Electric bike wheel conversion kit

[ontheroadagain]

I bought one of these electric wheel kits off ebay.&nbsp; <strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="http://www.ebay.com/itm/29075459238...l?_from=R40&_sacat=0&_nkw=290754592384&_rdc=1" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">see it here</a></span></strong><br>So far I have tried it on two bikes and I am still having trouble.<br>I thought I'd list my experience for others.<br><br>The problem so far is with the rear frame on newer bikes tend to curve in slightly.<br>The spacer on the left side is not large enough to allow enough clearance for the sprocket.<br><br>The rear rack / carrier will not work with the wheel! There is a casble of wires coming out of the axle<br>that have large connector on the end. The washer and nut were slipped on prior to the company attaching ther connectors. So the bike rack/carrier supplied has a bars with closed loop attachments that are supposed to attach to the axleprior to threading on the nut.... you see the problem....? There is no way to slip it over the cable connectors and nut to get it on the axle.<br><br>Some bikes now come with the brake lever and gear shifter combined. this makes using the kit's supplied brake levers useless. They are vital in that they shut down the motor when the brakes are applied. Also with some new bikes the shifter is so larger that it is impossible to reach the throttle when you mount it inside the grip shifter on the bars. you have to take your hand off the grip and move your hand over to the throttle. very uncomfortable and not very stable way to ride.<br><br>Also note that the wheels can come as 6 or 7 geared sprockets. If you bike is 18 speed you need the 6 geared one and 7 for a 21 speed bike. otherwise you will have trouble getting the derailleur working correctly. I wish I had gotten the front wheel and avoided a lot of these issues.<br><br>Also note that this kit does not include the needed accessory for pedal assist.<br><br>Be aware that the kit in total adds 24lbs to the bike not including batteries. It is a 24v 500w wheel motor so I bought two 12ah batteries off of amazon. These weigh 8lbs a piece for an additional 16lbs.<br><br>So.. it is not as quick and easy like they say in their ads. The instructions are basically useless but online instructions can be found that are similar to this kit and they helped figure it all out.<br><br>I may pay the shipping and just return the whole mess.

 

[offroad]

i agree. return it. my experiments had similar conclusion. just not worth it yet.&nbsp;

 

[Zil]

I have three kits. All from E-Bike. They are 26" front wheels with hub motors. I have 36 volt, 10 amp hour lithium battery. Very similar to Golden Motor from China. Must use a steel fork as aluminum will break from the torque. I love riding around the area.

 

[ontheroadagain]

Zil, do you have a link? the front ones seem like they would be an easy install.<br>I am avoiding ebay electric wheels

 

[Zil]

google e-bike or golden motor. I purchased from E-BikeKit.com. Was a pleasant experience. I have an extra new from 3 years ago in box front wheel with everything but the battery. It is like the Golden Motor 500 watt kit. I would take $300 where is, but not sure if I can deal with shipping. The one I have used proved to be durable and more powerful than advertized, 26" front wheel, with 10 amp hour LiFePo battery. I would ride 5 miles or so. Always charged before using up battery, so don't know range.

 

[ontheroadagain]

I am interested. Where are you located. Is it direct drive or geared drive type of front wheel? Thanks

 

[Zil]

Direct drive brush-less hub motor with controller and throttle and braking kill switch. No battery. Runs on 36 volt dc. Never out of the box. box is trashed by cat scratches. UPS was 25 pounds.<br>I'm in the Pine Barrens, near Cape May, NJ.<br><br>Note, I purchased this from E-BikeKit.com, but it is not the same model as the one he now sells. I had no trouble with the unit I used until I wrecked my bicycle. I road it for two summers, wore out two tires.<br><br>My van was taken and right now I have no truck, but will soon I hope.<br><br>

 

[ontheroadagain]

I think I'll pass. I am not sure what I want to do right now. Thanks though

 

[ontheroadagain]

I just found a USA company that is building their own motors for electric bike. ampedbikes.com<br><br>I am seriously considering their geared mini motor for a front wheel. It weighs in at 8.5lbs. The one I had off ebay from china weighed 20lbs. <br><br>If anyone is interested I will update how the install goes and a bit about the quality.<br><br>Here is a blurb about this wheel:<br><br>"That said our high tech mini geared motors will run at 250W-350W (400W bursts). The way this works is under normal circumstances they will run at 250W on flat ground at 21-22 MPH +/- depending on weight etc. If you are climbing a hill or running at 48V they will run at 350-400W. These motors weigh in at 8.5 lbs if combined with the AmpedBikes state of the art battery tubes (5.8 lbs) are the lightest weight to torque/speed ratio available anywhere. The mini geared motors are whisper quiet, and they 100% freewheel designed to be ridden with or without battery power. Without battery power you will never know that they are even there. Under power as compared to our Direct Drive motors due to our design it will extend your range by 12-15% more range. The power (torque) or hill climbing ability are within 3-5% with the Direct Drive motors. They are small enough that no one will never even know you are using a motor, last of all the total weight is 14.3 lbs, BUT,,, you will be removing your existing motor at 2,3 lbs so the final weight will be at 11.8 lbs (with our tube batteries) The Sla batteries are quite a bit heavier at 25 lbs but the combination of either battery pack is a high tech winner with our geared motors."

 

[Zil]

I forgot ampedbike. They are good people. I'm not sure the motor part is made in usa.<br><br>this is interesting; http://endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=4&amp;t=15414

 

[ontheroadagain]

Just got my ampedbike.com front wheel. what a difference compared to the ebay wheel that I sent back.<br>The controller box is a third the size of the cheap one off ebay. All the parts seem/feel like so much more quality. Of course I will be better able to tell once I mount it give it a go.<br><br>I met a guy in town today who was on a currie ezip electric bike. His was from Walmart and cost him $459 including sla battery pack, plus tax (here in MA)(they also sell them on Amazon). Our little town has some serious hills and he says he has no trouble climbing the hills. Even the really steep one that leads up to our version of 'lookout hill'. He did say he has to pedal or the speed drops to under 5mpg on the hills but that it feels like pedaling on a flat road because the motor is doing most of the heavy work.<br><br>His bike was very heavy to lift though. about 70-80lbs. he said if he had the money he would have gone with the lighter frame.

 

[Zil]

Glad you have the ampedbike. What are you using for a battery.<br><br>I can recommend the LiFePo battery made by PingBattery.com. He has lots of good reviews and I purchased a 36 volt, quick delivery quality product.

 

[ontheroadagain]

I have been researching the LiFePo but the prices are way up there. Thanks for the link. His prices are crazy cheap. probably because he builds them himself??

 

[Zil]

Yes. He is recommended. His batteries were called "duct tape batteries". He is respected by the e-bike community. Has been supplying batteries for numerous years.