Pro's and Con's retrofitting electric existing bike?

[PedalUma]

Pedaluma, do you cut/make your own cables so they join without excess wiring? That's the main thing I dislike about most of the DIY installs (not yours) I see on Youtube is the excess wiring.

I do not 'like' internal wiring but will do it. That comes out clean! It is a matter of cutting the connector off the display so the wire will fit into the frame's shifter hole. Sometimes I need to fish it from the other end to pull it through using a cable and shrink tube. I then splice the wires and tuck the soldered and sealed joint into the frame.

It is easier to just tuck the extra wires inside the hidden compartment of the motor housing behind the chainring. No cutting. Hitting them with a heat gun sets their shape. A blob of hot glue binds them taught. 80% of the time I will drill and mill the front of the same hidden compartment and pull a wire from there so it seamlessly merges with the external housings under the downtube. On the green Boda Boda I ran the display wire over the top where the front derailleur cable originally ran.

It depends on the bike. On the HD cargo I strategically placed a cell phone holder on the top tube at the handlebar, shoving all the ugly Bafang connectors into it to make them go away.

 

[EMGX]

The Penalosa (including the 10lb battery & wider rims) is at least 10lbs lighter than the Lectric for basically similar profiles. I'm thinking the Lectric must be steel vs. aluminum. Agreed?

I don't have either bike, I have seen a few of the lectric bikes and talked briefly with the rider of one, she thought it was great.
The Lectric is almost certainly aluminum but I don't know that for sure. It does seem to have fenders, a rear rack, lights and a suspension fork that the Penasola doesn't have stock - all together that might make up a decent part of the difference. If your wife likes the Penasola it might be worth the extra cost vs a Lectric unless she can test ride a Lectric herself.

 

[Markg2]

I don't have either bike, I have seen a few of the lectric bikes and talked briefly with the rider of one, she thought it was great.
The Lectric is almost certainly aluminum but I don't know that for sure. It does seem to have fenders, a rear rack, lights and a suspension fork that the Penasola doesn't have stock - all together that might make up a decent part of the difference. If your wife likes the Penasola it might be worth the extra cost vs a Lectric unless she can test ride a Lectric herself.

The Penasola doesn't have a 'suspension' fork nor any other form of shock absorption that I'm aware of.
I noticed the following 'verified' purchaser comment on the Lectric website but I don't know enough about bike configurations to know how much weight to give the comment:
"It is a difficult bike to ride without electric assist because the seat sits directly over the pedals and it is hard to get the right angle with your legs when pedaling. As an electric fun bike, it is a nice bike. As a bike used to get some exercise, it does not fall into that category."
Mark

 

[soyabean]

"It is a difficult bike to ride without electric assist because the seat sits directly over the pedals and it is hard to get the right angle with your legs when pedaling. As an electric fun bike, it is a nice bike. As a bike used to get some exercise, it does not fall into that category."

From my experience, it's safe to say that if it doesn't look like a "bicycle" then it won't pedal like one.

Most buyers won't have the upper hand to test drive as many as I have, so it's a good rule for a buyer's first ebike purchase.

 

[m@Robertson]

Re Ebikes USA - appreciated big time. I'll be calling Houshmand for an appointment on Monday. Again... thanks! I don't suppose the gentleman has an easier to pronounce, generally familiar nickname? I suck with names.

ha no he goes by his whole name, which is easy to pronounce. First syllable rhymes with "who". Second syllable like the 'mon' in 'Monza'

This web site ('this one' as the one you are on now... electricbikereview.com) actually did a tour of his shop. And the guy doing the tour mispronounces his name right off the bat

The 2wd ebike he shows off early on was my inspiration and blueprint for my own first 2wd effort, and talking to Houshmand about it in detail is how we first came to meet.

 

[Art Deco]

Two questions--

Is there an archived thread that already lays out the +'s and -'s of retrofitting an existing bike vs. purchasing a new ebike?

Is there some agreement on the top shops in Denver that sell and install a retrofit kit?

Thanks

Mark

Search DIY and KIT .

 

[PedalUma]

Good cells are coming back!!! Premium 3500mah cells have been very scarce, or non-existent for all of 2021. They should start to appear in another fifteen-days. Premium cells make all the difference in an electric bike. It is like making wine with premium grapes vs prune-o.

 

[harryS]

"It is a difficult bike to ride without electric assist because the seat sits directly over the pedals and it is hard to get the right angle with your legs when pedaling. As an electric fun bike, it is a nice bike. As a bike used to get some exercise, it does not fall into that category."
Mark

If your battery runs out on an XP or any similar 20" fat tire 65+ pound ebike, trust me, you get plenty of exercise.

 

[Markg2]

ha no he goes by his whole name, which is easy to pronounce. First syllable rhymes with "who". Second syllable like the 'mon' in 'Monza'

This web site ('this one' as the one you are on now... electricbikereview.com) actually did a tour of his shop. And the guy doing the tour mispronounces his name right off the bat

The 2wd ebike he shows off early on was my inspiration and blueprint for my own first 2wd effort, and talking to Houshmand about it in detail is how we first came to meet.

I had watched the video a day or so ago--really impressive and informative and cemented intent to visit.

 

[Art Deco]

If your battery runs out on an XP or any similar 20" fat tire 65+ pound ebike, trust me, you get plenty of exercise.

Or just call an uber. No way anyone is going to pedal it very far unless it's all down hill.

 

[PedalUma]

Or just call an uber. No way anyone is going to pedal it very far unless it's all down hill.

A woman in Sausalito kept getting pinch flats on a heavy fat bike. Uber wouldn't touch it. They are not set up to load heavy, bulky stuff. And they did not want the responsibility if something delicate got damaged. She would be late for work and would need to call a tow truck. I made her a Crème three-speed with a coaster brake to help with carpal tunnel so she does not need to pull a brake lever to stop. And she sold the fatty. The battery just slides out like a water bottle on her new bike, dropping its weight by three-pounds, making it easy to load.

 

[Art Deco]

A woman in Sausalito kept getting pinch flats on a heavy fat bike. Uber wouldn't touch it. They are not set up to load heavy, bulky stuff. And they did not want the responsibility if something delicate got damaged. She would be late for work and would need to call a tow truck. I made her a Crème three-speed with a coaster brake to help with carpal tunnel so she does not need to pull a brake lever to stop. And she sold the fatty. The battery just slides out like a water bottle on her new bike, dropping its weight by three-pounds, making it easy to load.

Correction. Call a limo/van service, or a tow truck.

 

[JASmith]

The cost of an ebike conversion these days exceeds what you will pay for a bike like the Ecotric Vortex, which used to be $659. If you have to pay someone $200 to put your kit together, then you could have bought a nicer bike, like a Lectric XP 2.0.

There are some cases when it is cheaper to be converting an existing bike. TNC says he has a mid drive on a mountain bike. I put one on an existing bike too and it was 40% of the cost of a factory mid drive back in 2016. If you have a recumbent trike, you can often motorize for less than the cost of a built one. And if you have a very light bike, you can keep it relatively light with the right choices. Finally, if you want to run at 30+ mph, which is not allowed for factory ebikes, then you build.

Ecotric Vortex is now only $570 with free shipping. Thinking of grabbing one as a starter, and then upgrading components later. Probably too small for the average man, but otherwise seems decent for short trips around the neighborhood at 20mph.

 

[PedalUma]

Cool. Think of this as a first guitar. Play with it for a while. It will put you in the eBike game and if you like the experience and find you want more you can upgrade and sell this one without much of a loss. A loss for about the price for renting an electric bike for a weekend is worth it. Plan on selling it before the battery loosing the stretch of its elastic waistband and sags.
With this battery system one should be mindful when charging. You might want a Christmas lights type timer for safety. The owner's manual will give the details.