Are aftermarket e-bike conversion kits a risk worth taking?

[Time Waster]

It's something that I've been thinking with what seems like an increase in people discussing converting normal bikes to e-bikes. With the risks from cheap kits, batteries, chargers,, etc, is it not safer just to buy an e-bike from a recognised/established bike brand?

I mean you've got issues with dodgy batteries, wrong or dodgy chargers and then have you mounted / set it all up safely? Will a trek e-bike with bosch motor, designed in battery pack and specific charger not be better than say an ebay or online motor kit, everything fastened onto the normal bike without it actually being designed for it. If that makes sense?

How safe are home conversions really? Anyone had an issue with theirs? I'm just curious, not critical.

 

[Drago]

A quality kit from a reputable manufacturer is liable to be hassle free.

The cheaper kits from far Eastern sources less so.

 

[ExBrit]

It's something that I've been thinking with what seems like an increase in people discussing converting normal bikes to e-bikes. With the risks from cheap kits, batteries, chargers,, etc, is it not safer just to buy an e-bike from a recognised/established bike brand?

I mean you've got issues with dodgy batteries, wrong or dodgy chargers and then have you mounted / set it all up safely? Will a trek e-bike with bosch motor, designed in battery pack and specific charger not be better than say an ebay or online motor kit, everything fastened onto the normal bike without it actually being designed for it. If that makes sense?

How safe are home conversions really? Anyone had an issue with theirs? I'm just curious, not critical.

I bought a conversion kit from 100g and put it on an old Trek 520 touring bike. I'm very happy with it. I have a degree in Electrical Engineering so I'm comfortable I understand the risks. It felt good to save $4000 and give an old bike a new lease of life. I made a YouTube video here if you're interested.


View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5xdnanrdee4

https://www.100g.tech/

 

[dicko]

A quality kit from a reputable manufacturer is liable to be hassle free.

The cheaper kits from far Eastern sources less so.

Very true I fitted tha Cytronex kit and it’s an excellent choice

 

[Vantage]

I'm on my 2nd conversion kit. The 1st was the bafang bbso1 which more or less complied with UK law on power etc. I sold it when I wanted more muscle and bought the bafang bbso2 which in no way complied with UK law. I've limited its speed to the required 15mph but everything else would get the bike seized if I was caught. I did so because the bbso1 lacked the muscle to get a fully loaded touring bike up a stupid steep road without me almost having a heart attack (not literally).
Both batteries supplied have been issue free except for the 1st which was reported online for having sharp edges around the usb socket which could puncture the cells. I fixed that myself.
One area which has been a pain in the ass is the chain line which gets royally messed up with these kits. Excess wear and the chain slips off the cogs if I push the bike backwards. Another issue has been display reliability. I thought the motor itself had died but I've just ordered my 4th display. One died through water ingress and the other 2 just died. Those aren't cheap these days either.
I've never had an 'off the shelf' ebike so I don't know how serviceable they are but what I will say about conversion kits is that each part (including the motor innards) is replaceable and to some extent, serviceable.
Plus, you're not saddled with some piss poor handling pile of crap. Your own bike can be used.

 

[Dadam]

I've had experience of purpose built e-bikes from 2 manufacturers (Orbea and Cube) and a self-installed kit from a small UK based supplier (wooshbikes).

The Woosh bikes kit (MXUS XF08C hub motor and downtube battery) was reasonably easy to fit even for a relative novice bike mechanic like myself; albeit I've always been fairly handy with tools. But I did need some help and advice from the supplier (who initially sent out the wrong PAS sensor disc for my cranks). The problem was the lightweight motor I'd chosen was no longer available so I had to go for the next one up, 3.3kg vs 1.9kg and this one is a little wider so I had trouble fitting the wheel into the rear frame on my bike.

In use the kit is good, plenty of torque and has been reliable, but I'm a little disappointed with the way the controller works. The assist levels all seem to give the max torque but it cuts off at different speeds, instead of different torque levels cutting off at the same 15.5mph. I think this is because it's designed mainly for throttle control and I asked for one without throttle to be legal (and visibly so). I sent it back for reprogramming as Woosh informed me it should work the way I imagined, however turns out the firmware for that isn't available yet.

The Orbea and Cube are much slicker in operation but the downside is cost and proprietary interfaces. On the whole I prefer the proprietary ones.
The conversion is just a commuting tool and works fine for that but I'm thinking of putting this hybrid bike back to manual and selling the kit. The controller issue, the faff of replacing the motor wheel and recently it's broken 3 spokes, I think because dishing the wheel to get the alignment right has caused other issues. Also I had been wanting a relatively lightweight e-bike and this still ended up pushing 20kg.

None of the above is the fault of Woosh who have been excellent with after sales support. The takeaway is kit/bike compatibility isn't always clear as it should be.

No problems whatever with battery and charger though.

 

[mjr]

I'm on my 2nd conversion kit. The 1st was the bafang bbso1 which more or less complied with UK law on power etc. I sold it when I wanted more muscle and bought the bafang bbso2 which in no way complied with UK law. I've limited its speed to the required 15mph but everything else would get the bike seized if I was caught.

Norfolk police have been doing spot checks, I'm told by someone who had to have a long discussion to avoid their legal reputable- brand UK conversion being seized as an illegal electric motorcycle. It seems the law is too difficult for some police.

 

[Drago]

More likely they've had little, if any, training on the matter.

The compliance plate/sticker makes life easy...if you know to look for it.

 

[Vantage]

Luckily I have one of those!
The throttle is what would get me I think. Need to work on that.

 

[Maker of Stuff]

I added a Bafang BBS02 conversion kit to my recumbent trike last year and have since done over 1,000 electric powered miles. Bought both the conversion kit and battery from reputable dealers on E-Bay. Fitted everything onto the trike in around four hours and then had to wait a few days after discovering that quite a few cables were too short to connect together. Five different cable extensions were needed. I also purchased a programming cable to change the assist levels more to my liking. Total cost including the 20ah 48 volt battery was just over £700. So far it's performed flawlessly giving a longest distance travelled of 63 miles on a quite hilly route.

 

[Time Waster]

People talk about far Eastern kits being the problem but aren't Bafang from China? Why do people use them as being OK but other far Eastern ones aren't?

 

[ExBrit]

People talk about far Eastern kits being the problem but aren't Bafang from China? Why do people use them as being OK but other far Eastern ones aren't?

Not all Chinese stuff is bad. There are many Chinese companies that are legit and are genuinely trying to be good. The fly-by-night companies with keyboard smash names like YUFFGUD must make them as mad as they make us.

 

[Slick]

I'm a bit of a fan of getting the best bang for my buck and ignoring the imposters. I'm currently in the Netherlands however and there are some really interesting contraptions flying around, so I would just suggest, go for it.

 

[CXRAndy]

Virtually all e-bike stuff is made in China, batteries, motors, by all the big companies as well as lesser known brands.

My wife's e-bike motor and battery is four years old. I've just transplanted it onto a new bike for more off-road capability.

The motor is a TSDZ2, Chinese made torque sensing. The battery I ordered from China 4 years ago too. I've got two larger capacity batteries now with USB outlets for phone charging etc, again from China. I got two batteries for the price of one UK sourced unit.

I ordered custom designed variable charge level 80/90/100% and charge rate current 1-5A battery chargers from makers who offer 1 off sample deals on Alibaba.

The original battery is still going strong and will likely sell on having a slightly different ,mounting frame to the new ones I've got.

They're a doddle to fit and being sourced from China you can have a crank based unit and battery for £500. Parts are readily available, cheap, not proprietary.

 

[PaulM]

I've had experience of purpose built e-bikes from 2 manufacturers (Orbea and Cube) and a self-installed kit from a small UK based supplier (wooshbikes).

The Woosh bikes kit (MXUS XF08C hub motor and downtube battery) was reasonably easy to fit even for a relative novice bike mechanic like myself; albeit I've always been fairly handy with tools. But I did need some help and advice from the supplier (who initially sent out the wrong PAS sensor disc for my cranks). The problem was the lightweight motor I'd chosen was no longer available so I had to go for the next one up, 3.3kg vs 1.9kg and this one is a little wider so I had trouble fitting the wheel into the rear frame on my bike.

In use the kit is good, plenty of torque and has been reliable, but I'm a little disappointed with the way the controller works. The assist levels all seem to give the max torque but it cuts off at different speeds, instead of different torque levels cutting off at the same 15.5mph. I think this is because it's designed mainly for throttle control and I asked for one without throttle to be legal (and visibly so). I sent it back for reprogramming as Woosh informed me it should work the way I imagined, however turns out the firmware for that isn't available yet.

The Orbea and Cube are much slicker in operation but the downside is cost and proprietary interfaces. On the whole I prefer the proprietary ones.
The conversion is just a commuting tool and works fine for that but I'm thinking of putting this hybrid bike back to manual and selling the kit. The controller issue, the faff of replacing the motor wheel and recently it's broken 3 spokes, I think because dishing the wheel to get the alignment right has caused other issues. Also I had been wanting a relatively lightweight e-bike and this still ended up pushing 20kg.

None of the above is the fault of Woosh who have been excellent with after sales support. The takeaway is kit/bike compatibility isn't always clear as it should be.

No problems whatever with battery and charger though.

I had this kit a couple of years ago and don't recall having that problem with the controller. I'm sure I was reaching 15 mph on levels 3 and 4. I only used 5 on the steepest of hills. I also got caught out by the hub width but I didn't bother redishing the wheel. But getting the wheel in and out was a bit of a nightmare. I had the rack kit and my bike was not very stable with all the weight so far back and high. I sold it and bought a Wisper 705se instead.