Looking for an conversion kit and battery under a total of ~600 USD

[PixelParallax]

This is the bike I am considering getting, I wanted a mountain bike for offroading but I will also be doing a lot of on street riding too. If you have any other bike recommendations that I should look at for under $500 lemme know.

Lets get to the point, I would like to purchase a battery and some form of ebike kit for around $600. I'm not aware of any reputable brands that sell kits for around 300-350. I am looking for 48v, 750-1000w and ideally not front wheel. PLEASE let me know if I'm crazy for thinking I could get something like this for that price and I'll reconsider. I also am not super sure on any requirements that the bike I get needs to have.

Bike specs are in the link (I am 6' 2" so I will be purchasing the 21 size).
Thanks, feel free to give ANY suggestions.

 

[indianajo]

ebikeling.com is only selling 48 v on direct drive motors. You can buy a geared hub motor from him with 36 v motor, and buy the battery from him. His geared hub motor only lasted 4500 miles before the gears wore out, but it meets your price point. My replacement Mac12t cost $740 with wheel controller and throttle. That is without the battery. I bought a battery from luna for $630 but he no longer sold 48 v or 36 v batteries last time I checked. Ebikeling batteries have been bought by others on here without complaints that I have noticed.
electric-bikes.com refused to sell me a Mac12t for $895 because we have hills in Indiana. I think that has something to do with the scarcity of 48 v geared hub motors. 90% of the ebike market is California, Oregon, Washington, where the buyers immediately after purchase try to climb the highest mountain in an hour. Mac has said their motors will burn a winding if lugged at slow speed with high watts for an hour.

 

[Dewey]

Yosepower ship a 28” wheel 48v direct drive rear hub kit plus battery from Los Angeles. Unsure if it’s the same kit as ebikeling. It comes with a 7-speed freewheel so you would need to replace that with an 8-speed thread-on freewheel to get it to work with the 8-speed on your bike.

 

[soyabean]

Gotta love folks that want the best for cheap

 

[PixelParallax]

Gotta love folks that want the best for cheap

I did say let me know if I was crazy. Didn't I?

 

[tomjasz]

You'll get what you paid for. Do yourself a favor and start a savings account to fund a proper DIY build.

 

[tomjasz]

feel free to give ANY suggestions.

Save your $$. A safe and well-made battery will gobble your budget. If not we'll see you back for the support you won't get from that cheap kit.

 

[PixelParallax]

Save your $$. A safe and well-made battery will gobble your budget. If not we'll see you back for the support you won't get from that cheap kit.

How much $$ are we talking here? I was thinking of getting this battery, is this awful?

 

[tomjasz]

Be suspicious. That can only be budget generic cells and zero warranty.

 

[indianajo]

How much $$ are we talking here? I was thinking of getting this battery, is this awful?

Amazon user names can be abandoned & replaced in an hour. New vendors start with a five star rating.
I bought a $300 pile of trash from Amazon btrbattery . It failed so badly I got my money back.
I bought a $330 pile of trash from ebay sun ebike baldwin city warehouse. The voltage would bounce back immediately after a stall on that one, so it took me 3 months and a load test with resistors to prove that one bad. I didn't get my money back.
My luna battery cost $630 for 48 v 17.5 AH. It works great 3 1/2 years later. He doesn't sell 48 v or 36 v anymore. Only 52 which is too high for climbing hills. I found with the 1300 W ebikeling motor, the 500th to 1300th watt don't do much for torque, only for winding heating. The 500 w Mac12t has more torque, also more windings.

 

[harryS]

Buying GT bicycle is what got us into ebiking, as we saw our first ebike on display at the shop. Bought my wife a store bought bike, and when I saw how simple they really are, I converted one for under $500 in 2015, but I left my GT bike alone. It's the Transeo model, with hydraulic disks, 8 speed rear cassette, and lock out front suspension. Hmm, it's still hanging from the rafters. Although I've ebiked 700 miles so far in 2021, it's all been on ebikes.

One problem I see already is that the GT comes with an 11-34 cassette. Most motor kits come with 7 speed 14-34 freewheels. It's not clear whether the GT has a 7 speed or 8 speed derailleur, but you will lose the low 11T gear, needed on an ebike, unless you buy a 7 speed 11-34.

My $500 ebike was a $210 ebikeling 36V rear hub motor, with a 22 amp controller that featured 3 PAS level. The battery was a $280 36V 12AH Dolphin pack from a chinese seller that now calls itself pswpower.com. PAS 1 tops off around 11-12 mph. PAS 2 at 14-16mph. and PAS 3 at 18-20mph. Throttle takes me to 20 mph. Speeds come from a $10 bike computer measuring wheel diameter to nearest cm.

The motor has never come off the bike. The axle nuts have the same torque I put on them in 2015. The controller exhibited some wake-up issues when riding around at 30F ambient. It goes to sleep and takes a few seconds of pedaling before it wakes up. I swapped in a controller from a second ebikeling kit, and that's the maintenance history, Battery checked out close to 10AH when I did a capacity test last summer.

Here is the same bike, goosed up with a $79 RST Capa suspension fork, the Dolphin removed for stealth, and a a pair of $30 36V4aH hoverboard packs in the rear bag. Now this could be called a $400 ebike, well capable of 20 mile range with the mighty 8aH battery pair. I've only ridden the Trek 80 miles this year. The seat is too hard, being from 1992.

What can you buy today? Well, ebikelings prices are up about $100+. I don't see many geared motor kits down in the $200 range. If I had to motorize a 26" or 700cc bike, I'd be buying a bare Q128H or Q128C (cassette compatible) motor for $140 shipped. Then I would buy a rim/spokes for about $60 and lace it myself. I'd continue in this ala carte mode and pick up a 20A 36V/48V controller with LCD, brake levers, throttle, PAS sensor. etc, from PSWpower for about $120. It's a better controller than what ebikeling sells anyway. Puts me over $300. Then look for a battery.

 

[harryS]

Went back and see you want 750-100W. You can get 1000W with a 25A controller and 48V, but that's only for a brief moment. Can't sustain that on a hill w.o burning up a $200 geared motor. A 1000W direct drive front motor kit is about $200, but in my opinion, ruins a bike like the GT, plus it would probably break the alloy front forks anyway. A 1000W direct drive in the rear ruins it too,

I'd suggest a beater steel bike with those 1000W motors. You can hit close to 30mph easily with a stout battery,

 

[EMGX]

This is the bike I am considering getting, I wanted a mountain bike for offroading but I will also be doing a lot of on street riding too. If you have any other bike recommendations that I should look at for under $500 lemme know.

Lets get to the point, I would like to purchase a battery and some form of ebike kit for around $600. I'm not aware of any reputable brands that sell kits for around 300-350. I am looking for 48v, 750-1000w and ideally not front wheel. PLEASE let me know if I'm crazy for thinking I could get something like this for that price and I'll reconsider. I also am not super sure on any requirements that the bike I get needs to have.

Bike specs are in the link (I am 6' 2" so I will be purchasing the 21 size).
Thanks, feel free to give ANY suggestions.

I think it is very doable but I don't concern myself with name brand or high price components. You can get a 48v 750w TSDZ2 mid drive for around $400 (although I prefer my 36v 500w over my 48v 750w) and a battery for around $200. I've had good luck so far with cheap batteries from Amazon including one btrbattery 48v 10ah LiFePO4, just ordered another btrbattery 36v 10ah Li ion. Time will tell if they hold up but so far no issues and most reviews are good too (I know that, in general, Amazon reviews have been accused of being fake but most seem genuine). I also have a no name 48v 500w (peaks high 800s) geared rear hub motor that has performed great even on long hilly rides. There are too many posts on this forum regarding failure of expensive name brand bikes and components to think that just throwing money at a product makes it better.

 

[PedalUma]

I think it is very doable but I don't concern myself with name brand or high price components. You can get a 48v 750w TSDZ2 mid drive for around $400 (although I prefer my 36v 500w over my 48v 750w) and a battery for around $200. I've had good luck so far with cheap batteries from Amazon including one btrbattery 48v 10ah LiFePO4, just ordered another btrbattery 36v 10ah Li ion. Time will tell if they hold up but so far no issues and most reviews are good too (I know that, in general, Amazon reviews have been accused of being fake but most seem genuine). I also have a no name 48v 500w (peaks high 800s) geared rear hub motor that has performed great even on long hilly rides. There are too many posts on this forum regarding failure of expensive name brand bikes and components to think that just throwing money at a product makes it better.

I started out with GTs as a starter drug. Now my builds are cleaner and more efficient. The final photo is a bike I built (electric) yesterday. You will want to get a gel saddle for the Aggressor Pro. It has an eight-speed free hub cassette. If you can, install a mid-drive. Once you have ridden one you will never go back to a hub-drive. It is not worth investing in a hub motor. I have made all the mistakes. The Avalanche with the twin water bottle batteries was a hub-drive for four-days, until the owner tried to do a sustained climb. I had to make it a mid-drive and now am stuck with a $420 used hub I cannot sell because they suck in comparison.

 

[tomjasz]

Amazon reviews have been accused of being fake but most seem genuine)

How Chinese Sellers are Manipulating Amazon in 2024

Find out how Chinese sellers are manipulating Amazon and the tactics they're using to manipulate the platform.

www.ecomcrew.com

 

[EMGX]

How Chinese Sellers are Manipulating Amazon in 2024

Find out how Chinese sellers are manipulating Amazon and the tactics they're using to manipulate the platform.

www.ecomcrew.com

I don't doubt that happens, there are sometimes questionable reviews that are easy to pick out, but most of the time I find myself agreeing with reasonable reviews on products I have purchased. Most of the unreasonable reviews that I have read come from people who come across as stupid people who blame a product for their own mistakes or inadequacies. recently I bought a tub of Super Lube, there are several scathing reviews stating that the container was underfilled. It is sold by weight, not volume and there are air pockets in the tub of grease which confuses stupid people. PS I think I'll use Super Lube if any of my ebike motors need re-lubrication, it looks like it would be good for that application on plastic gears.

 

[tomjasz]

I can only share my experiences answering customer support queries from buyers dissatisfied with those budget purchases. All well and good until there is an issue. Amazon prime and maybe I’d take a risk. But typically those budget batteries and kits can become a nightmare. As always YMMV.

 

[indianajo]

If you can, install a mid-drive. Once you have ridden one you will never go back to a hub-drive. It is not worth investing in a hub motor. I have made all the mistakes. The Avalanche with the twin water bottle batteries was a hub-drive for four-days, until the owner tried to do a sustained climb. I had to make it a mid-drive and now am stuck with a $420 used hub I cannot sell because they suck in comparison.

Geared hub drives overheat on 1000' mountains. Mac has stated lugging their motor for 25 minutes at full power & low speed will burn a winding. 95% of the country doesn't have 1000' mountains. Marin Cty CA does. Any purchaser of a geared hub motor in northern California should know before purchase what capabilities he is not buying. What he does buy is ability to go off the cell phone net without a spare chain and a lot of chain tools. I've put 1000 miles on the Mac12t I bought from Luna.
DD hub motors will climb tall mountains, especially equipped with ferrifluid. They will also use waay too many watthours doing it. Electric-bikes.com tried to force me into a crystal motor for ~$800. He refused to sell me a Mac12T. He obviously didn't understand the difference between hills in So Indiana, and hills in California SIerra mountains. Californians think everybody wants to live 100 miles from a volcano and 20 miles from a major tectonic plate fault. We're not all moving to California tomorrow.
As a rider who only uses power to overcome headwinds that would drag me down to 5 mph, I seriously do not want a draggy mid-drive. I need the exercise age 70. Changing a chain every 5000 miles is entirely enough. Torque sense could be advantageous, and is becoming available for hub drives. My messy looking battery hookup with dorman flag terminals is apparently more reliable than the push-in connectors the factory built bikes use. My battery is certainly cheaper than a Bosch, for example. I like the idea of HarryS to use $30 hoverboard batteries for range extension. Some concert trips could go 100 miles RT, too much for 840 wh.

 

[EMGX]

Anecdotes are always questionable to base decisions on, good or bad, but: the sub-$300 rear wheel geared hub kit I bought on Amazon is powerful, performs excellently, came with good KT controller and display as well as several peripherals including lights, stick on brake controllers and torque arm. The KT display control button handlebar strap broke when installing where there was a defect in the plastic (but it otherwise worked fine) and one of the brake motor cutoffs didn't work. The China based seller (had US stock for initial purchase) sent me a new display with control buttons, two new brake cut off switches. And they provided some other minor product support info. I was able to use the extra brake cut off and display with control buttons on another bike which saved me $60+. I'd trust that kit on a multi day tour I'm planning to do in the next week or two, depending on the weather, except that I like the cheap TSDZ2 on my (cheap) Walmart Schwinn Hybrid bike even more, pulling a cheap $100 single wheel BOB type trailer. Taking two 48v batteries with me, 15ah and 10ah, that cost a total of <450 for both and have performed great (so far). Anyone want to buy a Yamaha PW-SE powered gravel bike? I love it but love the cheap Schwinn/TSDZ2 more. I'm often surprised to see what people are willing to pay for what is, in the end, only a bicycle and sort of feel sorry for people who have such need for what they feel is the best and most expensive of everything to just enjoy going for a ride. Then disdainfully look down on anyone and anything that doesn't meet their exacting preferences.

 

[EMGX]

Geared hub drives overheat on 1000' mountains. Mac has stated lugging their motor for 25 minutes at full power & low speed will burn a winding. 95% of the country doesn't have 1000' mountains. Marin Cty CA does. Any purchaser of a geared hub motor in northern California should know before purchase what capabilities he is not buying. What he does buy is ability to go off the cell phone net without a spare chain and a lot of chain tools.
DD hub motors will climb tall mountains, especially equipped with ferrifluid. They will also use waay too many watthours doing it. Electric-bikes.com tried to force me into a crystal motor for ~$800. He refused to sell me a Mac12T. He obviously didn't understand the difference between hills in So Indiana, and hills in California SIerra mountains.
As a rider who only uses power to overcome headwinds that would drag me down to 5 mph, I seriously do not want a draggy mid-drive. Changing a chain every 5000 miles is entirely enough. Torque sense could be advantageous, and is becoming available for hub drives. My messy looking battery hookup with dorman flag terminals is apparently more reliable than the push-in connectors the factory built bikes use. My battery is certainly cheaper than a Bosch, for example.

I live near the top of a 1100ft mountain and the climb starts near sea level. My no name geared rear hub motor gives excellent assist on this as well as other hilly routes and has never felt hot even after a long pull. Neither my TSDZ2 mid drives nor my Yamaha PW-SE drag.