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+--- Thread: Buying new ebike vs conversion kit (/showthread.php?tid=118)
Buying new ebike vs conversion kit - LordVader - October 30, 2025
If you’re thinking about going electric what’s the smarter move buying an ebike conversion kit to upgrade your existing bike, or investing in a brand new ebike altogether?? Is it better to customize what you already have, or start fresh with a purpose-built electric ride?
How much $ would I save roughly by just buying the kit? Any pitfalls?
RE: Buying new ebike vs conversion kit - CityGuy - December 1, 2025
Naturally kits are much cheaper overall, you’ll understand the system well enough to repair or upgrade it yourself, you can tailor the build to your exact preferences, and you’re not dependent on any manufacturer going out of business, you can learn allot while building. The downside is that it takes hands on work, quality batteries/components can be harder to source and you are not always sure you are getting quality components, and you may attract extra attention from law enforcement depending on power limits and it won’t look as clean or polished as a known brand ebike.
In general a good brand behind a regular ebike would be more trustworthy than the components for a kit. So if a known reviewed brand says "we use LG cells" I would trust that more than some cheap online kit making the same claim. Remember that a kit is considered a cheaper option from the get go so perhaps more likely to cut corners and not give you the best battery cells or other components. Of course you can always look for reviews of people who already used that particular kit.