Hi Richard here from eBike Sussex, this short article explains why we do not advocate conversion kits and why they are potentially a lethal modification to your bike. With the rise of eBike sales in the UK the number of conversion kits and companies offering conversion kits has risen. We have had first hand experience of these systems and here is our opinion of them and why they are problematic for all involved.
You must have seen them! People whizzing by on an old dog of a bike with a battery cable tied to the downtube and their feet not moving. A three to six hundred quid plastic mess designed to make a conventional bicycle move without pedal power. We get them in the shop regularly: the throttle has burnt out, the battery keeps sliding off the frame, the motor won’t work… the list goes on. I have written this article as people often lament their broken conversion kit bikes and wish they had known before purchasing that it was a bad idea. So our advice is that it is always better to buy a purpose built electric bike instead of trying to make a normal bicycle electric.
An electric bike conversion is usually the practice of turning a standard bicycle into an electric bicycle with the help of a wheel mounted motor, a battery pack mounted to a frame or rear luggage rack, and controls mounted in the handlebars. It is a terrible idea unless the bicycle manufacturer offer it as an upgrade that they themselves have tested and ensured the bicycle can safely take the motor system.
So why am I so against conversion kits? Unless your bicycle was specifically designed to take the extra weight and stresses of an electric system you are invalidating your warranty on your bicycle and endangering your life and others in the process. Your bicycle forks for example were never designed to fit on your bicycle with a motor mounted onto it. The stress tests and stringent regulations for producing products are pointless if you are going to overload the component with a heavy aftermarket electric bike motor. Your forks/frame could snap whilst riding!!
Wheel mounted motor electric bike conversions are especially not advised as the rims and spokes are not designed to take the stresses of the extra torque and motor weight. It is a regular occurrence for spokes to loosen and/or snap through use with wheel mounted motor conversions. This is a serious design flaw and aftermarket motors that are fitted into wheels (as a hub) should have extra strength spokes and be checked regularly to ensure the rider and other road user’s safety. There is a reason why the wheel mounted motor electric bikes we sell have been purpose built are priced at £1,699 and up. They have been designed with careful consideration to the laws of the country they are manufactured for and with consumer and public safety in mind.
On top of this your suspension was not designed to take the extra weight of an electric system in that position on the bicycle. Our electric bikes have carefully selected suspension systems that are factory set to cope with the higher speeds and stresses of an electric bike. You can lose control if your suspension does not dampen the road/track at high speed. On top of this you will likely damage your suspension if it bottoms out with the additional weight of rider and electric system.
At eBike Sussex, we chose early on to distance ourselves from converted ebikes and escooters for many reasons, but the main one is the inherent fire risk involved in a cheap knock-off ebike system and/or battery. When an ebike that has been put together with gaffer tape and cable ties fails it can have serious consequences. Just look at the hundreds of articles about ebike and escooter related fires to see it is a growing problem. For this reason, we only service and repair the major eBike systems available from market leaders Bosch, Yamaha & Fazua/Porsche. The cell quality, electric connectors and sensors are of an automotive level. This is possible because of the economies of scale involved through these huge corporate entities. For example Bosch eBike Systems are fitted to over 100 eBike brands, so the sheer number of batteries, electronics and motors involved is literally of an automotive level. This also allows for huge data sets from the diagnostics system, so if a problem is encountered it can be rectified through the software and sent out as a software update, for example to give more battery longevity. The battery management systems from these companies are especially designed to prevent fires. Also the quality of the cabling and internal electronics are all manufactured to last and to age gracefully without the catastrophic failure that can occur on throwaway ebike systems. So the lesson here is buy once, buy right! Spend a little more and invest in a safe system from market leaders like Bosch eBike Systems. It will make your experience safer and easier as time goes by to get replacement parts, servicing and diagnostics.
When it comes to servicing and repair of your converted ebike you may find a dwindling number of businesses able to look after your converted eBike. This is because insurance companies are cottoning on to the risks involved by businesses that work on modified machines. So this could lead you to take your faulty converted ebike to a backstreet repair business, perhaps without public liability insurance and the necessary knowledge to safely repair your electrical issue. The question then is do you trust that it won’t catch fire and burn your house down? If an electrical fault does develop from faulty repair and it does burn your house down, who will be willing and able to pay out for the damage to your home? Will your house insurance cover for a fire started by a converted ebike or escooter? Maybe it’s time to call them and find out? Never shy from information about your health or finances.
The next problem with Electric Bike Conversion Kits is that many are first produced for foreign countries where our traffic laws are not the same. For example your electric bike must cut it’s motor power at 15mph to be road legal in the UK. Also ‘throttle systems’ where you do not have to pedal to reach 15mph speeds are also not road legal in the UK. So the Electric Bike Conversion Kit you buy could be fitted to your lovely road or mountain bike and if you are caught exceeding these speeds you could have the electric bike confiscated and a hefty fine.
There are more examples of Police confiscating illegal ebikes recently, especially since the electric scooter craze and the terrible deaths caused by electric scooters and derestricted ebikes in the UK and Europe in recent years.
But worse than having your machine confiscated, you could injure another road user or yourself. You have to ask yourself, is it really worth it?
As electric bike specialists we have serviced and repaired many bikes and electric bikes over the years. If we knew an electric bike conversion kit system that was safe we would advocate, sell and fit it. The reality is there are no aftermarket systems or short cuts that are worth making when it comes to electric bikes. Cheap things are rarely good and good things are rarely cheap. Please ride safely!
To summarize, if you are going to buy an electric bike conversion kit please ensure it is being fitted to a brand new bicycle that the manufacturers of the bicycle and ebike kit agree is safe to work together. This is your life we are talking about!
Richard
Electric Bike Specialist
eBike Sussex