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If you are starting with a regular bike, your converted e-bike will be lighter than 95% of e-bikes available (average e-bikes are 22-26kg). When factories produce e-bikes for brands they often try to save money on the frame and components, because the main cost is in the battery, controller components and motor. If they want to make a particular price-point they often skimp on frame materials or component quality. Others tend to over reinforce frames, maybe to justify cost. Either way, factory-built E-Bikes are usually heavier than they need to be. The extra weight is masked by customers expecting an E-Bike to be heavier.
If you start with a regular bicycle, even with the most cost-effective install, the motor and battery systems start from about 4.5kg of extra weight, meaning it’s pretty easy to achieve an e-bike under 20kg with the battery (which can be easily removed for lifting of course).
Examples
A quality hybrid bike weighing 13kg, and we add a 250w hub motor (2.5 kg) with medium battery (3.5kg), the overall bike will then weigh 19kg, or 15.5kg without the battery.
A full suspension Enduro MTB weighs 15kg, and we add the Bikeee Bike Lightest Torque sensing Mid-Drive 750w Motor (1.75kg) with a medium battery (3.5kg), the full bike would weigh around 20kg.
A Gravel Bike weighing 9kg, with a Bikee Bike Lightest Torque sensing Mid-Drive 750w motor (1.75kg) with a medium battery (3.5kg), the full bike would be around 14kg.
The minimal increase in weight results in both improved performance and enjoyment.
A good quality, off-the-shelf e-bike will likely to cost between $3000-$5000. The cost to add a similar aftermarket mid-drive system to your bike will cost around $2000, or hub motors from just $1500 fitted. By converting an existing bike through a custom install, batteries will be replaceable in the future, not reliant on a brand agreeing to sell a battery specific to your bike.
Flexibility with electric system installs mean that they can be added to all sorts of bikes, from BMX to MTB, road bikes to recumbents, fat bikes to tricycles, and cargo bikes to cruisers. So, whatever type of riding you do, you can express your style and create your own dream-machine. Many aspects of the systems can be tailored to suit you, from the motor type, to top speed in different levels, options around the gearing, various types of display (including bluetooth to your phone), and choice of the ideal battery size of course. Throttles can be added, to assist with take-off. Gear sensors will pause mid drive motors like a clutch. Programming can allow detailed personalisation. Secondary batteries can be integrated, as can lights. Many alternatives are available for those with special needs too, to set up an e-bike or trike which ticks all the boxes.
Big E-Bike brands and motor manufacturers make near constant upgrades and developments to their motor and battery systems. Sounds great, but are they really benefiting the consumer? What happens if there is a future issue or problem? Big brand E-Bike motor and battery system updates and refreshes tend to not be backwards compatible. Batteries also tend to be specific to that brand. Batteries with a CAN bus can only work with a specific BMS and motor. So when new models are introduced and there is an issue with your expensive E-Bike motor or battery, it is extremely difficult or impossible to repair. Here at Rev Bikes, we are working with the opposite mind-set to this. We ideally want to convert your existing bike and produce a future-proof, fun and sustainable solution for your transport..
Higher power motors (for off-road use) can be fitted, and more torque / faster speeds can be achieved, a popular option for mountain bike riders. However, this can be very relevant on other bikes too, such as cargo or tandems, or for riders carrying more weight than recommended for regular e-bikes (yes, people with weight issues SHOULD be encouraged to get cycling!)
Most decent factory e-bikes come with torque-sensing pedelec motors. We supply a range of Mid-Drive motors with torque-sensing output too. These replicate the way you are riding. This means that to get full power from the motor, you must be applying maximum pressure to the pedals. When you back off pedalling, the motor will back off too, this places less stress and strain on the drivetrain components, because the motor senses and eases when you change gear.
The other motor sensing option is using cadence (pedalling speed), rather than torque based. So long as you are turning the pedals (no matter how softly), the motor will respond based on the level you’ve selected on the handlebars (1-5). If you pedal hard, the motor will do less work, and conserve the battery. If you stop pedalling so hard, the motor will step up and take up the slack. Many riders prefer this sensation, as it gives them a bit more control over how the system is performing.
Using your existing bike for professional conversion means you are recycling something which might otherwise sit in the garage for years after you buy an e-bike, or otherwise end up in landfill. Selling an existing bike often results in a huge depreciation loss, particularly annoying when the frame and components are often better quality than a new, much heavier, off the shelf e-bike…
Rather than adding to the seemingly endless conveyor belt of consumerism, you will be utilising the equipment you already have, which has probably been set up to suit you, and may just need a service to restore it to its former glory, then a “set of wings” added, in the form of motor and battery. This hugely reduces the overall carbon footprint in the transition to electric.
Many bikes hold sentimental value for their owners. Fond memories of adventures from the past are attached to them, while they often sit in the garage gathering dust. Welcoming these bikes into the 21st century is a real blessing to many enthusiasts and anyone who appreciates quality bikes. You can keep the bike which symbolised freedom and stoked those strong feelings of enjoyment. You can still have more adventures, even travelling further than before, with your own favourite bike!
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