Each year on November 11, China celebrates a national holiday known as Singles Day. It began as a holiday for single people, but has morphed into the largest shopping holiday in the world. And if you know where to look, you can find amazing deals on all sorts of products from China.
And fortunately for you, we’ve found the best e-bike-related deals and compiled them below.
Save big on Singles Day
You can find nearly anything on sale on Singles Day, from robotic vacuum cleaners to tablets.
But since we at Electrek love alternative energy products like electric bicycles, scooters, solar power, and more, this is the best time of year for DIYers to score a deep discount on such electronics.
We’ve already posted articles in the past showing how DIYers can build their own inexpensive electric bicycles and electric fat bikes. Now it’s time to pick up all of the components you’ll need to build your own DIY e-bikes and other alternative energy projects.
Check my video below for more info on the sale, and then find all of the deals I’ve scoured so far.
E-bike mid-drive motor deals
We’ve talked previously about the advantages that mid-drive motors have over hub motors. The most popular DIY electric bike conversion kits based on mid-drive motors are the Bafang kits. Below are the best options for the best prices we’ve seen.
- 1,000-1,500W BBSHD for $535 with free shipping — A great deal, considering these normally cost closer to $700-$800 in the US.
- 500-750W BBS02 for $364 with free shipping — While the BBSHD above is a power house, this BBS02 model is better for commuter-level power.
- 250-350W BBS01 for $297 with free shipping — Best as an easygoing pedal assist setup, as the power is appreciable but not mind-blowing.
E-bike hub motor deals
Hub motors, on the other hand, are much simpler to install than mid-drive kits. They are also cheaper and require less maintenance. Below are some great deals that include the entire kit, battery, and everything!
- 250 W hub motor kit with 360 Wh battery for $232 + shipping — Compare to $570 on Amazon (and you still have to wait for non-domestic shipping).
- 500 W hub motor kit with 430 Wh battery $317 + shipping — Compare to $660 on Amazon (again, with one-plus month shipping).
- 1000 W hub motor kit with 960 Wh battery for $429 + shipping — It’s hard to even find these on Amazon paired with a battery, though to be fair you still can’t beat those Amazon-special $160 1,000W kits that come without a battery. And if you need a battery for one of those kits, check the options below.
Electric bicycle battery deals
E-bike batteries can be very tricky to shop for. If you don’t know who you’re buying from, it can be easy to get ripped off. I’ve purchased from the vendor linked below in the past and have had good results. I wouldn’t call these the best quality batteries, but I’d say they are quite good. I’d use them for a commuter e-bike any day, but not for something I was trying to set a land-speed record with. For that, I’d still go with a high quality EM3EV battery, even though it’d cost twice the price as these.
And you have to admit, these prices just can’t be beat locally.
- 36V 10 Ah Hailong $204 with free shipping — Hailong batteries are quite popular in the DIY e-bike community. Compare the price of this battery to a similar one on Amazon for $237 with slow shipping.
- 36v 12.5 Ah Hailong $228 with free shipping — Beats Amazon’s $243 price.
- 36v 15 Ah Hailong $252 with free shipping — Or you could spend $284 on Amazon.
- 48V 15 Ah triangle hard case $299 with free shipping — These hard case triangle batteries make DIY e-bike conversions a snap!
- 52V 15 Ah triangle hard case $314 with free shipping
- 52V 20 Ah triangle hard case $370 with free shipping
Deals on solar panels
While not the first accessory to spring to mind when you think of electric bicycles, solar panels can be great for many DIY solar power projects.
And if you want to stick to the e-bike theme, you can even make your own solar powered e-bike charger using the video I made below.
- 100 W flexible solar panel $80 with free shipping — compare to $140 on Amazon
- 100 W folding solar panel $116 with free shipping — compare to $150 on Amazon
Buying tips for AliExpress
I use AliExpress a lot for buying direct-from-China parts that cost a fortune locally. I’ve probably made hundreds of orders at this point — just ask my wife!
Throughout the years, I’ve learned a few general rules of thumb I try to stick to in order to have the best purchase experience possible.
- Buy from sellers that have been around for a while. If you click on the vendor’s store name, it will tell you how many years they’ve been on the AliExpress platform. I try to aim for a minimum of 2-3 years, and more is usually better.
- Buy products of which the seller has already sold many. You can see how many sales a vendor has made for specific products while still on the search results page. I feel better when the vendor has already sold dozens or even hundreds, as it shows they are a larger entity and not a pop-up seller.
- Check reviews. I take these with a grain of salt since reviews can be faked, but I prefer to shop from vendors that have a pile of reviews versus ones that are nearly devoid of any feedback. A couple bad reviews here or there often won’t turn me away either, as it shows that the reviews are more likely to be genuine on that page.
And those are my tips! Have fun shopping on Singles Day! My recommendation is to just search around on sites like AliExpress for items you already are in the market for. You can find crazy deals on everything from robotic vacuum cleaners to tablets to portable laptop power banks. It’s a brave new world out there!
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