i was/am an urban cyclist for the last 15 years and would like an ebike because i find more and more excuses not to ride, and part of that is - riding a bike is kinda tiring.

i have a surly steel frame bike with 41mm tires that would be a great candidate for an ebike conversion. i don’t think i’m interested in a bike doing most of the work for me, i still want to exercise. i want a stealthy conversion (don’t want to look too much like an ebike, trying to avoid large battery bricks). torque sensors preferred over cadence.

budget: ~$1k

what i’ve learned is that there are four ways to convert a regular bike to ebike, listed in increasing cost/complexity (see table pic below - couldn’t figure out how to format a table)

What I’m determining is - around $400-$600 can get you a basic front hub or friction kit if one wants an entry level/starter option, with kits starting to get “good” at about the $800 range and really good above $1000. I’ve priced out a good front hub kit at $700 and a good rear hub kit at $860. A friction drive kit would be around $400.

As the price approaches $1000, it seems more sensible to get an entire ebike for that price rather than add $1000 in parts to my existing bike. There’s lots of great ebike options out there in the ~$1500 range and having an extra bike could be really useful for guests etc.

So, I guess the question becomes: $500 subpar front/friction kit or $1000+ new ebike? after typing this up, I’m leaning towards the “QiRoll” friction motor as a lower cost of entry option

    • happybadger [he/him]@hexbear.netEnglish
      4·
      3 months ago

      Conversions have their upsides in avoiding proprietary parts and being able to do modular upgrades, but the direct-to-consumer brands pushed the profit margins of the industry down to the point that there isn’t really an economic upside to it anymore. It’s only prestige brands like Specialized and Tern which still have a big logo premium on top of the component cost. Local’s definitely the way to go either way just for the assured support network. Especially with smaller ebike brands, my local shops are a crapshoot on whether or not they’re willing to service models they don’t sell. I can just personally speak to Upway being a good fallback option after getting my commuter bike from them.