Ebike Conversion Time! I want your advice/opinion
Well the time has come to convert one of my bikes to an e bike. I've been an avid bike rider for 20 years. I have retro bikes, full carbon bikes, and everything inbetween. My knees have had it though. I cannot keep pedaling.
Seems there are tons of options of what to hobble together and it gets a bit overwhelming so I was hoping some of ya'll could help me decide.
If anyone has converted a bike and it has been totally solid and it seems to fit my application then please let me know what you have and links to where you purchased it. I'm sure one of you has gone down a huge rabbit hole of research and figured all of this out. I'd like to learn from what you know.
The platform:
Aluminum Bianchi Lynx 26". This is the bike I would like to convert as it's worth the least but is the most fun that I have. It's my go to for short trips in the city
Range:
Honestly I only need it to go around 10 miles round trip max but I want some leeway there. Most trips will be under 6 miles. I live in Chicago.
Power:
I weigh 230 lbs (ex powerlifter) so I was looking at 48V 1000W kits but am not sure how much power I will really need. I do not want to have to pedal much because of my knees.
The style:
I want rear hub drive because I want the throttle and do not want all the maintenance of a mid drive. I'm an industrial maintenance manager by profession. I've learned less maintenance is best, always.
Budget:
I would like to come in under $500 if at all possible but am willing, upon sound advice, to up my budget.
My questions:
First off is the power. I would love the power of a 1000-1500W but am wondering if this is overkill for my city. It's mostly go, stop, go every couple blocks at stop lights. I also noticed that most batteries only output a MAX of 500W so then what's the point of having a bigger wattage motor? Is 500-750w plenty? I do not need to go 50 mph but would like to be able to cruise at 25 without overly stressing the motor, inverter, and and the battery by running it maxed out all the time
I have heard the battery is more important than the motor size as far as performance goes. Is this true? Am I better off getting a nice big 48V 20 Ah battery and then going smaller with the motor? I found some batteries that will output 1000W but they are expensive and they could easily just be lying. Do they really all cost over $200 or are there deals out there. Feels dumb to drop $260 on a battery that could easily just become a brick in my garage in short order.
Seems they are all Chinese so which kits actually output the right power and which batteries are actually sound? Which ones last? I assume this industry is like any other where some manufacturers make a quality product whiles others make something very similar, for a similar price, yet it's a piece of junk and they just rake in profits.
How is the longevity of these kits? Are they solid or do they break after a few years? No point in even wasting my time if the batteries just give out or the modules after a few thousand miles.
Thanks for your time and advice.
Well the time has come to convert one of my bikes to an e bike. I've been an avid bike rider for 20 years. I have retro bikes, full carbon bikes, and everything inbetween. My knees have had it though. I cannot keep pedaling.
Seems there are tons of options of what to hobble together and it gets a bit overwhelming so I was hoping some of ya'll could help me decide.
If anyone has converted a bike and it has been totally solid and it seems to fit my application then please let me know what you have and links to where you purchased it. I'm sure one of you has gone down a huge rabbit hole of research and figured all of this out. I'd like to learn from what you know.
The platform:
Aluminum Bianchi Lynx 26". This is the bike I would like to convert as it's worth the least but is the most fun that I have. It's my go to for short trips in the city
Range:
Honestly I only need it to go around 10 miles round trip max but I want some leeway there. Most trips will be under 6 miles. I live in Chicago.
Power:
I weigh 230 lbs (ex powerlifter) so I was looking at 48V 1000W kits but am not sure how much power I will really need. I do not want to have to pedal much because of my knees.
The style:
I want rear hub drive because I want the throttle and do not want all the maintenance of a mid drive. I'm an industrial maintenance manager by profession. I've learned less maintenance is best, always.
Budget:
I would like to come in under $500 if at all possible but am willing, upon sound advice, to up my budget.
My questions:
First off is the power. I would love the power of a 1000-1500W but am wondering if this is overkill for my city. It's mostly go, stop, go every couple blocks at stop lights. I also noticed that most batteries only output a MAX of 500W so then what's the point of having a bigger wattage motor? Is 500-750w plenty? I do not need to go 50 mph but would like to be able to cruise at 25 without overly stressing the motor, inverter, and and the battery by running it maxed out all the time
I have heard the battery is more important than the motor size as far as performance goes. Is this true? Am I better off getting a nice big 48V 20 Ah battery and then going smaller with the motor? I found some batteries that will output 1000W but they are expensive and they could easily just be lying. Do they really all cost over $200 or are there deals out there. Feels dumb to drop $260 on a battery that could easily just become a brick in my garage in short order.
Seems they are all Chinese so which kits actually output the right power and which batteries are actually sound? Which ones last? I assume this industry is like any other where some manufacturers make a quality product whiles others make something very similar, for a similar price, yet it's a piece of junk and they just rake in profits.
How is the longevity of these kits? Are they solid or do they break after a few years? No point in even wasting my time if the batteries just give out or the modules after a few thousand miles.
Thanks for your time and advice.
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