If you want to convert your bicycle into an electric bike than you are on the right track.
It is easy to convert your bicycle into an electric bike, but if you consider some technical things during selection of an electric bike kit than it will ease your journey to convert the bicycle into an electric bike & running it.
As the cost of an electric bike conversion kit in comparison to a new electric cycle is half approx & not too tough to assemble, if you have time & little bit of idea about installation you have to go with an e bike conversion kit.
If you are a techie than you have to select individual parts & assemble it but if you do not know much about parts you have to go with electric bike conversion kit & in kit all parts, design & test for smooth run of bicycle.
Before going to find out the exact e- bike conversion kit or individual part you have to know about parts..
In electric bike conversion kit there are a number of small parts available, but we consider only three major parts ( Motor, Battery, Controller) & costly parts of kit in detail.
Electric bicycle conversion kits are generally divided into three types.
- Front wheel connected conversion kit- very easy to install but less popular.
- Rear wheel connected conversion kit – In comparison to front wheel little but tough but most popular.
- Mid drive connected conversion kit – less popular & tough to install.
Motor
Motor is the part that rotates the tyre through energy use from the battery pack.
Crank Drive motors
Very less use in electric bike conversion kits. Costly & more modification required.
Hub Motors
As name indicate connect in hub & maximum use in electric bicycle
Brushed & Brush less DC motors
Usually Brush less DC motors are used in electric cycles.
Friction Drive Motors
Very less use in e bike conversion kit
Usually motors come with ratings in watts & voltage, in some countries if you use motor watts more than 250w you have to go with registration procedures.
Motors rating available as 350W 36V, 1000W 48V, 250W 24V, 250W 36V etc.
As motor ratings increase, power drawn from batteries increases & for higher capacity batteries require for higher watt motors. Select the motor as per capacity of controller & battery. Motor highest drawn current is always less than controller capacity.
In some cases, hub motors come complete with a tyre, rim & spoke. You just only change for complete assembly. In some cases you may get hub motors & spoke in kit & fix it on your own.
Note:- Cycle range depends on battery capacity & kw of motor as battery capacity increases range also increase.Battery work as fuel tank & motor work as IC engine power.
Battery
Battery is costlier parts of cycle & store power to run the cycle. Try to select lithium-ion battery pack as these batteries have higher energy density & high charge & discharge cycle.
You may also find lithium-ion phosphate batteries also in the market for cycles. Please find the difference between lithium-ion-vs-lithium-iron-phosphate.
Note :- Must consider batteries to have BMS(Battery Management System) due to BMS preventing overcharging & save battery.
If you want to design a battery pack on your own you may refer to the following book (DIY Lithium Batteries: How to Build Your Own Battery Packs) otherwise purchase a battery pack.
Battery voltage & Ah play a major role in performance of bicycle.Battery capacity is measured in Watt-hrs.
Battery capacity Watt-hours = Amp -hrs X Volts
Always select battery in terms of Watt-hrs, not only either voltage or Amp-hrs of battery.
Eg:- Consider Bicycle A,B & C has the same motor.
Bicycle A has a 36 Volts & 20 AH battery = 720 watt hours
Bicycle B has a 72 Volts & 10 AH battery = 720 watt hours
Bicycle C has a 48 Volts & 10 AH battery = 480 watt hours
Bicycle A & B has the same battery capacity, but as voltage increases, the battery simultaneously acceleration increases. In the above case bicycle B has faster acceleration in comparison to A.Bicycle C goes for a small range in comparison to A & B.
Note:- Best way to keep your battery life long is charge it often,do not wait for complete discharge of battery.
Controller
Controller drives the motor & takes power from the battery pack.
Major cable connection in controller- For motor, battery, brake, throttle, indicator light, brake light, lock, display, PAS sensor, charging etc.
Maximum current requested for the controller is always less than maximum allowed discharge current of BMS (Battery Management System).
Theoretically running time of the cycle = Battery capacity/Motor wattage (But i.e. not actual because number of factors decrease it).
Apart from the above parts you may find the following parts also in the electric cycle conversion kit.
Throttle
Generally two types of throttle available in kit one is wrist control & second is thumb control.
Light
You may find inside kit Front & rear light also.
Wire harness
To transmit signal & power to & from the controller, in common language it is known as cable bunch.
Pedal assist sensor
Some kits also come with pedal assist mode for increased range of cycle when rider pedals cycle. It sends a signal to the controller.
Also find other sensors e.g.- torque sensor (Detects pedaling sensor), Speed sensor (Detects bicycle’s speed), crank sensor (Detects no. of rotations through pedaling).
Display
You may find displays also inside the kit for finding out battery condition & range, etc.
Connectors
Different connector use for connecting cable.
Protection
Check battery, motor protection if IP65, IP67 best for protection.
Electric bike kit
Rear wheel connected electric bike kit
Here you find a rear wheel connected electric bike kit with battery & without battery. Some electric bike kit manufacturers also provide a facility to select battery as per requirement of cycle range. In some cases you may purchase an electric bike conversion kit without battery & purchase battery from another source.
(1) BAFANG Rear Wheel 500W 48V Hub Motor Electric Bike Conversion Kit for Kinds of Bicycles 20″ 26″ 27.5″ 700C Rear Wheel Ebike
(2) Voilamart 26″ Rear Wheel Electric Bicycle Conversion Kit, 48V 1500W E-Bike Powerful Hub Motor Kit with Intelligent Controller and PAS System, Restricted to 750W for Road Bike
(3) Goplus 48V 1000W Electric Bicycle Kit, 26″x1.95″ Rear Wheel E-Bike Cycle Motor Conversion Kit Brushless Gearless Hub Motor Wheel with Intelligent Controller, LCD Display and Speed Adjustable
Front wheel connected electric bike kit
Here you find a front wheel connected electric bike kit with battery & without battery. Some electric bike kit manufacturers also provide a facility to select battery as per requirement of cycle range. In some cases you may purchase an electric bike conversion kit without battery & purchase battery from another source.
(4) ModWheel 36v 250w 26 Inch Geared Front Wheel Electric Bike Kit + Optional Battery
(5) JAXPETY 48V 1000W Electric Bicycle Cycle E Bike 26″ Front/Rear Wheel Ebike Hub Motor Conversion Kit Hub Motor Wheel
(6) AW 26″x1.75″ Front Wheel Electric Bicycle Motor Kit 48V 1000W Powerful Motor E-Bike Conversion w/LCD Display
(7) EBIKELING 48V 1200W 26″ Fat Direct Drive Waterproof Electric Bike Kit – Ebike Conversion Kit – Electric Bike Conversion Kit (Front or Rear Wheel Ebike Kit)
(8) GRM iMortor 3.0 Wireless Electric Bike Wheel,APP Based,26″x1.95″ Disc-Brake Bicycle Front Wheel Conversion Kits,36V/350W Powerful Motor Kit for Android & iOS, All Bluetooth Versions,MTB/CTB/Cruiser
Mid drive connected electric bike kit
(9) BAFANG BBS02B 48V 750W Mid Drive Electric Bike Motor Ebike Conversion Kit Mid Motor for Mountain Bike Road Bike with Optional 48V 11.6Ah/13Ah/17.5Ah and 52V 14Ah Battery.
(10) ModWheel 36V 350W Direct MId Drive Electric Bike Kit + Optional Battery
On BikeBerry.com you may find electric bike kit 250 Watt E-Bike Kits, 500 Watt E-Bike Kits, 1000 Watt E-Bike Kits, E-Bike Batteries always available.
Conclusion
As additional features in e bike conversion kit increase simultaneously the cost of kit increases. Before purchasing an electric bike kit you have to know the knowledge about parts & as per my opinion go with a complete kit including lithium-ion battery.
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