Not got time to work out if the search function works better than it used to so appologies in advance if this has been discussed, feel free to post links and thanks.

Has anyone done a conversion?
I’m tempted to try this and dip the toe in the ebike thing. If I get on with a basic ebike I might try and get a FS bike on my works bike to work scheme next March/April.

I’ve got a couple of HT & FS frames that I could use. Initially I would use it to commute to work and then longer road rides but tempted to try and convert a FS frame so I could use offroad (back issues, so need FS offroad) only problem I can see with that is the battery placement – Prophet & Rift Zone frames, so maybe a HT frame would be better and stay to road and flat trails/paths?

I’ve seen there are hub motors but think I want to go down the pedal assist bottom bracket mount motors…
Any advice and links would be great.

Thanks in advance.

tongsheng BB mount kit. The only issue with it is that it will not fit if the chainstays are wide behind the BB. the company I got it from will have a look at pics to check if it will fit. You can space it out a bit with BB spacers if its tight for clearance> this is the best of the BB mount kits IMO – certainly at under £1000. there are european made BB mount kits but they are more expensive

Or if you send me a pic from under the BB I can give a guess and / or measure up my motor unit to give dimensions

Tongsheng TSDZ2 ebike kit

Just read that thread TJ very informative.
I need to see how big the battery will be I guess to see which frame I use?

I did this and went all in with a BBSHD and a 52v 14aH ‘dolphin’ battery. It’s fitted to a Marino hardtail frame with a 73mm BB shell and 142×12 rear end which is the reason I went for a BB kit, all of our frames are 142×12 so a hub motor wouldn’t fit. I’ve only had it fitted for a couple of weeks and only used it on a couple of shortish trips to the shops and back but I like it so far. I did have a 70-miler planned to test the range but am currently full of cold so have only been as far as the kitchen and back for lemsips. I’m looking forward to giving it a proper try out though.

I got the 68mm/73mm kit (other kits are available for different width BB shells and types) and had to trim one of the ISCG mounting tabs off to get the motor to fit, not a big deal and I thought I might have to do it when I bought the kit.

The chainline’s not ideal with a BBSHD, I think it’d work best on a fat bike frame with a wider rear end or maybe on a boost frame, that extra few mm on the drive side would help line the front ring up with the cassette much nicer. I’m using a cut-down 10 speed cassette, basically the middle chunk out of a 10 speed SLX cassette spaced further out than they would normally to help straighten the chainline up a bit and so far I’ve just left it in the lowest gear.

It’s a lot to pull out in one go but for me it’s (hopefully!) a way of getting to my mam’s and back (70-odd miles) relatively easily without having to use dinosaur-powered transport.

I know it’s not legal, it’s too powerful, but I have the speed limiter set to 25km/h (15,5mph) and it’s one less car on the road as far as I’m concerned. I still have a ‘normal’ bike as well, obvs, I’m not a monster. I can see how one fitted to a FS frame would be lots of fun though.

TL:DR – It’s worth doing but expect some faff and don’t just buy the cheapest one you can get because it’ll disappoint and you’ll end up thinking they’re rubbish in the same way that a cheap guitar or a BSO are rubbish.

The CYC kit looks pretty good. More compact than the Tongsheng kit. Not sure how it compares on price. If you head over to http://www.emtbforums.com the site owner has built up a Vitus FS with one. He’s also got some videos on his YouTube channel; Rob Rides EMTB

https://www.emtbforums.com/community/threads/vitus-mythique-cyc-x1-stealth-motor-build.23218/

https://www.emtbforums.com/community/threads/diy-cyc-kit-crushes-trek-rail.24766/

How loud is that CYC kit. There’s no way I could put up with that.
Are other kits noticeably loud?

All make a noise – they have to be cause you need two stage reduction gears and they whine

My tongsheng is pretty quiet but you can still hear it at lower power turning into a noticeable whine at high power

anyone local to me (edinburgh) that wants to see it in action give me a PM and you can have a shiot

My Bafang BBSHD’s pretty quiet, surprisingly so in fact. I was expecting it to be intrusive but it’s not at all, my (Switch/Novatec) freehub’s louder.

Try using it at higher power! Bafengs are very noisy IME – much more so than the tongsheng

But then I find Shimano steps and bosch both intrusivly noisy. I am very sensitive to high frequency noise

Try using it at higher power! Bafengs are very noisy IME

Your not suggesting breaking the law are you ?

My bafangs quiet enough compared to any hub motors I’ve used

Not used a tongsheng but the lack of innards spares put me off.

you can get every spare for a tongsheng. Motors, gear sets, torque sensor etc

I meant use the bafeng at its top output – every motor I have tried and I have used most are noisy at full power output but quiet when at low power

If in no particular hurry the Lightest kit from Italy (indiegogo) will be ace. It’s only a year late already but when it is ready it will be fit for purpose I’m sure.

They’ve done one before, but heavier and noisier, so I have some faith that these things will eventually turn up.

Got one going on my fat bike. 1.6kg motor! Wait til it is actually available though eh.

you can get every spare for a tongsheng. Motors, gear sets, torque sensor etc

Today. Not when I bought mine.

Ironic really as it’s 6 years old and needed none.

I didn’t know you had had a tongsheng trail rat

I don’t. I bought a bafang 6 years ago because when I did tongsheng spares were not readily available.

? I think I read somewhere these bb kits don’t work with bikes with the under bb cable routing block , anybody know better. Thanks.

If you converted the under-BB cable routing to full outer, rather than having the exposed cable go through the under-BB guides, I’d have thought you could work something out.

I’m considering getting a kit to convert a traditional step-through shopper into a shopper that’ll cope with the massive hill we now live at the top of. If we could, it would mean the car wouldn’t need to be used for those “nipping out for a pint of milk” journeys. How do these kits cope with 12.5% inclines?

? I think I read somewhere these bb kits don’t work with bikes with the under bb cable routing block , anybody know better. Thanks.

You need ~8mm clearance around the BB shell to fit a BBSHD which is why I had to remove one of the ISCG tabs on my frame (the one at the 4 o’clock position as you look at straight at it) and I had to remove the under-BB cable block on the old GT Bravado I test-fitted it to. As IHN says, just using a full cable outer would solve the problem.

What does a 12.5% incline look like, in degrees or a one-in-whatever gradient I mean? Is it like 8 degrees or something?

? I think I read somewhere these bb kits don’t work with bikes with the under bb cable routing block , anybody know better.

it depends is the only answer – it can make it trickier to fit but depends on the kit and on the frame. I have fitted one to a frame with exposed under BB cables

12.5% incline ( 1:8 ) – easy peasy. One of the big advantages with BB mount motors is that the motor runs thru the gears so climbing is better than hub kits. I can climb steeper than that at 15 mph pedalling hard tho – 10 mph if just pedally as you would on the flat on a non electic bike – arthurs seat road or church brae southside edinburgh

Stuck a Swytch hub motor kit on my old Diamondback hardtail mtb now commuter. Pretty straightforward to fit, good instructions. Goes really well, nice and smooth and light comparatively for a conversion kit. Took ages for the kit to arrive though.
[url=https://flic.kr/p/2mC2hGg]IMG_6965[/url]

Thanks for replies.
I’ve been having a think about it and as I’ll be using it on the road to build the miles up and try and get some fitness I’ve decided I’ll got for a hub motor, not sure if front or rear?
I have disc brakes fitted so take it they are compatable.
Any advice or links on which gear to get would be great. Seen a few on Ebay but not sure if they’re ok. I’m using old XT 8 speed drivechain so would that work with a rear hub motor? Think they seem to have 7 speed cassettes?

Cheers again for any help.

@redstripe, how much was the Swytch set up?

On the road unless its hilly and ebike kit is not really much use as you immediately go over the limit and it cuts out. Takes me 6 turns of the pedals to hit 15.5 mph with mine and thats with wide sticky tyres

if it is hilly then a bb mount is a lot better as it keeps the motor in a more efficient part of its rev range – yes I know you get full torque at zero revs but it means a very large current draw and a hot motor and controller

£499 for swytch kit, about £100 more for higher capacity battery, google them, cheers. But took 5 months to arrive….

£499 for swytch kit,

Wow that’s some markup they got going on there for a hub motor and a baby battery

Indeed. £200 more gets a tongsheng from a uk supplier with a decent sized battery or for less you can get a tongsheng from china

I assume similar for a bafeng

@redstripe I did Google chap that’s why I asked how much as they have no stock at the mo. If its a 5 month wait then I’ll have to get something else.
Cheers though.

The thing with using an ebike to get fitness is you can do exactly the same thing on an unpowered bike- you’ll just go a bit slower and not quite as far for a lot less outlay! That’s ok if you’re on your bill but I get why someone might want a bit of assistance if they want to start going out with other (fitter) people. I got mine for utility, a reasonably practical way to get to my mam’s 30-odd miles away (cos my fitness has dropped right off and I couldn’t do the round trip in a day on a ‘normal’ bike at the minute) or to help carry a bigger shop than I usually could/would without using a car.

I think hub motors tend to use screw-on freewheels rather than cassettes?

I got my kit from these guys

Helpful, uk stock, good comms
https://wooshbikes.co.uk/