE7 I've got one of these (I bought direct from the manufacturer via Alibaba, seller Duotts Technology Co Ltd (make sure you buy the 250w version - mine has 250w stamped on the motor but no other stickers). This seems to come with hydraulic brakes ( mine was cable brakes when I bought it and I upgraded to hydraulic) Despite 29" wheels it is very good on hills (has a 48v 20A controller). Tyres are crap. The pedal assist is very laggy, takes some time to kick in and some time for the motor to stop once you stop pedalling (although pressing the brakes stops the motor immediately). Eta Another option is to get a nice well maintained / hardly used bike off Facebook and convert it yourself using generic parts. You will have a much better spec bike with a nice control system and be able to maintain it yourself and replace / upgrade parts in the future for a total of £700. Say ££200 for aa second hand bike and £500 for motor wheel, controller, display, pas sensor and battery. The bikes I've converted are much better value than the ones I've bought Sorry I missed the bit about conversion, been looking at the hub motor conversion, would also mean I could check out if I can pedal before spending lots of money. Also got access to a lathe and milling machine so could knock up any custom parts I needed. Then have friend who can weld alli so very useful. Already trying to figure out walking stick holder which I would need.
February 6Feb 6 Sorry I missed the bit about conversion, been looking at the hub motor conversion, would also mean I could check out if I can pedal before spending lots of money. Also got access to a lathe and milling machine so could knock up any custom parts I needed. Then have friend who can weld alli so very useful. Already trying to figure out walking stick holder which I would need. If you are 6'6" you could buy an extra large bike as a donor bike and it would be a much better fit than a "one size fits all" Chinese bike. Its really not complicated to convert, especially if you buy a donor bike that's easy to convert - takes half a day.
February 6Feb 6 Few ideas from marketplace https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/2085486921984475/ https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/2257199448100499/ https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/1825930718004703/ https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/1424364789476898/ https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/1206958058308193/ https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/827236380333763/ Add hub motor wheel and 48V controller/ display / pas sensor + 48v battery
February 6Feb 6 Author Few ideas from marketplace https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/2085486921984475/ https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/2257199448100499/ https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/1825930718004703/ https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/1424364789476898/ https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/1206958058308193/ https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/827236380333763/ Add hub motor wheel and 48V controller/ display / pas sensor + 48v battery Have a feeling I will be heading to Callington if I can talk my mate into taking me!
February 6Feb 6 On your budget I'd be looking for a European/US made mid engine (preferably Bosch motor) second hand e-bike! You would have a much better bike without the hassle of self building and/or a poorly balanced rear hub set up, also much more likely to have support/spares locally online or even at an LBS! It's a buyers market out there, everyone wants the latest and greatest and even brand new bikes are available with big discounts specially for last years models so trying to sell a 2nd hand e-bike is very hard. I sold a 2019 Haibike with Gen 3 Bosch motor last year for Euro 550,- nice bike good order only about 3k miles, put it in at Euro 650 and nobody was knocking my door down to get it (one dodgy dealer offered me just 200,-), sold it to a delivery guy in the end for Euro 100 less.
February 6Feb 6 Have a feeling I will be heading to Callington if I can talk my mate into taking me! Converting a bike is good fun if you are handy with tools which it sounds like you are. It takes little bit of fiddling with washers/spacers to get the rear wheel and caliper sorted but it's easy. then you have cabling to tidy up but I'm quite good at that, it's all basic stuff. I don't bother with throttles and brake cut-offs, but some people like them. The bonus of a conversion kit is each part can be replaced easily should they go wrong, you can forget all that if you buy a ready-made Ebike from the major manufacturers, they don't like people fixing their own bikes. Most of us here go to Woosh Bikes or Yose Power for conversion kits. Also, Topbikekit in China is a great site for Ebike stuff. Get yourself to Callington! I had a go on my mate's Jota years back, a very powerful back back in the day. I had another mate with a 750 GPZ Turbo which I dared not try, and this was considered the best turbo with the least lag, but no thanks.
February 6Feb 6 I think the main thing about e-bikes is to use them. I converted an old Extra Small Gary Fisher MTB for my sister and she uses it in the very hilly North York Moors and for commuting - she's done thousands of miles - did a coast to coast off road route last year and is planning to do another one this year. She goes out with all her mates that have Bosch bikes for weekend cycles and not had any problems with it (apart from one hedge trimming thorn puncture despite her Marathon 365 tyres - her friends seem to get lots more punctures) Its transformed her life ! Edited February 6Feb 6 by Peter.Bridge
February 6Feb 6 Author Converting a bike is good fun if you are handy with tools which it sounds like you are. It takes little bit of fiddling with washers/spacers to get the rear wheel and caliper sorted but it's easy. then you have cabling to tidy up but I'm quite good at that, it's all basic stuff. I don't bother with throttles and brake cut-offs, but some people like them. The bonus of a conversion kit is each part can be replaced easily should they go wrong, you can forget all that if you buy a ready-made Ebike from the major manufacturers, they don't like people fixing their own bikes. Most of us here go to Woosh Bikes or Yose Power for conversion kits. Also, Topbikekit in China is a great site for Ebike stuff. Get yourself to Callington! I had a go on my mate's Jota years back, a very powerful back back in the day. I had another mate with a 750 GPZ Turbo which I dared not try, and this was considered the best turbo with the least lag, but no thanks. I really do like the idea of conversion, I can buy a bike and spend the next couple of weeks stripping it and servicing it, then when I have the pennies go for a conversion kit. Been reading about them in the conversion section. My Laverda's left me with a life long love of triples Here is my old girl bought new in 1993 and I have done 156000 miles on her, hopefully will get my license back and we will top 200000 together! But I really think that an electric bike will get me out and about now and allow me access to places I have not been able to walk to in years!
February 6Feb 6 I really do like the idea of conversion, I can buy a bike and spend the next couple of weeks stripping it and servicing it, then when I have the pennies go for a conversion kit. That's exactly what I do, sort out the bicycle itself first before I start looking at conversion kits and batteries. This is my Trek 4300 which I converted about 3 years ago using a rear wheel Woosh kit. And this is my Carrera Intercity Disc 8 forder (me and Peter.Bridge are rather keen on these), which I converted (front wheel this time) last summer using a combination of bits from Yose Power and Topbikekit. Both are 36v and go up hills easily. I weigh 80KG, I think Saneagle recommends anyone weighing more than 80KG should go for 48V My Laverda's left me with a life long love of triples Here is my old girl bought new in 1993 and I have done 156000 miles on her, hopefully will get my license back and we will top 200000 together! But I really think that an electric bike will get me out and about now and allow me access to places I have not been able to walk to in years! That's impressive mileage! The best thing about Ebikes is it removes the misery of hills and people tend to ride much further.
February 6Feb 6 I really do like the idea of conversion, I can buy a bike and spend the next couple of weeks stripping it and servicing it, then when I have the pennies go for a conversion kit. Been reading about them in the conversion section. My Laverda's left me with a life long love of triples Here is my old girl bought new in 1993 and I have done 156000 miles on her, hopefully will get my license back and we will top 200000 together! But I really think that an electric bike will get me out and about now and allow me access to places I have not been able to walk to in years! There's no point in stripping and servicing the bike first. Bikes go decades without needing anything other than chains and sprockets. You'll be dealing with the bottom bracket, chain, sprockets and shifters when you do the conversion, so it's better to do any servicing as you go. The only other thing is the brakes. You should be looking for a donor bike with disc brakes, triangular frame, and conventional bottom bracket. Many good cheap bikes have cable disc brakes, which should be immediately upgraded to hydraulic at a cost of about £30 to £40 and takes about 5 minutes each. Hydraulic brakes never need adjustment nor any other servicing, except pad change every 5,000 miles or so.
February 6Feb 6 Author There's no point in stripping and servicing the bike first. Bikes go decades without needing anything other than chains and sprockets. You'll be dealing with the bottom bracket, chain, sprockets and shifters when you do the conversion, so it's better to do any servicing as you go. The only other thing is the brakes. You should be looking for a donor bike with disc brakes, triangular frame, and conventional bottom bracket. Many good cheap bikes have cable disc brakes, which should be immediately upgraded to hydraulic at a cost of about £30 to £40 and takes about 5 minutes each. Hydraulic brakes never need adjustment nor any other servicing, except pad change every 5,000 miles or so. I am going to try and get a mate to take me to callington to look at this, would be grateful for any comments you have as a "base?" bike? https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/1604089333937241/?ref=search&referral_code=null&referral_story_type=post&tracking=browse_serp%3Ab154c909-5904-4160-af65-e8b3a4eef240 In case you are not on facebook. Large boardman lightweight road bike with straight bars.20 speed very clean bike.Hydraulic brakes and clip pedals.Collect Callington Cornwall
February 6Feb 6 I am going to try and get a mate to take me to callington to look at this, would be grateful for any comments you have as a "base?" bike? https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/1604089333937241/?ref=search&referral_code=null&referral_story_type=post&tracking=browse_serp%3Ab154c909-5904-4160-af65-e8b3a4eef240 In case you are not on facebook. [ATTACH type=full" alt="65245]65245[/ATTACH] Large boardman lightweight road bike with straight bars.20 speed very clean bike.Hydraulic brakes and clip pedals.Collect Callington Cornwall Hydraulic brakes - good - should be OK with 10 speed cassette (although you don't really need that many gears). Might need to stretch the rear dropouts to get the rear wheel in I think [mention=3847]saneagle[/mention] converted one of those Boardman Hybrids for "The Gadget Show"
February 6Feb 6 I am going to try and get a mate to take me to callington to look at this, would be grateful for any comments you have as a "base?" bike? https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/1604089333937241/?ref=search&referral_code=null&referral_story_type=post&tracking=browse_serp%3Ab154c909-5904-4160-af65-e8b3a4eef240 In case you are not on facebook. [ATTACH type=full" alt="65245]65245[/ATTACH] Large boardman lightweight road bike with straight bars.20 speed very clean bike.Hydraulic brakes and clip pedals.Collect Callington Cornwall It looks pretty good to me. I converted one of those and it was featured on the Gadget Show. Jason won by a mile on it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RewCC2lqaS8:55
February 6Feb 6 It looks pretty good to me. I converted one of those and it was featured on the Gadget Show. Jason won by a mile on it. That settles it then Baloo666, off to Callington you pop. Get yourself a rear hub kit with a decent battery from Woosh, you'll have a very nice Ebike that can be easily fixed should you need to (my Woosh kit has been faultless for 3 years) for a total spend of about £700. Alternatively, pop into your local Giant dealership, stick 4 grand on your credit card for a bike and pray nothing goes wrong, because they will totally rinse you if it does.
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