The BionX S 350 electric bike conversion kit includes a light weight, gearless hub motor designed for rear-wheel use, an LCD display panel and button pad as well as a battery pack of your choosing. It’s one of the most polished, flexible and sophisticated ebike kits around and offers everything from pedal assist to throttle, regeneration mode and regenerative braking. This kit resembles the older SL 350 which was produced through 2014. BionX has been shortening their naming conventions to make the space less confusing and that’s where the S comes from. This kit in particular is really their bread and butter and thanks to the five battery options it will offer you weight savings, increased range or power. You also get to choose from a rear-rack design or a downtube mounted setup.
The motor included with this kit offers 350 watts of power in a high torque configuration. It delivers up to 29.5 lb.-ft (40.0 Nm) of torque with nominal output of 6.6 lb.-ft (9.0 Nm). That’s pretty good considering its relatively small visual footprint and weight (the SL and S series from BionX weigh roughly 2.5 pounds less than the earlier PL 350 series). I like the new wavy design on the hub casing and have long been a fan of the near-silent operation of these gearless kits. This motor activates very smoothly, relying on a torque sensor built right into the hub. In order to make it go you just turn on the unit, choose an assist level and begin pedaling. Alternatively, you an use the variable-speed trigger throttle but the bike must be going at least two miles per hour for this to work (the minimum speed requirement is a safety feature).
Being gearless, the S 350 motor relies on powerful magnets inside to drive the bike forward. These tend to last longer than plastic gears used on geared hubs. The magnets also enable regeneration riding modes that will help to slow you down when descending hills or provide an added challenge when pedaling on flats in a sort of “workout mode”. There is also a standard regenerative braking trigger that activates when you pull the right brake lever. The downsides of gearless direct drive systems like this are increased weight and some cogging when the system is not actively assisting. Cogging happens when the magnets inside the motor pass the stater (a metal rod that becomes magnetized as electricity flows through) and repel it as shown in the video review. While cogging can’t really be helped, BionX has done a great job of reducing its affect on the ride quality of their kits. One area they could improve however is by offering two regenerative brake sensors or an option for complete ebike specific brake levers. Tektro makes some great levers that are included with other kits but the downside of this is that they only work with mechanical brakes (not hydraulic) and may be of a lower quality than the levers your bike already has… and having an extra set of levers also creates waste.
The battery pack options for the BionX S350 are plentiful and possibly confusing. Let’s break it down in a second but first off, it’s worth mentioning that all packs use Lithium Manganese Cobalt cells by Panasonic. These are light weight, durable and warrantied for two years. All packs also include the Deep Sleep system which automatically cuts all power draw after two months (or two weeks if the battery is lower than 10%) of inactivity, helping to prevent damage. Now, which pack to get? There are three size designations including L (Large) XL (Extra Large) and VL (Very Large). There are also two types of mounting options including D (Downtube) and R (Rear). So when you mix the letters together you get the following rear rack options: S 350 RL (rear mounted large 48v 6.6ah) and S 350 RX (rear mounted extra large 48v 8.8ah).
And you get the following downtube options: S 350 DL (downtube mounted large 48v 6.6ah), S 350 DX (downtube mounted extra large 48v 8.8ah) and S 350 DV (down tube mounted very large 48v 11.5ah). Simple right? Please note that the images above aren’t perfect, while they do show BionX rear-mounted battery packs they don’t show the latest decals which are black and show little bars (like a bar chart) from left to right. The Large pack has one bar, the Extra Large pack has two and the Very Large pack has three (the goal is to make it easier to understand the whole size thing, more bars = more juice inside). Okay, back to the review… My preference is for the downtube mounted packs because they keep weight low and center to the bike but they also take up the spot where a water bottle cage might otherwise go. Since the hub motor is already mounted at the rear of the bike, having a heavy rack there as well is not ideal. One thing I do like about the rear packs however is the inclusion of a built in LED light for safety.
The second generation (G2) display panel used on this and other BionX kits is quite good. It’s large and easy to read, backlit for use at night and symmetrical for easier use by left and right handed riders. There are two buttons on each side of the display which activate the unit and allow you to choose from one of four regen modes, zero mode or four levels of assist. You can operate the system just fine from this main panel but BionX also includes a stand alone button pad that can be mounted extremely close to grips and brake levers for even easier access when riding. This pad includes a + and – button (for navigating assist levels) as well as a red variable-speed trigger throttle which can activate the motor without pedaling. It’s a beautiful design and so thoughtfully constructed that it works with all kinds of bicycle cockpit setups, not just standard flat bars. Even with the recumbent trike shown in the image below, which has vertical handle bars, the button pad works great and the LCD display panel is still visible mounted front and center. In addition to being easy to use, the display panel is also removable so you can keep it safe from weather, tampering and vandalism. Awesome.
BionX was started in 2000 as EPS (Electric Propulsion Systems) and was acquired by Magna (a Canadian automotive company) around 2008. Since then it has grown into one of the largest, most trusted high-end manufacturers of drive systems for electric bicycles in the world. The S 350 is their workhorse kit that is sold directly to shops (for install on end user bicycles) and OEM manufacturers like OHM, Yuba, Xtracycle and Smart. It’s a great setup and one of the best options for people who have a beloved or unique bicycle that they want to convert to electric. The kit is available in a wide range of wheel sizes including 20″, 26″ and 700C and can also be configured to power third party lighting systems.
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Jean Guy
10 years agoBonjour,j’ai un tandem Norco Duo Alu 6061,suspension avant frein V,hybride,26” ,24 vitesse,pneu Nimbus (pas de crevaison)Il est comme moi pas jeune,mais c’est une bonne machine selon moi.Il a environ 10 ans et 10000 klm.Je voudrais le convertir avec le kit S 350 DV.Je voudrais faire environ 80 a 130 klm par utilisation assisté et pas beaucoup de grosses pentes.Les 2 personnes et notre matériel a part le velo font 275 a 300 livres. Après avoir lu les infos sur internets,j’ai pensé que le S 350 DV serait mon meilleurs option.On n’est agé de 70 ans et nos jambes sont plus faibles. J’aimerais avoir votre opinion si vous avez du temps. Merci Jean Guy Je suis de Montréal Qc Canada
ReplyCourt Rye
9 years agoNeat ! Il semble que votre vélo est un tandem ( je l’ai fait une recherche d’image en utilisant Google ) . Je crois que l’un de ces systèmes BionX pourrait fonctionner , y compris la S 350. Le seul domaine où vous pourriez avoir besoin pour personnaliser un peu est avec le montage de la batterie, panneau d’affichage et la gâchette . Les fils pour faire ce travail pourraient avoir besoin d’ être étendu afin qu’ils puissent atteindre tout le chemin du retour vers le moteur . Sinon, vous pouvez obtenir une trousse de roue avant qui exigerait un câble beaucoup plus courte . Un système qui pourrait fonctionner pour cela est la Dillenger 350 Geared car il utilise également un tube diagonal batterie montée qui prendrait la place de votre bouteille d’eau sur le tube diagonal avant :)
ReplyJoe
9 years agoCan i ask what was used to mount the battery to the tube of the recumbent trike as most of them do not have a water bottle mount in that position?
ReplyCourt Rye
9 years agoGreat question Joe! On the second to last picture here you can see this wrap-around metal adapter thing that sort of resembles a bottle cage adapter but is fit for a larger tube. I’ll do some searching and ask BionX for you to see if we can figure out how to get one ;)
ReplyCourt Rye
9 years agoHi Joe, I just heard back from BionX and they said “The harness on the bike in the video is attached to the boom arm clamp with a special bottle cage mounting bracket that was supplied by Catrike, it’s a stock part for their recumbent bikes.”
ReplyJoe
9 years agoThanks just wondering as trying to figure out how i can mount my battery on the boom instead of on rack where i have it. Its not a bionex one but uses a water bottle mount bracket so will look into that one from catrike see if it will work thanks.
ReplyCourt Rye
9 years agoCool, yeah this would be a neat accessory if it was sold separately. I do see a few bottle cage brackets on Amazon like this one but they don’t look especially strong (or like they’d fit the larger tube diameter like the Catrike uses).
ReplyJoe
9 years agohmm doesn’t look like its available as an accessory so only comes with catrike damn :)
ReplyJoe
9 years agoYeah I woldn’t trust anything like that one to hold a battery that and no they won’t fit on the larger tubes anyway. I guess i could look into the one tcycle makes but not sure if it will work with water bottle mount but i guess i can contact them and ask etc :) You would think someone would make something like this though for trikes since way better then using the rack which is where mine is atm.
ReplyCourt Rye
9 years agoI’m not sure if you have experience with manufacturing and design but maybe this is the perfect niche market to go after as an entrepreneur? You’re probably not the only one looking for a sturdy adjustable bottle cage that would work with recumbent bikes. You could also try to make just one for yourself at a TechShop or other DIY space.
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