JamesLooking to convert your mountain bike into an ebike? Before you get too far into your research, read about the pros and cons of the Zoomy Electric Bike Conversion Kit.
While there are several electric bike conversion kits that allow you to turn your old bike into an electric bike, they all have serious drawbacks for the average consumer:
- Most are difficult to install.
- You have to know the exact measurements of your bike to order the correct size and model.
- Since the majority of these kits come from China, there is either no return policy or a shady team of customer service agents who barely understand English.
But Zoomy is different.
What is Zoomy?
Zoomy is an ebike conversion kit company that specializes in simple, single-cord and zero-cord ebike conversions. The company offers three different kits, all of which cost around $500.
While its conversion kit is a common Chinese-made front wheel hub-motor and battery, the difference between Zoomy and its competitors is that Zoomy has real customer service agents in Texas who answer your calls and emails. And its kit can be installed in a matter of minutes, even with zero experience building bikes.
I have a custom-made Marin Palisades Trail mountain bike from 2012 that I haven’t wanted to sell for nostalgic reasons. So I began a search for an “easy” ebike conversion kit and found Zoomy.
Sure, I could have measured every part of my bike down to the millimeter and purchased a rear-hub ebike kit off Ebay or Amazon, complete with hub motor, controller, battery, and copious wiring. But I didn’t want to risk buying the wrong size. Plus, I can’t imagine spending multiple hours manipulating my bike frame to install a bike motor.
The Zoomy kit is temporary and can be reversed, unlike most ebike kits. What if I didn’t like it? What if I wanted to upgrade to a larger motor or bigger capacity battery?
Zoomy offers a 30-day return policy if you pay for return shipping, another bonus for folks who just want to kick the tires.
Testing the Zoomy Bike Kit
Installing the Zoomy front wheel took about an hour since the wheel didn’t fit my front forks. Most front forks have 9 mm wide spacing and the Zoomy wheel is 10 mm, so I had to file down both the forks and the wheel. No big deal, but they should absolutely mention the 10 mm specs in the description on the website.
After installation, I downloaded the custom Zoomy Bike app, which is really just a rebrand of the Chinese manufacturer’s app LVBU (see all of the apps by LVBU at bottom of post). Beware that unlike most electric bike motors, the Zoomy doesn’t have a pedal cadence sensor and instead uses a gyro in the front wheel. The app allows you to calibrate the gyro in the front wheel hub so that the motor senses when you are riding uphill and turns on to assist.
I hit the “Climbing” setting on the app and took off on a mountain trail. About halfway up the hill, the motor kicked in, offering assistance. But then the motor stayed on as I went downhill. “Hmmm, that can’t be right,” I thought. Why would a motor engage downhill?
I changed the settings several times and each time the motor kicked on for climbs and stayed on for descents. I even changed the settings to “Manual” mode in order to use the thumb throttle and that darn motor just wouldn’t stop. Because of the motor and gravity combined, I was flying downhills at an unsafe speed, fighting my own motor!
Unfortunately, I didn’t discover this quirk in the motor until I descended some extremely dangerous forest service roads. Luckily, my Marin bike has hydraulic brakes that are much stronger than the Zoomy motor, otherwise the only thing I’d be riding would be a wheelchair.
I emailed Zoomy Customer Support asking how to turn off the motor on a downhill and they responded that the manufacturer would answer my question. A few days later, the manufacturer in China responded, “If it is a gentle slope, it is normal to have power assist downhill. If you don’t want the gentle slope to have assistance, it is recommended that you buy a CW01 cadence sensor.”
Yikes. There is not a single ebike kit out there that remains on during descents. Zoomy is selling kits that put you at risk while riding—there is no other way to say it.
Eventually, I figured out a way to turn off the motor. On the Zoomy App, I shut off the gyro by switching the power down to zero. This engages the motor only when you press the throttle. Now I have no pedal assist other than when I press the thumb throttle. That’s not ideal, but it’s definitely better than dying on a downhill descent!
More Testing, More Challenges
Besides the dangerous downhill descents, there are a few more drawbacks to the Zoomy that you won’t find on its website because the reviews are all 5-stars and obviously cherry-picked.
First, the Zoomy doesn’t have enough torque (power) to get me up large hills. Even pedaling frantically, the power of the 350-watt motor doesn’t stand a chance against a big climb.
Second, the motor causes the front tire to spin out since there is inadequate weight on the front of the bike. While this isn’t a deal breaker, it seems to happen more on uphill climbs and especially on turns, making for some interesting drifting. I don’t panic when the front wheel starts sliding around, but it’s not an ideal situation on a narrow singletrack bike path with a large drop off inches from the tire. If you aren’t an experienced and calm rider, do not use the throttle on loose gravel, rocks, or soil.
Lastly, the price of the Zoomy is $500, the same price as the Kent 27.5” Electric Mountain Bike from Walmart. The difference is: The Kent ebike offers a powerful rear-hub motor and, more importantly, intelligent pedal-assist that stops on downhill descents. The Kent bike (read my review here) is significantly safer and an all-around better value.
Final Thoughts on the Zoomy Bike Kit
Despite the negative features, I like the Zoomy. Here’s why:
The Samsung battery lasts longer than our other ebikes and charges quickly. This is important for longer trails and I have yet to drain the battery in a single ride.
Additionally, the included thumb throttle makes the kit. Unlike other ebikes with a cadence sensor that only assist on uphill climbs, the Zoomy throttle allows the option to ride like a motorcycle. I often use the throttle on flat sections and occasionally downhills. This enables me to rest and conserve energy on longer rides.
Another bonus is that the Zoomy battery looks like a water bottle and, therefore, flies incognito for those who want to ride an ebike undercover.
But unless you are ready to leave this world, I recommend disabling the gyro via the app. The front tire spinning out is annoying, but I’m used to it now and am very careful when going around turns or riding on loose soil.
While I cannot recommend the Zoomy kit or any other front-wheel kit specifically for mountain biking, it has been nice to ride my old Marin again.
If you’re looking for an ebike for gravel or mountain bike trails, I’d recommend the Kent 27.5” Electric Mountain Bike from Walmart for $500 (with free shipping).
But if you have an old bike sitting around that you just can’t part with, the Zoomy is a solid option for non-technical riding such as cruising around town or commuting.
Some of the many apps by LVBU:
I have the zoomy bike kit and I have the same problem going downhill on bridges. The motor just keeps pulling and you keep braking! I finally got to the point where I figured when I get to the Crescent of the hill or bridge I just reached down and turn off the battery. That’s about the only way I can get around this issue. I’ve had mine a little over a year in a salty environment here in South Florida and it works pretty good except I’m trying to replace the thumb throttle and a Bufang just doesn’t work I’m working it out now any hints?
Hi Al. So my husband figured out that if he uses the Zoomy app, he can set the slider below the Uphill Distance section to 0 and it works great. The pedal assist no longer works, but the throttle works and he uses it manually as needed. Here’s a screenshot.
Contact LVBU (the manufacturer). They sell the throttles and other accessories though their website and Aliexpress. They also have a list of distributors but I don’t know if there are any others in the US now that Zoomy is out of business. I know there are in the UK and EU.
I think zoomy is out of business. I bought one a year ago and having issues with the power supply. Seems like you just bought recently but I can’t seem to get ahold of them, site is down and app is missing from the play store
I think you can still get the power supply from the manufacturer (LVBU). They have a website and they’re on Aliexpress.
Someone who bought some of Zoomy’s old stock is selling the kits on eBay and I’m thinking of picking one up for my chromoly gravel bike just because the price looks too good to pass up (and the vendor has a 30 day return policy). The Zoomy app is still up in the Apple App Store and is being maintained by LVBU so there is still at least partial support. I’m an experienced ebike rider (including on sketch fire roads) and I’d try testing it first in a safe place with a BLE cadence sensor, otherwise I’ll only use it with the throttle and not the gyro based on your review. Did the kit come with those torque arms or did you buy them separately?