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If you’re considering converting your bike to electric assist, navigating the huge number of available kits can be mind-boggling. Fortunately, one of the cheapest and most reliable conversion kits is available on eBay. In this Yose Power e-bike kit review, I will look at the pros and cons based on my experience installing over 50 kits on customers’ bikes. Find out more about my electric bike conversion service.
| Motor Type | Front or Rear Brushless Geared Hub Motor |
| Power | 250-watt or 350-watt |
| Voltage | 36-volt |
| Pedal Sensor | Cadence PAS |
| Display | Multi-Function LCD |
| Accessories | Tool Kit, Installation Manual, Cable Ties |
| Availability | Online Only – UK, EU and USA |
Pros
- Excellent Value for Money
- Decent Performance
- Nice Display
- Easy to Install
- Comes with Toolkit
Cons
- Broken Spokes
- The motor can be noisy under load
- Struggles on very steep hills
Summary
From 2016-2019, I made a living converting bikes to electric assist, and one of my favourite conversion kits was sold via eBay. Yose Power is based in China but sells most of its e-bike kits through eBay in the UK and EU. I installed my first Yose Power kit in 2017 and was immediately impressed with the quality and performance of the motor.
Fast forward to 2020, and I still do the occasional conversion; since 2017, I reckon I’ve converted over 50 bikes using this kit. One of the stand-out things about these conversion kits is not only the price; long-term reliability is the best I’ve encountered in the DIY e-bike world.
I have had many issues with mid-drive conversions and a few problems with cheap direct-drive hub motors, but the Yose Power kits have never caused me any major bother. On top of that, you get a lot for your money – it’s one of the few kits that gives you a useful tool kit and headlight.
Below, I have outlined some of the key features of the Yose Power e-bike kit.
Buy from Yose Power directly and use the coupon code BH2E24BXQH for a €10 discount.
Motor Kit
The kit comes in various options and wheel sizes (listed below) and is available as a front or rear-wheel conversion – the latter being the more popular choice.
- Wheel sizes: 26″ / 27.5″ / 28″
- Motor colour: Silver/black
- Gear cassette: Screw-on freewheel or cassette (8/9/10 speed)
- Power rating: 250w / 350w
- Voltage: 36v
As you can see, there are options to suit all the common wheel sizes and gear systems used on modern bikes.
Compatibility
The Yose Power kit is designed to fit regular ‘quick release’ front or rear dropouts of approximately 100mm wide on the front and 135mm at the rear. Many modern mountain and road bikes have ‘thru-axle’ hubs – bikes with this type of hub would not be suitable for an electric hub motor.
Another occasional problem I’ve encountered is tyre width – this isn’t a problem on hybrid or mountain bikes, but if you’re considering fitting this kit to a road bike, you will need clearance for a 28mm wide tyre. This is the minimum width tyre recommended for this rim.
Pedal Sensor Compatibility
A cadence pedal sensor is included in the kit – it comes in the form of a split magnetic disc (secured with a spring clip) and the pick-up sensor. This is usually fine with a regular square-tapered bottom bracket axle, but it will not work with a Hollowtech-type external bottom bracket. If you have the latter fitted to your bike, purchase a separate sensor.
Brake Lever Compatibility
The supplied brake levers with integrated motor cut-off sensors suit cable brakes (disc, cantilever or v-brakes). If your bike has hydraulic brakes or an integrated brake lever/gear shifter, you are faced with two choices – don’t bother with cut-offs (the motor will run fine without them) or buy specific sensors for hydraulic brakes.
Do you need to fit the supplied brake levers? I’ve never used them. The motor will start and stop only when you pedal – even if you use the supplied throttle, it will only work once you are travelling at least six mph. If the motor stays on, you can hit the kill switch or apply the brakes hard.
Compatibility with Disc brakes
Both the front and rear hub motor have six bolt fixings to mount a brake rotor if required – you must use the disc bolts provided as if you use longer ones, they will interfere with the motor’s running.
Display
On the older kits, they used to use the proven KT-LCD3 display, but more recently, they have used a different display, which is very high quality and has an aluminium back plate. This is an excellent display, especially when you consider the price of the kit – I would go as far as saying it’s better than many of the displays you get on factory e-bikes.
The information available to the rider:
- Speed (mph or km/h)
- Pedal assist level
- Battery indicator
- Real-time battery voltage
- Trip function
Accessories Included in the Kit
Yose Power is one of the few e-bike kit suppliers that includes instructions and a toolkit. The toolkit comprises a full Allen key set, crank puller, chain whip and cassette removal tool. They also include a headlight that plugs into the wiring harness and can be powered on/off by the display. Cable ties are also supplied, which is a nice attention to detail.
Motor Performance
The motor supplied with the Yose Power kit is available in 250w or 350w power options. These small hub motors have an internal gear reduction system, so the motor always spins faster than the wheel. This makes the motor more efficient and produces more torque than a similar direct-drive unit.
The controller determines motor power – 250w has a 36v 15A controller and 350w a 36v 18A. In the UK and EU, the law states the motor should not exceed 250w of continuous power – it’s up to you whether you get the 350w version, but I don’t feel the extra power is worth the risk – the motor power rating is visible on the hub motor.
I live at the bottom of a short steep hill (10% over 0.25 miles), and I converted the old Giant hybrid bike (pictured below) for a chap in his 80s – he rode up the hill whilst simultaneously laughing his head off, saying “This is brilliant”! I think that sums up the Yose Power motor. It’s not a speed demon like a Bafang mid-drive, but its power is more than adequate for most riders. I used to own a bike fitted with one of these kits, and I rarely used it above level 2 assist (out of 5).
How Reliable is the Yose Power E-Bike Kit?
The simple answer is very reliable indeed! To date, the only problems I’ve encountered have been minor and related to the pedal sensor – on some bikes, there is limited clearance between the pedal crank and bottom bracket, which can cause the magnetic disc to stick. I have never had a motor fail or cause problems.
Another issue I’ve had a couple of times is on the cassette freehub version – occasionally, this fails and can be a pain to fix. If your motor kit is still under warranty, it shouldn’t be a problem as their customer service is usually very good.
Potential problems with broken spokes. If you ride a bike regularly, broken spokes are a frustrating fact of life. An e-bike motor, because of the increased weight, increases the risk of broken spokes. My customers haven’t reported higher-than-expected incidences of broken spokes than I would expect. However, I have heard from other people that broken spokes can be an issue with this motor.
Ease of installation
Installation is fairly straightforward, even for a novice. You will need a bit of patience (roughly 2-3 hours) and preferably a workspace and bike stand. Most of the tools are provided, but you will also need some cable cutters (to tidy up cable ties).
The front wheel conversion is easier than the rear as you don’t need to swap out the gear freewheel or cassette. You will need to remove the tyre, inner tube and wheel liner. Then remove the freewheel/cassette and disc rotor (if you have disc brakes). Then you transfer everything to the motor wheel.
Fitting the wheel can be tricky as the hub is a little wider than the standard 135mm – on alloy and steel frames, you will need to splay the dropouts by a few mm to get the axle to drop in.
Then it’s a case of mounting the pedal sensor, battery, controller and display – plug everything in, tidy the wires, charge the battery, and you’re ready. If you’re not confident in doing the job yourself, I would try a local bike shop, as more and more are doing conversions these days.
Battery
Some of the Yose Power kits are supplied with a battery. These kits are great because the controller is integrated into the battery mounting plate – this makes for a neat installation. Batteries available are usually 36v 12.5Ah, and these battery packs seem to be very reliable.
The Verdict
If you’re after a cheap electric bike kit that will perform as well as a hub motor found on something like the Carrera Vulcan, you can’t go wrong with the Yose Power kits. When it comes to quality, they punch well above their weight.
They perform well, are reliable and can be used for leisure riding or commuting – I did one in 2017, and the guy used it for commuting five days a week for three years, all through British winters, and it was still running like a dream!
I always recommend these kits for their simplicity. Even if the motor packed up after a couple of years, they’re easy to fix (for the DIY-minded) or cheap enough to buy another kit.
The Yose Power kits represent an affordable entry to the world of e-biking and feature on my list of the best e-bike conversion kits in 2023 – If you want to breathe new life into an old hybrid or mountain bike, these kits are the best value by far.
Where to Buy the Yose Power Electric Bike Conversion Kit
| Buy from Yose Power direct and use the coupon code BH2E24BXQH for a €10 discount |
| eBay UK |
| Amazon UK |
| eBay Germany |
| Amazon Germany |
| eBay France |
| Amazon France |
| eBay Spain |
| Amazon Spain |
Thanks for reading; if you have any questions, please use the comments section below. I usually respond within 24 hours.
I have just received a Yose Power 36V 250W conversion kit with battery & charger. I note that the charger is labelled 48V. Can you confirm whether using these two together is likely to damage the battery over a period of time.
Thanks
Hi John,
You definitely shouldn’t use a 48v charger with a 36v battery. It sounds like they’ve made a mistake. I would contact them to arrange a replacement charger.
Regards,
Tony
I recently purchased the same rear hub kit.
My charger says 42V and the instructions with it say it is suitable for batteries 42V +/- 2V. So it’s clearly not suitable for 36V batteries and so I’ve asked for a replacement.
I only checked the voltage because I happened to notice John’s post above and Tony’s reply. this was rather fortuitous as the kit arrived yesterday and I haven’t done anything with it yet. Phew! Thanks guys 🙂
Sorry to go a bit off topic for this post, but credit where credit is due. The kit looks great and was well packed. I was pleased to find the spoke tensions fairly even and when I squeezed the spoke pairs there were no cracking or crunching noises. These noises are not uncommon with machine built wheels where the spokes haven’t fully settled into place, with some then going slack after a bit of use. Well done Yose.
First of all I must congratulate you on your review. Secondly, I must apologize for my English.
I am waiting for my Yose Power electric kit to arrive and I am unsure if my 12 speed cassette will fit on the motor wheel.
Another question is how the PAS sensor is adapted to a Hollowtech pedal, I have not seen any video or manual on this.
Greetings and many thanks from Spain.
A 12 speed MTB cassette should fit on the Yose Power freehub.
If you have a Hollowtech BB, you will need the specific sensor – this usually fits by removing the bearing cup and installing the sensor, then re-fitting the cup. The magnet ring installs on the inner crankset ring.
Bonjour, je voulais vous remercier pour cet article qui m’a donné plusieurs informations.
Je voudrais acheter un kit roue arrière option cassette 9 vitesses + batterie.
Mon VTC est un : Decathlon Riverside 500 année 2019.
La mesure intérieur de la fourche arrière est de 130mm . Pensez vous qu’il soit possible de l’installer quand même car le constructeur préconise 138mm.
Aussi, est ce qu’il faut faire un rodage de chargement de batterie au première recharge ?
Cordialement
Bonjour,
J’avais l’habitude de posséder un Riverside 900 2018, et je suis sûr que la patte arrière est de 135 mm. 130 mm est généralement pour les vélos de route – les vélos hybrides sont généralement légèrement plus larges. S’il ne fait que 130 mm, tout devrait bien se passer, car il y a normalement un petit mouvement dans la patte.
En ce qui concerne la batterie, je la fais généralement passer par un ou deux cycles complets, puis je la charge normalement.
Salutations,
Tony
Guten Tag.
Wir sind sehr zufrieden, mit unserem ersten umbau, daher haben wir uns nun an den zweiten gewagt.
Einbau lief wie beim ersen mal, Reibungslos.
Leider fehlt uns, in der Display Einstellung der Menuepunkt SET2 für die Geschwindichkeitseinstellung.
Haben Sie Damit schon erfahrung gemacht?
Habe hier jetzt einen, Yose Power Umbausatz 27,5 Zoll Heckmotor 250w mit C500 Display.
Gruß Dom
Bonjour .j ai installé ,le kit 36v 350ah et le c500 yo, sans problème sur un rockrider 620 .Les
premiers 100kms cela fonctionnait très bien. Après 2 charges le moteur fonctionne par a coup ce qui est très désagréable.L accélérateur fonctionne. Pouvez vous me dire de quoi cela peu provenir.
Merci d avance .
Michel
Bonjour, Cela ressemble à un problème possible avec le capteur d’assistance à la pédale. Je le vérifierais juste pour m’assurer qu’il tourne sur l’essieu. Parfois, ils ne saisissent pas correctement l’axe et peuvent glisser lors du pédalage.
Hi Tony
I am looking at the yose conversion kit for my mountain bike, it is the 350 watt rear wheel motor (cassette) i am a bit unsure about the wheel size, on my wheel there is a sticker with the size 622x 21c it is an 8 speed ?? Any help would be great, cheers
Hi Shaun,
Sounds like your MTB is a 29er – this refers to the outer diameter of the tyre. For a 622 you’ll need the 28″ rear wheel with cassette freehub (for 8-speed).
Let me know if you have any more questions.
Cheers,
Tony
Hi Tony
I was about to buy an eBike when I discovered your article on conversions, which inspired me to go down this route. I have two possible donor bikes. The one I ride the most is a Boardman Pro MTB over 10 years old which has quick release wheel skewers so should be suitable for a rear wheel conversion, but I’m not sure if the PAS sensor fits with the BB30 bottom bracket. The Yose Power website shows four alternative sensors but which one would I need? Have you converted a Boardman? If this isn’t suitable my old steel-framed bike built from scrap bits would almost certainly work.
Hi Rob,
I’ve converted loads of Boardman bikes over the years, but none with a pressfit bottom bracket. It may be possible to get a Hollowtech II PAS sensor to work, but It would be a bit of a bodge, and you’d need to superglue the sensor ring to the outer edge of the BB shell. The magnetic ring should attach to the small chainring on the crankset.
The old steel frame bike should be fairly straightforward. I’ve converted a lot of old MTB’s from the 90’s and they’re usually nice and easy to convert.
Let me know if you have any more questions.
All the best,
Tony
Hi Tony
Thanks for your help.
Luckily, Bodgers Я Us! I can see how I could superglue the sensor ring in place, but I’ll have to take your word for the magnetic ring as it isn’t clear from the Yose Power picture how it’s mounted to the chainring. Is the Hollowtech II PAS sensor only available direct from China or do you know of a UK source?
The old steel bike calls itself a Free Spirit Courtland. It’s pretty worn out, so I’d have to find new or second hand transmission components and I’m not confident I’d know exactly what to buy. I’d want to update the freewheel to cassette and the levers to indexing ones, and change the chainring from three to one, for example. It would cost a bit more, but if the Boardman turned out not to be possible I’d give it a go.
Cheers
Rob
Hi Rob,
Superglue is definitely the way to go! Yose Power have the Hollowtech sensors in stock on their eBay UK page.
Regarding the old steel bike, if it was me I’d throw a bit of money at it. Buy a decent front wheel (Mavic or similar) and get the cassette freehub motor conversion kit. That way you could go 10-speed with something like an 11-40 gear range. You can get square-tapered single cranksets with narrow-wide chainrings for around £40.
Let me know how it goes.
Cheers,
Tony
Hi Tony
Long pause in replying but life has got in the way a bit.
Useful advice about the steel bike. I do now wonder though whether a hub drive conversion will be adequate given that I live on the edge of the Lake District and steep hills are unavoidable. I’m finding it difficult to hire a hub drive ebike to test its capabilities because hire shops in this area, at least, favour mid drives almost exclusively, which must be for a reason.
I have hired a Haibike with Bosch motor and know it will do what I want, so I started thinking about mid drive conversions, Bafang or TongSheng, but an earlier reply of yours on this question suggests they are comparatively unreliable. Also, I’m not sure if they can be fitted if control cables and hydraulic brake lines are routed under the bottom bracket as they are on both of my potential donor bikes.
I wonder, is it worth having a go with a hub drive or would I be wasting my time and money?
Hi Rob,
I reckon you’d definitely need a mid drive for those lakeland climbs. It really depends how adventurous you’re going to be. A hub motor will comfortably cope with most climbs up to about a 10% average gradient – once you get well into double digits they really start to struggle. The Bafang is very hit and miss in my experience. I’ve got customers who’s motors are still going strong after 4 years of use and others whose motor has caused regular problems. The same applies to the Tongsheng.
Both the Bafang and Tongsheng have limited clearance at the BB, with the Tongsheng clearance being practically non-existent. Then, there’s the poor chainline on both motors which will compromise shifting quality on anything over a 9-speed.
Personally, if your finances allow, I would go and buy a decent factory mid-drive. Something with a Bosch CX motor and 625Wh battery, or Shimano Steps EP8 motor. As much as I like conversions, they just don’t come close to modern e-bikes in terms of reliability and refinement.
If you’re considering an e-bike, let me know your budget and I can suggest something suitable.
Regards,
Tony
Hi, I have an old Decathlon BTwin Rockrider 340. Very comfy so I’d rather convert this than buy a new bike. However it has a 7 speed Shimano cassette and v brakes. The specs advise the Yose kit will fit 8 speed and upwards. Will this kit for my bike? Is there a huge difference in torque between the 250 and 350 motors please? Cheers.
Hi David,
If it’s a 7-speed you probably have a freewheel (as opposed to a cassette) fitted. You will need to order the 26″ rear wheel for freewheel gears.
Regarding the torque / power – the 350w definitely has more oomph for getting up hills. The only thing is to consider the legality – both motors are physically identical and as long as the maximum assisted speed is limited to 16mph, I don’t see there being any problems.
Let me know if you have any more questions.
Cheers,
Tony
Hi
I am thinking about getting a yose 36v 250w front wheel kit for my Scott aspect medium frame mtb it as brake and gear shifter together
Have you used hidden wire sensors for the brakes
Hi Neil,
I don’t usually fit the brake sensors unless the throttle is going to be used. Yose Power do sell separate brake cut-off sensors that can be used with your shifter / brake lever combo. They are designed for hydraulic brakes but will work fine with existing cable brakes as they mount the same way. Here is the link for the cut-off sensors.
Regards,
Tony
hi, do they use stainless steel spokes?
thanks
Hallo
Heb twee fietsen omgebouwd met yose set.
Motoren maken lawaai
Kan ik hier nog iets in de instellingen wijzigen.
Alvast bedankt
Hallo,
Ik vind dat als je de motorkap verwijdert en een kleine hoeveelheid Mobilgrease28 toevoegt aan de plaats waar de nylon planetaire tandwielen ingrijpen in de naafversnelling, dit de motor aanzienlijk stiller moet maken. Mobilgrease28 is goed omdat het de nylon tandwielen niet aantast. Ik hoop dat dit helpt.
Groeten,
Tony
unfortunately my experience with Yose Power was terrible. I have just done 1000 Km with the kit and two spokes have broken and the battery is loosing capacity. I know batteries loose capacity with time, but I consider it is too soon. Furthermore the display I bought doesn’t match with the kit, so I returned the display, I paid the delivery cost, but I wasn’t refunded. I bought the kit because of this review but definitely I will never buy a Yose Power again. Too much breakdowns.
Hello Tony, I’ve fitted a Yose Power kit on my Giant Hybrid and was looking for information on adjusting pedal assist sensitivity. Google brought me to this page which is brilliant and informative, then I saw in one of the comments that you are at Blunts. I’m at Gunnislake so only down the road. Keep up the great work.
Cheers, Chris Venning
Hi Chris,
To adjust PAS sensitivity you need to press and hold ‘SET’ and down arrow for 10 seconds, this will take you to advanced settings. It’s the third setting you come to SCN03, you can then experiment with it to find what suits you best.
You need an e-bike in Gunnislake, I ride through there a fair bit in the summer and that hill from the Tamar is a leg destroyer! Glad you’ve found the website useful, if you ever need any more advice, give me a shout.
Cheers,
Tony