I am new to eBike conversions and am considering the potential value of a used conversion eBike.
I came across someone in my area selling a cool aluminum Montague Folding Bike to which someone mounted a 24 volt Currie Electro-drive kit. I like the bike itself and it lists for $599 new. I have not seen it yet.
The seller of this outfit wants $550 for the entire eBike. He tells me that the bike has new tires and a 24 volt Currie Battery. He says it’s fast. He lives in a fairly flat terrain, but I have a hill which has significant inclines of 10% in stretches and is three quarters of a mile long. I weigh about 225 lbs.
The seller did not know how powerful the motor in the Currie Kit was. I think it was purchased and installed by a third party maybe 3 or 4 years ago. I had trouble finding much information about the model number and specs of such a Currie Kit. I hope to see the bike soon, and I want to be prepared.
My questions:
1.) What would the value of such a setup be?
2.) Assuming that the motor is not powerful enough, what are my options for upgrading to a more powerful motor, battery setup good enough for hill climbing?
If this Currie Kit is not worth much, I would consider buying something else such as a geared rear hub style kit. Any suggestions are appreciated.
If it's in good shape that may be a fair price. The Montague bikes are rugged.. I owned one for a while and was rather impressed. However folding it up was a bit of a chore, especially getting all the parts to properly collapse. Does it include the Montague bag? (The bag itself lists for $100)
- David Herron, The Long Tail Pipe, davidherron.com, 7gen.com, What is Reiki
I don't thimk the bag is included. And I am not really all that interested in folding it up especially with the electric motor and batteries, etc. mounted on it. If I travel with it, I will probably buy a bike rack because I will have two bikes to haul anyway.
I am needing to know what the value of the Currie Motor conversion might be worth, if it is strong enough for powering up hills, and if not where would I find a more powerful motor to upgrade?
I know this is hard to judge without having the actual model number. I would have that by now, but the weather here has been so bad that I am not going anywhere too far away to look at it.
Newbie
Today I was finally able to get to see the Montague-Currie electric bicycle! It looks really sharp and so I took a number of photos to share. I rode it too. However, I did not think it had all that much power, although I could only test ride it on the flats. It is only a 24 volt system. So the question still remains as to whether or not the motor and battery can be up-graded. I beleive I have seen some motors that might work. But then there comes the question of where to place the batteries.
Newbie
I'd rate the price as fair.
I would not be excited about this bike at this price, but you are not being ripped off either. This is based on the assumption that you are getting 2 sealed lead acid (SLA) 12Ah batteries. Range depends on Ah's.
I think that is about a 350 Watt motor. I have been using a setup like this on a Schwinn Mountain Bike for years. It does well on hills, but the bike was over 70 lbs before I switched to Lithium Ion.
Remember to keep pedeling up the hill as much as you can at a normal effort level, and you should be fine with freshly charged batteries.
If the batteries are 10Ah SLA or smaller and your hill performace or range is unacceptable, get larger batteries like 18Ah or use another pair in parallel. This is becaues hill cimbing requires alot of amps.
I think a Currie kit would be about $350, but I don't think it is available.
Replacement and upgrade motors are available here:
http://www.thesuperkids.com/elbipa.html
http://www.evdeals.com/Motors.htm#24V-Currie%20450W%20Brush%20Motor%20and%20Controller%20Kit
http://www.electricvehiclesusa.com/product_p/ki-sd-1000w.htm
You might be better off installing a hub kit on a bike of your choosing.