# Pre-Built vs E Bike Builder



## TX_Dj (Jul 25, 2008)

Unless you're taking a trail others have already blazed ahead of you, or unless you're building from surplus/scrap parts that can be had for free or cheap, you may find that DIY is more expensive. This also depends on your experience in designing and manufacturing your own parts for the conversion, and what tools you need to buy to do the project.


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## EVsRoll (Apr 29, 2010)

Hi dj:

Sort of my same thoughts. I completed an 83' Olds Ciera (think J car) station wagon conversion in 2003. It was spendy and not much return on the dollar at resale time. 

For the bike, I'd be using my own donor bike and could expect some savings there. The kits run around 500 clams or so ... http://www.evsroll.com/Electric_Motor_for_Bike.html (a little plug for my site here) ... but its usually the batteries that bite your wallet pretty hard...

Theres a 36 volter on ebay that looks pretty good at $129 with 9 bids and 13 hours to go...Only problem is ($115) shipping from China! Try returning that if theres a dead cell! The seller does have like 400 sales @99% positive. 

So, it looks like it might come down to what these batts actually go for and how good they are by the time FedEx drops them off.


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