I’ve now completed the conversion of 3 bikes (all rear wheel motors) & are pretty happy with the results. My own conversion (350W) is predominantly used off road, generally 4WD tracks but some single track, for long mountain approaches (20 – 50km round trip), 3 to 4 times faster than walking. I find it a delight to ride with the motor having plenty of power. The thumb throttle is particularly nice (speed limited on 250W version), giving a welcome boost to overcome the last hump when in the wrong gear or the legs are flagging, or simply just get up to cruising speed from a stop.
I’m not a bike expert & did have to overcome several unanticipated hurdles along the way when I completed these conversions which outlining here may help others.
PAS sensor: on 2 bikes the supplied PAS sensor didn’t fit the bottom bracket/ axle & I had to replace with KT-D12L sensors. If possible, it would be worthwhile removing the left crank & sending a photo to Yose asking their advice as to suitability to avoid any delays during conversion (one replacement sensor unit took 3 wks to arrive from China).
Battery mounting 1#: the battery holder requires 3 fixing points IMO & frames usually only have 2; on all the conversions I opted for adding a screw thread insert into the frame rather than use the “Hailong Installation Adjustment Bracket” as this still only provides for 2 fixing points. The M5 thread inserts & tool are readily available on eBay but perhaps Yose should look at supplying as an accessory item (tool + a few alloy & steel inserts) plus a couple of screws.
Battery mounting 2#: mounting the battery on the diagonal down tube seems to ideal position for bike balance & stability however it does leave the battery/ control unit exposed to water/ mud thrown up from the front wheel & the control unit has cooling slots on the underside which concerned me. I opted for adding Zefal FC50 Deflector + a piece of plastic (to increase length) to the underside of the tube to mitigate this, perhaps Yose should consider having something like this as an optional extra, say something 50cm long that could be cut to suit.
Rear cassette: On 2 bikes I found that the 7 speed cassette didn’t fit the motor hub spine which’s’ length is sized for 8/ 9 speed cassette, this was easily ‘fixed’ by installing a 3mm Shimano spacer onto the spine; but I needed to work out what was ‘wrong’ first before getting one on eBay causing delay. Perhaps Yose should make this point clearer in the literature & have the part available to order.
Hydraulic brakes: adding the Hydraulic Brake Sensors to the existing brake levers proved easy enough but I did find the supplied flat disc magnets unsuitable & opted for replacing them with 4mm diameter x 8mm long magnets (eBay) epoxied in place, a much neater solution.
Rear hub mounting; on a Specialized alloy framed bike I found the lugged reaction washers barely engaged the frame/ axle ‘slot’; ended up having to add a pair of ebike Torque Arm Washers (eBay) to ensure that frame damage couldn’t occur. Fortunately, the torque arms mated with the existing pannier rack so that the additional ‘locking’ components weren’t needed making any subsequent wheel dismounting (puncture) easier.
Cables: it’s pretty easy achieving a tidy cable set up with the supplied tie wraps however it should be noted that to remove the wheel the cable needs disconnecting & hence cutting the tie wraps; I opted to use 5mm releasable tie wraps for this cable to avoid having to carry new tie wraps, perhaps a few should be in the kit. It’s also worth noting that a 19mm AF spanner will also be needs to be carried to remove the wheel, perhaps Yose should include a light weight spanner within the installation tool kit which would serve as a road tool.
LCD display: works efficiently however IMO a significant practical improvement would be to enable the display to be made easily removeable e.g. have the handle bar mount a ‘docking station’. This would help guard again bike theft & also enable the unit to be removed when flipping the bike over to carry out repairs e.g. a puncture.