Hi There,

My name is Matt founder of Airgreens Electric Bikes in Cape Town.

We get asked this question a lot!

And the answer is never a simple one as it depends on some conditions.

#1 How important is it for you to hang on to your current bike?

Is it a vintage model or have sentimental value?

#2 What kind of condition is your bike in?

Does it need mechanical components to be replaced which will increase the cost? )

#3 How often do you ride and how serious are you about riding / ebiking ?

Do you intend to ride twice a month or at least once/week ?

#4 What is your budget for an electric bike ?

Some conversions will require a higher investment that getting a new ebike.

That is because of the large amount of work involved and expertise in ensuring a seamless conversion.

This is the second most popular question we get asked.

And the answer is also not so simple as it also depends on some conditions.

#1 Where are you going to mainly ride your ebike?

If mainly off-road on very steep terrain then we suggest a mid drive.

If its mainly for commuting on tar roads then a hub drive front or rear is something we should explore.

#2 What kind of bike do you have ?

Not all bikes are suitable for a hub motor system. Some bike frames are designed for thru axle wheelsets.

It is not common to find a hub motor system that will work on a thru axle frame.

#3 What is your total carrying weight and what is the intended terrain gradient for the most part ?

If you are over 100kg and will be riding on steep terrain then we recommend a mid drive.

Mid drives are super torquey. You get double the torque for the same wattage.

For example a 500w hub drive motor has a torque of 50nM whereas a 500w mid drive has a torque of 100nM!

#4 Do you want to retain all the gears on your current bike or do you don’t mind losing some gears?

If you go for the mid drive conversion then your front cog will become a single cog.

Its unlikely that you will need those extra gears since you will have a powerful pedal assist system that in effect is giving you extra gearing.

However you may want to still ride your bike as an non-electric bike.

If so then those extra gears will come in handy especially on super steep hills !

In this cause you’ll probably want to go with a hub system so that all your gears on the bike are still in use.