Question: Electric Bike Conversion Kits - please share your knowledge!

[maomao]

I would worry about fire from a cheap kit and I would worry about fucking your bike up with a shit kit but the law is clearly not a problem and is consistently not enforced.

 

[sealion]

I was going to do this and popped into a few bike shops for advice. Each mechanic told me not to do it. The frame won't be strong enough and they weren't built for that. They both mentioned torque when explaining the frame not being strong enough to be pushed by a motor.

 

[Bahnhof Strasse]

It’s perfectly legal as long as none of the illegal options are active/installed.

The reality is that almost nobody is getting fined - just look at the swathes of Deliveroo/Just Eat bikes out there. I don’t think I’ve ever seen one that actually complies with UK law.

Seems plod have no idea as to the law and so leave them alone, 1000's of electric motorbikes illegally buzzing around the country.

 

[Sweet FA]

£50 bike from the tip; 300 quid kit off Amazon; the whole thing cost about 500*

Terrifyingly fast - I was clocked at 30mph on it by the owner following in his car; it could have gone faster but I needed new underpants and was forced to abort.



*Originally posted on the general cycling thread I think. It's still going strong though. Has had front wheel/brakes replaced.

eta Don't do this obviously.

 

[pogofish]

One look at that rear wheel tells me there is no chance it would be legal..!

 

[pogofish]

Seems plod have no idea as to the law and so leave them alone, 1000's of electric motorbikes illegally buzzing around the country.

Depends - an otherwise responsible rider pootling along on their daily commute would IMO be much more likely to get pulled and checked-out than a tearaway racing about on an obviously illegal machine - for rather obvious and tragic recent reasons.

I also have experience of a friend back in the days before powered scooters were made illegal where after the initial pull, the police came back several times to examine the machine to try and find something technical to book them for, before plumping for no-insurance and a false claim of a high-speed chase down one of the city's main arteries as a catch-all in the end. Which resulted in ten points..!

 

[Sasaferrato]

Do those things recoup energy on the downhill?

 

[weepiper]

£50 bike from the tip; 300 quid kit off Amazon; the whole thing cost about 500*

Terrifyingly fast - I was clocked at 30mph on it by the owner following in his car; it could have gone faster but I needed new underpants and was forced to abort.

View attachment 383602

*Originally posted on the general cycling thread I think. It's still going strong though. Has had front wheel/brakes replaced.

eta Don't do this obviously.

This is not even the worst one of these I've seen.

 

[beesonthewhatnow]

This is not even the worst one of these I've seen.

 

[Bahnhof Strasse]

Do those things recoup energy on the downhill?

No, would require gubbins that weighs a ton.

My car does, but that already weighs 3 tons…

 

[dylanredefined]

Had a sywtch conversion for a couple of years . I wish I brought the bigger battery but gets me around Portsmouth fine and is easy to charge and if the battery does die, it can still be pedalled.

 

[Sasaferrato]

No, would require gubbins that weighs a ton.

My car does, but that already weighs 3 tons…

I thought a DC motor became a dynamo if you rotate the spindle?

 

[philosophical]

I had my Brompton converted not long before they started doing their own versions.
Will do 20mph, and can climb Shooters Hill pretty well.
Trouble is now I am getting on I want to sell it, but I don’t really know how to go about it.

 

[Crispy]

Regen braking is nearly worthless on an ebike because the amount of stored energy in a moving bike is hardly worth recovering. In a car, you put a load of energy in when accelerating and then the car's low drag conserves that energy for later recovery. On a bike, you put in much less energy to get going and then all subsequent efffort is spent overcoming the much higher drag.

Also, it requires a direct drive motor, which is heavier and less efficient than the brushless motors used in most ebikes.

 

[a_chap]

I had my Brompton converted not long before they started doing their own versions.
Will do 20mph, and can climb Shooters Hill pretty well.
Trouble is now I am getting on I want to sell it, but I don’t really know how to go about it.

It's easy.

Send me a PM saying "do you want my Brompton for £1?" and I'll come and collect it from you.

 

[philosophical]

It's easy.

Send me a PM saying "do you want my Brompton for £1?" and I'll come and collect it from you.

I think it is worth more. But nice try.