These days, electric cycles are in great demand. However, a good, standard e-cycle, with a range of 30km, costs ₹30,000. There’s another option; if you want, you can convert your old, non-electric bicycle to an electric vehicle.

(1.) First, you will have to purchase some components. These include BLDC motor, lithium battery, charger, controller and installation kit. The Brushless DC (BLDC) motor in an e-cycle is 250/800W and 24/36V.

(2.) The lithium battery, on the other hand, is light, and should be of 6Ah, 36V if the motor is of 36V. The battery is selected on the basis of installation area. It gets fully charged in 2-3 hours.

(3.) To control components such as motor, battery, charger, power button and light, a charge controller of 4Amp/12V is installed. Lithium battery is charged with a lithium charger, which is different from regular chargers. You can also use a 36V solar panel to charge the battery.

(4.) An installation kit will be needed as well. This kit has wires, light, nut bolt, accelerator, on-off switch etc.

(5.) The kit also has a guide on how to effect this change. Since the guide is technical, you can take it to a mechanic and get the job done. The final product has a range of 15-20km, and the whole process will cost you around ₹15,000-20,000.