Cost effective E-Bike - Stealth Bomber, Hi Power Cycles, Stromer

[All Mtn= Fun]

I've been watching E-Bikes for a long time. The first E-Bike that caught my attention was the Stealth Bomber. I fell in love with the concept of a fast, throttle bike which could go everywhere.

I later wanted to purchase one, but learned that they all had one thing in common. The cost to purchase an electric bike was very high, so I decided to try and wait for the market to calm down.

I recently looked at the market again, and it has grown greatly over the course of a year or two. I found a company called Hi Power Cycles which sells throttle bikes at a cheaper price. Still- the price they charge is really high.

I recently tried a Stromer ST2 and really disliked the pedal assisted idea.
I definitely want to stick with the throttle instead of pedal assist.

Do any of you know an electric bike company which sells throttle electric bikes at a reasonable price?

 

[watts888]

Hope you don't plan on riding bike trails with a throttle assisted bike. However, if their street or ORV trails, have fun and tear it up.


Personally, since e-bikes from bike shops have such a huge novelty market, with stupid markup, I'd look at getting a good quality, strong and reliable mountain bike, and do the e-bike conversion myself. $200-500 for a decent used bike, $300-500 for the kit, plus good batteries.

 

[All Mtn= Fun]

Nope- I have a lot of respect for the trails. An electric bike really doesn't belong there unless they are dirt bike trails. I'm totally fine doing the conversion kit- any ones I should look at? Hi power cycles conversion kits are from 1-4K. Ridiculously expensive

 

[boss]

Sounds like you don't want to pedal at all, so go to ebay, 48V, 1000w; for $200-$250 acesseries (or close) will sell you a 26" rear hub kit. Luna Cycle has 52V batteries as inexpensive as $229 plus shipping and charger. My kitted bike goes 32 mph. Another slower, but better off road possibility is a Dillenger 36V, 350w front hub kit with battery for $699 plus shipping or so. This was my first kit; lightweight and nicely balanced, 22mph.

 

[chuckha62]

Take a look at the Sondors. A buddy bought one while they were still crowd sourcing funds. Nice fat ebike. I've ridden one and liked it, so I'm really not a hater, even though I disagree that they should be allowed everywhere a pedal only mountain bike is allowed.

Take a look:

Homepage - Sondors

 

[All Mtn= Fun]

Love the price! Unfortunately I live in a very hilly area. Not sure if that bike is powerful enough to conquer the hills here!

 

[chuckha62]

I've ridden one. It is.

 

[WoodlandHills]

If you are going to ride off-road stay away from hub motors. Most have the wrong windings to be useful on the trail and all of them put a lot of weight in the wrong place. A BBS02 mid-drive currently costs just over $500 at Luna and a Shark pack to match is around $435 and would be well suited to an MTB conversion. That would put the weight of the motor and the battery as close to the cg as possible. The two things to look for in a conversion bike are the ability to rotate the motor as far upwards as possible for ground clearance and a triangle large enough for your battery. If you choose to carry the battery in a backpack you only have to worry about motor fitment.

 

[All Mtn= Fun]

That might be tricky as my current SantaCruz Superlight sits quite close to the ground. Maybe I'll get a hub motor and treat it well. I can take it easy on the bumps. I will need to be climbing about 10-15% grade hills 90% of my riding time, so it is essential to have something that runs efficient and cool. Not to mention powerful enough to climb all of those hills going more than 5mph.

 

[boss]

+1 with WH; for off road use, especially hilly areas, a mid drive is imperative. Additionally, you're not going to like the feel of a 10 pound (geared) or 20 pound (direct drive) motor when riding no matter how gingerly. I have a SC Superlight too and wouldn't convert it since it's too low. Great for handling (with an occasional pedal strike) but too low for a mid-drive IMO.

 

[All Mtn= Fun]

All the mid-drive bikes seem to be 750 watts or under. I've found 5000 watt hub motor bikes which seem to be much more powerful. The only mid drive systems I see are Yamaha and Bosch.

 

[Abagrizzli]

You're not looking well. There are plenty of mid-drives over 750 - BBSHD, Lightning rod, Tangent, GNG and many others, not to forget about top of the line overpriced Ego kits with 3400W engine. Hub motor will always be inferior to mid-drive off-road, due to wrong weight distribution and lack of quality wheel builds.

Besides, you must realize, that throttle on an e-motor works different than on a dirtbike. Since it controls current and not gasoline flow, it operates more more like on-off, which means the current can be controlled effectively either from a controller or pedal assist.

 

[watts888]

I've heard good things about the mid-drive bafang (probably spelled that wrong) motors. A couple fatbike riders put them on the wallyworld fatbikes. 500W would be my absolute minimum for motor power, and everything higher than that is just icing on the cake.

After getting a 500W+ motor, I'd focus on lightweight batteries that mount low oo the frame and not on a pannier rack. A friend has an $800 ebike off amazon with heavy nicad batteries over the rear hub. Front end weighs the same as a normal cheapo mountain bike, the back end is like a tank. Riding that thing around is a nightmare unless you're going perfectly straight.

 

[Speeder500]

I think the OP needs to decide on what exactly he wants. If he has a stealth bike in mind then that bike is a completely different beast.

It will far exceed what any conversion will do in terms of performance, and you won't b e happy with anything if you have your mind set for that type of Ebike.

 

[Abagrizzli]

Yes, it is spelled either Bafang or 8FUN. This guy talks about throttling the ride, so 500W unit won't be good for him. He must start at least BBS02 750W.

Batteries are always a compromise. It will be either heavy and long range, or light and little range. Also, they can be lighter, but from less steady elements, which require correct charge and discharge.

 

[watts888]

Just looked that thing up. that is not a bike. It's an electric motorcycle. trying to make that is not going to be cheap, and pretty much no current bike design would support it without costing more than the stealth.

 

[All Mtn= Fun]

I am good without stable batteries. I use LIPO batteries in my RC vehicles (6s lipo), so I have plenty of experience handling the unstable batteries. You are also right about throttling the ride, that is my goal.

 

[All Mtn= Fun]

I don't think I would want a stealth. It is way too big and heavy. I would like a bike version of the stealth with toned down performance. 30MPH and good torque is enough for me. I believe this could easily be accomplished with a mid drive motor? I would put it in granny gear when going up hills to assist the motor; and a harder gear when doing top speed runs on the flat? More power out of a smaller motor? Hub motors look cool, but seem to be too basic.

 

[All Mtn= Fun]

I think I am leaning towards a complete bike. As much as it costs more, it will be set up right. I don't want to risk damaging something/hurting myself because I foolishly pointed a motor on my bike. Powerful yet cheap electric bikes (mid drive) are unfortunately quite expensive. The cheapest separate mid drive w/ battery is still over 1k from bafang

 

[WoodlandHills]

The batteries are nearly the most expensive part of the build and can make or break an ebike. Get as much voltage as possible: a 52v pack that's just about to run out still has enough power to move you along at a decent clip. That's not the case with 48v. 36v is obsolete in 2016. When comparing bikes find out how much replacement batteries cost, yours will die eventually and long before the mechanical bits. Plus you may want to travel with a spare or two, if not on the bike, then back in the car.....

BTW any ebike even close to being 750w legal will be hard pressed to do 30mph AND climb single track, my BBSHD with do both, but not with the same chainwheel or chain! 30t for trails and 42t for street