The eBike thread

John Hutton

I own a regular brompton and used it daily for commute on train. I would love an electric one but it is too expensive.

Before pandemic I had planned to buy a different folding bike with disk brakes and a correctly sized bottom bracket and fit a bafang middrive. This would work out much cheaper, and also better, albeit an inferior fold.

But I havnt been commuting for 10 months now so I have no need.

Mousewar

Skill Magill wrote: »

Was toying with the idea of an electric Brompton, it comes in at about 3 and half grand, is that mad money or would I be buying quality that would last 20 years?
It ticks the boxes for me, foldable and light enough to cycle without battery, also like the idea of not really needing to lock it as it would be on me at all times.
I know you can get 1500 tax free on the bike to work shceme, your employer just has to buy it for you. Is it as simple as that? How much would 3,500 translate with the tax break?

I was looking at rad bikes too, but they seem heavy to transport(although they have more powerful motors which might be a buzz)

So mad or not on the Brompton?

Assuming you're on the higher tax band, you'd get about 700 odd euro off (about 720 I think to be more precise). So you'd be looking at about 2,800 all in.

Skill Magill

Skill Magill wrote: »

Was toying with the idea of an electric Brompton, it comes in at about 3 and half grand, is that mad money or would I be buying quality that would last 20 years?
It ticks the boxes for me, foldable and light enough to cycle without battery, also like the idea of not really needing to lock it as it would be on me at all times.
I know you can get 1500 tax free on the bike to work shceme, your employer just has to buy it for you. Is it as simple as that? How much would 3,500 translate with the tax break?

I was looking at rad bikes too, but they seem heavy to transport(although they have more powerful motors which might be a buzz)

So mad or not on the Brompton?

3.5 K is worth a lot more to your health than a car, usually electric bikes in general are high quality bikes too and would probably set you back at least 1500 before the electrics are added.

So the way I look at it is this, if you are happy with the bike and it gets you out and up hills when you otherwise wouldn't get out cycling and if you're planning on putting in a lot of effort yourself then I'd say it's absolutely worth it.

EDIT: have you got a link to the bike first ?

Skill Magill

Thanks guys, I've put a deposit down so hopefully I'll get it tomorrow.
Its this one although I'm not buying it on line
Black 6 speed Brompton Electric

Its going to be my second electric bike, I still have one thats in the shed and an absolute tank, I used to love flying around on it but will probably sell it or look at doing it up again. Might be a nice project, I've been following this thread for a while now, and putting in a bigger motor looks dooable

Its going to be a bit of a come down from my regular ride



Hopefully it all goes to plan tomorrow.

Skill Magill

Skill Magill wrote: »

Thanks guys, I've put a deposit down so hopefully I'll get it tomorrow.
Its this one although I'm not buying it on line
Black 6 speed Brompton Electric

Its going to be my second electric bike, I still have one thats in the shed and an absolute tank, I used to love flying around on it but will probably sell it or look at doing it up again. Might be a nice project, I've been following this thread for a while now, and putting in a bigger motor looks dooable

Its going to be a bit of a come down from my regular ride



Hopefully it all goes to plan tomorrow.

Ah ok so it's a commuter bike and I take it you're not going to be climbing too many hills with it ?

Will you be putting it on a train or bus or anything like that or cycling it all the way yourself ?

Looks like you can fold it for the car, train etc ?

Skill Magill

Exactly, its quite compact so can throw it into the boot if its lashing, I absolutely hate driving the car in and rarely do it to be honest.
And I need the exercise, so pedal assist is ideal and I went for the six speed cause I have a steep hill on my commute.

I was driving the motorbike the weekend before last and was going up constitution hill on my way into Phibsborough and there was a chap on an electric bike doing about 30km/h beside me. I powered on a bit and he was still with me And here's the thing, at 80 he was still with me but I had to stop for the lights as he disappeared up Phibsborough Rd. I was really impressed (although absolute madness I think you'll agree) Wouldn't mind upgrading my old electric to do something like that, looked great fun.


But for now, I'll be happy with the pedal assist.

John Hutton

Skill Magill wrote: »

Exactly, its quite compact so can throw it into the boot if its lashing, I absolutely hate driving the car in and rarely do it to be honest.
And I need the exercise, so pedal assist is ideal and I went for the six speed cause I have a steep hill on my commute.

I was driving the motorbike the weekend before last and was going up constitution hill on my way into Phibsborough and there was a chap on an electric bike doing about 30km/h beside me. I powered on a bit and he was still with me And here's the thing, at 80 he was still with me but I had to stop for the lights as he disappeared up Phibsborough Rd. I was really impressed (although absolute madness I think you'll agree) Wouldn't mind upgrading my old electric to do something like that, looked great fun.


But for now, I'll be happy with the pedal assist.

That looks awesome, bromptons are class.

Skill Magill

Skill Magill wrote: »

Exactly, its quite compact so can throw it into the boot if its lashing, I absolutely hate driving the car in and rarely do it to be honest.
And I need the exercise, so pedal assist is ideal and I went for the six speed cause I have a steep hill on my commute.

I was driving the motorbike the weekend before last and was going up constitution hill on my way into Phibsborough and there was a chap on an electric bike doing about 30km/h beside me. I powered on a bit and he was still with me And here's the thing, at 80 he was still with me but I had to stop for the lights as he disappeared up Phibsborough Rd. I was really impressed (although absolute madness I think you'll agree) Wouldn't mind upgrading my old electric to do something like that, looked great fun.


But for now, I'll be happy with the pedal assist.

I've done the high power bike thing and it was great, I really miss it but I wouldn't be so Keen in Dublin, to much traffic and People around.

Best of luck with the bike, would like to know what you think of it after you get a chance to properly test it out.

Joe1919

John Hutton wrote: »

I own a regular brompton and used it daily for commute on train. I would love an electric one but it is too expensive.
.

Wooshbikes.co.uk are doing a special Brompton kit for £529 plus delivery but I presume you need to factor in the duty and vat situation.

https://wooshbikes.co.uk/?hubkits#q70kit

unkel

Bought the Bafang programming cable ages ago from AliExpress for EUR8 shipped (it's just a standard serial to USB interface cable) but never got around to using it until now. Was always annoyed that in the zero power assist level, you have no throttle either and that there was too much torque in the first power assist level. If I want to cycle around very slowly (with dog on the lead) at say 10km/h, it is very jerky. Made my first attempt at changing these, haven't tested the bike yet

It's pretty straight forward, here's a good basic vid for anyone interested

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MChTEUqv8dE

Some of you have programmed the Bafang, what did you change?

Anniearenyouok

Hi e_bike virgin here (please be gentle)

My budget is upto 2000e max including locks, any other accessories needed.

Daily commute approx 10k total. Will be using cycle to work scheme.

Will use it the weekends for long cycles and Park with kids, so it will be used.

Would like assistance as carrying bit more weight than normal and i like the idea of help up hills etc..

Any idea or recommendations?

https://www.decathlon.ie/ie_en/electric-hybrid-bike-riverside-500-e-grey-red-en-s169143.html

I was thinking of the above one from decathlon.ie

Thargor

unkel wrote: »

Bought the Bafang programming cable ages ago from AliExpress for EUR8 shipped (it's just a standard serial to USB interface cable) but never got around to using it until now. Was always annoyed that in the zero power assist level, you have no throttle either and that there was too much torque in the first power assist level. If I want to cycle around very slowly (with dog on the lead) at say 10km/h, it is very jerky. Made my first attempt at changing these, haven't tested the bike yet

It's pretty straight forward, here's a good basic vid for anyone interested

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MChTEUqv8dE

Some of you have programmed the Bafang, what did you change?

OT but isnt it weird how many Youtube videos about ebike tutorials feature such crappy sub-Halford level bikes? Its really strange.

unkel

Not something I see as a pattern from other vids, but I noticed that particular bike looks like a bit of a sh1tter alright

My budget was really low too, but I bought an older well worn full suspension Specialized for €150. Bafang kit was just over €400 shipped from the EU (so no taxes) and battery was €50, charger €15

Very powerful (1.5kW), capable and fast bike for just over €600 all in

unkel

The Bafang programming yesterday worked, which is good. But it's not quite at what I want so I'd say this will be a bit trial and error. Full throttle speed is now 8.7km/h in first assist level, I want that to be about 10km/h (dog walking speed for long distance or for when she is tired). Also assist currents not quite right yet.

ReganBrady

Based on the information and rules we should have an engine of 250w not more than this, it should stop giving power once at 25 kmh and engine should provide assistance once pedals start and stop assisting as pedals stop turning, so motor should be assisting only when user is pedalling and as pedalling stop by the user then it should cut out the power. Also it needs to keep in mind that old batteries are safe to make a battery pack as they should be matched technically. I like this information and will keep reading the further sharing, very interesting and good new knowledge for me.

Padre_Pio

unkel wrote: »

Not something I see as a pattern from other vids, but I noticed that particular bike looks like a bit of a sh1tter alright

My budget was really low too, but I bought an older well worn full suspension Specialized for €150. Bafang kit was just over €400 shipped from the EU (so no taxes) and battery was €50, charger €15

Very powerful (1.5kW), capable and fast bike for just over €600 all in

When it comes to speed and safety, do you wear additional gear, or just keep the speed to "normal" cycling speeds.

unkel

I just keep to normal cycling speeds. I like having the power. I like quick acceleration, but cycling at over about 25-30km/h serves no purpose for me.

Padre_Pio

unkel wrote: »

I just keep to normal cycling speeds. I like having the power. I like quick acceleration, but cycling at over about 25-30km/h serves no purpose for me.

Thanks, I know some of the unrestricted e-bikes will easily do moped speeds.

I wouldn't like to come off one just wearing shorts and a t-shirt:eek::eek:

Padre_Pio

Padre_Pio wrote: »

Thanks, I know some of the unrestricted e-bikes will easily do moped speeds.

I wouldn't like to come off one just wearing shorts and a t-shirt:eek::eek:

I was up to around 90 Km/h at one point, think that was with the 100 Volt battery. I went back to lower voltage not too long after.

I can tell you if I had a camera to capture the faces of People passing in cars as I sped along in the shoulder on the old N9 from Carlow to Castledermot, one time I was considering a bat man costume or Super man just for the laugh.

Thargor

Where's the best place to buy conversion kits these days and does anyone have any 2021 recommendations? Probably go for rear wheel drive, don't think my DIY skills are up to a mid drive conversion.

unkel

My DIY mechanical skills are pretty poor Thargor (you won't catch me with any false modesty, you've seen me around on boards ) but I found it pretty easy. Plenty of YouTube tutorials help of course. In fact it's probably easier than doing a rear wheel conversion as that can have some tricky aspects

Have a good look again over this thread, plenty of references and links to where to source kits, depending on your budget. Summary from memory: Yosepower is good, eBay, Amazon, most ship from EU warehouses so you won't have to pay for VAT / customs - look at the small print though. For higher end and higher budget stuff, go to em3ev, but the costs over there rack up very quickly and you will have to pay VAT and customs when it comes in

It's sad Paul over at em3ev doesn't sell Mac motors or any hub motors any more but If I emailed him directly I'm sure he's get me a mac motor but those hub motors were extremely good. I would like to know though why he stopped selling them.

I can only presume it might have to do with the fact the Crank drive motors are a lot easier to install and you don't need Torque arms but geared hubs have much less drag when there's no motor power + seamless acceleration with no stops for gear changes.

I'd still like to test out one of the crank drives but I got the Bosch so it would be a waste and I'd probably not get more than 800 for it now being a 2013, it's in great nick though hardly used. I busted the gear hub in the rear, it's an sram dual drive 3 and I can't find one anywhere as they're not produced any more so I've lost a lot of gear ratios. The hub itself is perfect I just need the pin that connects to the click box and I think the nut. Can't be got anywhere. Shame. So only solution really is a larger crank to give me a higher top end while on pedal power.

The Sram hub was great though, 3 speeds but you could change gear even under max power, I'd love to try out one of those automatic gear hubs, but you're adding weight and probably drag but would be interesting for the higher power bafang kits because you only need 3 gears but has to handle the torque.

unkel

€800 is very optimistic Mad_Lad, in the state it is, with the age it is. You'd better just fix it up and use it yourself. For €800 you can buy a decent second hand mountain bike and fit a brand new Bafang mid drive system to it yourself (including battery)

What makes you think Paul stopped selling those motors? I still have it in the back of my head that I want one eventually.

unkel

unkel wrote: »

€800 is very optimistic Mad_Lad, in the state it is, with the age it is. You'd better just fix it up and use it yourself. For €800 you can buy a decent second hand mountain bike and fit a brand new Bafang mid drive system to it yourself (including battery)

What makes you think Paul stopped selling those motors? I still have it in the back of my head that I want one eventually.

Yeah probably a bit optimistic but a lot of other bikes only come with the rear cassette and no gear hub so I doubt it should make a big difference, I have a normal wheel on it now without hub, take the gear changer off no one would be the wiser.

The Mac motors are no longer on the em3ev site.

Thargor

Why is this so cheap? What kind of speed/power/range could I be expecting here roughly with this kit do you think? Im a fairly decent cyclist from years of commuting so Id be supplying a good bit of pedal power aswell.

https://yosepower.com/collections/e-bike-conversion-kit/products/36v-350w-rear-motor-kit-with-36v12-5ah-battery?variant=34181258936455

Id be putting it on a large Trek with 26" wheels:

unkel

Good value, presuming it is shipping from an EU warehouse. And if you don't fit the throttle, it's fully road legal too (same legal status as push bike, so no need for helmet, tax, insurance or license)

If you're happy to only have limited assist, it sounds perfect for you (and in practice these tend to have a good bit more than advertised power)

Even if you don't like it, take it off and sell on adverts.ie for €350 no bother

graememk

Quick question, do these kits fit any bike or is there certain measurements to keep an eye out for?

Thargor

unkel wrote: »

Good value, presuming it is shipping from an EU warehouse. And if you don't fit the throttle, it's fully road legal too (same legal status as push bike, so no need for helmet, tax, insurance or license)

If you're happy to only have limited assist, it sounds perfect for you (and in practice these tend to have a good bit more than advertised power)

Even if you don't like it, take it off and sell on adverts.ie for €350 no bother

Seems a bit weedy now that I look into it, Id be looking for something with a little more oomph like in Andy Kirbys videos otherwise its a bit pointless compared to the speeds I get from my roadbikes anyway.

This one sounds alright if I could get a battery though:

https://yosepower.com/collections/e-bike-conversion-kit/products/48v-1000w-26-rear-motor-kit-for-freewheel

unkel

Thargor wrote: »

Seems a bit weedy now that I look into it, Id be looking for something with a little more oomph like in Andy Kirbys videos otherwise its a bit pointless compared to the speeds I get from my roadbikes anyway.

This one sounds alright if I could get a battery though:

https://yosepower.com/collections/e-bike-conversion-kit/products/48v-1000w-26-rear-motor-kit-for-freewheel

That's a direct drive. Indistructo but loads of cons as well. You really need to read this thread from start to finish, every single post. All is explained. And for the needs you describe, 250W is plenty. I believe a professional tour de france cyclist rarely exceeds this output. Imagine him helping you out behind you and then your effort on top

graememk wrote: »

Quick question, do these kits fit any bike or is there certain measurements to keep an eye out for?

The elephant in the room. With a front wheel kit, just get the wheel size right and you can't really go wrong. With the rear wheel kit, a few more complications and with the mid drives, way more complications - for one many a bottom bracket of a modern highish end bike will not work with a mid drive Bafang motor

Thargor

When you fit kits like this:

https://yosepower.com/collections/e-bike-conversion-kit/products/36v-350w-rear-motor-kit-with-36v12-5ah-battery?variant=34181258936455

What does the chain actually attach to at the back? Do you remove the cassette from the original non electric rear wheel and bolt it to the side of the motor or is there already a cassette there on the motor or what?

I've watched 10 videos now and I still can't get an answer to this, it's the bit they always skip, the chain just magically seems to be attached at the end but attached to what? Is the rear derailleur obsolete? No changing rear gears? Why do they never mention having to adjust it?