Secondhand bike for electric conversion?

Mr Benevolent

Just wondering about this. I want to buy a bike and put an electric kit on it, but I'm not sure which bike to get. Basically it's for commuting 10km in Dublin suburban traffic. I need one that has 7+ gears on the front cog (deraillieur?) because there'll be none on the back wheel as the motor will go there. I only have about €200 to spend on the bike itself, so it'll have to be second hand. I'm not interested in a non-electric bike, my knee isn't great.

Any suggestion on what to buy?

Captain Havoc

Fabian, is that you?

Mr Benevolent

Captain Havoc wrote: »

Fabian, is that you?

You who?

Schnell

You can get four chainrings on the front with this: http://abundantadventures.com/quads.html

But you shall never have seven I'm afraid.

Captain Havoc

Confab wrote: »

You who?

Just some Swiss bloke.

Mr Benevolent

Oops I'm wrong, it's the front deraillieur that disappears.

LCRC_BAX

Forget about an electric motor Fab, get yourself one of these;



That 10km will fly by

gymnipities

If you haven't bought the electric kit yet and you can do the bike to work scheme, CRC have an electric 8-speed commuter on sale that mightn't end up costing that much more than doing it yourself.

doozerie

It might be worth a visit to a shop that focuses on electric vehicles too so see them in the flesh. Green Machines in Terenure is one - I thought they focused exclusively on electric bicycles but according to their website they range from cars to bicycles. Any time I've glanced in their window as I've been going past they seemed to have several electric bicycles on display. Unfortunately their website gives no clue as to prices, that I can see.

Iolarwood

gymnipities wrote: »

If you haven't bought the electric kit yet and you can do the bike to work scheme, CRC have an electric 8-speed commuter on sale that mightn't end up costing that much more than doing it yourself.

I ordered that Schwinn Tailwind from CRC on Tues 1st March and it arrived Weds 2nd which was impressive.
The bike was so discounted I feared it might not be the full specification of the original U.S. bike. It turned out to be the real thing with very high quality components throughout. In some respects it was better than described (e.g. "light set" turned out to be very high spec Dutch Spanning lights and the "wheel lock" is a quality Danish Basta).
General observations:
1. This is not a hybrid style bike - it's very upright in the "European" style - much more common in Holland & Scandinavia. It's a big good-looking bike.
2. Yes, the battery does charge fully in 30 mins as promised. I haven't fully explored the range yet.
3. "Lightweight aluminium frame"? Eh, aluminium yes, lightweight no. This is quite a heavy bike - partly because it is so fully equipped.
4. It's noticeably more strenuous to cycle unpowered than a non-electric bike - but this may reduce as it frees out with use.
5. The electric assistance is good and it's quiet unless working hard - similar to other 250w front hub bikes I've ridden. It's not as good on hills as (the far more expensive) Panasonic crank motor bikes such as the Kalkoff Aggatu but it certainly makes the going easier – especially on the highest of the 3 assist settings.
6. My main concern about his bike is availability of spares - especially the specialist electrical stuff unique to this bike (controller, battery etc.). CRC say they don't carry spares as it's a clearance sale and I haven't been able to find anyone online who does. I figure if I run into trouble, I'll strip off the heavy electrical stuff and use it as a normal bike or fit a kit motor set like the Bionx. Hopefully I'll get a few thousand kilometres before I face this decision. (Or it may get stolen and save me the bother of deciding – it's a very attractive bike and will take some minding, which is the other disadvantage)
7. If it does get stolen I will be SO glad I didn't spend over €1k or more - look on the bright side