Electric bicycle

[Darrell]

My commute is about 9 miles each way and it took me 35 mins this morning so an average of 15 mph, with a couple of reasonable hills. I guess improving my top speed by 10/15% isn't really going to make a lot of difference in the great scheme of things!

 

[Darrell]

^^^ It was though I got stuck at every set of lights in the West End.

 

[DrNick]

Stuck at the lights? Surely you are not doing it right!
(I jest - cycling is a lot about self-preservation these days)
I saw that a driver was recently fined 4 points and £1000 for overtaking a cyclist too close*. New rules mean you have to give 5ft of clearance, which is good to know.

*Driver fined £1,100 for passing cyclist in Bridgend too closely fine was for actually not paying a FPN but the point stands.

 

[Darrell]

Stuck at the lights? Surely you are not doing it right!
(I jest - cycling is a lot about self-preservation these days)

I might roll over the odd pedestrian crossing when there are no pedestrians but some of those junctions in London are so nasty I’m safer by obeying the rules.

 

[vijilants]

Stuck at the lights? Surely you are not doing it right!
(I jest - cycling is a lot about self-preservation these days)
I saw that a driver was recently fined 4 points and £1000 for overtaking a cyclist too close*. New rules mean you have to give 5ft of clearance, which is good to know.

*Driver fined £1,100 for passing cyclist in Bridgend too closely fine was for actually not paying a FPN but the point stands.

Amazing....the motorist gets fined for overtaking too close......guess this type of fine make a pile of money across the country.

 

[Darrell]

Amazing....the motorist gets fined for overtaking too close......guess this type of fine make a pile of money across the country.

Stupid rules.

 

[ChrisEdu]

Love my eMTB

 

[DrNick]

So an update: I've just converted a bike similar to the solution described in the last picture of post #18.
In the quest for more speed, the only answer is to drive the crank, as that is then geared.

So I've fitted a Bafang mid motor kit to the crank of an old Subway 8 (with the Nexus 8 speed hub gearing) and mounted the battery where the water bottle usually is.

This gives a reasonable center of gravity.

You do need tools to get the bottom bracket apart, and probably the ability to deal with different chain lengths. Other than that, its an easy install.

Short summary - it now has the potential to go too fast, but there are varying degrees of assist you can program into it. It detects when you are pedalling and then activates the motor.

I was impressed with my original conversion (with the powered hub), but this is a different league.

 

[philnewmerc]

So an update: I've just converted a bike similar to the solution described in the last picture of post #18.
In the quest for more speed, the only answer is to drive the crank, as that is then geared.

So I've fitted a Bafang mid motor kit to the crank of an old Subway 8 (with the Nexus 8 speed hub gearing) and mounted the battery where the water bottle usually is.

This gives a reasonable center of gravity.

You do need tools to get the bottom bracket apart, and probably the ability to deal with different chain lengths. Other than that, its an easy install.

Short summary - it now has the potential to go too fast, but there are varying degrees of assist you can program into it. It detects when you are pedalling and then activates the motor.

I was impressed with my original conversion (with the powered hub), but this is a different league.

I was thinking about this update too but wasn't sure which system (hub or crank) gives the least drag if you wish to cycle with the motor switched off (or you run out of electricity)?
thanks

 

[BTB 500]

I was reading an article somewhere this week warning about DIY electric conversions ... if you don't meet all the specific requirements (main ones being 250 watts maximum power and no assist above 25 kph) they are legally classified as mopeds and can't be ridden on-road without being registered and insured.

 

[DrNick]

I was thinking about this update too but wasn't sure which system (hub or crank) gives the least drag if you wish to cycle with the motor switched off (or you run out of electricity)?
thanks

Either seem ok to me.
The mid drive one has a one way clutch so is easy to pedal with no motor drag.

 

[DrNick]

I was reading an article somewhere this week warning about DIY electric conversions ... if you don't meet all the specific requirements (main ones being 250 watts maximum power and no assist above 25 kph) they are legally classified as mopeds and can't be ridden on-road without being registered and insured.

That is true. You can buy kits that are locked to these requirements and the other ones can be reprogrammed to match these requirements. eg maximum power can be software limited, and maximum speed can be software limited.

I don't know if this is in strict compliance with the law, but seems close enough for me, if when driving around you are unable to set a higher level without the aid of a laptop. I know of at least 1 ebike company that sells ebikes on a large salary sacrifice scheme that are technically 500w motors but are electronically limited to 250W

Other countries have different limits, which probably explains why the kits are adjustable.

 

[BTB 500]

In reality I'd have thought the chance of ever having an issue with the legality of a conversion would be just about zero, unless perhaps you were involved in an accident.

We have two newish e-bikes that came from the in-laws in Germany (both EU built), and one is noticeably faster/more powerful than the other

 

[MikeInWimbledon]

Holy Thread Revival, Batman !

But still I wonder, why? All respect to the British Shed tinkering tradition, but aren't there absolutely fabulous things out there which were well engineering to do it all so well, with handling, tyres and braking commensurate with power going through those wheels?

(Electric power going up a dusty rutted cycle track being a perfect example of a challenge for too much motor assistance)

Just on the "legal limit" 250 watt / speed restriction thing. There are oodles of bikes out there in open contravention of the EU / UK limits. Both on UK roads and on all the long distance bridleways.

Which is not to condone them, but just to acknowledge their existence.

A decade ago in 2013, I had a Kalkhoff BS10 Endeavour which was 350 watt and capable of 28mph. (I experimented with three different electrics ( before returning to a conventional steel hybrid - because, at my age, I need the exercise).

 

[DrNick]

Holy Thread Revival, Batman !

But still I wonder, why? All respect to the British Shed tinkering tradition, but aren't there absolutely fabulous things out there which were well engineering to do it all so well, with handling, tyres and braking commensurate with power going through those wheels?

If you are referring to professionally built ebikes, then yes, there are a huge range of extremely good and well thought out bikes out there, and I'd have quite happily bought one except for the price! If I was starting from scratch, I'd be looking at getting one on the Bike2 work scheme.
But spending around £2k on a new bike is not something I was prepared to do, and I already had a cheap conversion (see top of thread) so the improvement in performance for that money just wasn't there.
For a lot less money, I have now resurrected a perfectly good bike - and I like tinkering.

It is apparent though, that bikes are potentially like guitars, hi-fi, <insert hobby of choice> etc in that there are people willing to spend vast fortunes on very small increments that are important to them, and that even £2k is a cheap bike. And like guitars in particular, they breed. I've got two ebikes now, so the old one has been given to another family member.

That Kalkhoff looks like it was a pretty ideal hybrid commuter and was probably perfect in 2013 (what was its price tag?), but was also classified as a moped and even had a bracket for a number plate! The bike in the picture looks great, With the proliferation of potholes, the perfect bike would have a more significant rear suspension I suspect now!

With regard to excercise, I'm still putting in the same amount of effort (based on my wheezing and heart rate), just going faster. It doesn't go so fast that I don't need to pedal. I didn't want a pseudo-moped!

 

[MikeInWimbledon]

If you are referring to professionally built ebikes, then yes, there are a huge range of extremely good and well thought out bikes out there, and I'd have quite happily bought one except for the price! If I was starting from scratch, I'd be looking at getting one on the Bike2 work scheme.
But spending around £2k on a new bike is not something I was prepared to do, and I already had a cheap conversion (see top of thread) so the improvement in performance for that money just wasn't there.
For a lot less money, I have now resurrected a perfectly good bike - and I like tinkering.

It is apparent though, that bikes are potentially like guitars, hi-fi, <insert hobby of choice> etc in that there are people willing to spend vast fortunes on very small increments that are important to them, and that even £2k is a cheap bike. And like guitars in particular, they breed. I've got two ebikes now, so the old one has been given to another family member.

That Kalkhoff looks like it was a pretty ideal hybrid commuter and was probably perfect in 2013 (what was its price tag?), but was also classified as a moped and even had a bracket for a number plate! The bike in the picture looks great, With the proliferation of potholes, the perfect bike would have a more significant rear suspension I suspect now!

With regard to excercise, I'm still putting in the same amount of effort (based on my wheezing and heart rate), just going faster. It doesn't go so fast that I don't need to pedal. I didn't want a pseudo-moped!

I get it. It’s the British tradition, real men have a shed! That Kalkhoff in 2013 cost me about £900, half its original value, I think. As did its two replacements an e-MTB and a tourer with front suspension.

The bike to work thing produces a lot of genuine near new bikes (of all types) being sold for 40% off. (Avoid the stolen ones). I just used to buy them and sell them a year or two later for the same money.

In leafy South West London and Surrey I don’t think I’ve ever seen an e-bike with a number plate, and I do keep an eye out for these things.

My issue with bikes now is that I never ride them for practical reasons like I used to. I just walk 5-10 miles a day. The luxury of time, and the advantage of a state subsidised local transport system that’s free and always empty.

 

[BTB 500]

It is apparent though, that bikes are potentially like guitars, hi-fi, <insert hobby of choice> etc in that there are people willing to spend vast fortunes on very small increments that are important to them, and that even £2k is a cheap bike. And like guitars in particular, they breed. I've got two ebikes now, so the old one has been given to another family member.

Yup my father in law has cycled for 60 years (competitively when younger), so we have a steady stream of freebies from him! It also helps that he has a camper van, so no problem bringing them over from Germany for us