I decided to convert my Giant Mountain Bike to an ebike. After researching hardware I decided on getting a Befang Mid-Mount Kit. It came with a 48v 750 watt motor, brake levers with switches, an HMI with controls, speed sensor, throttle, and headlight.
The hardware very good quality. And the installation was very easy. I purchased a 52v battery separately. I am not as confident in my choice of batteries…but time will tell. It was too large to place in place of a water bottle holder as it was designed to. So, I mounted it on a rear rack; which is fine by me.
I haven’t changed the chain out yet…but I need to do that. And I haven’t mounted the headlight. Otherwise the conversion is complete and it is running well.
With me on the bike it can get up to 30mph. With my nephew on it can get up to 37mph. The range with me riding is about 35 miles. For those who haven’t ridden an ebike it is a lot of fun. I am still peddling and getting a workout. It just amps-up the fun factor. On the city trails I am going 20-25mph most of the time. It doesn’t really feel like a motorized bike…it feels more like a really fast bike that you are powering.
By default there are five peddle assist settings: 1-5. You can ride at 0 which is no assistance. Level 1 is noticeable when you start to peddle…but after you get going it is not much faster than you would be on your own. Level 2 and 3 is where I have kept it the most. That is a nice speed of about 20-24 on this bike with me on it. Level 4 and 5 are a lot of fun. You really get moving. On off-road trails this is a bit much.
The bafang kit was just under $500. The battery was about $280. This was on Amazon. Bafang USA Direct has kits with batteries. I am having second thoughts about the 750w vs the 1000w. I have a second kit for my wife’s bike…which hasn’t been installed yet. I am giving some thought to sending it back and buying the 1000w.
I changed the stock stabalizer with this one with an extended arm that connects to the seat tube. I got it from Luna Cycle for about $20. The stock one came loose several times…which is no fun being ten miles from home.
I got a 48v battery pack for her bike because the 52 volt was on back-order. The exterior dimensions are the same but you can feel the weight difference with the one additional cell. It’ll be interesting to compare the performance of the two.
We went on our first ride together this morning: 24 miles. It was a nice workout for us but the batteries had plenty of range left in them. They were showing 75% when we got home. Tomorrow we will push it a bit further.
The battery is just under 10 lbs. I hadn’t weighed anything until this morning and I estimated it was heavier. Doing a search it looks like the motor and kit is about 12 lbs. With getting an actual weight of the battery this morning I think the total is about 21 lbs.
