Electric Bike Kit – The Greater E-Bike

This is in response to Pedego’s website page labeling the Electric Bike Kit as a “lesser” electric bicycle solution. First off, I am appreciative of the work Pedego has done in the industry to promote the great advantages of owning an electric bike. I have not personally tested one, but based on other feedback I have received, they seem to have a good product. Let’s, however, do some comparisons as the only thing “lesser” about a good quality electric bike kit is the cost; the cost is significantly “lesser” for our complete conversion systems.

Cost

So let’s start with a cost comparison. Realize that Pedego has competitively priced bikes when compared to similar complete electric bike setups. So I could pick a higher priced brand, but Pedego wrote the article.  The Pedego Interceptor is a good high-powered 48V setup priced at $2,495 according to their site. As a matter of fact their direct drive hub motor and battery look very similar to our $930 48V direct drive motor kit pictured on the GMC full suspension bike below.  We can apply connections to our batteries that make them very good Pedego replacement batteries.  There is one difference, however, Pedego batteries use lithium manganese cells; these are good cells with a life-span of 500 to 1000 charge cycles according to their site. What is not mentioned in their battery cell comparison are lithium iron phosphate (LiFePo4) or Nickel Colbalt Manganese (NCM) cells. These both have over 1000 charge cycles and are the latest and greatest technology. They are also what is utilized in GoCarLite/Electric Bike Solutions Kits. So if you already have a bike that you like, because our kits work well on just about any bike, you saved $1,500+ for the same basic thing with a longer lasting battery. You also have the flexibility to mount the motor on the front distributing the weight more evenly like the 48V setup pictured on the right. But maybe you don’t have a bike; well, staying with the Interceptor style bike, here you go: a Schwinn Lakeshore Cruiser for $180. There are some differences as the Schwinn has fenders for keeping the water from the ground off of you, and it has rim brakes versus disc brakes. Good rim brakes work fine as that is what I personally use, but disc brakes are an okay upgrade with which all our kits are compatible. Maybe you want to go all out and get a more expensive bike with lights, speedometer, and many other amenities…by all means, go all out, you have a lot of spending to do to even get close to the $2,495 sticker price.  Kit installs are relatively easy, but most shops will only charge $100 to do them for you if you like; I charge $80.

It’s Still a Bicycle

So with an Electric Bike Kit you’ve just saved enough cash to send yourself on vacation to Hawaii, but what about the upkeep of this new lean green machine? Here’s one of the greatest things I found when I went from the electric bicycle I first purchased a number of years back to my current Schwinn road bike with the 48V setup—it’s still a bicycle! Chains and other components are not unique. I can still quickly take the motor off and put my old wheel back on and I have my old bike, or with today’s geared hub motors, I can just take the battery off because I do not even notice the motor on it when just peddling…zero resistance. I cannot count the number of people that have called me and said, “Doug, I bought such and such brand electric bike a number of years ago and it does not work and I cannot get parts and…” With a kit, if you change bikes you take the kit off the old and put it on the new. With the electric bike kits we use, 36V or 48V batteries of all cell types are interchangeable; the geared and direct drive motors can be swapped…lots of flexibility.

There are many good ready-made electric bicycles out there; my goal, however, is to get people on one at a price that is much more palatable. Even with a kit, I feel that people are still laying down a chunk of change and deserve the best possible value. So the best cost to benefit equation I can think of is our electric bike kit conversion systems—The Greater E-Bike!

Contact Doug, the owner of Electric Bike Solutions, at the numbers and email below.

Email: Service@GoCarLite.com
Office: (707) 439-3179
Cell: (707) 290-9764