If you’re thinking of buying an electric bike, there are quite a few hurdles. First, the best electric bikes may not even be available. As with the rest of the bicycle market, there’s a chronic shortage of bikes and parts at present that has forced even professional cycling teams to recycle older components.
That’s exacerbated by the growing popularity of e-bikes. We’ve found some of the best electric bike deals out there, but they’re few and far between. There continues to be significant inflation in bike prices too, so it’s harder to find an electric bike that hits a price point. If you’re looking for an electric bike on a budget, you may not find them in stock.
This brings us to the alternative: convert an existing bike to electric power. There’s a whole range of electric bike conversion kits out there which allow you to add an e-boost to a standard pedal-powered bike you already own.
If you’re wondering which route to go down if you want to go electric, here’s a rundown of the pros and cons of kits versus complete e-bikes.
Should I buy an e-bike conversion kit?
If you’ve got a suitable bike sitting around at home and maybe not being used that much, an electric bike conversion kit could be a great option to repurpose it and make it more useful. The candidate bike does need to be in reasonable working order though, or you’re going to be back into “can I get the parts?” territory.
As we said above, e-bike availability is pretty dire at present, but conversion kits are more readily available. There’s a whole range to wade through on Amazon (look out for Bafang, which is a more established brand name), while other kits are sold direct or via dealers.
E-bike conversion kits come in a wide range of formats, so it’s worth considering which would work for you. Some like the Rubbee X simply bolt onto your frame and you’re good to go. The next tier up like the Swytch kit means replacing your wheel or hub and cabling in the battery pack and controller.
Others like the Bafang front hub motor kit that we’ve tested are more complex and require more cabling. That kit is throttle controlled and so doesn’t comply with UK pedelec laws, so to ride it legally in the UK you need to register the bike, wear a motorcycle helmet and have a licence and insurance….
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