I just finished converting two old but treasured bikes (both 700c Bianchis) to E- Assist. I used a 500 watt kit from Leeds for the first one, and a 350 watt Dillenger kit for the second. The Leeds kit was over $1000, and the Dillenger kit was about $600.
The Leeds kit arrived in good condition, but with the wheel "locked up" so that it could not spin backwards. I had to send it back and Leeds was very good about shipping out a replacement. Their customer service was just fine. The kit took quite a bit longer to install than expected, mainly because it was my first conversion, and the instructions included with the kit were poor, even contradictory when compared to online instructions. There were components in the kit never mentioned in the instructions, and you had to sort of piece it together as you went.
The Dillenger kit worked fine out of the box, except the brake motor interrupt sensors (which were "stick on" and kind of sketchy) didn't work with the style of brake handle the bike was equipped with, and had to be tossed.
Functionally, both bikes do what they are supposed to do: make riding up hills a joy. The 500 watt Leeds kit seems very heavy, but when you're riding it the weight just falls away. The motor is noticeably louder than the one on the Dillenger kit. The 350 watt Dillenger kit is also quite a bit lighter, and doesn't load down the bike as much as the bigger Leeds system. You could imagine riding it normally, with the power off. Not so much with the heavy Leeds system.
We are both loving getting out on our bikes again, and we come back, after riding up the final hill home, with smiles on our faces.
Robin
The Leeds kit arrived in good condition, but with the wheel "locked up" so that it could not spin backwards. I had to send it back and Leeds was very good about shipping out a replacement. Their customer service was just fine. The kit took quite a bit longer to install than expected, mainly because it was my first conversion, and the instructions included with the kit were poor, even contradictory when compared to online instructions. There were components in the kit never mentioned in the instructions, and you had to sort of piece it together as you went.
The Dillenger kit worked fine out of the box, except the brake motor interrupt sensors (which were "stick on" and kind of sketchy) didn't work with the style of brake handle the bike was equipped with, and had to be tossed.
Functionally, both bikes do what they are supposed to do: make riding up hills a joy. The 500 watt Leeds kit seems very heavy, but when you're riding it the weight just falls away. The motor is noticeably louder than the one on the Dillenger kit. The 350 watt Dillenger kit is also quite a bit lighter, and doesn't load down the bike as much as the bigger Leeds system. You could imagine riding it normally, with the power off. Not so much with the heavy Leeds system.
We are both loving getting out on our bikes again, and we come back, after riding up the final hill home, with smiles on our faces.
Robin
