Has anyone "modded" a mountain bike to make it an e-bike?

Mr Bump

Mr Bump

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I have seen aftermarket kits and am thinking of it?
 
I’ve got one here with an aftermarket kit on it that I’m fixing for a friend, what do you want to know? General pros and cons?
 
I know absolutely nothing about them, but I’ve read that almost all of the fires that have been caused during charging have been aftermarket ones. I’m sure it’s down to poor installation or poor quality gear, but definitely worth researching what to avoid etc. in order to minimise that risk
Unless I’ve fallen for sensationalist journalism, in which case apologies. But if it is a risk, it’s worth knowing about of course.
 
Neilc28 said:
I’ve got one here with an aftermarket kit on it that I’m fixing for a friend, what do you want to know? General pros and cons?
Click to expand...

spoke to a mate this eve and apparently the baffang stuff is pretty decent and relaible just
looking at a cheap fun project to get my old giant going "E"
 
doctorjuggles said:
I know absolutely nothing about them, but I’ve read that almost all of the fires that have been caused during charging have been aftermarket ones. I’m sure it’s down to poor installation or poor quality gear, but definitely worth researching what to avoid etc. in order to minimise that risk
Unless I’ve fallen for sensationalist journalism, in which case apologies. But if it is a risk, it’s worth knowing about of course.
Click to expand...

lithium battery fires are for sure a thing i think there is issues with bad chargers mainly people charging them to fast but if i do go for the upgrade oddly enough i have allready devised a "charge box" in the garage which will essentilly be a stone crate
 
Neilc28 said:
I’ve got one here with an aftermarket kit on it that I’m fixing for a friend, what do you want to know? General pros and cons?
Click to expand...

trying to see what kits include batteries as that is extra for most but also not sure if to do a fron/rear wheel conversion , i dont want to do a mid-drive on the gaint
 
found a good FB forum for UK Bafang :cool:
 
Mr Bump said:
trying to see what kits include batteries as that is extra for most but also not sure if to do a fron/rear wheel conversion , i dont want to do a mid-drive on the gaint
Click to expand...

The one I've got here is a Voilamart setup with a "Yose Power" battery, it's rated for 250w (limited) or 1000w (unlimited), having used it there's a couple of things I'd point out before looking to purchase an ebike conversion kit.

  • All kits will have a controller, these can be a bit bulky and the bag that they tend to supply is usually not very well secured to the frame, and to make matter worse sometimes it won't fit where they would recommend as there is not enough clearance because the battery will normally be mounted to where the bottle-cage mounts are.
  • Make no mistake, these can be heavy kits, and carrying them about or riding uphill without the motor assistance can be thoroughly knackering, consider the weight of the kit when looking at options.
  • The motor and battery are the 2 main expensive parts, if you're looking to trade your bike in at a later date for another model, make sure you buy the correct wheel now. I've seen someone buy a 26" kit, then change their bike to a 29", this resulted in them having to buy another 29" motor wheel which was around 60% of the cost of the whole kit.
  • A lot of the kits come with replacement brake levers as these have sensors in them to disengage the motor when the lever is used, an obvious safety measure. However be careful if you have hydraulic brakes as a lot of the kits are meant to replace cabled brake systems.
  • Power output from the controller to use an LED headlight is REALLY handy, it's not something you definitely need, but the idea of having headlamp control is pretty damn good, coupled with high-lumens because of the significantly higher power output.
  • I don't think I would contemplate using a front-motor system, most of the weight is put through the rear axle and so my train of thought would be to have the rear-motor due to grip. I've seen quite a few videos of people struggling to get grip on their ebike when offroading.
  • Some of the throttle controls are entire replacement handles, which honestly just feel awful, if you need or would like throttle control and not rely upon Pedal-Assist then I would look at the thumb-throttle levers which are little collars you can put on your handlebar and not a complete replacement handle.

On the whole though, the conversion is a blast, not overly technical, and whizzing through the inclines in the woods without having to break a sweat is mindblowing, albeit that takes some of the fun out of it I guess if your're on the calorie-burn.

Let me know if there's any other info you want, or maybe something I've not covered, happy to help if I can :)

Yose Power

Voilamart

IMG_8182.JPG
 
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@Neilc28 great update , did you go for the 36v system then?
what was your total spend please?
 
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