Build Electric Bike

"You can totally do this...
        Yes, build electric bike!"

So, check this out. If you put "build electric bike" on your list of things to do, on one Saturday morning, you can make your ride electric. It's no big deal and doesn't cost that much. How awesome would it be to have an electric motor on your bike?

For this electric bicycle project, you buy a conversion kit. The kit will have a motor, throttle, battery and charger.

(Pay attention when you pick the kit; not all of 'em come with everything you need.) Here's the 411 on motors: Hub motors are the most popular and widely available. 

Hub motors are the bomb. Super efficient. Transmits energy with a minimum amount of loss.

The internal gearbox synchronizes the speed of the motor to the speed of the wheel.  Because the hub motors are sealed, you can take them off road or ride them in wet conditions.

Righteous. And no chains or belts on this baby, so it's very quiet. Doesn't take much maintenance, either. They're really easy to install, too. The motor's in the wheel already. How much easier could it get?

You've got two choices for an electric bicycle motor kit--brushes or no brushes. Brushed motors have been around forever. Their rep is that they're sturdy and uncomplicated.

The parts that give out over time are the brushes (which are in charge of power transfer) and the center bearing. But they'll last for quite a while. Any where from two to five years, depending.

Replacing the brushes is actually pretty easy. (The hard part is getting the case open.) Brushless motors are just like the name implies-no brushes. This makes for a really efficient power transfer.

It also means no maintenance. Brushless motors cost more, but sometimes not by much.

A whole conversion kit for an electric bike is going to run you about $350. Kits can be had that provide lots of watts and more bells and whistles. Big surprise-they cost more.

Other stuff you want to know to make sure you're getting the right kit: wheel size of your bike. If you don't know this, you can look on the tire (just like a car) to find this info. You'll see something like 1.75 X 24. So 24 is the size.

If you absolutely have to measure, it's the whole deal-rim, tube, tire inflated. If you only measure the rim, the kit won't fit. You should know what's up with your forks, too.

Aluminum forks and front shock forks may not work with some kits. Fork width and clearance could be important, also.

The battery pack you get in the kit is most likely a standard SLA battery. It's tried and true. Upgraded batteries will give you more range, but the trade-off is more weight and expense.

NiMh batteries and Li-Ion batteries are getting lighter and more efficient all the time, if you want to spend the money.

And do yourself a favor and get a nicer charger than the one that probably came with the kit. A "smart charger" will never subject your battery to death by electrocution.

No matter what kind of bike you've got-mountain, cruiser, recumbent, even tricycle-it can be electrified. All it takes is a conversion kit and a little time.

So dude, what are you waiting for?

Ride With The Wind...
Trey Taylor
Electric Bike Guy

    Build Electric Bike