DIY electric bike

[Spare tyre]

I'm no proper cyclist, was well into when at school, but now I just have a bike for nice slow ride when I fancy it.

I'm currently in Italy no have been driving around the lakes and the stelvio pass. The mount of electric bikes I have seen is crazy, a lot seem powered at the pedals, some on the hub

If I fancy an electric bike what's the best route in without spending mega bucks

I have a old giant mountain bike, it has disk brakes, does this make any odds for a Hub conversion.

Any pointers etc, most welcome

[spyder dryver]

Hi there. I built my own ebike having been diagnosed with a heart problem. I took my disc braked Kinesis MTB as the starting point. It now has a 250W rear hub motor which bought as part of a conversion kit. Fitting was fairly straightforward, even lacing up the rear wheel wasn't too difficult. Total cost including a new rim, bigger brakes and an expensive high capacity battery was about £600.
It was well worth the effort. I can go on 30-40 mile off road rides using a medium setting. I contribute about half of the effort, the motor the rest.
I fitted a cutoff switch on the bars in lieu of cut off brake levers.
IF you are handy with spanners and wiring then DIY conversion is a possibility. Plenty of kits available. Otherwise you might consider a ready built bike for about a grand. I wouldn't spend much less.
Take a look on the PEDELECS forum. Lots of good info and reviews. Legal stuff too.
Many shops will hire out a bike for you to test ride.

001 by Geoff Lee, on Flickr

IMAG0103 by Geoff Lee, on Flickr

[Spare tyre]

Thank you spyder

[rolex]

I think if you're out in the countryside and the battery dies you can connect it to a wind turbine, they have sockets on the side.

[spyder dryver]

Sound thinking rolex. But I sometimes go out when its not windy. So I'm fitting one of these beauties. Maybe two. Recharging on the move. I'll have one blowing on my face and the other blowing on my 'nads.

[mike74]

I'm trying to justify getting a 'proper' electric bike... a Stealth B52 Bomber, 5.2kw... 50 mph!!

Only fly in the ointment is the 8 grand price tag

I'm sure the price of these could come down considerably, but I'm also concerned our nanny state will either ban the sale of them or at least implement a law that they have to be taxed and insured for road use.

[gp1699]

get hold of this guy for tips?

https://youtu.be/HIhfwjWuj-I

[sjg]

mike74 said:

I'm trying to justify getting a 'proper' electric bike... a Stealth B52 Bomber, 5.2kw... 50 mph!!

Only fly in the ointment is the 8 grand price tag

I'm sure the price of these could come down considerably, but I'm also concerned our nanny state will either ban the sale of them or at least implement a law that they have to be taxed and insured for road use.

Legal ebikes are 250w / max 15.5mph assistance. That is not. So it already falls into the "motorbike" category, and to ride it on the road would need all the legal stuff in place to register it as one and get a V5 and numberplate, then you'd need insurance, a suitable licence, helmet, etc.

Of course, you can do what you like with it on private land. Just like a (non-road-registered) motocross bike.

[spyder dryver]

mike74 said:

I'm trying to justify getting a 'proper' electric bike... a Stealth B52 Bomber, 5.2kw... 50 mph!!

Only fly in the ointment is the 8 grand price tag

I'm sure the price of these could come down considerably, but I'm also concerned our nanny state will either ban the sale of them or at least implement a law that they have to be taxed and insured for road use.

If you were utterly determined to go down this route there are plenty of kits available to convert your own bike at much less cost. Don't get caught though. Your license is at stake.