I've been looking at different e-bike conversion setups lately, and the more I read, the more it seems like choosing a kit based mainly on motor wattage is probably the wrong way to go about it.
At first it's easy to look at 500W, 750W, 1000W, etc. and assume that's the main decision. But after reading through some builds here, there seem to be quite a few things that can cause problems even when the motor itself looks right.
A few things I'm wondering about:
For those of you who have done several conversions, what are the first 3–5 things you check before buying a kit?
And what's something you learned the hard way on an earlier build that you now always check beforehand?
At first it's easy to look at 500W, 750W, 1000W, etc. and assume that's the main decision. But after reading through some builds here, there seem to be quite a few things that can cause problems even when the motor itself looks right.
A few things I'm wondering about:
- Hub motor vs mid-drive — For a fairly normal bike, what usually makes you choose one over the other? Is it mostly terrain and climbing, or are reliability and maintenance just as important?
- Fitment — With mid-drives there's bottom bracket width and clearance, while hub kits bring up dropout width, wheel size and axle fit. Which measurements do you always check before ordering?
- Battery and controller matching — Besides making sure the voltage is compatible, how much attention do you pay to controller current and what the battery can actually supply?
- Brakes and drivetrain — At what power level do you start thinking seriously about upgrading brakes, chain, cassette, torque arms, etc.?
- Parts availability — This one seems easy to overlook. If a display, controller, cable or sensor fails a couple of years later, being able to buy individual replacement parts seems pretty important.
- Installation difficulty — Are there certain types of kits you would recommend avoiding for a first conversion simply because they tend to create more compatibility headaches?
For those of you who have done several conversions, what are the first 3–5 things you check before buying a kit?
And what's something you learned the hard way on an earlier build that you now always check beforehand?
