Mate of mine is getting on a bit, told me he was thinking of getting an e-bike. However he is an occasional, fair-weather cyclist and I couldn't justify a couple of grand if I was in his position.
He has a very decent touring hybrid from Decathlon, like this but without the power.
https://www.decathlon.co.uk/p/original-920-e-electric-hybrid-bike/_/R-p-325430?mc=8586865
So are any of the conversion kits from ebay and Amazon any good, and how much do you have to spend to make it worthwhile and reliable? Or is it all up in the air with reduced supply due to B&C?
good quality BB mount conversions are almost as good as fully built bikes. cheaper BB conversions ( bafeng) have limitation in the electronics ( no torque sensor)
Wheel mount kits are a much poorer option
This is the discussion on the tongsheng I have. I am impressed with it.
https://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/tongsheng-tsdz2-ebike-kit/
I would not get one from amazon or ebay tho - use one of the specialist shops.
Cheers Jeremy. Looks like a good solution but not really cost effective for him over buying a full bike. He could probably get £150 for his current bike, spend a grand at Decathlon and have a new bike with a guarantee, rather than spend £650+ to motorize it and it still being a six year old bike (though I serviced it for him last year and it's running like new).
That decathlon bike for £1000 will not have anywhere near as nice a motor - its a hub motor which is not as good and will not have as good electronics ie no proper torque sensor I bet
top quality euro made mid drives are a lot more.