Tools for an E-Bike Conversion: The List

For the installation you need standard bike workshop tools and, depending on the motor, a few special items. The most common gap with mid-drives is the lockring tool, which many kits do not include. Check before ordering what you are missing, or you will end up on a weekend with a half-dismantled bike.

Basic kit for every conversion

You will need these almost always, whatever the motor:

• A set of Allen keys and spanners
• A torque wrench for axle nuts, cranks and bottom bracket
• Cable ties and spiral sleeving so that cables run tidy and protected
• A multimeter to measure voltage at the battery and the connector
• Grease, threadlocker and a clean rag
• A work stand or a stable support so the bike does not tip over

This is not a mandatory list but our experience so far. If you already have a well-equipped workshop, most of it is there.

Tools by motor type

This allocation is based on experience. Your particular kit may differ, and its manual comes first.

The classic: the lockring tool

Bafang mid-drives sit in the bottom bracket shell and are secured with a large lockring. For that you need the matching lockring tool. Many kits do not supply it. When it is missing, some people try to undo the ring with a hammer and screwdriver. That often damages the ring or the shell. Order the tool beforehand, it costs little. How to measure the bottom bracket beforehand is explained under measure bottom bracket.

Other parts that get forgotten

• Crank puller: You need it to remove the crank before the mid-drive goes into the bottom bracket. Ideally the type that matches your crank fitting (square taper, Octalink, ISIS).
• Bottom bracket tool: For removing the old bottom bracket. It must fit your bearing type.
• Cassette tool and chain whip: With a rear motor, the cassette or freewheel must move from the old wheel to the motor hub. You need both.
• Chain tool: If the chain has to be longer or shorter after the conversion. Do not forget the right links or quick links.
• Spoke key: After around 100 km re-tensioning may be needed, see common problems.
• Programming cable: Bafang controllers can be configured with it, including the 25 km/h limit (netzwelt).

What to buy and what to borrow

Not every tool is worth buying for a single conversion. A lockring tool, crank puller and bottom bracket tool cost little individually, but together they add up. The item "missing tools" is EUR 0 to 100 in our cost overview, see costs. That is an assumption. Some bike shops and self-help workshops lend special tools, so just ask.

The torque wrench is not a luxury

Axle nuts on a hub motor, crank bolts and lockrings have tightening torques. Too loose means the axle spins in the dropout, see torque arm. Too tight means a damaged thread or distorted parts. Take the values from the kit's manual and set them on the wrench. Without a torque wrench you tighten by feel, and that easily goes wrong, particularly on aluminium.

If you are unsure

If you have never removed a bottom bracket or a cassette, a mid-drive will be hard going. There is no shame in that. A workshop that does conversions is then the better choice. Bear in mind, though, that some workshops refuse conversions because they count as a modification of the manufacturer's product (Fahrrad XXL). Find a conversion-friendly workshop beforehand.

Checklist before ordering

1. Decide on the motor type, see motor types.
2. Read the kit's manual and compare it with its list of required tools.
3. Order or borrow what is missing before the bike is taken apart.
4. Have spares ready: quick link, cable ties and threadlocker.

Does a conversion fit your bike?

How reliable is this?

That some workshops refuse conversions is stated in the linked source, as is configuring the Bafang controller with a programming cable. The tool list itself and the allocation to motor types are experience and assumptions that Fabio is still checking.