Add-E 600W Ebike Kit Video Review 

Always go with the bafang. powerful, relaible, easily sourced, clean replaceable connectors, multitude of battery options, and still very sleek

I'm a gas bicycle rider, but how that automatic electric drivetrain with the sensors engages in was really awesome! :D Thumbs up!

Already over 1'000'000 views for this review. Congratulations. Your reviews guide people in their choices and needs in terms of electric bikes, and also save them a lot of money by avoiding improper products. And we, consumers, appreciate very much indeed.

I'm an electrician and I have used zip ties a lot in my work. You need a pair of flush cut diagonal cutters with a perfectly flat face. Use this to trim the excess zip tie ends and it will be smooth. No more tearing your hands and fingers up. We called them flush cuts.

$1251 for that setup is a RIPOFF!

I like this review because it says it all in a very diplomatic way. It is not a review on the workshop though, but on this specific product. It points how noisy it is, how complicated it could be to install, how easily it could be stolen, that you need 2 batteries to rely on (260 € each), lack of customer support and many more... And let's you appreciate it if you're deaf :-) My advise would be: Don't buy anything you haven't tried by yourself - don't buy online from somewhere without public rating - don't buy if you can't find the same product on big reliable online markets such as eBay, Amazon etc...

I've had mine on my road bike for over a year. It's awesome. It keeps going up to 32mph on my bike.

This sum-up will save you 29 mins of your life: Ridiculously overpriced underperformer. - you’re welcome...😎

Wow! That was very loud. Thanks for taking the time to show this. Even though I did not like the product I did enjoy the review. I was also wondering about the clean up. On this bike, water and mud splash from the tires on the product looked like it was right in line with a great deal of clean up if off road and would cover the motor, and wheel engagement and I would think that if mud got on the tire and the engagement wheel from the motor it would even create more difficulty climbing or pulling, etc. Peace, Reese

I can't beleive that motor is 600watt as small as it is, mad respect!

1. I love the stealth aspect of the bike, but it kinda seems like it's ruined by the noise, yeah? 2. I wish I knew enough about bikes that I could be confident blow torching the crank arms

Safety tip: zip ties must always be trimmed flush so the tail does not protrude away from the Locking point. The mechanic complains of hand lacerations at 11:05 ...the best way to cut zip ties flush is with the use of Side Cutting pliers that have a small jaws and sharp blade otherwise an exacto knife will work as well, but less safe to use.

So basically you pay way too much for a 250W motor that's in a location where it will wear the tire down and collect dirt and grime right off the tire. Whoever came up with this product needs to evaluate their customer value.

On-bike motor and battery system is a Half-baked poor geek’s attempt to make money. This gentleman’s very committed to providing an unusual amount of rich detail, and truth-of-experience.

Great little sanding drum, I can just imagine how nice and smooth your tyre is going be.

I was looking at these, and finally went with a LEEDS 50 mile 250W front hub. Total weight difference in bike was less than 13 pounds (about 8.8 for battery and about 4 lbs for the hub). I like the simplicity of installation, no crank sensors or anything, just an on off button. It engages immediately to get one across an intersection faster. I paid $1100+ on sale. It keeps pulling past 23mph, and to confirm I registered 23 mph on a police monitor sign going uphill against the wind, pedaling also of course. The watt ratings can mean very different things. My 250W hub motor is probably pulling a lot more than 250 under some conditions and is fairly quiet. It really helps keep the speed up while you still get a good work out. Pedal assist may be better for going slower. The on/off is better for going faster, it doesn't know slow. So in a slow environment, a 2 to 3 second boost keeps the cadence up. In tight quarters, the pull of the front wheel is a lot easier to steer straight than doing so while pushing hard on the pedals. And after a long ride, just coasting with the hub pulling is just so nice. Sometimes you just need a rest. I have never run out of juice, and it always recharges so far in less than 2.5 hours.

1200 bux? hahahahahahaha, no stop, hahahahaha, you're hurting me, hahahahaha

Very noticable a lot of work went into this video, thanks for taking the time to show every step👍

I think you'd be safe without the helmet inside the shop 😂

11:17 tip: After you cut zip ties, file the end until not sharp, only takes a few seconds

$1200 for this? I will pass

Exposed motor windings. An open ended motor on the bottom of a bicycle. BRILLIANT!!!!

23:52 - The actual ride

quick tip add a couple of squirts of transmission fluid to your wd40 spray bottle for cleaning and lube of bike parts it doesn't dry out when combined with wd40 and its a great rust prevention i have used this recipe in harsh marine environment for years

This reminds me of being at the dentist or scratching the chalk board with your finger nails. This is awful.

His experience of never doing this before has helped? Now thats professional.....

4:40 my local bike shop just uses a rod or chisel and a hammer to get that off, it's much easier and you can reuse everything, kinda surprised he didn't know that trick

I looked at this unit but it was cost and lack of support from Add-E that was a deal breaker, In the UK whole E-bikes are coming in at £700/800 Vs this 600w version that retails at £855. I'm not convinced, hub conversion kits seem to offer better value for money and greater power/range/noise. I think once refined though this is definitely an option to consider.

Yeah, let's use an angle grinder without its guard, what's the worst it could happen? It would be nice if the motor were quieter though.

If the kit was installed on a bike that had more smooth and slick street tires it would be more powerful and go faster. I was into e-bikes in 2009-2010 building bikes that would do 50mph. The performance difference between knobby mountain bike tires and street slicks was night and day. I bet the kit installed on a bike with slick tires pumped up to 90psi would show a lot more performance

Guy in vid is doing his crank removal all wrong. Step 1 ALWAYS use a strong penetrating lube like pb blaster or liquid wrench. Step 2 wack the inside AND outside end of the crank arm with a soft blow hammer every half turn with the crank puller. 90% of the time this will work for the other pesky 10% you just remove the other arm, remove bottom bracket then set the crank on top of a vise to tap the bottom bracket out with a hammer. If your dealing with stripped threads use an automotive pickel fork to wedge the arm off.

I was originally going to comment how light and small this set up is and compliment its design against Court's unenthusiastic perspective of this kit, BUT I saw these comments saying 1200. NO THANKS.

Perhaps it is possible that that motor is capable of consuming 600 watts. However, one battery pack might not be capable of supplying the current required. It seems like that might be a small detail which would be easy to leave out even though you were paying for the upgrade. From watching this video it seems to me that it may be possible that you have a 600 watt motor but you need both battery packs to achieve that.

The whole must be moving is for the tires sake. Any friction drive sufficiently rough to do its job will quickly chew up a tire that's not moving Kevlar or not. Love the stealth aspect but if I were going to do friction drive I'd consider a rubby. It is removable and implements a virtual coaster brake to activate regenerative braking. Don't know if it works well but I have a fondness for foot brakes and like the idea of it.

Poor e-bike kit! For the price you can get a new, complete e-bike without all the grinding and engineering. It is especially loud!

I had a crankset freeze on me once, and SE sent me new profile crankset. I was, and still am, FUCKING-IMPRESSED with that customer service.

I'm not a safety nazi but using an angle grinder with the guard removed and not wearing face projection? He does not even warn you to step back? A few screens later the disc shattered. I've seen those hit people in the face and disfigure them for life. How he has gone this far without a major injury in beyond me.

How to cut a zip tie? Put the tie on the bike. Tighten, then take a pair of pliers. Put the pliers on the zip tie end you want to cut butting against the loop . Now start twisting the pliers. Keep twisting until the end breaks off. Best possible cut and might save your hands! Regards,

am am not convinced that having a motor drive the wheel direct to rubber will have a good effect on the wheel or the motor... hows it going. Has it broken yet?

Not caring how many watts, because I’ll never want one. 🙀 Once again, thanks for a great video and this information. You’ve saved me a ton of time and effort. 👍👍💫

Avoid friction drive. It sucks and goes thru rear tires like toilet paper. Especially mnt tires.n

To extract a stubborn crank arm, try Kano Labs AeroKroil penetrant. It's expensive but cheaper than crankarms. It gets everything loose. It's marketed to industry and aviation, marine. Kano has been making the several kinds of penetrating oil for at least 60 years that I know of. Catch: DON'T use it inside the house. Has a very strong sweetish odor.

Definitely too noisy ! and the price .... haha that's a joke !!

Stuck crankset. Loosen bolt/nut and go for a ride. Bounce your weight over the pedals. If you want to add heat make sure you get it real hot and then quench it with cold water. Then repeat the ride and bounce weight over pedals.

$1200 now that is expensive - I'll wait 50 years for the price to go down..

I fitted a 250 watt motor to a cheap bike a few years ago. Drove the front crank which had a free wheel attachment. That way I could use all the gears.on the rear. Worked quite well. BUT . You really need largest available PO4 batteries.

So its just a little outrunner motor with some grip tape on it? An almost brilliant design in its simplicity but not beyond the abilities of your average RC enthusiast to put together.

This looks like the perfect electric set up, for a fold up travel bike with 20 in wheels, where weight is important.

2:10 thats some passionate chewing right there!

safety Tip #2: proper safety glasses should be worn when using grinders. Although both the mechanic and the videographer are wearing conventional eyeglasses, these are inferior to wearing wraparound safety glasses that prevent particles from entering your eye around the periphery of the glasses.

I needed a good laugh. Thank you.

4:58 "safety glasses" I chuckled lol. If it was quieter and didn't require you to be going 2mph to kick in I'd consider buying one. Good review as always.

You do know that you can use lower gears when you start pedaling from a stand still ? That's what gears are for on a bike ! And for some reason, listening to the noise this crappy thing makes, it reminded me of another crappy system: the "generator" of my youth (I'm 51) that rubbed against the side of the tire to make electricity to supposedly light up a headlight, but would almost stop you by friction alone ! lol !

If a crank thread stripped and you're not bothered about destroying it, best to ride the bike with a missing retaining nut. Wobbles loose in about a mile.

lol. when they used the grinder i thought "well, no safety at all" just to be affirmed seconds later.

Look, I have the AstonRider mid-engine and I've been using it quite well. I have changed it from my folding 16 wheel to 26 mtb and now into a 24. My husband changes the kit in a few moments by tightening one screw/nut, everything is connected and the screen has a cell phone charger. my experience with the Aston Rider kit, it came out less than 300usd on ebay with lifepo battery and it has been running without problems since I had it more than a year ago

ahh, the sound of your tires wearing off....

The nice thing about this is that I'd never have to warn pedestrians that I was approaching from the rear... they'd hear me approaching from a good distance away.

burn the stray end of the cable/zip tie with a cigarette lighter to round it off smoothly

I was using this kit for few months, current waiting for motor repairing but while using it I was stunt of power in that small kit I was switching from hidden power 250w which was not so super but was ok as first touch with e-bikes I had, add-e is much much better (600w) love it so far, of course I had few issues, black bottom cup of battery get unglued, sometimes throttle after engage didn't work but very rarely (I was using throttle only, I disconnected PAS with the help of add-e support) other issue I have while riding in the rain, motor starts by self so I stop use it on wet weather I figure out that may throttle is not water proof and water get in and star engage motor but I'm not sure about that 100%, and noise it could be little quiet but in other way is good that pedestrians and other cyclists can hear you so this aspect don't bother me much, and at last tier changing, while riding 5 days a week 32km at day I have to change tiers after month or so, It could be cheaper ;) Other things like light weight, compact size, look, power, support from add-e is great! love it! PS: ElectricBikeReview.com you should use right tier to get better effective grip, more flat tread as add-e highly recommended.

To much blah blah blah

Net D I Y trick I use when dealing with Zip tie's . After cutting the ends off I use a Bic lighter and melt the end of the Zip tie . I have used a soldering Iron to melt the ends off .

It sounds like one of the speed racers from Star Wars.

Just a safety reminder. 4:38 that's scary. You guys were lucky. Always use the guard for the angle grinder. When a disc breaks, the peices can fly off with enough force to stick in wood!

Why do bicycling helmets have to look so goofy?

If the motor friction drives the tyre directly it’s always going to sound like that unless you take the nobbly tyre off and put a slick one on instead.

Interesting set up but too noisy! Cheers, Patrick

This is why I do all my own bike work.

Why the heck didn't he just use compressed liquid nitrogen to remove the cranks. Always go cold first before going hot. Going cold causes the steel Bottom bracket axle to to contract at a much faster rate than the alluminium crank arms - rather than heat which causes both materials to expand at the exact same time.

That high whine of that motor would drive me to drink.

Remember when people weren't nearly as fat lazy and they peddled their bikes?

Pro tip: To avoid having sharp zip tie edges, twist the excess strip off with a square nosed pliers. Do not cut them off with a side cutter.

You need a partner who is much heavier than you. Most men weigh well over 135 pounds. Most men walk around between 175 and 200lbs. Maybe you could get a backpack with 50lbs in it to make your reviews more accurate to average men. You could also stick 50lbs on most bike racks. 185lbs is a MUCH better gauge.

I like the whirling sound actually.

Thanks for the review. My take: Too noisy. Too much work(exclude the pedal work) and way 'too overpriced'. For that price, I can buy a brand new Ebike.

Really great sound on your video. What type of recording equipment are you using? Love your work, can't wait to get an e-bike.

Just ride the dang bike!

No Disrespect intendid here but before you spend anymore money on e bike convertions (which are great) i suggest maybe first buying a guard for that angle grinder before someone ends up having many stiches and loss of earnings that will add up to a lot more than a new guard. Guards get in the way they might but after a while in the right curcumstanses your thumb will no longer get in the way.It wont hurt for about 5 mins and the whole ordeal will be seen by the patient in slow motion as the disk turns inside your flesh also dont forget to turn it off before you throw it in a moment of serility as this could cause further traumer to yourself or a by stander after 5 mins the pain will kick in, be sure to hold your hand elevated above your head as it helps keep the pain at a low, also try to keep away from your new carpet as it wont be new anymore. Ps it was never going to gappen to me ither until it did (with a guard and one moments lack of thought) Happy Grinding.

hey guy, whats the deal with wearing your helmet when your not riding a bike lol

I loved this vid. Especially the crank pull shenanigans! Great bike machy!!

is it water proof ?

I bought a Batang 8fun kit for $500 and a battery 13ah for about $225. I'm putting it on an old Cannondale. The total cost is less than this unit and goes faster for about 70 miles. It comes with a speedometer that also reads the battery Watts left.

Slick Tyres to eliminate the noise but you'll still get the noise from the motor. Looks pretty weak as well I'd rather wait for Bosch to make a smaller version of their motor. Won't be buying this unless it goes down to maybe £100.

Tech has come on such a long way in 3 years! From this, which is basically a Dji drone motor and esc, to 1000w+ hub motors for less than a third of the price (and noise)...

Holy shit that thing's loud!

Smash aluminum crank set thresds with hammer then use die grinder to chop it off, then lay bike on ground to wash it, nice.

well, well would this be a joke ? One thing for sure I would never bring my bike to this mechanic.

If I decide to go with an electric assist system for a bike, I am thinking of the hub unit.

lol the motor doesn't sound too healthy

This is amazing, just saw that on a presentation boot and got a flyer. Then I remembered I am a commuter. I ride when it Rains, I ride in mud, I ride in snow, I ride in Ice. I can bet my ass this grip tape wheel will lose grip on my tire when covered in mud from the rain. Let me check the Prize. Oh yea it probably costs as much as a cheap E-Bike and when you mount it to an old cheap bike. You essentially have a kit that you need to invest time and pain to make working or just buy a brand new cheap e-bike .... I am so done with Kits. This looks like it will sell only if you have an old Roadbike and there is nothing to do for you right now.

Hmmm.... 1000 dollars you can just buy a electric bike for cheaper

It's not just pressure involved when your crank arm is that well stuck. There is an electro-chemical type of reaction that occurs when aluminium is face to face with steel. It becomes almost welded on if it's been on there for years or a decade or so.

Come on dude! Complainting about zip ties... lol Use sandpaper to sand the sharp ends off.

Safety glasses should have (Z87) on them! Anything else you risk loosing you most vital sense 😲. Thanks for the vid

This guy on video talk too much, just wasted my time watch him without give extra information

there is a crank-puller kit which comes with a larger thread and taping tool, no need to cut the crank off.

for that price I'll just buy a whole electric bike already made...

Great review, in Europe Add-e and Go-e are really becoming a frequent solution these days! I would like to point out for you the Ahooga e-Bike! I would love to see one of your reviews about it Keep up the good work!

Friction drive?! What a joke!

It can be 600w...Its an RC car motor...With 6 cell lipo...Wich are not made for E Bike use (Maybe they could work better on E board)