Factory build... or DIY ebike Kit?

DIY provides me with the features I am looking for at a low cost to play. But the big thing is that I can adjust on the fly due to open source goods instead of proprietary manufacturer products. I have already made the switch to 2170 cells for a $600 battery that I can use on all three of my eBikes. They aren't much to look at but get the job done.

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At some point I want to get an integrated motor type eMTB but waiting until the right unit becomes available.
Your bikes look fine have you seen what they're selling for $2,500 and up I have I've even tested one and it wouldn't get me more than 12 miles an hour since I'm 240 lbs those bikes are made for people that weigh 150 lbs. And even then they only go 20 miles an hour unless you pedal then they go eight more miles an hour for 2,500 you get pretty much nothing low power bike is what you get and the looks although they look cleaner they don't look any better than the ones we're building as a matter of fact some of the ones we're building look much better and like you said you could fix them on the fly I would never buy an e-bike as long as I can get kits to make my own as a matter of fact the two I have now in my opinion look far nicer than many of the ones that are sold in stores already made.
 
They are not safe under certain situations I tried one I bought a trike on Amazon, bought a kit for it in March, of this past year put it together went out got into an accident within 15 minutes broke my shoulder in two places and my arm and cracked three ribs I don't recommend electric trikes for anyone especially seniors. I still only have 90% mobility in my shoulder and arm to this day and may not ever get 100%.
Kenbad... Sorry to hear of your accident and injouries... I too, bought an Amazon adult trike, and a Bafang mid-drive motor kit, and I'm working to improve my initially acceptable results... #1..Replaced the 7 speed cluster with a 30 tooth freewheel because the mid drive offset the peddle sprocket to where the low gear was way too much twist in the chain, and I wanted a low enough gear too be able to peddle home on the hills if I have a drive system failure (motor, battery..??) and it all works GREAT... #2.. As I get more time riding I have noted that the supplied rear band brake is OK for planed stops, but it needs to be upgraded to be effective in emergencies... ALSO.... I found that going from two wheeled bikes, to a trike has taken some major adjustments... the trike's tilt follows the slant of the road, and leaning into a turn as you would normally do, sometimes finds you fighting the etrike's contour following mandate.... it's not a big deal, but it demands that you retrain your natural instincts.... or you might panic ! I've found that I tend to look at the contour of the road ahead a lot more than I used to, so I'm not caught by surprise by a sudden tilt which CAN'T be corrected with a steering adjustment.... but will correct itself further down the road...
 
Kenbad... Sorry to hear of your accident and injouries... I too, bought an Amazon adult trike, and a Bafang mid-drive motor kit, and I'm working to improve my initially acceptable results... #1..Replaced the 7 speed cluster with a 30 tooth freewheel because the mid drive offset the peddle sprocket to where the low gear was way too much twist in the chain, and I wanted a low enough gear too be able to peddle home on the hills if I have a drive system failure (motor, battery..??) and it all works GREAT... #2.. As I get more time riding I have noted that the supplied rear band brake is OK for planed stops, but it needs to be upgraded to be effective in emergencies... ALSO.... I found that going from two wheeled bikes, to a trike has taken some major adjustments... the trike's tilt follows the slant of the road, and leaning into a turn as you would normally do, sometimes finds you fighting the etrike's contour following mandate.... it's not a big deal, but it demands that you retrain your natural instincts.... or you might panic ! I've found that I tend to look at the contour of the road ahead a lot more than I used to, so I'm not caught by surprise by a sudden tilt which CAN'T be corrected with a steering adjustment.... but will correct itself further down the road...
Yeah I hear ya I too changed the seven speed to a one speed however I had no idea what to do with the band break I couldn't figure out how to install something else so I kept that and on the front hub motor wheel I had disc brakes.
Anyway as far as the learning curve I think it's too much for me I have enough to watch out for in my state with the four wheel automobile drivers who are either drunk on drugs texting or talking on the phone talking or yelling at the passengers that are with them and not paying attention to the road and oh the ones that just think that you're not supposed to be on the road it's only there for them and think it's okay to run you down if they have to this is what happened to me when I was in the accident I was knocked down by a car even though I was in the right the driver got out and said I had no business being in the road and left me there bleeding profusely. Anyway good luck with yours be careful. Here iny USA state that I live in (don't think it's a good idea to mention which state) there are very many very bad drivers the state that I used to live in was much better but now I live in a state where there are so many bad drivers I can't believe it.
 
It depends on what you consider to be a lot of money. There are lots of very pretty factory bikes above the $2500 mark. Most factory bikes are limited to 250 watts. That power is fine for commuting small hills on a street. You can buy a mid-drive kit and battery for about $750 depending on watt-hours and motor power (750 watts or greater) and slap it onto a $95 hardtail. That will get you up any hill with the correct gearing.
 
I started with an adult trike ($250), then added a Bafang BBS02B/BBSHD Mid drive 750 Watt motor, with a 48V, 17.5 Ah, Samsung 65 cell Battery ($750)… added a rear 30 tooth freewheel sprocket to replace the 7 speed gear cluster, and a 36 tooth BlingRing front sprocket (about $125 +/-) and I’ve got a great neighborhood cruiser.. Can top out at about 18 MPH on the flat, but kills it going up these local Washington hills… However… these eTrikes are a little weird, and not as intuitive as your regular two wheelers… It takes some getting used to not leaning into turns, and being surprised when the slope of the road tilts you to the side and resisting the urge to correct with steering adjustments… all in all, it’s a sweet ride for less than $1200.... Cheers, -D
 
It depends on what you consider to be a lot of money. There are lots of very pretty factory bikes above the $2500 mark. Most factory bikes are limited to 250 watts. That power is fine for commuting small hills on a street. You can buy a mid-drive kit and battery for about $750 depending on watt-hours and motor power (750 watts or greater) and slap it onto a $95 hardtail. That will get you up any hill with the correct gearing.
Sorry sir I humbly disagree I have a friend who tried to convince me that his $750 watt mid drive was better than what I have so I tried it and at 240 lbs it only took me 15 kmh 20 using pedal assist on the road and 11 kmh going uphill 14 with pedal assist. The two e bikes that I built and own right now both have 48v 18 amp and 1000w batteries and hubs and controllers to match and take me up hills at 19 kmh straight road at 28 kmh and downhill at 35 kmh without even pedaling which I think is fast but I manage it. Also those 2,500 pre-made bikes to me don't look any nicer than regular bicycles and cannot be fixed on the fly like a DIY e bike I take an extra throttle battery and controller and some wiring and of course some tools with me when I ride so if there's a problem I can fix it right on the spot. Anyway I'm not going to pay that price for something that looks like a regular bicycle and can get you stuck far away from home where you would have to pedal or walk it back home and only takes me as fast as a regular bicycle probably even slower. Those bikes are made for people that weigh far less than I do I would only consider them if kits were no longer available to anyone.
 
I have built 4 e trikes now and one 2 wheel recumbent. The first trike was a tadpole type - thats 2 wheels in front - and it had 2 20" front wheels custom built and a 700C rear wheel, thats a 29" wheel. It was long and low slung and handled like a sports car. At first it used a 500 watt rear hub motor then I switched it to a 750 watt mid drive, Because of the nature of the trike it was equipped with 2 mirrors and a flag and I rode it like every driver was out to kill me. I never expected any car driver saw me and would not cross an intersection or driveway without making eye contact first. On that trike I put close to 4,000 km's with no problems and lot's of smiles. The only time I ever tipped it over I was going 20 mph or 32 kph whichever measurement you prefer and trying to take a sharp 90 degree corner into a back lane.

The next trike was a delta style - thats 2 wheels in front - I still ride it often. It has that 750 watt mid drive motor on it now. Also long and low. It's 8' long and has 3 20" wheels. It also handles like a sports car and goes quickly around corners as well. And yes I use a mirror and a flag. I am aware of it's and my limitations and do ride carefully and it now has a few thousand km's on it as well with zero problems and NO accidents.

The trikes I have seen on Amazon usually are junk. A good well designed trike from a proper manufacturer costs a few thousand $. Sun makes a trike for heavier riders and I think Greenspeed might as well.
 
I have built 4 e trikes now and one 2 wheel recumbent. The first trike was a tadpole type - thats 2 wheels in front - and it had 2 20" front wheels custom built and a 700C rear wheel, thats a 29" wheel. It was long and low slung and handled like a sports car. At first it used a 500 watt rear hub motor then I switched it to a 750 watt mid drive, Because of the nature of the trike it was equipped with 2 mirrors and a flag and I rode it like every driver was out to kill me. I never expected any car driver saw me and would not cross an intersection or driveway without making eye contact first. On that trike I put close to 4,000 km's with no problems and lot's of smiles. The only time I ever tipped it over I was going 20 mph or 32 kph whichever measurement you prefer and trying to take a sharp 90 degree corner into a back lane.

The next trike was a delta style - thats 2 wheels in front - I still ride it often. It has that 750 watt mid drive motor on it now. Also long and low. It's 8' long and has 3 20" wheels. It also handles like a sports car and goes quickly around corners as well. And yes I use a mirror and a flag. I am aware of it's and my limitations and do ride carefully and it now has a few thousand km's on it as well with zero problems and NO accidents.

The trikes I have seen on Amazon usually are junk. A good well designed trike from a proper manufacturer costs a few thousand $. Sun makes a trike for heavier riders and I think Greenspeed might as well.
IMHO you are right and I believe when you have two wheels in the front and one in the back they are even more stable than the ones with one wheel in the front and two in the back the Amazon trike I bought wasn't junk but it wasn't great either it was able to easily hold up heavy weight because of the frame being made of steel however they're not made for putting a motor on them as they will easily tip over they have two wheels in the back one in the front all three wheels are 26" I will say professionally made recumbent bikes or made much better with much more quality and reliable parts and are worth the money they're sold for however I still would not ride one since they're so close to the ground and here where I live you probably wouldn't have it very long and you would wind up getting hurt on it as there a far too many people driving cars trucks and buses here that are not good drivers or simply don't care and don't think you have a right to be in the road and will hit you if you are too close to them therefore I'll stick to the two wheel bike.
 
DIY provides me with the features I am looking for at a low cost to play. But the big thing is that I can adjust on the fly due to open source goods instead of proprietary manufacturer products. I have already made the switch to 2170 cells for a $600 battery that I can use on all three of my eBikes. They aren't much to look at but get the job done.

View attachment 542

At some point I want to get an integrated motor type eMTB but waiting until the right unit becomes available.
Did you build your own 2170 battery pack? What are the specs of the pack, voltage and Ah?
 
Get her an Aventon Pace 350. Then you won't have to worry about anything but riding. Excellent components. Excellent quality. She will love it. You don't want a diy bike for your wife.
You forgot to mention terrible QC and customer service that Aventon offers according to many people here on the forum.
 
The complete e-bikes you buy look better, in my opinion, but I feel like I am better prepared to troubleshoot problems if I install the kit myself.
 
Being new to the eBike world... reading the last two pages has been fascinating... Having worked as an electronics tech repairing component level problems on military communications equipment I think the reported problems pale compared to the unreported good Aventon experiences. Just a hunch... because for every radio test failure we saw there were several hundred radios testing good, exhibiting no problems at all. If the two foregoing pages are representative, Aventon would be out of business, abandoned by dealers long ago.

Another striking fact is the unstable disadvantageous handling characteristics of "trikes", in general, underscored in the two foregoing pages. Growing up in FL(given the current political climate, using state abbreviation format seems somehow less incriminating) in the 50's and 60's seeing a fair amount of elderly persons using trikes it is now clear they proceeded slowly/cautiously not solely due to age concerns but also due to equpment handling characteristics. While trycycles seem well suited for toddlers and us cautious, slow proceeding, elderly folks... surely not nearly so much for large displacement motorcycles and not at all for off-road ATV's, as evidenced by their ban by manufacturer agreement in 1988.
 
I am new here but this is the question I asked myself when I built my bike in 2018. I had a VW TDI and if you are aware of what happened VW bought a lot of them back because of cheating on emissions. While waiting they sent everyone a $500 VW gift card. Knowing I wasn't going to keep the car (as the deal was too good to pass up) I bought two VW folding bikes.

I bought a 750 watt front wheel (I think it was $200) and a 48 volt battery ($200) and put it all together. So I had $400 in this. I have upgraded the tires since then. With me on it the bike it will do 25 mph and I have no idea how far it will go as I've not rode it long enough to run the battery down. I have road it a good ways.

My wife bought a two person side by side trike and I'm thinking I might swap it all over to it.

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