Live in South Africa. Looking for advise on convert a Kona Cube Duel suspension MTB to an e-bike.

MGW

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Hi from South Africa. My wife road my e-bike the other day and of course loved it. I know have the challenge of converting her MTB to to an e-bike. Reason for conversion is her MTB is very sturdy, new and not worth selling. It will definitely handle the additional stress/ load. I have done a little research and be feel the mid drive kit will most probably be our best bet?. Rear drive is also a possibility. Would also like to keep the cost down, being from South Africa limited products are available. Am thinking a 750w motor with a 20amp battery with at least four pedal assistance settings and a throttle so she can also ride out of pedal assist mode. Looking for the best kit for the best price, the challenge will be trying to get the kit to South Africa
 
I had a lot of success with the Bafang BBS02B. If you can still locate a UART version it can be tuned to make it very user friendly. 12,000mi and no issues. The hardest part may be fitting the battery on a FS MTB.
@PedalUma is having a lot of success with the new ToSeven motors. They add a layer of refinement as it uses a torque sensor which gives a more natural ride experience. The aforementioned BBS02B uses a cadence sensor to implement assistance.

Not sure if these are CANbus or UART... but you can inquire with Anna: [email protected]


 
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Three questions.
1. Since your wife loves your ebike, what are you riding at the moment?

2. Also, many of us do not know the Kona line, How about a link to your wife's bike? Full suspension can make battery placement pretty challenging,

3. Where/how will it be used? Expected range?
 
I had a lot of success with the Bafang BBS02B. If you can still locate a UART version it can be tuned to make it very user friendly. 12,000mi and no issues. The hardest part may be fitting the battery on a FS MTB.
@PedalUma is having a lot of success with the new ToSeven motors. They add a layer of refinement as it uses a torque sensor which gives a more natural ride experience. The aforementioned BBS02B uses a cadence sensor to implement assistance.

Not sure if these are CANbus or UART... but you can inquire with Anna: [email protected]


ToSeven Communication protocols: UART/RS232/CAN
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Batteries have an amp rating, usually not stated, typically 40-50 amps. You probably are thinking about the amphour rating, which correlates to range.
 
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Thanks guys will respond ASAP after a bit more research after your helpful advice and comments.

I had a lot of success with the Bafang BBS02B. If you can still locate a UART version it can be tuned to make it very user friendly. 12,000mi and no issues. The hardest part may be fitting the battery on a FS MTB.
@PedalUma is having a lot of success with the new ToSeven motors. They add a layer of refinement as it uses a torque sensor which gives a more natural ride experience. The aforementioned BBS02B uses a cadence sensor to implement assistance.

Not sure if these are CANbus or UART... but you can inquire with Anna: [email protected]


Thanks for the info greatly appreciated it
 
Three questions.
1. Since your wife loves your ebike, what are you riding at the moment?

2. Also, many of us do not know the Kona line, How about a link to your wife's bike? Full suspension can make battery placement pretty challenging,

3. Where/how will it be used? Expected range?
My e-bike is a Titan racing volt E 2
Mainly riding on gravel, tar and then some off road, some very steep hills around.
40 kms max distance.
The Kona cube is more a touring bike very sturdy will try attach a pic.
 
I've owned a Bafang BBS02B conversion since 2016. It's almost 2X more powerful than a DM02 mid drive or a TSDZ2B mid drive, which I also own. I also have hub motor bikes that more powerful than the latter two motors.

You can lazily ride the bafang slow as molasses or fast as hell. It's versatile. The DM02/TSDZ2B are,in my opinion, for bikers who want to spin the pedals and get exercise. You can set them in turbo and be lazy though. Their throttles work, but are mainly used to sustain speed and give the rider a brief rest. Throttles on the BBS02B and on hub motors are used to accelerate.

However, I'm partial to mid drives because they require less creativity to install, Hub motors have controllers that need to go somewhere on the frame. I tend to sit and stare at a frame for hours deciding where to hide the controller.

The original Bafangs could be owner tuned to meet the pedaling preferences of the rider. The newer ones are more restrictive. My 2016 model was perfect. I installed a 2023 unit for a friend and found it unrideable. It was rideable if you were willing to walk it thru the assist levels during acceleration, but I didn't like that. It was easy to retune to the same settings as mine. Have no idea how a 2025 model works or if it can be retuned. I don't need bafang power, so if I had to start over, it would be the Toseven or TSDZ2B, That's another topic.

Batteries are another install process. I like to have a battery not look like an ugly wart on the bike, but no matter what you do, most downtube packs look ugly. If you don't need extensive range, smaller batteries that look like water bottles work. Full suspension bikes usually have no space in the frame to install a battery,
 
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