Advice needed on which conversion kit to buy to make my bike electric (1 Viewer)

Sep 9, 2019
832
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Hi boys n girls! We are considering getting our bikes converted/modified into e-bikes. SHMBO and I have decent hybrid type push bikes. Kathryn has had new hip so finds lots of pressure on her right hip from cycling gives her lots of grief for days after a bike ride, coupled to that she’s not a very experienced bike rider! I have narrowed my on line searching down to two methods of electrical propulsion, a rear wheel hub and a mid mount/pedal mount. I want to find out from you guys what you have found about the riding characteristics of your conversion. Do you get instant assistance as you mount up and pull away? Does the motor only assist when it senses you are pedalling harder? How do you control how fast or slow you go, a twist throttle or a trigger type device? Is the bike easy to ride? What problems have you found? What characteristics do you like and dislike? When you answer could you mention the name and model number of the kit and also cost and supplier please? I’ve been looking at this for about 2 months now and I’m completely at a loss as to what to buy. I am a very competent bike mechanic and have respoked/rebuilt bike wheels before so the mechanical/diy side will not phase me in any way.


Thanks in advance for your responses! Photos will obviously be of great assistance!


Cheers!

Russ
 

SandraL

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Jan 24, 2012
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Might help?
 
Dec 6, 2011
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I converted mine with a rear wheel kit. I have since ridden bikes with front wheel kit and mid drive.
The easiest and quickest way is front wheel, but I did not like the front drive on loose surfaces.
I would go for the mid or rear wheel.
I used a whoosh kit.
Best thing I did

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May 20, 2015
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I converted one using Cytronex C1 kit. Power on front wheel but never caused any problem. Sensor positioned to pick up chain rings, think they all have this, as assistance kicks in when pedals are turning. 3 levels of assistance. Think you will find twist an go throttle or any assistance without pedalling is now verboten
 

68c

Oct 22, 2019
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We fitted chinese front wheel kit from Ebay. The expensive bit is the battery, suggest 36volt 15Ahr., this will give you about twenty five miles or three hours cycling depending on how hard you pedal. It cuts out at 15mph by law, it is not hard to pedal faster than that, you do not really notice you have pedalled 'over the motor' on a flat or downhill road, as you slow down at the next hill it starts to assist again. You are allowed a twist grip or thumb control up to about 6mph, it is to help you walk the bike along a no cycling path and gets you moving so you can balance and ride off normally, a few seconds after you start pedalling the assistance starts, it stops a few seconds after you stop pedalling which can be odd at first. The kit will include special brake levers with microswitches which kill the assist as soon as you apply a brake.
I like the front drive as a cheap easily fitted kit, you just swop the complete front wheel. It makes no extra strain on the deraillier gears. It helps on muddy paths as you can use the 6mph twistgrip and pedal so get two wheel drive.

Look on the DVLA website for info on electric bikes, tells you what is allowed legally.

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Feb 14, 2009
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I have converted two full size bikes to electric both front wheel for ease..my wifes was done in a few hours, mine took a few days due to having to get wider forks and it has an eccentric bottom bracket...all parts came from Germany.
 
Mar 30, 2019
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I did a Bafang mid motor conversion early last year and have done best part of a 1000 faultless miles both on and mostly off road. The motor senses that you are pedaling and helps you to a pre determined speed depending on the setting you chose on the little handlebar switch. Very controllable, easy to use, instant power.

I would highly recommend it.

Motor kits and batteries from this uk website. Delivery was next day.

If you fit the 250watt motor kit, omit the thumb trigger and alter the maximum speed to 15mph (its a setting within the controller and a 2 minute job) it will still be a fully legal pushbike.

If you have any questions let me know.
2020-06-16 10.05.28.jpg

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May 30, 2019
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Converted our 2 Bromptons with Swytch 50km kits last year. 5 levels of assistance and triggered turning pedals so although you have to pedal you don’t need to exert pressure unless you want to. Easy to fit as replacement front wheel. You can buy separately handlebar throttles however strictly speaking that would make them illegal in the uk. Check website for current availability and cost. Check YouTube for reviews and conversion guides.
 
Last edited:
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RustyRuss
Sep 9, 2019
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Well girls n boys I’ve bitten the bullet and gone for a Tongsheng 36volt. 350w mid drive conversion kit with a 36v 10.0Ah bottle battery. The kit includes the motor, battery, brake leavers, thumb throttle, visual display unit, lights, cabling and tools. £523 incl carriage via Amazon from Tongsheng in China. It had excellent reviews and looks like it will be fairly easy to fit. Due to arrive 24th ish of Feb, so I’ll probably do a little video of how to fit it to SHMBO’s bike and post it in this thread. Thanks for all your helpful advice and sharing of useful threads n YouTube’s etc. They were very much appreciated!

Cheers!

Russ

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two

Aug 4, 2011
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I thought that pedelecs needed to be 250W max, to be legal?

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68c

Oct 22, 2019
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I thought that pedelecs needed to be 250W max, to be legal?
Take this seriously. Any ebike over 250Watt is not a pedelec, it is an electric motorcycle, to use it on the road you need to have it registered with number plate, you need insurance and an approved helmet. You also need to do a CBT course and have a driving licence. Imagine having an accident with a non pedelec ebike, unlikely you will have insurance so could be sued for damages alongside any other motoring offence charges.
Don't believe me? Check out the DVLA website.
 

Buzz67

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Feb 10, 2020
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Two and 68c beat me to it.
To be road legal it must have a motor with 250w stamped on it.
It’s a bit misleading because there is not actually a maximum power limit.
The limit is maximum CONTINUOUS power.
So a motor stamped 250w can deliver 250w forever without destroying itself.
However all will give more than 250w peak, often about 700w.
The maximum peak power is a function of the battery voltage x controller amps.
 
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RustyRuss
Sep 9, 2019
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All you keyboard warriors out there can get back down off your high, mighty, self righteous horses now. I've checked my post #12 and there's a typo IT SHOULD READ:-

Well girls n boys I’ve bitten the bullet and gone for a Tongsheng 36volt. 250w mid drive conversion kit with a 36v 10.0Ah bottle battery.

People get so steamed up about stuff! Is it me? Is it Covid? All I wanted to know about was what would be good for my wife to get her back on to her bike after a hip operation! But once again thankyou for all your helpful input!!

Cheers!

Russ

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Feb 3, 2020
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I looked at kits and it can sometimes cost more than a new electric bike. Our postman got a new one for £800 at Halfords and swears by it. I spent a bit more on mine as it was a sale.
 

68c

Oct 22, 2019
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All you keyboard warriors out there can get back down off your high, mighty, self righteous horses now. I've checked my post #12 and there's a typo IT SHOULD READ:-

Well girls n boys I’ve bitten the bullet and gone for a Tongsheng 36volt. 250w mid drive conversion kit with a 36v 10.0Ah bottle battery.

People get so steamed up about stuff! Is it me? Is it Covid? All I wanted to know about was what would be good for my wife to get her back on to her bike after a hip operation! But once again thankyou for all your helpful input!!

Cheers!

Russ
Pleased to hear you have ordered a legal bike, I am sure you will have lots of fun with it. Now removing the rotating swords that stick out of the sides of my keyboard. (y)
 
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RustyRuss
Sep 9, 2019
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68C, Ha! Ha! So you've got a Boudicea styley keyboard!!

Cheers Mate!

Russ

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Mar 30, 2019
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I looked at kits and it can sometimes cost more than a new electric bike. Our postman got a new one for £800 at Halfords and swears by it. I spent a bit more on mine as it was a sale.
A lot of the 'cheap' electric bikes are cheap because they use the most basic components, entry level brakes, basic gear components, dubious wheels and tyres etc. A conversion kit can be an upgrade to a quality bike and be far superior.
If you want to cycle a few miles to the shops on a nice tarmac path then an £800 bike will be fine. Mine will go 50 miles on the roughest trails with no problems. You need to spend thousands to buy the equivalent new.
It really depends on how you intend to use your bike.

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two

Aug 4, 2011
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If you already have a good bike, why get another? You may have a Rohlof gear, for example, that you won't find on an e-bike.
A Tongshen (or Bafang) conversion simply adds the electric propulsion you're missing and you can configure the unit to taste (power, battery capacity). The battery can be the most expensive component and cost as much as a complete low-cost e-bike.
 
Jun 13, 2020
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Hymer ML T570
Converted our 2 Bromptons with Swytch 50km kits last year. 5 levels of assistance and triggered turning pedals so although you have to pedal you don’t need to exert pressure unless you want to. Easy to fit as replacement front wheel. You can buy separately handlebar throttles however strictly speaking that would make them illegal in the uk. Check website for current availability and cost. Check YouTube for reviews and conversion guides.
Can I ask what you think of the Swytch Brompton kits ?
 
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RustyRuss
Sep 9, 2019
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I bought, and have subsequently successfully fitted the TongSheng TSDZ2 units. They needed a little bit of engineering to fit but nothing a competent DIYer with a needle file couldn’t fettle. They are superb on the road as well. I strongly recommend them.

Cheers!
Russ
 
May 30, 2019
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Wizz , Swytch kits were easy to fit, process I found most difficult was getting the tyre off the old wheel onto the new. The pedal sensors were a bit fiddly and I had to modify the part.

When using there is a second hesitation between you starting to pedal then the motor kicks in and you take off. That said I’ve never ridden any other electric bikes so I don’t know how it compares.

Only downside is the battery pack just lifts off so if you leave you bike locked up you either take it with you or risk it getting stolen.

Don’t think I would but a Brompton and the the Swytch kits but if you have Bromptons it’s a good solution.
 

pappajohn

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Crank drive is best, rear wheel is fine, front wheel is a disaster.
To be legal now it can't be throttle control in any fashion.
Mine is rear drive and senses pedal pressure.... Can take a turn or two of pedals to engage the drive.
Many will have an assistance setting, usually three selectable amounts of assistance controlling the amount of speed you get before the motor cuts out and you have to pedal unassisted. Speed 1 may be up to 5mph, speed 2 up to 10mph and 3 up to 15mph
I have found with mine, on level ground, I can pedal up to max 15mph then as long as the pedals continue to turn very slowly and unloaded it holds the same speed, stop pedalling and assistance is stopped.

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