First foray into electric bikes, need advice

[Ecky]

The 20mph limit is slightly disappointing, but I could live with it. I've looked into products like Flykly's Smart Wheel, and the Copenhagen Wheel, and the latter actually appeals to me if I could get my hands on it, but I'm leaning toward just assembling something myself.

vskid3 or ME_Andy, might you recommend me a specific conversion kit? Two features I'm interested in are regenerative braking, and throttle-less design (like in the above two products, so it feels more like a normal bike) - are these reasonable expectations to have of a cheap conversion kit? I'm also rather small and light, but live in an area with fair sized hills. My acceleration expectations are low, but getting closer to 30mph on level ground would be nice. I don't mind having to shift and/or work a little bit.

I'm thinking about grabbing a beater bike for now, and beginning construction of a trike, based on one of these two sets of plans:

AtomicZombie - The Warrior Recumbent Tadpole Racing Trike

AtomicZombie - The StreetFox Suspension Tadpole Trike


^ I'm going to call around and see if anyone around here can do aluminum welds, as I have tons of scrap aluminum laying around.

[vskid3]

Both of my kits were from YescomUSA, one from their site and one from their ebay page. I used this model. 26in Rear Electric Bicycle Motor Conversion Kit 48v 1000w – yescomusa

Regen is something I wanted as well, but the general consensus is it doesn't help much for ebikes and I could only find it in more expensive kits. The kit I used supports and comes with the parts to make it pedal assist (throttleless) using a sensor attached to the crank. I haven't tried it out, so I don't know how well it works. I believe the throttle will override the assist if you don't feel like pedaling.

Acceleration won't be an issue if you want enough power to do 30MPH. Mine will keep with traffic till about 20MPH on its own and I can leave cars in the dust if I'm pedaling. 1000w plus whatever I add will get a bike up and moving pretty quick.

[Grant-53]

At 20 mph or more I would recommend a rear suspension. Regen would not be hard to add if one knows some basic electrical theory. Getting half the energy back from hills or stop and go traffic stops seems doable. Any streamlining you do will improve range or speed as well as help keep you from exposure to the elements.

Like steel there are different alloys of aluminum that vary in strength.

[ME_Andy]

I agree with Vskid... Don't worry too much about regen, just get some extra range. Even a 500W motor is plenty. That's more than Lance Armstrong could crank out, and you will be adding your own muscle power to it.

Personally I don't think a front or a rear suspension is necessary.

Here's the kit that MMM recommends:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00GIXZKP8/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&cre ativeASIN=B00GIXZKP8&linkCode=as2&tag=lifereeng-20&linkId=74ABSSZGKT2WHZ6O

It looks like there are 7 speeds or "cogs" on that wheel? You need to be a little cautious to make sure the chain is the right thickness. So I would look for a bike that also had 7 cogs and disc brakes on the back wheel. However, some of the questions say it will work even for single-speed bikes.

[Grant-53]

The chain for a derailleur system will be 3/32" wide and a single speed or internal gear hub system chain is usually 1/8" wide. Does the motor shaft have a torque arm that attaches to the frame? Is there a dynamic braking mode?

Maybe I'm an old softy (62 yr.) but I want a suspension, a fairing, and a lap belt if I go that fast for very far.

[ME_Andy]

Originally Posted by Grant-53

Maybe I'm an old softy (62 yr.) but I want a suspension, a fairing, and a lap belt if I go that fast for very far.

Well, the commenters on Amazon seem to agree with you

I'm seriously thinking about buying one now. I have two months of commuting coming up. Figure 40 trips, saving $5 each... that would pay off a good chunk of the bike very quickly.

[ME_Andy]

Electric Mountain Bike

[Ecky]

That looks pretty good. Is that for you, or for me?

What do you think, of these?

MMM's recommendation, Aosom 1000w 48v, $380 - claims it also has a "brake controller"

Aosom 1000w 48v, $315 - includes LCD, is this the same kit + an LCD for less?

YesComUSA 1000w 48v, $310 - includes LCD and disk brake

YesComUSA 500w 36v, $190 - looks like the above kit, but with smaller motor and sans LCD and disk brake

[Ecky]

How does this look for a bike to put it on?

https://burlington.craigslist.org/bik/5216927639.html

[ME_Andy]

9 speeds on the rear wheel might be an issue because the chain will need to be thinner. Looks like a helluva deal though