Folks,

Has anyone done an electric conversion for a 'bent?
What was your steed?
What was your electric kit?
What was your opinion?

I'm looking into a Bafang mid drive onto an Optima Falcon.
My current commute is about 18 miles and 1:15 for prep, ride, and post-prep on a Merlin DF.
30mph would seriously cut into that.

I don't know if I'm in the majority, but I believe that human power is one of the Good Things about bicycles. If you want a motor of some sort, it's better to get a moped or scooter because it'll be engineered for the greater speeds. It'll have better rubber, brakes, and suspension; not to mention better lighting and a horn. In short, it'll be a more durable, safer package.

There's a power assist forum over at BROL. It's worth checking out.

I'm disagree with BlazingPedals. If adding an assist to your bike means you go out and get exercise, then that's clearly a win. Even if you ride it like a scooter and don't pedal, that's one less car on the road, and still a win.

There's even an electric bike forum on this site.

+1

I checked into an electric assist for the wife's trike, but honestly the costs were prohibitive for an elegant system. I have no current need (or ability) to commute by bike, so...

I'm currently in the works to make my Sun Sport AX into a semi limited e'bent. I have a very bad knee, two surgeries so far with a replacement within the next 5 years, just trying to put it off as long as possible.

I live in Colorado, so many of our 'hills' are more like foothill mountains. I'm talking 5-7% grades for 7-10 miles. My knee does not like that at all.

I want to do 95% of the work, using PAS (pedal assist) when needed for the long steeps and when the knee says 'no way' and I'm 10 miles from home. I have a nice Honda Helix if I want to ride around that way.

I'm looking at using a motor on the front wheel, for weight balance, with the battery either near the middle or on the rack on the rear.

My motor, I think, will be the Xiongda 2 Speed (high and low) with great high torgue for the hills.
New Invention 2-speed Ebike Motor Amazing Torque, View rear wheel brushless electric bicycle motor, Product Details from Suzhou Xiongda Motor Co., Ltd. on Alibaba.com

It's about $350 shipped from China, can use a 36v battery (it's top wattage output is 300w, it's a torgue motor, not a speed motor) and those a much less expensive and lighter weight than a 48v 1000w motor. Does not come in a wheel, so you will need to find the right rim (number of spoke holes that match the motor spoke holes) and spokes for the build. This motor can also be fitted to the rear and can handle up to a 7 speed cassette.

Lots of good into on the Endless Sphere forum. Some really amazing peple that can give you all the info you would need for your application.
Good folks.
Hope that helped,

Ginny
2011 Sun EZ Sport AX

Have you looked at a BionX- pedalac system with throttle rear hub design-comes in 350 or 500w configs, regenerative braking,

Getting a little help to get up a nasty hill Is a good thing If It keeps someone cycling

There are nasty hills in central Florida? Who'da thought

Shhhh ! I got my wife a little fooled into starting to think about e bikes,, she reads these sometime ya know
Yer gonna wreck my chances at N+1

No not necessarily true. Most ebikes are more robust but recumbents are made for speed. Good tires will be key. Keep an eye on your bearings and brake pads.

A mid-drive Erad (befang) is what I have on an upright ebike. A recumbent lwb like a rans stratus or goldrush or bacchetta bella would work. I'm planning one. You get a great workout just going 27 mph instead of 17. Plan on studying bike law to pull it off. Most states defer to the federal definition of an ebike which is pretty restrictive. You can build your own knowing the law in your state. The faster you go the more attention you bring. Keep it under 28 mph which is the most liberal e-bike definition in California, which has the most comprehensive e- bike law. The worst thing that can happen is that you're classified as a moped in your state which isnt the end of the world.

The e-recumbent will help the hill climbing for sure. I commute with a backpack which would need a new storage spot. Battery back should go up front to aid the weight balance. Select a frame that can accommodate a battery. Good luck, post pictures.

hill topper comes with the wheel, and should have sizes to fit most bent front wheels.

Hill Topper Electric Bike Kit, Electric Bike Batteries: Electric-Bike-Kit.com

I put an e-bike kit on my daily commuter because of the wind, and I am glad I did. However, my recumbent is my summer, recreational, bike. As such I do not have an assist motor on it.

I have had mopeds and motorcycles. They are significantly different in bike feel and operation from my e-bike.

I am in the process of building a solar electric e-trike. However, it is on hold. As a teacher I am going to have my robotics club doing a lot of it (the principal is all for it as a technology/engineering project). As such, the panels are in a box along with the charge controller. It is next years project.

Middrive would be more efficient IMHO.I am now rebuilding/modifying a SunSeeker EcoTad and installed a Bafang BBS02 750watt 48volt middrive after messing up my knee.This middrive has peddle assist built right in.For good measure I had a double walled 700c hybrid wheel laced up around the SRAM DDS 3 spd Hub and 11-34 9spd piggybacked to that.Im waiting anxiously to get it back so I can tack it for a nice long ride.

I've put two ebike conversions on LWB recumbents, one Fold Rush and one EZ Sport. Used front wheel hub motors in both, one an EZEE kit from Grin Cyclery and the other a kit from bmsbattery, shipped directly from China. They are both still going but we did have to replace the bottle battery purchased from bmsbattery. The Ezee 14AH 36V battery is still going strong after 5 years, but then it did cost at least 3 times what the bmsbattery cost. Having the weight of the motor in front seems to work nicely on the LWBs, which sometimes get a little light in the front end when going uphill, especially on dirt.

My front end is heavy and I have to mount my battery pack onto my back rack.This is my updated build so far.

I am starting a build thread, based around my trike, here:
https://www.bikeforums.net/electric-b...ld-thread.html