Electric Bike Conversion Kit Options | DIY E Bikes With EMBN

There's no denying that EMTBs are expensive. However, there are various kits available that allow you to convert your existing bike into an electric bike. Here are Steve and Chris to talk you through them 🔧⚡️

⚠️ Check with your bike manufacturer before installing any aftermarket kits to check warranty stipulations ⚠️

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What're your thoughts on E Bike conversion kits? 🤔 Let us know 👇

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[donwright]

Built my first one 40 years ago with an old starter motor and a trailer to carry heavy old car batteries .Was pretty crap and every one laughed and said that will never catch on. last year I fitted a kit and it's awesome.

[alibro]

I'd like to see more conversion kits on the show. For many of us our first experience of ebikes is through kits. My mountain bike lay in the shed for 15 years rarely ridden until I fitted my first kit. Now I'm riding hundreds of miles each year.

[caseyalexander]

I built a 1300w 48v 16ah rear-drive on a 29” Shwinn MTB. On throttle only it will go 15 miles with a Max speed of 27mph. I’m 6’4” @ 260lbs. It cost me $1, 450.00 and I’ve put about 1, 300 miles on it so far. If you are going to build your 1st ebike make sure you already have a good set of tools that encompasses all parts of the bike. Have a decent air pump as well. If you are a larger person invest in a larger thicker tire, with the added weight of the kit it’s easy to get flats from snake bites or bottoming out on the rim. Try to find a bike with at least a front suspension so you don’t get bounced around as much on your ride. If you value your life upgrade the stock brakes, you are carrying so much more weight and forward-energy the stopping distance can be much greater at high speeds. Cars and pedestrians are not used to seeing a bicycle moving at these higher speeds and just pull out in front of you thinking that you were going much slower. Furthermore you gotta get creative in trying to iron out the details installation. Mounting everything securely can be tricky. You also need to know the type of power connector from the battery wire, it needs to match the computer/controller. Mine was different but my local hobby shop soldered the correct one on for $5.00. Finally as this is electric there is going to be downtime for charging, most batteries come with 2 Amp-Hour charger which is fine but if you ride a lot invest in a better one or an extra battery.

Best Regards

[computerbob]

Has anyone ever considered strapping all 3 motors to a bike? It would be interesting to see how steep a climb it could take you up!
Go on Steve, build it!

[scottmcintosh]

I built a class 4 ebike about 8 months ago. That means I have no PAS system. I do 30mph with ease. I can go well over 30 under the right conditions. Keep in mind, just because I can go that fast doesn’t mean I always do. I have and do push the limits of my bike often, that does mean I take mountain gravel roads and trails that dirt bikes are on. I also have had multiple problems come up and had to learn a ton about every component involved. Ive had to find answers to problems even the experts that sell and work on the expensive ebikes don’t know the answer to. I’ve had to learn the hard way, many times those same people have been completely wrong. It seems they always advise the most expensive way to find and fix the problem first, even if they aren’t going to be making any money out of it.

At this point the only original parts from when i began this journey are my battery and my motor.
On my rear hub motor my disk break is attached directly onto the motor. 
When you’re going down a steep hill or slowing down from higher speeds that disk break is going to get hot. Extremely hot. In turn that disk break is going to make your motor hub hot too. And as you work the motor going up it stays hot and back and fourth. This heat, I now believe can travel from that disk break, make the motor hotter than it would be, and follow the power lines, all of them, back to the controller, and even into the throttle.

There is a plastic connector for the 5/6 wire connection of the hall connection and such. I’ve melted that twice. I had melted it the first time and had a ebike shop fix it for me. They told me I had been taxing the battery too much going up hill. Unknown to me they replaced it with the same part than wrapped it in a bike inner tube and made it look like it had been heat shrunken. I was pretty mad when it melted again. There’s more to that but I digress.
I fixed that by hard wiring that connection and insulating it. No plastic to melt.
I rode very hard on some mountain passes yesterday. My throttle went out for the second time, but I wasn’t aware of it until this morning. I took both thumb throttles apart. The wires were broken in the same spot in both. Either the wires are arcing. Or my theory about heat building up through the wires as a result of the disk break getting hot. Or. As a 3rd very real possibility, the parts are just made cheep. I did some research and found that the throttle I payed $37 for 2 times. Is sold on the web for $7. Just sold under a different name. I have what that store called a beefier throttle now, and my bike is running, they gave me this throttle for free. I’m not hopeful it will last and plan to replace it.
My plan is to go to a scooter or motorcycle shop and find a heat gasket to put in between the motor and the disk break. No idea if it will help. But I hope so. Let me know what you think or if you have any ideas. Thanks in advance.
26” 1000w 48a rear hub motor

[ampm]

My 4 year old can fit these conversion kits with blindfold and one arm tied behind his back. These guys make it sound more complicated than it is. Just go ahead and do it, it's so easy.

[timetravelfilms]

A lot of the hub kits are mounted to 26" MTB wheels - it is one way to revive that retro mountain bike that''s not doing too much in the shed! I made a video about an old Raleigh bike that has been given new e-bike powers.

[NBSTL]

Did you just say you've been riding the DJI Amflow bike for, "over a year"....and NO on-the-trail ride review yet?! 😠
This looks like it could be the holy grail combo of weight, power and design... Why has Sam, (Sam's Bikes), seem to be the only person on planet YouTube to be able to post a full actual trail ride review video that I can find?

[bobpoor]

As an early adopter of e assist, first one was 2001, the only options available were kits or 250w EU/Japanese reg eBikes with front or rear hub or the mid drive units from Panasonic, Yamaha etc. that were low on power and range. The biggest drawback was the battery technology which at that time was likely to be SLA or at best NIMH. The first conversion I did was a Currie system that had the drive unit attached to the rear end. Currie btw eventually ended up being bought by ACCELL and becoming the US distributor for Haibike and a major player in the development of the Class laws here in the US. The potential was there but the batteries didn't provide the amount of amps to power a bike up nor the ah's for a very long ride. Cadence sensing PAS were as much garbage then as now so throttles, legal here in the US, were actually preferable. Keeping track of the development over the years it wasn't until Lithium batteries made the scene that eBikes, whether kit or branded complete bikes, were developed that would provide enough amps and wh's that finally unleashed the potential of eBikes to the larger market. The cost was high for the new battery chemistry but cost per wh has dropped considerably since. As an example my first LiFePo4 battery was $600 shaped like a cement block and @ 48v provided a bit over 500wh's whereas my latest battery purchase cost me $400 and is a 48v, 18ah (864wh) 2170 cell in the what is known as an HL style down tube mount style. At this point I have three 48v 2170 batteries, 12ah, 15ah and 18ah to choose from depending on the amount of ride time given the terrain I am riding that I can switch between my 3 eBikes, 2 front hub drop bar road and 1 mid drive MTB, for less than $1500.

As I mentioned cadence sensing PAS is shite and will feel unnatural to a real cyclist in that the way it controls the speed is not always relative to the amount of effort you want to put into the pedals. Torque assist systems are far preferable but limited in selection for kit units to a few mid drive models, I use the TSDZ2 and find it to be on par with the big players on that level and cheap to buy @$350 or so but also a bit skimpy in regards to their bb bearings and the fact they have a square taper spindle and take some maneuvering to get a decent chainline due to the drive side offset, or a torque sensing bb in conjunction with a hub motor. Due to the EU regs regarding no throttles that has never been an issue for us here and I have found it to be a useful tool also. They get a bad rap but are actually a very useful item for starting off and blipping on the odd occasion to maintain momentum in say a rock garden where pedal strikes are an issue. I would say in an average 30 mile 3000' elevation gain ride I use the throttle for less than 500' but having it there when I need has become part of what I expect of an eBike when I am riding and works a treat. The assumption that once a throttle is installed it is used to exclusivity is laughable to me actually although I do see people at time utilizing that feature but consider it to be their loss as pedaling is the best part of the trip.

My kit based front hub drop bar bikes which I use on all terrains actually and have from sea level to 12, 000' are throttle only but can be set as a "cruise control" at the infinite range of watts within the system using a Cycle Analyst display that goes way deeper into being able to tailor the controllers output parameters than any other display I know of but is on analog level compared to the App based systems from the big players or companies like GreyP.. However much I like the TA on my eMTB for the road I prefer to tailor the amount of assist to my desired cadence/physical input without any "magic leg" effect at the drive train. It has become a personal preference and wouldn't trade it for any of the drop bar bikes that are now becoming popular. Because of the front hub drive and my input at the cranks effectively the bikes are 2 wheel drive which comes in handy in many situations such as steep and loose fire road climbs and using in super soft conditions like snow, mud or sand. As mentioned having a good torque arm system to keep the axle from spinning in the drops is a must but not rocket science to achieve. In fact one of my motors has a built in torque arm and is a direct drive unit that weighs on par with the geared type hub motors yet has the benefit of regen also. 

The ability to upgrade to new technology, as in batteries specifically and how I recently switched easily and relatively cheaply to the newer 2170 format, is a big factor for me personally. However I am knowledgable enough to be able to do my own installations and maintainence of the systems/bikes I use and the boys above are right about the fact that if you don't have a basic understanding the e assist concept and bike mechanical knowledge it is probably best to just go with an off the shelf complete bike hopefully backed by the service of a good shop.

[goobfilmcast]

Good info....U.S. commenter considered a conversion and it is important to take one big thing into if your "donor" bike does not have disc-style brakes that might be a problem...."squeeze" brakes offer less stopping power. That equates to less safety especially at 20+ you'll have to replace them (the entire wheel) or install rotors and new brake hardware on existing wheels.... more money and skill if you are new to this consider a modestly priced pre-build (which you will fall in love with...trust me). If you keep it in decent shape you can re-sell it at a fair price.... then either build or buy the bike with the performance and features you want from the experience gained from your first e-bike experience

[andrewcox]

Good to see this post. the Bafang mid drive works really well for commuting and hacking around the streets. Not a difficult install but the difference for me is in keeping the cables managed and neat it makes a big difference to the look of the conversion. So many conversions look terrible with wires everywhere.

[usertlsdca]

For Front hub it is the frames like the NEXT Power Climber that works well with front hub motor due to design of having center weight right behind the handle bars. Keeps wheels from peeling with better traction..

[MrRockstar]

The problem with most manufactured e-bikes is that they generally only go up to 15 mph.

[kendallhurm]

I bought a Bafang unit and installed on a custom hardtail and just as Steve mentioned, the chain line was so bad that I couldn't shift into the easier gears. It is also rpm sensitive not torque sensitive so becomes a handful to ride in technical conditions. Finally gave in and bought a YT Decoy.

[davidking]

Converting an old MTB is a good idea - in theory. What people need to consider is are the brakes adequate, is the chain and cassette in good condition (replacing those adds to the cost... are the tubes and tyres still good (many old bikes are parked due to mechanical issues... and tyres can rot out in a year or two... to make conversions safe, esp. with the extra weight and speed can cost a lot more than a new cheap e-bike - and the new bike will come with dic brakes, be engineered for the weight, probably with a front suspension fork, better tyres etc... pouring money into converting a cheap, old, potentially badly maintained bike is not good sense... Of course, if you have a great condition old bike that is good quality, then it is an option, but still consider the maintenance needed to bring it up to spec and safe condition...
You still get a thumbs up for talking about the subject, we can't all afford the price of a new car or motorcycle to buy a pushbike with a motor...

[jacobmccarthy]

just like to say I’ve been watching YouTube ever since it first came out and never before have I watched a video which was so helpful - great job guys

[deanos]

I built a bike using a Bafang BBS01B @@@ watt motor with a 36v 13amp hour battery bolted on the down tube.
I also upgraded everthing on the bike with brand new equipmentt including brakes, suspension forks wider tyres, gearing and it cost me approx £1000

[herethere]

I pondered converting a bike or going with a Bosch CX, ultimately deciding on the Bosch. I regret the decision every day since Bosch has been an absolute nightmare with serious mechanical issues (repeated error code 500 and continuous intermittent glitches that their software cannot diagnose, going on for almost two years now since I bought the bike new) and horrible warranty/customer service (Josh Parris, Bosch-employed factory mechanic, has had my bike for over four months months now trying to repair it). Since the frame is proprietary to the Bosch system I am stuck. Had I gone with a conversion it would simply be another component that could be changed or even removed. Hindsight is 20/20

[mikewysko]

Just started searching for E Bike and didn't know what would work best for my situation. Helpful information. Thanks guys!😎

[alancarlyon]

HI guys, GREAT BLOG, but I am an old pensioner/carer for my wife! I bought myself a bike to get my old frame back into shape! The ev ops you showed were great, but confusion for the likes of myself! I rode my bike to my bowling club, but having to dismount when coming to a hill!