Difference between revisions of "Premade or DIY"
Black Moons (talk | contribs) (Created page with "Premade or DIY, the decision can be tough. Most people don't have any experience in assembling mechanical devices or electrical work. Overall, DIY seems to be the way to go if you can. Many premade bikes use proprietary batteries controllers/shapes and some even use controllers that won't work without the exact same brand battery. a DIY bike can be repaired with off the shelf bike parts and the battery/controller/motor can be replaced with pretty much any other batter...") |
(diy vs prebuilt flow diagram added & rewritten main body) |
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Premade or DIY, the decision can be tough. Most people don't have any experience in assembling mechanical devices or electrical work. | Premade or DIY, the decision can be tough. Most people don't have any experience in assembling mechanical devices or electrical work. | ||
Overall, DIY seems to be the way to go if you can. | Overall, DIY seems to be the way to go if you can. Often times, Premade E-bikes come with proprietary batteries & controllers. Some may allow batteries of other brands, some may not. | ||
Therefore, worst case scenario, if you want to get new batteries (that aren't same brand) or customize your prebuilt bike further, you may need to do wiring/soldering work by replacing controller & program new ones if necessary. | |||
There are many off the shelf parts for batteries & controllers that aren't proprietary on market. Therefore, for long term ownership, DIY Ebike is more stable, but requires more knowledge since you're not relying on manufacturer/dealership warranty. | |||
Being said, Electrical & Mechanical knowledge is needed due to high current that Ebikes use. This danger goes up as current output increases. If you are not unsure about learning new knowledge or purely due to lack of confidence, Prebuilt Ebikes/mopeds of vetted brand can be a safer bet. | |||
'''Know your bike!''' We highly recommend you not convert 'department store' bikes such as Walmart, Canadian tire, etc due to their low part and assembly quality and instead stick to bicycles sold by bike shops or 2nd hand bikes. | |||
[[File:EbikeWorkflowDiag.drawio.png|1000px|frameless|Flow diagram for premade vs diy]] | |||
Revision as of 22:26, 3 December 2023
Premade or DIY, the decision can be tough. Most people don't have any experience in assembling mechanical devices or electrical work.
Overall, DIY seems to be the way to go if you can. Often times, Premade E-bikes come with proprietary batteries & controllers. Some may allow batteries of other brands, some may not.
Therefore, worst case scenario, if you want to get new batteries (that aren't same brand) or customize your prebuilt bike further, you may need to do wiring/soldering work by replacing controller & program new ones if necessary. There are many off the shelf parts for batteries & controllers that aren't proprietary on market. Therefore, for long term ownership, DIY Ebike is more stable, but requires more knowledge since you're not relying on manufacturer/dealership warranty.
Being said, Electrical & Mechanical knowledge is needed due to high current that Ebikes use. This danger goes up as current output increases. If you are not unsure about learning new knowledge or purely due to lack of confidence, Prebuilt Ebikes/mopeds of vetted brand can be a safer bet.
Know your bike! We highly recommend you not convert 'department store' bikes such as Walmart, Canadian tire, etc due to their low part and assembly quality and instead stick to bicycles sold by bike shops or 2nd hand bikes.
