I want to build or buy an Ebike

[Churnmaster]

I'm looking to electrify one of my bikes or buy a prebuilt bike but i think I prefer to build . My main concerns are comfort and range. Acceleration and top speed are not as important. What suggestions do you have. I weigh about 225lbs.

 

[MLB]

Well you already know if your bikes are comfortable or not. An E assist doens't change anything there.
Range is all about how much capacity in AH (amp hours) AND how much you pedal or don't.
Figure that part out and it's pretty simple to work out what you need based on how far you want to ride and what kind of physical environment. (hills or not)

 

[George S.]

DIY motor choices are heavily biased toward the Bafang/8Fun BBS mid-drives. You can check out EM3ev, Lectric Cycle, Luna Cycle, others. There are tons of installation videos. Definitely check out Karl at electricfatbike for everything BBS.

Other choices are hubs, MAC, Golden, rear or front. Several generic kits reviewed here.

Might depend on the bike. What kind of hills? What kind of bike?

 

[Ann M.]

Exactly, @Churnmaster , knowing a little more about where you want to ride, maybe how far and what type of bike do you already have to convert will help us help you! If you don't already have a bike then it might be more cost effective to buy something already built to be electric. Better on warranty and less hassle for you. That, however, is all dependent on your needs for the bike.

 

[Logan Gogarty]

Build your bike for sure! The more I look at production bikes the more I realize they are overpriced and lacking. The only small and insignificant advantage I can see to buying a production bike is an integrated battery. Otherwise you can build a bike with higher end components, higher top speed, more range, more power, and exactly to your liking for less money.

 

[flymeaway]

What suggestions do you have.

36V - 500Watt BBS02. You can get a good 15AH battery and this combination will provide good power 40+ mile range at a reasonable price. Conversion is straight forward. If your riding is done in hilly conditions consider 48V - 750W. The downside is slightly heavier components, and a physically larger battery. Good luck.

Court J.

 

[PJungnitsch]

I was looking at building but when I priced out the parts a complete bike made more sense. I went with Biktrix, which has worked out very well, but Radpower and Voltbike would also be contenders price-wise to a build.

 

[Kaldeem]

@Churnmaster, Logan and I virtually build the same bike. I don't know how much @Logan Gogarty cost, but I will tell you my bike in total was around 2,300$ It's not an instant gratification drive-thru experience, but putting in the effort to choose my parts, my bike and my battery/motor for under the price of every single bike listed on this page of a big ebike dealer here in CO. is priceless and awe inspiring. Figure out what you need, then what you want. Then build it yourself!


Check out my thread in the Bafang Forum.

 

[MLB]

I've done both and I'll go the other way here. There is a lot of thought, and trial and error that goes into marketing a complete bike. They've taken care of a lot of little details that can be very frustrating to figure out on your own. I did a lot of riding and tweaking, carrying tools with me, making adjustments. For quite a while, putting my own together.
Verus getting home, jumping on and going and having FUN. On a solid, engineered to the job, de-bugged, bike.
The Market is very quickly lopping the fat off the top of the market. (falling prices) and the gap from DIY to pre-built is closing fast if comparing apples to apples.
The more epsensive bikes that most site as egregious example of over priced do in fact use better and more expensive components.
Bafangs are cheap, but they aren't the best quality.

 

[daleL]

I just posted a similar thread called "ebike kit for road rides?" Check out the responses I get and definitely check out the new Dillinger Street Legal kit priced at $700. I just installed it for my wife and it almost seems too good to be true. Easy to install except for a couple of quirks I can tell you about. Low initial investment. Rated average range of 40 miles with a maximum of 60 miles. We will be testing its real capabilities in February.