When it comes to ebikes - which is better - a regular bike converted with a conversion kit or a bike that was built to be an ebike? Are there tradeoffs or are both equally good ways to get an ebike?
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You might like to try Bicycles Chat– Criggie ♦Commented Nov 15 at 4:41
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2The best answer is probably The one you know best. Building something is usually a good way to get to know a product.– vidarloCommented Nov 15 at 10:58
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3 Answers
The question asks which is "better" and the title narrows the focus to maintenance. This answer will only address maintenance, and only at a high level.
Summary: It depends on which DIY ebike you compare to which pre-built ebike.
I'll try to explain why.
"Easy to maintain" means that:
- The bike requires little or no maintenance.
- When the bike requires maintenance, it is easy to repair. (meaning that it's built in such a way that one does not need a tool chest full of special tools)
- When the bike does need parts they are inexpensive and easy to find.
At a high level you have two key areas.
- The bicycle to which components are added to build the ebike.
- The components that are added to "ebikify" the base bike.
DIY ebike
At one end of the DIY spectrum - Difficult to maintain
If the base bike is of low quality - old/worn out or very cheap and poorly made and then cheapest ebike components are added you wind up with a DIY ebike that will be difficult to maintain.
On the other end of the DIY spectrum - Easier to maintain
If the base bike is of good quality with not worn with replaceable parts and good quality and replaceable ebike components are added you end up with an ebike that will be easier to maintain.
Pre-Built ebike
At one end of the pre-built spectrum - Difficult to maintain
Very poorly made and poorly assembled bikes with parts that might become difficult to find replacements for in a few years even if something breaks under warranty.
On the other end of the pre-built spectrum - Easier to maintain
Bikes that come from reputable makers with high quality parts and solid assembly that provide support and have replaceable parts
So -
There are two maintenance spectrums for ebikes. Depending on which bike you select from each spectrum the bikes might be better, worse or the same from a maintenance perspective.
For example -
If I select the worst case DIY ebike compared to the worst case pre-built ebike which one is easier to maintain? My guess would be that you will get at least a few trouble free miles out of a pre-built ebike over a worn out DIY ebike with cheap ebike components.
If I select a best case DIY ebike compared to a best case pre-built ebike my guess is that you would get many trouble free miles from both bikes.
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1Many well known brand prebuild E-bikes have proven to be very difficult to get parts for, batteries and their electronics being very expensive or impossible to get. But the bikes should be maintanance free for years.– Willeke ♦Commented Nov 15 at 20:29
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@Willeke Totally agree. Some well known brands are better than others at repairability. They fit on the spectrum also.– David DCommented Nov 15 at 21:59
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It's not decisive, but there's a lot of value in building the bike yourself-- that is, installing the conversion kit and knowing exactly what went into it. That knowledge is a big benefit to easy maintenance.– AndrewCommented Nov 26 at 17:06
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@Andrew I totally agree there is value in learning. The issue is that you build a bike with the knowledge you start with. When you are done you know enough to realize that the bike you built isn't the bike you want. In a perfect world an easy to maintain bike would require little or no knowledge.– David DCommented Nov 26 at 17:38
Factory-made ebikes tend do contain parts that are tailored to the particular ebike. These parts are rather hard to get after the warranty period expires and also hard to replace with something generic.
E.g. while it is good to have the battery integrated in the bicycle frame, good luck finding a replacement. Depending on your usage pattern, you may need a new battery after 4-5 years at best. They usually die somewhat faster.
On the other hand, a sane bicycle is easy to convert into a sane ebike by getting a sane ebike kit and a sane battery. You can also cut corners starting with e.g. poor battery (incl. for free from someone upgrading their rig) and get a better/bigger one later.
This is not an issue, as the electric components require virtually no maintenance. I own two e-bikes, each with around 7,000 km of use. So far, all maintenance and part replacements have been limited to components that regular bikes also have. The motors and electronics have proven to be reliable, while battery capacity has declined, but not to the extent that replacement is necessary.
However, I am concerned that a cheap conversion kit might include a substandard battery, which could compromise fire safety. In that case, you would also need to purchase or construct a fireproof metal box.
