Can anyone recommend a brand of conversion kit?

blompod
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Re: Can anyone recommend a brand of conversion kit?

Postby blompod » Tue Sep 27, 2011 5:19 pm

Yeah I knew that, but for what I want it for 200w just wont cut it. A 720w non hub drive even heats up and cuts out on a decent hill, Back in 05 I had a friction drive petrol engined bicycle and that was great, but they are now illegal here in Queensland. "Ladies and Gentlemen we will begin our decent into Brisbane shortly be sure to set your watches back 30 years" :lol:

Joeblake
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Re: Can anyone recommend a brand of conversion kit?

Postby Joeblake » Tue Sep 27, 2011 5:25 pm

Sounds like you should by a motorcycle.

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ChrisRider
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Re: Can anyone recommend a brand of conversion kit?

Postby ChrisRider » Wed Jan 16, 2013 4:43 pm

I have had some experience with different types of conversion kits, the most frustrating thing is mounting the battery, so it doesnt loosen up and move when you go over bumps. I have found out of all of them, the Rack Battery kits to be the best, especially the Panasonic Rack Batteries, as they have a really tight fit, when the battery slides into the unit. And they will last you alot longer also. As for all the other components it doesnt matter too much, as the battery fitting and quality is the most important factor.
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Mububban
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Re: Can anyone recommend a brand of conversion kit?

Postby Mububban » Wed Jan 16, 2013 10:56 pm

ChrisRider wrote:I have had some experience with different types of conversion kits, the most frustrating thing is mounting the battery, so it doesnt loosen up and move when you go over bumps. I have found out of all of them, the Rack Battery kits to be the best, especially the Panasonic Rack Batteries, as they have a really tight fit, when the battery slides into the unit. And they will last you alot longer also. As for all the other components it doesnt matter too much, as the battery fitting and quality is the most important factor.
Don't suppose you would mind sharing any difference between your conversion kit and the ones available from e-bikesrus would you? Prices seem similar from memory. I'd still like to get one of these kits for my MTB so I can commute on the bike more often than currently. Having kids and only one income however isn't conducive to lots of spare cash!
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elStado
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Re: Can anyone recommend a brand of conversion kit?

Postby elStado » Mon Jul 15, 2013 11:26 pm

My dad's been cycling to work for the past few months, however as he lives up north in the tropics he's looking at getting an ebike conversion to help get through the hot and humid wet season (summer).

He bought a new but ultimately basic MTB in January, so he isn't wanting to buy a whole converted ebike.. so it looks like a conversion is in order. E-bikes R Us' conversion kit isn't listed at the moment, is anyone able to advise on the best value front wheel conversion kit around? Ideally it'll be a good price, reliable and waterproof. Any suggestions appreciated.
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Re: Can anyone recommend a brand of conversion kit?

Postby eldavo » Tue Jul 16, 2013 12:28 am

Solarbike is a local option, as for waterproof you would have to look further afield as I haven't seen great quality in the common Chinese enclosures.
He can apply his own measures on installation for the electrical connections, a tin of liquid electrical tape and dielectric grease a couple of options.

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elStado
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Re: Can anyone recommend a brand of conversion kit?

Postby elStado » Tue Jul 16, 2013 12:47 pm

Anyone tried Dillinger Electric Bikes conversion kits? 250W 36V 8A conversion kit with Li-Ion bottle battery for $539 plus shipping.

It's half the price of other offering from other companies and seems pretty legit on paper. However there's not much in the way of online reviews other than one forum post about their 1000W kit and 100% positive feedback on their ebay account. Anyone here tried them?

http://www.dillenger.com.au/250w_36v_lithium_ion_kit" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
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Re: Can anyone recommend a brand of conversion kit?

Postby eldavo » Tue Jul 16, 2013 2:15 pm

2 year warranty is good, but find out what that means, details of process for replacement parts being supplied, what has to be sent, lead time etc. who bears cost.
What may start out as a cheap kit, if has a DOA part, can climb from the north west if those costs add up. I couldn't find details on the site.
There are some who found importer/seller of the Zoco and Asaeko imports (whose other business line is import coffee machines) required auto electrician diagnosis for remote locations when owners could not clearly diagnose issues themselves. Despite known manufacturing issues with the proprietary motor reduction, they still gave some people the run around.

For the price it puts it closer to direct import prices where you would factor buying nearly two on hope you get one working one for a while, versus price of one with local warranty where they factor and handle the failures.

The 250W needs to be installed as pedelec to be legal. It's a hair's difference at 8A controller to the 200W kit 7A controllers, but such is the law.
The 8Ah battery capacity is less than common for that size. Batteries are typically the highest cost item in a kit, and easy to slide the quality to meet a price point.
The claim that the 8Ah Lithium Ion has the range of a 12Ah lead acid chemsitry doesn't make sense, I assume they are neglecting to mention they are comparing to to a 24V lead acid setup and not a 36V.

As for better looking batteries, these ones for instance claim 10Ah lithium ion Samsung cells. They're not being sold as kits though so price difference is harder to gauge.
http://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/darwin-r ... 1019656224" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/sydney-c ... 1022503034" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

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clackers
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Re: Can anyone recommend a brand of conversion kit?

Postby clackers » Tue Jul 16, 2013 3:48 pm

Melbourne? My wife's conversion was done by e-Rev of Warrandyte. Very good.

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Hamster
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Re: Can anyone recommend a brand of conversion kit?

Postby Hamster » Sun Sep 01, 2013 1:51 pm

elStado wrote:Anyone tried Dillinger Electric Bikes conversion kits? 250W 36V 8A conversion kit with Li-Ion bottle battery for $539 plus shipping.
I haven't used one but they look like cheap generic Chinese kits. Having said that my cheap generic Chinese kit, with the exception of the controller is continuing to give sterling service after 6,500 kms. The battery size is a bit on the small size, in my opinion, but possibly adequate.
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Mububban
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Re: Can anyone recommend a brand of conversion kit?

Postby Mububban » Mon Nov 25, 2013 11:50 pm

Okay, 3.5 years later and the dream still lives on :D And prices have come down now so fingers crossed, maybe just maybe I can afford to convert my MTB to a pedelec.

e-bikesrus in Fremantle have got a new conversion kit with rack mounted battery for $895:

http://www.e-bikesrus.com.au/conversion-kits/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;


Anyone dealt with Solarbike lately? $1100 for a conversion kit with li-ion battery that fits in a bottle holder:

http://www.solarbike.com.au/conversion_kits.php" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Installation video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wp1Nh3yUvqA" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;


Also, is this too good to be true? A Dillenger folding Cheetah model for $499 (plus $80 shipping to Perth), rrp normally about $1235 but they’re saying they're selling them cheap to get their brand out there. Being on a budget, I could forgo my preferred option of converting my MTB to save the money on a good quality folding bike (assuming it'd fit a skinny 190cm rider). The website says this deal ended in September but they have ads on Gumtree for this identical model with the identical blurb:

http://www.dillenger.com.au/cheetah_fol ... ctric_bike" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;


Does anyone have any up to date feedback on e-bikesrus, Solarbike or Dillenger?
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Mububban
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Re: Can anyone recommend a brand of conversion kit?

Postby Mububban » Wed Dec 04, 2013 1:50 pm

I've decided to go with a Solarbike conversion kit through my LBS, just tossing up whether to convert my trusty Avanti Montari mountain bike for about $1150, or sell it and change to a flat bar roadie for maximum speed for about $1600. The pedelec will be for commuting and short trip car replacement, so flat bar roadie (and a shiny new bike) is tempting for the outright speed, however I do love the ruggedness of my mountain bike for kerb hopping, and the wider tyres for cutting across grass and the soft sand in my area. And it's a few hundred dollars cheaper too.

I test drove the owner's single gear pedelec, and even with an almost flat battery the advantage for my skinny legs was obvious. Now I've just got to get my finances in order, and will hopefully get it done before the new year.

Anyone got any thoughts on MTB vs roadie?
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Joeblake
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Re: Can anyone recommend a brand of conversion kit?

Postby Joeblake » Mon Dec 09, 2013 4:17 pm

Personally, I'd go for a roadie, simply because riding an e-bike on the dirt with all the bouncing around might make it difficult to control the throttle accurately, and with dirt there's a greater chance of having a crash and therefore the chance of damaging the motor or tearing the wiring loose is greater.

I suspect (but I'm happy to be proven wrong) that on dirt there would be more hard acceleration, with slowing down and speeding up, than more constant speed on the road, which would possibly drain the battery more quickly.

But certainly I've seen stories of people riding on dirt with no problems.

I'd say six of one and half a dozen of the other.

Joe
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Mububban
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Re: Can anyone recommend a brand of conversion kit?

Postby Mububban » Thu Dec 12, 2013 4:58 pm

Joeblake wrote:Personally, I'd go for a roadie, simply because riding an e-bike on the dirt with all the bouncing around might make it difficult to control the throttle accurately, and with dirt there's a greater chance of having a crash and therefore the chance of damaging the motor or tearing the wiring loose is greater.

I suspect (but I'm happy to be proven wrong) that on dirt there would be more hard acceleration, with slowing down and speeding up, than more constant speed on the road, which would possibly drain the battery more quickly.

But certainly I've seen stories of people riding on dirt with no problems.

I'd say six of one and half a dozen of the other.

Joe
My commuting will almost entirely be on the road or dedicated/shared paths, the reason I'm favouring the MTB is for the inevitable hopping up and down kerbs, crossing grassy or sandy sections, and the fact it's cheaper helps too. I've pretty much decided on the MTB conversion, sacrificing top speed for what is hopefully a more robust design. I've also got a bike trailer for the 2 kids to sit in (currently 3 and 5) which is setup on the MTB. Also, when the kids are older and I go riding with them, I'll probably not engage the electrics at all, and just tootle along on pedal power.

And I guess the advantage of the conversion kit is that I can always install it onto another bike in future if I choose to upgrade my ride :)
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MotoBloke
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Re: Can anyone recommend a brand of conversion kit?

Postby MotoBloke » Thu Jan 08, 2015 12:41 am

I have installed a Dillenger kit on my new Cell Yarra 1.0 flat bar commuter with 29er wheels, narrower hybrid tyres, short travel cheap lockout-able forks and hydraulic disc brakes. The Dillenger kit is the 1000 watt with a 6 Amp bottle battery, pedal sensor and twist grip - plus the controller and a gear cluster, as the hub motor only takes the older-style screw on gear-clusters, for $729 plus shipping (ex-Gold Coast). I'm very happy with the choice of battery for riding in short journeys of upto 30km max, with a few significant hills - like from Mascot to Sydney return, Mascot to Bondi return (some good hills here!) and general trips to the shopping malls, instead of barking up 'MurderPsycho' (motorcycle). I mostly ride it in the lowest of the three power modes, just switching to higher power for long, tall ascents. The rear wheel that is laced to the motor (Dillenger supply the motor and wheel laced together) is needing the spokes to be nipped up now as it has done perhaps 200km and is getting loose and noisy as the spokes stretch and bed in.

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