E bike conversion kit for road bike

So my daily commute is doubling from 15 miles a day to 30

This isn’t a major problem but when the weather gets bad I don’t fancy spending an hour or more trying to get to work in rain and windy conditions and then again getting home

So I’d like to convert my winter/wet weather road bike (I like this bike and don’t want to get rid of it for a factory built e bike)

Happy to fit the kit myself

Now the conversion kit must meet the following criteria

UK dealer with warranty back up, no dodgy eBay/Amazon kits etc.. UK legal pedal assist with 15mph cut off

21 spoke hole rear motor only (I’ll build it into my rear rim although finding a 21 spoke hole rear motor could be the biggest issue) motor must be 12mm x 142mm thru axle, Shimano 12 speed freehub, centre lock disc (6 bolt at a push)

Battery must be the bottle battery type, waterproof and 250wh or more

Controller/display I would prefer wireless

So far I’ve only found a kit from Boost but there a couple of things I’ve emailed them about, main ones are the 21 spoke hole option and their website doesn’t say what water rating the battery has (they sell a waterproof cover so I’m guessing it’s ip56 at best)

https://boostbike.uk/shop

So this idea could be dead in the water!

It seems it not possible to convert my road bike due to it having full carbon dropouts and Boost only recommend using a carbon frame with alloy dropouts

I’ve never come across such a low spoke count hub motor

I’ve never come across such a low spoke count hub motor

Ive found this one but at 2k its not cheap

https://www.evigors.shop/

I’ve never come across such a low spoke count hub motor

Although it’s a mid drive system the Pendix system may be an alternative. The motor is in the chain set rather than slung under the frame like other systems. It may be more straightforward to remove and refit because of this.

Bottle mount battery and supposed to be a very well made system.

https://pendix.com/

why not a bb mount motor?  I used the tongsheng tsdz2 kit

With a road bike and a legal kit you won’t save much time as on the flat and downhill you will be at or over 15 mph the whole time.

https://pendix.com/

Cheers ive just looked at that and at £1700 i may as well spend the extra £300 and get the 2K Evigor kit with carbon wheels!

why not a bb mount motor?  I used the tongsheng tsdz2 kit

With a road bike and a legal kit you won’t save much time as on the flat and downhill you will be at or over 15 mph the whole time.

Not fitting a BB kit to a 3k road bike, the conversion kit is to be used when its raining and windy, my current commute takes 30 mins in good weather, 45 in very windy and wet conditions, the new commute is 1 hour in good conditions and in bad conditions could be 1hr & 30 mins (that’s each way) i tend to pedal along at 15mph which drops down to 13mph in bad weather and can be a real slog

why not a bb mount motor?  I used the tongsheng tsdz2 kit

With a road bike and a legal kit you won’t save much time as on the flat and downhill you will be at or over 15 mph the whole time.

why not?  BB kits are much better riding experience.

Just interested on your reasoning

Do you really want this. Just started using the wife legal ebike for commuting which is about 60% gravel. The one mile hill climb going both ways is quicker of course but the rest is no faster and can be slower due to the effort in pushing the ebike.

Admittedly the difference between and 27.5 knobbly plus the battery and motor weight against a normal steel cross bike won’t help but the 10 minutes max it saves isn’t as much as would be thought. Moving at my normal 17 mph on the flats etc is bloody hard work on the ebike.

Having said that I think I would be looking at an ex hire hybrid ebike instead in y our shoes.

So mid mount kits are ugly on road bikes, I want to keep the bike looking like a road bike as much as possible

yes i want this, a 30 mile daily commute in all weathers will be draining, I’ve been doing 15 miles a day 5 days a week in all weathers for 13 years now, the jump up to double the distance in bad weather is very off putting  and in bad weather I’ll be doing 13mph and slogging my guts out, on a e bike conversion in bad weather I’ll be doing 15mph and not slogging my guts out

ta

Skarper thing as promoted by Sir Chris Hoy?

I’ve been down the e-bike (mtb) conversion rabbit hole myself, due to injury. Every kit has drawbacks as far as I could find.  Mid mount kits often have crappy cranks and awful q factors, hub motors don’t climb well apparently.
There are some expensive decent mid drive kits that don’t have a ridiculous Q factor or terrible cranks but they’ll all look terrible on a road bike, also the power output is often too high to be legal.

I gave up in the end.

Buying an E-Bike and keeping your road bike as is would be how I’d approach it. One practical bike and one fun bike.

I’m with Silly.

Buy an ebike whack full mudguards , a rack and panniers on it, then some handlebar muffs and you’ll be laughing

All the practical stuff that would defile your nice bike.

I’m with Silly.

Buy an ebike whack full mudguards , a rack and panniers on it, then some handlebar muffs and you’ll be laughing

All the practical stuff that would defile your nice bike.

Its not my nice bike, its my winter/wet weather work bike, it already has mudguards, no need for a rack or panniers, all ill be adding to it is around 4kg, the bike already weighs 7.8kg so a total weight of 11.8kg

I’m with Silly.

Buy an ebike whack full mudguards , a rack and panniers on it, then some handlebar muffs and you’ll be laughing

All the practical stuff that would defile your nice bike.

https://www.lightest.bike/SHOP/Lightest-ebike-kit-Product-Configurator-p521699922

This was the closest to fitting in with my requirements. Yes it’s mid drive but small. Decent amount of cash once fully specced up.

4kg?  Must be a tiny battery you are intending to use.

Fixed gear commuter, full guards/rack. You’ll knock 15 miles off easy in an hour even in bad weather. I’d not want to convert a £3k road bike – you’ll be racking up some expensive wear and tear parts – cassette/chain and chain rings. Like others have said, you’ll lose speed with the electric.  What’s the traffic/traffic lights like – it it a straight run, or do you have loads of lights. Is it hilly ?

4kg?  Must be a tiny battery you are intending to use.

It will be a 250wh battery, the motor and battery from the likes of Boost and Evigors come in at sub 4kg

Fixed gear commuter, full guards/rack. You’ll knock 15 miles off easy in an hour even in bad weather. I’d not want to convert a £3k road bike – you’ll be racking up some expensive wear and tear parts – cassette/chain and chain rings. Like others have said, you’ll lose speed with the electric.  What’s the traffic/traffic lights like – it it a straight run, or do you have loads of lights. Is it hilly ?

3k bike is already used for commuting in all weathers, see previous posts about speed, i wont be losing any, i average 15mph in good weather, drops to 13mph in wind and rain and lots more effort hence wanting a conversion kit for the new longer commute in bad weather, i dont want a fixed gear, the whole point is i already have the bike thats perfect for my current commute and i really like it, i just need a nice conversion kit to help me more on those cold, windy & rainy days on my new longer commute

This thread is getting away from what i actually asked about in my first post, im not interested in buying a new bike, not interested mid drive kits, i know what kind of kit i want, just looking for recomendations for 142mm thru axle rear hub kits with a 250wh bottle battery

a total weight of 11.8kg

Mrs_oab’s Merida eSpeeder 400 weighs about 13kg, all integrated + sorted, racks, lights, guards, comfy saddle, durable tyres.
It was £1650 on cycle to work and a sale from LBS combined.

250whr battery will hardly do a days commutte IME

Mrs_oab’s Merida eSpeeder 400 weighs about 13kg, all integrated + sorted, racks, lights, guards, comfy saddle, durable tyres.
It was £1650 on cycle to work and a sale from LBS combined.

That’s nice for her and the complete opposite of what im after

250whr battery will hardly do a days commutte IME

Will do 40 miles according to the ones ive looked at so far which is fine, we have secure bike storage at work with free charging facilities (you have to prove your bike/conversion kit is UK legal and safe)

Anyway im no longer going to keep repeating myself, if anyone knows of anymore kits that are rear motor, with 142mm thru axle and a 250wh bottle battery then please post a link

250whr battery will hardly do a days commutte IME

Classic STW thread.

The OP knows exactly what he wants & won’t listen to reason even though what he wants is unworkable & makes no sense.

The answer, as already pointed out, is another bike.

Either a ready made E-Bike or a mid drive converted used hybrid or touring bike.

Fwiw – commuting on a 15.5mph limited bike is a pain. Much better if your assist helps you get a bit more speed.

You could just get whatever the Just Eat/Deliveroo riders use, I doubt they’re expensive.
But then those guys are probably way fitter than you are, so fit that I’ve seen them whizzing up hills without even needing to pedal!!

or just but the one you wanted in the first place.

40 mile range from a 250whr battery is highly unlikely – depends how its used of course but retailers always make best case scenario for range

Velospeeder?

https://www.velogical-engineering.com/velospeeder/product-information/?lang=en

Looks quite interesting and appears to be a proper bit of german engineering that’s gone into it.

I can see the attraction of the hub motor, less drivetrain wear and  a neater solution than hanging a motor  off the BB. Trouble is, as I found most mass produced conversion kits are for old fashioned standards/cheap bike.

Being as the power cables  pass through the axle on a standard hub motor it’s going to be tricky.

I mentioned the lighter bikes mid mount as it can be mounted within the frame triangle rather than in front of the BB.
I’m in no way suggesting it’s any good.

Good luck in your search.

I ride a 90’s MTB to work on mixed surfaces for 10-12 miles each way. I’ll roll along at 17mph fine on the off road tyres (Land cruisers) on tarmac. I have some lumps on the way home.  I average about 45 minutes each way. An e-bike will only help on anything I can’t do 15 mph, which might save me a couple of minutes on the climbs, but won’t be quick on the flat. Road bikes are much quicker than my MTB.

If the route is flat, e-assist isn’t going to help much in bad weather, and will be a drag in good weather.

If the route is flat, e-assist isn’t going to help much in bad weather, and will be a drag in good weather.

This is a good point.

You can just ride at 15 mph spinning the pedals but letting the motor do all the work.  So no faster but a lot less effort.  This is what the OP is looking for I think

Why the 21 spoke rear wheel requirement?

Surely it would open up more options to just get a new, complete rear wheel in whatever spoke count is most popular/available (and keep your old rear wheel for non-ebike/commuter duties if needed).

(And if you’re bothered about mismatching front and rear wheels, just get a new pair. That’s gotta open up options…)

I’d still go back to the Skarper thing. It might be pushing it a bit for 30 miles, but definitely something you could just put on when you need it.

Could be worth contacting Swytch. They show a thru axle rear wheel on their website although it isn’t apparent in their website shop. They also do an accessory for holding the smaller of their batteries in a bottle cage.

Front wheel motor would provide quick and easy change from ebike back to real bike.