Electric Assistance for Push Bikes

[101RRS]

Getting on a bit and riding the push bike up the hill to where I live is a bit beyond me so looking at buying an electric drive kit to fit to my bike to help me to get up the hill. Not interested in buying a new electric bike just a kit to convert my current bike - a standard Giant Mountain bike with front suspension but no rear suspension.

Looking at ebay there seems to be three basic types with power ranging from 350w to 1000w and varying voltages - there is not a lot of cost between lower power and higher power so I will look at 36v/48v and 1000w systems.

The three basic types for the drive kit is motor in the front wheel hub or motor in the rear hub or the drive motor on the front pedal sprocket.

So anyone converted their pushy to one of these electric drive kits and what layout is considered the best.

Thanks

Garry

[Blknight.aus]

rear hub drive is the better.

there are instances of some frames cracking at the head stem on front wheel drive units as well as issues with the flexing power cable fatiguing at the head stem and fork travel points.

watch the max motor power size I think 250w is the limit in some states along with a max speed limit.

I dont think theres a limit on the KWH of the battery

[Arapiles]

rear hub drive is the better.

there are instances of some frames cracking at the head stem on front wheel drive units as well as issues with the flexing power cable fatiguing at the head stem and fork travel points.

watch the max motor power size I think 250w is the limit in some states along with a max speed limit.

I dont think theres a limit on the KWH of the battery


I'm pretty sure that 250kw is the legal limit in all Australian states.

I understand that you want to use your current bike but I'd suggest that you'd want to ensure that your donor bike is in good condition, and ideally it would have disc brakes.

[Tins]

Build this instead....


https://youtu.be/UD3KymY86z8

NOT a hijack, just a joke.

[Charliektm400exc]

I looked in to this in great detail as I was going to do it to our bikes, but in the end went for a pair of purpose built e-bikes. Now onto second pair now with dual suspension. You won’t regret the electric option.

Anyway i I have two friends who have electrified their existing bikes. What they have done is exactly what I was planning. Mid mount 250w motor. I agree with the comments, make sure you have disk brakes. 250 is plenty of power and the maximum you can legally have.

front drive has problems with cornering, particularly on slippery surfaces. Rear drive puts too much weight on the back wheel. Mid drive best compromise.

[oka374]

I fitted a Bafang BBS02 750w bottom bracket drive unit and 13ah 48v triangle battery to my Kona Dawg full suspension bike 5 years ago and it has performed faultlessly ever since clocking up a few thousand k's in that time. It has 9 levels of assistance and also a thumb throttle like a quad bike, I typically use level 3 which is approximately the legal 250w limit, anything higher turns it into an electric motorbike.
I bought the complete drive unit and battery from a mob called EM3EV in Hong Kong that comes highly recommended from the EV forums, while they may charge a little more the whole setup including charger is literally plug and play.
There is a local mob on ebay called pirezelectricbikes who can also supply the same unit, others have had a good experience with them but I've not dealt with them.
Another site to pick up info is Californian Ebikes but buying stuff from them is not cost effective while the dollar is down.

[101RRS]

Thanks for all those comments - great stuff - will not be disk brakes.

I have noticed the pedal spindle driven motors are a lot smaller in power than the wheel driven systems which I assume it is because it still uses the gearing on the rear wheel so multiplies available engine torque where the wheel driven systems have no gearing.

Cheers

Garry

[ian4002000]

i have been looking for a while and it seems disc brakes are a must but the other item most electric bikes have or should have is thicker spokes.
I am sure that a manufactured electric bike will have the correct wheel set ups to handle the power. I looked into converting my bike to disc brakes and what new rims would cost but it wasnt as cheap and easy as i wanted.
I have had a couple of demo rides of Ev bikes and they are great.
The newest system has a way of measuring the torque input which makes pedalling the same effort regardless of speed. This will be my next demo ride.

Ian
Bittern

[mick88]

Garry,
i am watching this thread with interest as we (wife and myself) are considering going the same way.


Cheers, Mick.

[Chops]

Garry,
i am watching this thread with interest as we (wife and myself) are considering going the same way.


Cheers, Mick.

Same same, we want something we can cart around on the back of the van.

[goingbush]

How about fixing a cordless drill so the chuck rubs on the rear tyre , dynamo style, Ive read that this actually works really well.
I'd be using a brushless drill and mount with some form of disconnect mechanism

2nd one in this video ,


https://youtu.be/UTXJBISZw2U

[101RRS]

Same same, we want something we can cart around on the back of the van.

Nishiro 36V Electric Ebike Folding Bicycle Foldable Lithium Battery e-bike Bike | eBay (https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Nishiro-36V-Electric-Ebike-Folding-Bicycle-Foldable-Lithium-Battery-e-bike-Bike/383134986774?_trkparms=aid%3D111001%26algo%3DREC.S EED%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D20160908105057%26meid%3D5b4a5 c87b85e4101816a70ee04a3bdd3%26pid%3D100675%26rk%3D 2%26rkt%3D15%26mehot%3Dpp%26sd%3D254405648371%26it m%3D383134986774%26pmt%3D1%26noa%3D1%26pg%3D238005 7&_trksid=p2380057.c100675.m4236&_trkparms=pageci%3A00fa3816-fd2b-11e9-a248-74dbd180d657%7Cparentrq%3A2a6ad70e16e0a4ea9b4df40d fff87f7e%7Ciid%3A1)

[Arapiles]

How about fixing a cordless drill so the chuck rubs on the rear tyre , dynamo style, Ive read that this actually works really well.
I'd be using a brushless drill and mount with some form of disconnect mechanism

No, chainsaw is the way to go:

155350


You can of course use an electric chainsaw, which would be much greener.

(NB, someone was actually riding this frankenbike around Melbourne ...)

[Captain_Rightfoot]

In general the purpose built e-bikes with the mid drive systems are really good. They last a long time and have a great range of power because they use the bike gears.

There are lots of other adapter kits. From what I've seen the Bafang is very good. There are lots of other kits out there and the results are variable.

Electric bikes are the next big thing as far as most manufacturers are concerned and the choices are growing from all manufacturers. two years ago none of the big names sold an e-bike in Aus. Now all the big brands have several.

If it's something you'll be riding a lot it's probably better to buy a whole bike with the system built in. The Bosch ones are excellent. We have a bosch integrated gazelle and it's now 4 years old with 10,000k on it. It gets used by someone in the family most days.

[mick88]

No, chainsaw is the way to go:

155350


You can of course use an electric chainsaw, which would be much greener.

(NB, someone was actually riding this frankenbike around Melbourne ...)


The Kelly boys, Todd and Rick grew up just around the corner from us and one day when Rick was about 15 I spotted him going him down the road on a BMX bike at a rather quick pace, and he wasn't even peddling. I was on my motorbike, so I did a quick u turn and caught up with him for a chat.
He had a petrol Whipper Snipper engine very professionally mounted just below the seat, with the shaft removed and a knurled wheel instead, that drove the rear wheel of the bike.
The setup had been built by his father John and had a lever to engage the unit so that the knurled drive cog contacted the rear tire.
Simple and easy.

Cheers, Mick.

[mick88]

This mob, "Blade" do some pretty good electric tredleys.
I had a spin on a few of their models at a recent Camping and Caravan Show in Mildura.
They were very impressive, well built, and certainly got cracking, but like most leccy bikes, rather exy.

Blade Bikes – Electric Bikes Melbourne & E-Bike Store (https://bladebikes.com.au/)

Cheers, Mick.

[superquag]

i have been looking for a while and it seems disc brakes are a must but the other item most electric bikes have or should have is thicker spokes.
I am sure that a manufactured electric bike will have the correct wheel set ups to handle the power. I looked into converting my bike to disc brakes and what new rims would cost but it wasnt as cheap and easy as i wanted.
I have had a couple of demo rides of Ev bikes and they are great.
The newest system has a way of measuring the torque input which makes pedalling the same effort regardless of speed. This will be my next demo ride.

Ian
Bittern

May have been one ot these I passed recently. Girl pedalling at sedate / purposeful rate, seemed constant now that you mention it.. and doing 53km/h on the flat and up a slight but long hill. - No change in pace or speed...
- Rear hub motor, battery small or very well hidden... Frame ?