Looking for recommendation on first Ebike conversion kit

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RivieraRiding

100 µW
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May 17, 2024
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How you will be using the bike plays a big factor when it come to the various options. Are you using it mainly off-road, mixed riding, or street. Steep hills? Battery size may be limited. Also, reasonable price doesn’t provide much, your intended budget would be more helpful.
 
E-HP said:
How you will be using the bike plays a big factor when it come to the various options. Are you using it mainly off-road, mixed riding, or street. Steep hills? Battery size may be limited. Also, reasonable price doesn’t provide much, your intended budget would be more helpful.
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A mix of road/street riding, hopefully a range of 30-40 miles. capable of speeds of 35mph (56kph) and a price range preferably in the £400 to £600 price range ($500 to $750)
 
Your range and speed expectations can’t be realized on a $750 budget. 25 mph and 40 miles may be doable, with a fair amount of pedaling. I would spend about 1/2 to 2/3 of the budget on the battery.

Terrain/hills?

Is that rear wheel a thru axle?
 
RivieraRiding said:
would this be a suitable choice, 48V 1000W Ebike Conversion Kit Motor and Battery Pack Uk Stock Fast De
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Two things come to mind:

1. That motor only supports 7 speeds, but you have 9 speed shifters. 9 speed is not compatible with 7 speed. 8 speed shifters work with 7 speed because the spacing of 7 speed and 8 speed is close enough....although 8 speed shifter with 7 speed gear will have a ghost gear which can sometimes cause problems depending on how it is set-up.

2. That battery is likely too big for your frame.
 
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You need an enormous battery to get that kind of range at that speed, and a big triangle to carry it. And more money.

You'd want a 52v ~35AH battery to maintain 35mph for that many miles and you have a tiny frame which such a battery would not fit anywhere.

Here's what a 52v 23ah battery looks like. It might get close to filling the triangle on a medium sized bike:
52V 23Ah Triangle Battery
 
A frame like this would fit such a battery but there's nothing stealthy about the bike. If you're in the EU then you're a huge cop target.

1715999446299.png

If you could aim for 30mph then you could get a pretty good distance with a hardtail bike with a big triangle. Full suspension bikes with big triangles are really rare.
 
neptronix said:
A frame like this would fit such a battery but there's nothing stealthy about the bike. If you're in the EU then you're a huge cop target.

View attachment 353079

If you could aim for 30mph then you could get a pretty good distance with a hardtail bike with a big triangle. Full suspension bikes with big triangles are really rare.
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might have to look into buying a separate hardtail bike to convert, any recommendations on brands with a good frame for converting?
 
You're in the UK so it's hard to recommend anything since your market is so different.

A cheap hardtail with 135mm dropouts and oldschool QR axles is not hard to find and you don't have to be really picky about them. Upgrade the front suspension fork to something not regrettable, add a very nice suspension seatpost, put some huge rubber on it, and you've got a bike that handles well enough for 30mph and can also carry a huge battery.

A 26er is ideal if you want to go with a DD hub motor ( the smaller the wheel, the more a DD will make torque ) and a 29er is recommended for geared hubs and mid drives.
 
neptronix said:
You're in the UK so it's hard to recommend anything since your market is so different.

A cheap hardtail with 135mm dropouts and oldschool QR axles is not hard to find and you don't have to be really picky about them. Upgrade the front suspension fork to something not regrettable, add a very nice suspension seatpost, put some huge rubber on it, and you've got a bike that handles well enough for 30mph and can also carry a huge battery.

A 26er is ideal if you want to go with a DD hub motor ( the smaller the wheel, the more a DD will make torque ) and a 29er is recommended for geared hubs and mid drives.
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hows something like this look, Talon 3 (2021) | Giant Bicycles UK
 
I put a hub motor on a FS Bike with a big battery in the triangle, but, then again, it was a 20+ year-old bike and they didn't make them as tight as they are nowadays.
PXL_20230402_231157487.jpg
 
Gotta love 26ers, always have a big triangle. FS bikes with this amount of free space seemed to die off as a species in the 2000's.
 
ebike4healthandfitness said:
....although 8 speed shifter with 7 speed gear will have a ghost gear which can sometimes cause problems depending on how it is set-up.
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Not really a problem. For me Sram 8-speed trigger shifter with Sram x-9 8-speed derailleur on a 7-cog. Shifts crisply and reliably every time. Happily, best shifting action I have enjoyed in a long time! Gear position 8 is my ghost gear. If I am already in 7th and (inadvertently) upshift one more, it just clicks but no actual derailleur movement. From there, downshifting to 6th just requires two thumb pushes on the lever.

NBD, so don't be afraid of 8-speed shifter on 7 cogs. Just make sure the limit screws are adjusted correctly.
 
OP, depending on the conditions of the roads in your area, you may find FS is a must for safely navigating at 35 MPH. I had a high quality 29er hardtail with a good suspension fork, currently ride a high quality 26" DH FS normally cruising at 21 - 23 MPH, no question the FS is the way to go, way more secure than the hardtail (even with its 29" wheels).

There is a thread showing the open triangle FS models. I'll see if I can find it. If not, see what your searches bring up. Something like "large triangle full suspension models," etc.

The models from the 2000s - 2010s offer 26" and QR 135mm spacing dropouts, making easy hubmotor fitting.
 
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Here it is:

endless-sphere.com

Full suspension bikes compatible with a frame battery

I'm starting this thread to keep track of FS bikes I come across that might accomodate a battery in the frame triangle. I haven't been bitten by the FS bike bug quite yet, but I've been casually browsing for conversion candidates. If you've converted a full squish bike that can hold a battery in...
endless-sphere.com endless-sphere.com

MadRhino's bike is what I modeled my current FS build on.
 
I remember seeing that thread, and it was sad to see.

All the good FS bikes were built in the 2000's, all out of aluminum. Newer ones only fit a mid size battery, and that wouldn't be big enough for OP's needs. Some ingenuity would be required to fit >= 0.75 kw-hr of battery.

29ers typically have a smaller triangle as a function of the wheels taking up more space. You may notice that the most generous triangles are usually on 26ers.

But we got no problem with a 29er hardtail generally. On the cheaper ones we tend to get a 1990's era open triangle and 135mm dropouts.

1716099798120.png
 
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