So you want an electric mountain bike and you also want to find the best electric mountain bike kit? I can’t blame you. I recently converted my old mountain bike to an electric mountain bike!
Zooming around at 20mph (32kmh) in first gear, all the way up to 40mph (65kmh) in eighth gear. The wind flowing through your hair.
Nothing can compare!
Where an electric mountain bike actually shines is, well… on mountain bike trails. Or actually anything off road!
Don’t want to bike up to the start of the trail, no problem! Jump on your ebike and speed to the top without breaking a sweat!
Want to go so fast that you hit jumps and get 10 feet of air? Crank up the power setting on your ebike!
Let’s explore our best options for creating our very own electric mountain bike.
Which Kind Of Kit Is Best For Off Road?
There’s so many options out there with every marketer screaming at you saying “Our ebike kit is THE BEST for eMTBs”.
Uh, firstly, what on Earth is an eMTB???
eMTB stands for e-mountain bike, or electric mountain bike. You’ll see lots of people refer to electric mountain bikes this way.
You’re going to want to know exactly what is the best electric mountain bike kit for you, right?
I can say beyond a shadow of a doubt that the only way to go for the hard hitting off road trails, is a mid drive electric motor.
Mid drive motors work by utilising your existing drivetrain. They pump electricity straight through your chain, laying it down as raw tire shredding, gravel spitting power!
Mid drives are installed usually through your existing bottom bracket of the bike, and right by your cranks and pedals.
There is also hub drives. These usually come pre-installed on a wheel that you buy. Located right in the centre of the wheel it adds a significant amount of weight. Either to the front or the rear wheel. Depending on where you choose to install the wheel.
This isn’t so good for mountain biking. This is because you’re going to have weird weight offsets. This results in your electric mountain bike feeling not as natural as it should.
When you use a mid drive, you also have access to your full range of gears. Meaning that you’re responsible for selecting the best gear for the situation you’re in. If you’re climbing a hill, you still want to use the lowest gear possible to. If you want a high top speed, you want to use as high of a gear as possible.
Another great benefit of a mid drive is that you don’t ever have to interfere with your front or rear wheel. Repairing a tube, or replacing your tire is as easy and simple as it was before you installed your motor.
Mid drives also tend to be more efficient than hub motors, allowing you more time pounding the trails.
Torque is another important factor for off road mountain biking. Mid drives have plenty of torque. Torque remains consistent throughout your gear ranges too! (When used in conjunction with the correct gear for the terrain and speed you’re travelling at.)
From experience, the best and only way to go for off roading, is a mid drive motor kit.
So then, what kind of mid drive do I pick for my bike?
Enter Bafang Mid Drive Motors
Remember the gang of baddies on TV you always saw? The big mafia boss, his smart sidekick and the stupid one?
Well that’s my awesome analogy for the best mid drive motor kits that are out at the moment – Bafang’s mid drive motors.
The two main ones, the newest BBSHD
The BBSHD is 1000w of pure power. This monster really can take everything you throw at it. It’s the one that I bought for my bike and I’m super glad I did.
Do you like going fast? Sweet, no worries the BBSHD has got you covered.
Do you like pulling wheelies as you take off, or starting from 0 on a steep hill? No worries, the BBSHD can do that too.
The engineers at Bafang really over engineered this beast. So it can handle everything you throw at it, and more!
Punch the throttle, all day long and this thing will cruise through it like nothing.
It’s got massive cooling fins to stay chilly when it’s warm out. I’ve never had a problem with it going up steep 20% gradients, full throttle at 12mph (20kmh).
If 1000w is too hot for your taste buds to handle, you can cool down by drinking a glass of milk turning the dial back 250w!
Enter the BBS02.
This was the original awesome mid drive motor.
Unfortunately, it’s not all rainbows and unicorns on this front. The BBS02 can’t handle extensive beatings and punishment all that much.
It has a weaker build than the BBSHD, and can’t handle as much of a beating for as long.
Full throttle with no pedalling for extended periods of time can overheat the motor. This can result in completely destroying the nylon gear inside the motor housing.
Although this is fixable by your average joe with a few hours and a new $20 nylon gear, it’s still a bit of a pain.
The good news is that the motor won’t die if you don’t beat it up for too long. Things like making sure you pedal with it to help it along and keep it in it’s ideal rpm range, around 120rpm. Not punching the throttle on hills and in a high gear (that’s a good way to blow up your controller!) Also making sure you’re not in too high of a gear starting out.
Keep the throttle use sensible and use the gearing as though you were riding normally. You shouldn’t have any problems with the BBS02 as your electric mountain bike kit. Considering that for off road trail use you’ll mostly need the motor in short bursts to get you over hills and quick steep inclines. Not for extended periods of time like commuting. So you’re going to be fine with a BBS02.
The best thing about the Bafang BBSHD and BBS02 is that they’re made to fit 68-73mm, 100mm and 120mm bottom brackets. This means if you have a fat bike with a thick frame and fat tires, you’ll have no problems ordering a large enough motor kit to fit your bike!
How To Really Set Your Kit Up For Success
So you want to get a BBSHD or BBS02 for your electric mountain bike. Great!
These kits come with almost everything you’re going to need to get setup.
They come with the motor, ebrakes that stop the motor engaging while you brake, a throttle, a screen, push buttons to interact with the screen, a speed sensor, cranks and a chainring.
What you have to do now to have the absolute best time mountain biking, is to get a much smaller chainring.
The motors only come with a single chainring, that directly connects to the motor. So sorry, you can’t have your three chainrings at the front anymore.
You probably want to get as small of a front chainring as you can get. I’d recommend around a 36T chainring. These Bling Ring HD’s from Lekkie are the ideal chainring to spruce up your mountain bike kit.
Of course, the smaller the chainring on the front, the greater the torque your bike will have! Too large and you might have problems getting started on hills (and risk blowing up your motor!)
Final Thoughts: The best electric mountain bike kit?
The absolute best electric mountain bike kit you can get is a BBSHD or BBS02 from Bafang. These come with everything you need apart from a small chainring and battery.
Batteries are another awesome topic that you’ll need to decide for your bike too. Find out more about ebike batteries here!
If you want to have an awesome ride, check out some of the best accessories that you should get!
If you have any questions, feel free to send me a message or a comment below and I’ll be happy to help out!
Now go forth and conquer the trails with your new electric mountain bike!
How can I install a baofeng mid drive and keep my STI shift levers on my drop bar road bike
Hey Thomas, thanks for your comment!
You can totally install a Bafang mid drive motor without using their brake levers, so you can keep your STI levers.
It just means you need to be a little careful when you brake, so you have to stop pedalling or using the throttle to avoid damaging the motor!
Let me know if you have any other questions!
Cheers,
Zade.
“Zooming around at 20mph (32kmh) in first gear, all the way up to 40mph (65kmh) in eighth gear…”
This is why MTB associations fear eMTBs: their hard-earned access to trails are potentially jeopardized by people going unreasonably fast on singletrack, frightening other trail users and tearing up sensitive terrain.
“Punch the throttle, all day long and this thing will cruise through it like nothing.”
True eMTBs are pedelecs. This means that they have low-power motors that activate only when the rider pedals. What you describe above is an eMotorbike, and you used far too many exclamation points (and commas) to do so.
Hey Jim,
Thanks for your comments. I’ll keep them in mind for an update on this article when it comes around.
Cheers,
Zade.
What advise do you have for me, a die-hard road bike enthusiast?
I have several road bikes set up with STI and Di2 and would like to install a pedal assist system. What do you suggest?
Anchy
Hey Anchy,
Depends on the terrain you ride on. Almost any 250w and higher mid drive motor would be awesome for a road bike. More power (like 350w or 500w) if you need to climb hills too. You really have heaps of options for a road bike. A mid drive like the BBSHD might be a bit big and too overkill for a road bike. Check out some mid drives to find one you like. I would need to shop around more to find one to recommend!
Do you know if the Bafang motor stops when shifting. Also does it come with a heavy duty chain for the back wheel?
Hey Mark,
Thanks for checking out my blog.
The normal Bafang motor does not ship with a shift sensor but you can buy it separately so that the motor stops when shifting. Or you can let go of throttle, or tap the brake lever if you don’t want to purchase it.
It also doesn’t come with a chain, you’ll need to just use one that fits your bike!
Cheers,
Zade.
Is it possible to install one of these kits to a PPV ?
Hey Vincent,
Thanks for reading my blog!
It could be a little difficult to fit a BBSHD to a PPV, depending on how easy the pedal area is to access and how much room it has for a bulky motor.
You may be better off using a hub motor, which replaces a wheel on the bike. It could be totally what you’re after, and still provide some speed for you!
Cheers,
Zade.
hi
I want a kit ebike to convert hybrid btwin 700 bike
for steep road aprox 6 or 7 km to go to school. this island is full of hills so I think 500w is ok but I dont find a company that sells to Canary Islands. Do you know any website to get online?
this kit is
tuis kit is BBSHD or BBS02?
the link:
https://es.dhgate.com/product/bafang-8fun-500w-bbs02-ebike-kit-bbshd-ebike/424062174.html
thanks!
I’ve purchased (on line ) a Voilamart front wheel drive 48v. 1000w bike kit , and I thought it might come with a recommendation re a suitable battery. I fear I may have made a big mistake. I’m coming up 80 so I only want something to give me a bit of a nudge along. Please advise.
Ok, im 73. Ride a 18 speed every day. Low gear 28 to 34 rear tooth. Same gearing on my off road bike. No need for speed. Wild life observer. There are two about 35 degree steep hills on my trail each about 350 feet long. The trail is rideable because I go down the narrow hill and worm back up the wider one. You know, the old swinging the handle bars side to side type of thing. So without fancy zippy stuff what’s the cheap easy thing to do?
Remember this thing isn’t going to be needed more than 25 years.