Conversion kit recommendations

[ren531]

I'm looking for a conversion kit to turn my wife's 700c hybrid into an Ebike, can anyone recommend a good uk legal and compliant kit that has a good cadence to power delivery, I have used one in the past that was awful, you turned the pedals and it shot off at full speed, it doesn't need a huge range will be only used for local journeys.
Cheers.

 

[Drago]

You can get 250W kits that meet the requirements of the legislation, but very few of them carry the compliance plate so are techically not legal. It depends whether you're happy keeping to the spirit of the law, or abiding with the letter of it.

 

[Mike_P]

Ones with torque sensors respond to the rider better than those just with a speed sensor which probably what the one referenced only had.

 

[Hacienda71]

I see a lot of UK ads for Swytch Bikes. No idea how goood they are though or if they are linked to pedal input

eBike Conversion Kit | Swytch (swytchbike.com)

 

[Blue Hills]

I see a lot of UK ads for Swytch Bikes. No idea how goood they are though or if they are linked to pedal input

eBike Conversion Kit | Swytch (swytchbike.com)

was on a ride a few weeks ago with a woman who had fitted one to her brommie and was full of praise for it, including ease of fitting and customer support.

 

[ianrauk]

A friend also has a switch motor on his Brommie. Full of praise for it also.

 

[ren531]

You can get 250W kits that meet the requirements of the legislation, but very few of them carry the compliance plate so are techically not legal. It depends whether you're happy keeping to the spirit of the law, or abiding with the letter of it.

Thanks for the heads up about the plate isue, I will look into it.

 

[numbnuts]

I used these people 6 years ago......so far so good
https://electric-bike-conversions.co.uk/

 

[T4tomo]

I have a Swytch kit, but cant comment yet, its waiting to be fitted...I pondering what to fit it to.

 

[IanSmithCSE]

Good evening,

I am not a bike frame designer, so does anyone here who is have any thoughts on the different loads placed on the front forks and steerer when it becomes responsible for transmitting the drive forces?

If I ride a normal bike, the bike is accelerated from the rear both the weight of the rider and the bike and the front forks need to cope with accelerating themselves and the front wheel, as well as surviving hitting pot holes and the rider rocking side to side out of the saddle.

If we add a motor to the front wheel then the front forks also become responsible for transmitting a “pulling force” to the bike and rider and in practice this force may cut in and out quite abruptly as the speed limit.

To me the existing loads seem to be much greater than the loads applied by the motor, but the frequency of these smaller loads would seem to be much higher and they will occasionally be added to the worst case for the pedal frame.

So does this new load add up to anything to worry about?

Bye

Ian

 

[raleighnut]

Good evening,

I am not a bike frame designer, so does anyone here who is have any thoughts on the different loads placed on the front forks and steerer when it becomes responsible for transmitting the drive forces?

If I ride a normal bike, the bike is accelerated from the rear both the weight of the rider and the bike and the front forks need to cope with accelerating themselves and the front wheel, as well as surviving hitting pot holes and the rider rocking side to side out of the saddle.

If we add a motor to the front wheel then the front forks also become responsible for transmitting a “pulling force” to the bike and rider and in practice this force may cut in and out quite abruptly as the speed limit.

To me the existing loads seem to be much greater than the loads applied by the motor, but the frequency of these smaller loads would seem to be much higher and they will occasionally be added to the worst case for the pedal frame.

So does this new load add up to anything to worry about?

Bye

Ian

2 bikes here with 250w front motors (Maz's Dawes and my Trike) I'd say that the 'load' on the fork is far less than braking forces can apply and rather than the assist "coming in abruptly" with the kits we have it comes 'in' quite gently and progressively, maybe this is a function of the controller (3 phase 'hall effect' motor) but they don't 'suddenly take off'

BTW these have been totally reliable for 8 and 7 years respectively and they're both 'throttle only' systems (legal when they were fitted)
there are no sensors fitted although the wiring connections are there to connect them and the 'cutoff' speed is limited by the controller not allowing the motor to spin above a certain RPM. The reason for going 'throttle only' was to limit points of failure in the systems and for economy of battery usage (they only use power when we call for it) but both have 'power cutoff' brake levers fitted for safety

 

[CXRAndy]

I'm looking for a conversion kit to turn my wife's 700c hybrid into an Ebike, can anyone recommend a good uk legal and compliant kit that has a good cadence to power delivery, I have used one in the past that was awful, you turned the pedals and it shot off at full speed, it doesn't need a huge range will be only used for local journeys.
Cheers.

Im not aware of a UK manufacturing of ebike kit. Most will be Chinese in origin. The two common ebike kits are Bafang and Tongscheng. You can get these UK legal versions or unlocked, so you can setup your own requirements.

 

[ren531]

Im not aware of a UK manufacturing of ebike kit. Most will be Chinese in origin. The two common ebike kits are Bafang and Tongscheng. You can get these UK legal versions or unlocked, so you can setup your own requirements.

Thanks I will have a look at those, a uk legal one is what I am looking for.

 

[Pale Rider]

First decision is hub drive or crank drive.

Hub drives tend to be simpler to fit.

Woosh is a reliable UK supplier of kits.

Lots of Bafang motors, although the Aikema is known to be quieter.

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

 

[ren531]

First decision is hub drive or crank drive.

Hub drives tend to be simpler to fit.

Woosh is a reliable UK supplier of kits.

Lots of Bafang motors, although the Aikema is known to be quieter.

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

After some research, I'm going for a hub motor, thanks for the info on wooshbikes.