Looking for Advice on First Ebike Conversion

I am looking for some advice and purchase recommendations for my first ebike conversion. I have a late 80's Huffy Snake River 18spd Mountain Bike that I would like to convert. The bike has no shocks, is kinda heavy and appears to be made from steel and not aluminum. I would like to go with a front drive motor because I may need to change it over to a tricycle in the not too distant future because of my age (72). Here are the details of my riding requirements:

Desired max speed on level ground: 15 - 20 mph
Desired max range at what cruising speed: 30 miles (15 miles each way) at a 15 - 20 mph cruising speed
Preferred bike wheel size, or wheel size of bike you want to convert: 26" wheels
Brake type of motor wheel. Disc or not: Wheel rim hand brakes front and back and thumb gear shifters on both sides
Rider weight: 310 - 320 lbs and 6'2" tall
Terrain: Totally flat and paved bike trail (former railroad track in Florida)
Budget: $500 - $700 max (willing to order from China via Ebay or Aliexpress)
Mileage: Not a commuter or everyday rider, once or twice a week max.
Cost, reliability and distance are my main priorities not speed.

Thanks for your help!

Please do yourself a favor do not buy from an Austrailian Company out of Queensland.

Welcome, OldTimer.

Go to your User Control Panel's Profile tab (should be here) and fill out your Location. Florida, USA for example. People here like it to filled out before giving advice on where to buy components.

As an example you can buy a 36V 800W motor kit like this one from eBay seller xcceries for $207. Free shipping to lower 48 states. A good battery will cost more than the motor.

You'll get more suggestions from others shortly.

Profile updated, thanks

Here you are ... http://www.electric-bike-kit.com/hill-topper.aspx

And a review on it ... http://electricbikereview.com/clean-republic/hill-topper/

For more range you must get a second battery.

I looked into this , but wanted a rear hub motor, with your bike and flat ground in Florida this would be great for you.
Let us know what you wind up with .

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OldTimer said:

I am looking for some advice and purchase recommendations for my first ebike conversion. I have a late 80's Huffy Snake River 18spd Mountain Bike that I would like to convert. The bike has no shocks, is kinda heavy and appears to be made from steel and not aluminum. I would like to go with a front drive motor because I may need to change it over to a tricycle in the not too distant future because of my age (72). Here are the details of my riding requirements:

Desired max speed on level ground: 15 - 20 mph
Desired max range at what cruising speed: 30 miles (15 miles each way) at a 15 - 20 mph cruising speed
Preferred bike wheel size, or wheel size of bike you want to convert: 26" wheels
Brake type of motor wheel. Disc or not: Wheel rim hand brakes front and back and thumb gear shifters on both sides
Rider weight: 310 - 320 lbs and 6'2" tall
Terrain: Totally flat and paved bike trail (former railroad track in Florida)
Budget: $500 - $700 max (willing to order from China via Ebay or Aliexpress)
Cost, reliability and distance are my main priorities not speed.

Thanks for your help!

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Look for a 36V 500W motor kit in usa on ebay with free shipping. that will get you what you want. You'll need a 20ah 36V battery pack for 30 miles at 18mph. I wouldn't buy a hilltopper kit if it was the last kit on earth.
http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_sacat=0&_nkw=36v%20500w%20front&LH_PrefLoc=1&rt=nc&LH_FS=1

OldTimer. This $370 sun-thing28 might be one of the most inexpensive batteries you can buy:

"36v 20ah LiFePO4 Battery 5A Charger BMS For Ebike Kits Powerful USE 700W 800W"
http://www.ebay.com/itm/36v-20ah-Li...ike-Kits-Powerful-USE-700W-800W-/131549354706

The eBay seller hunk-801 has also been mentioned here as selling a battery like sun-thing28's and it costs a little less:

"NEW 36v 20ah LiFePO4 Battery Rechargeable 5A Charger BMS USE 700W EBIKE POWERFUL"
http://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-36v-20a...rger-BMS-USE-700W-EBIKE-POWERFUL/131512281229

But since either battery comes from China it'll be too expensive to ship back if it needs repair. So if you have a problem with it you'll either have to work on it yourself or find someone to work on it.

Only big problem with your plan is the budget. It's just best to figure on a thou, than $500.

Yes, you can get something for $500-700, but it might not be so ideal when you make the switch to a trike. Delta trikes like schwinns and worksman tend to get dangerous if the motor can push it more than 15 mph. Most of the bike kits do more like 20 mph. But with some throttle control, you can still ride safe as long as you keep to 36v.

There is a special, slower kit just for trikes like that, but it's outside your budget limits. Look for a cheap kit with a three or five speed switch. Then you can just run it on a slower speed using that switch.

Just figure on $800 to $1000, because you do want a good, long lasting battery. Don't get the 48v 1000w kit, and expect a too small, too cheap battery to last running it. Get a 36v kit for sure.

Some kits are just really low powered, and because of that even cheaper. This can work in Florida, because of the lack of hills. A very small motor with not much power is likely to work fine for you, as long as you don't weigh over 200 lbs.

Sounds like a 36V kit is the most recommended kit for me. It's a good thing I asked because I assumed that with my weight (300+) a 48V kit would be the way to go. Do some kits support low speed with high torque better than others? or do I really not need to worry about torque since my riding terrain is flat?

OldTimer said:

Sounds like a 36V kit is the most recommended kit for me. It's a good thing I asked because I assumed that with my weight (300+) a 48V kit would be the way to go. Do some kits support low speed with high torque better than others? or do I really not need to worry about torque since my riding terrain is flat?

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Well...
36 volts is nice and sedate. Since you call your self Oldtimer and you made a point to state your advanced age, people may be lead to believe you've slowed down in life, and so 36 volts might be the best thing for you. But that can be deceptive. When my dad hit 72, he slowed down , cut back his girlfriends from 5 to 2, and moved to a mountain where he only hiked 1 mile up the side for breakfast every morning. When my coworker hit 70, he got rid of his three 20 year old mistresses and replaced them with three 30 year old mistresses. My Uncle gave up black diamond ski trails, and switched to blue. My Grandfather gave up kayaking fishing expeditions for canoe expeditions.
Slowing down is relative.

There are several members here over 65 who have insainly fast(50mph+), high powered bikes (5000 watts+++) and ride them in ways most 20 year olds would not be able to keep up with. I'm sure they've slowed down a lot, and feel old compared to their younger years.

So do you feel nice and sedate? If so, 36 volts is fine. But I think it's a disservice for me to assume you are. Most people find 36 volts boring. 20mph seems fine until you've rode it. Almost everyone who tries it ends up wanting more. 48 volts is very likely a better match.

Most people want to go faster than you do and I'd normally recommend a 48V 1000W rear kit since there's very little difference in price between it and a 500W kit, but I had a 48V 500W on a Meridian delta trike and over 20mph on it was dangerous and cornering over 10 mph could lead to tipping it. That's the only reason i recommended the 36V 500W kit, for use on the trike.

36V motor and battery cost less than 48V for stated tight budget, $700 limit, and no need for > 20 mph. The battery is more important than the motor so less spent on motor is more available for battery.

Dogman's 3-speed switch idea to limit speed for trike sounds good. xcceries has a $235 48V 1000W front hub kit with LCD display. Maybe this has a 3-speed function? sun-thing28 sells a 48V 20Ah battery for $429.

E-BikeKit's trike motors are low speed motors advertised to have higher torque.

Don't forget to get a torque arm for the motor to keep it from spinning out of the fork dropouts:

Grin Technologies Universal Rear Torque Arm V4 for Electric Bikes/ ebikes.
http://www.amazon.com/Grin-Technologies-Universal-Electric-ebikes/dp/B00K60C67Y
Grin Technologies Universal Front Torque Arm Version 3 for Electric Bikes / ebikes
http://www.amazon.com/Grin-Technologies-Universal-Version-Electric/dp/B00K57N9II
Grin Technologies Front Torque Arm Version 2. For electric bikes /ebikes with forks that have fender eyelets.
http://www.amazon.com/Grin-Technologies-Version-electric-eyelets/dp/B00JOUOPY4

Grin Technologies Torque Arm Info webpage:
http://www.ebikes.ca/product-info/torque-arms.html

Thanks for the tip on the torque arm. Sounds like a smart precaution.

Looking at some of the kits, I noticed that some come with a disc brake rotor. My bike has V brakes not disc brakes. Will the kits with disc brakes still work on my bike? Also, what is the point in replacing the brake levers? The kit levers do not look as sturdy as the levers already on my bike.

I would consider the Bafang BBS02 500 watt 36v system and remove the front derailleur. You won't need multiple chainrings with the motor in Florida. I would plan to use it as a throttle only system and avoid using the cadence drive.

The BBS02 is a simple system to install and makes wire routing an easy task. More importantly its going to be much more efficient which reduces the size of battery you'll need for a given distance.

EM3EV has a good price on them, add about $100 for air freight and it will arrive on your doorstep from Hong Kong in about a week.

They also have pretty good batteries.

Avoid LiPo batteries, you won't like the idea of charging them outdoors under surveillance. Also avoid lithium batteries from unknown sellers in China. Many of them are counterfeits of Samsung and Panasonic with low quality.

On your budget Sealed Lead Acid batteries may be OK but you'll regret not having spent another couple hundred dollars more on a 36v 7-10amp-hour Li-Ion bottle cage battery.

I used a magnet and verified that my bike is made from steel and not aluminum including the front and rear forks. Thanks for the tip!

I currently have 26" x 1.9" tires that a local bike shop installed for me about 2 years ago. They selected the tires for me based on only riding on paved bike trails. The rear tire has worn down to the threads but the front tire has plenty of tread left. Assuming I go with one of the direct drive wheel conversion kits from Xcceries on Ebay (originally wanted front wheel but after reading more of this forum I am now also considering rear wheel), how good is the quality of the tire provided? How wide is the tire provided? Would I benefit from a tire wider than 1.9" especially considering my weight (300+)? How wide can I go with my existing rims? Please recommend a good quality low price tire. Thanks

The tire you get with the kits are good quality, but they're way too small imo at 1.75". I consider a 2" tire the minimum size and prefer the Cyclops Pro at 2.4".

Maybe go rent a E bike just to try it out you can rent a pedgo at Sparkys green bikes in Crystal river Fl a couple of brothers opened a Elc Bike shop up there if your not far from them.

rider95 said:

Maybe go rent a E bike just to try it out you can rent a pedgo at Sparkys green bikes in Crystal river Fl a couple of brothers opened a Elc Bike shop up there if your not far from them.

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Thanks, I'll drive over and check it out. It's only a 20 minute drive for me.

OldTimer said:

Looking at some of the kits, I noticed that some come with a disc brake rotor. My bike has V brakes not disc brakes. Will the kits with disc brakes still work on my bike? Also, what is the point in replacing the brake levers? The kit levers do not look as sturdy as the levers already on my bike.

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Get HWBS - Hidden Wire Brake Sensors. Then you can use your normal levers - at least with cable brakes.