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Long Range E-Bike (2021)

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Re: Long Range E-Bike (2021)

#101

Post by KennyBlanken »

IshKebab wrote: post #78
afavour wrote: post #73

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think there are many more factors to it than that. I own a Radwagon, a cargo e-bike and I take my kids to school on it. It’s both pedal assist and has a throttle and maxes out at 20mph. I find the throttle very useful because the bike is pretty damn heavy with two kids on it and moving from a standing stop is much easier when I can give it a quick throttle burst then start pedalling. All that said, I do agree the t…

The problem with max speed is that while big legit ebike manufacturers respect it (e.g. you can't buy a Bosch ebike in the UK that will go above 15.5mph), you can easily get Chinese models that don't care, or you can mod other bikes that do fairly easily. I don't know what the solution is tbh.

You can't "easily" modify an electric brushless motor to go faster than its Kv limit, to handle more current than its magnetic saturation limit, or to exceed the limits of back-EMF.

99% of the people whinging about ebikes have no idea what they're talking about.

There are people claiming in this very thread that kids are modding their "e-bikes" to go "45mph."

The power levels required to push a hybrid bicycle to 45mph is north of 3000W and thus well beyond the capabilities of the motors and battery packs in nearly all electric bicycles. Even the e-motos struggle to hit those speeds; you need a pretty high end, expensive one to do so.

Re: Long Range E-Bike (2021)

#102

Post by KennyBlanken »

mikestew wrote: post #53
c0balt wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Pedal assist ebikes are incredible, and really just turn weak cyclists into strong cyclists The more useful case ime is turning cyclists with reduced mobility into regular cyclists. In particular quite a few elderly people seem to have picked it up in my city, they aren't quite strong riders but definitely seem able of adapting to normal traffic. It also seems like a significantly safer option for individual transp…

The more useful case ime is turning cyclists with reduced mobility into regular cyclists. You mean, turn weak cyclists into strong cyclists, like GP said? :-)

No. Reduced mobility doesn't mean "weak." It means reduced mobility. It's right there in the words. People who cannot pedal much at all, even the motion, no matter how light it is. Joint issues / surgery, deformities, etc.

Don't be smarmy.

Re: Long Range E-Bike (2021)

#103

Post by jandrese »

brianwawok wrote: post #57
captainmuon wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't understand that point. Why do e-bikes become better or more safe when you have to rotate your legs? Its really frustrating and silly that I have to go through the motions (literally) of riding a bicycle if I want to get the priviledge of using a bike lane or going without a license plate. (At least that's the case here in Germany AFAIK). They could go ahead and make "fast electric bikes" and "slow electric bi…

How much riding does it take to hold 25mph? 12 months of solid riding? (This is being generous, many people will never hold this speed) How much riding does it take to twist your arm 30 degrees? You don’t see a difference?

The answer is cyclist gatekeeping? Or did I misunderstand your point?

Re: Long Range E-Bike (2021)

#104

Post by fattybob »

That’s a fantastic build, I only wish e-bike manufacturers would offer similarly spec’s bikes, a days ride is very rarely 30 km, so 200 min or more like 200 km range would be a bike worth investing in. I feel similarly about electric cars too, charging mud route or at destinations is rarely possible so 300 miles or greater are the only vehicle ranges I see as remotely practical. ( yes, I cycle in km and drive in miles , weird maybe) Oh yes an edit - speed, who rides so slowly, those ebike speed restrictions are crazy low.

Re: Long Range E-Bike (2021)

#105

Post by jandrese »

Gigachad wrote: post #87
Qwertious wrote: post #86

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There's not much difference between a throttle and a sufficiently powerful pedal-assist. Switch to your top gear, and the torque-sensor will say "gee that's a steep hill, let me give you a boost" the moment you start pedalling. Banning throttles just makes manufacturers install token pedals on the motorbikes.

In theory maybe, but in reality pedal assist bikes are far more likely to be compliant with speed and power restrictions and designed to feel like a bike. While throttle bikes are almost always sold as dirt bikes for use on private property.

When I think of throttle assist in an e-bike my thought is not about dirt bikes but instead the incredibly common low end cadence sensing e-bikes that are hard to get started from a stop.

Re: Long Range E-Bike (2021)

#106

Post by jandrese »

Aerroon wrote: post #44
WarmWash wrote: post #14

Sort of a hijack, but it rides on the awesomeness that e-bikes can bring about. They truly are incredible if you have never gotten to ride one. E-bikes with throttles should not be refereed to as e-bikes E-peds, e-motos, electric motorycle, whatever. Just don't call them ebikes. The problem is people (especially kids) getting what are essentially electric motorcycles, thinking they are ebikes, and then causing all so…

I wouldn't want an e-bike precisely because I can't trust my government not to introduce some new legislation with onerous rules or extra costs. Maybe if they were cheap, but since they cost an arm and a leg there's no reason to get them.

You can get a perfectly workable brand new E-Bike for about $1,000 in the US. While that isn’t cheap as chips it’s also not a major investment for middle class individuals.

Re: Long Range E-Bike (2021)

#107

Post by jandrese »

dwedge wrote: post #91

I know a guy who tried doing something like this and burnt his house down. One of the batteries exploded and took the others with it.

Yes, always have a fire plan in mind when starting a lithium battery project. They go up very quickly and generate a ton of choking smoke. It only takes one oopsie with a screwdriver or dropping a cell to start a fire.

Re: Long Range E-Bike (2021)

#108

Post by CorrectHorseBat »

carlosjobim wrote: post #98
Aurornis wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We have the laws. What they’re doing is illegal. I think they need a higher tier of penalties for the repeat offenders, but that would require anyone getting caught first. It’s an enforcement problem. The riders know they’re riding where police cars can’t get them. They also know that the bike cops aren’t allowed to ride ultra powerful electric motorcycles. They also know they can just drive off across some grass int…

Motorcycle cops can ride faster than any e-bike, and go anywhere a bicycle can.

A car too, but you might kill the suspect [1]. Chasing kids on e-bikes down with motorcycles is asking for deathly accidents to happen.

[1] https://www.vrt.be/vrtnws/en/2025/06/03/12-year-old-boy-dies...

Re: Long Range E-Bike (2021)

#110

Post by jandrese »

Tepix wrote: post #100

> My first e-bike, a pretty crappy one but enough to get my appetite whetted had a 500 Wh battery, enough for a 55 km trip one-way, and it would be dead on arrival, range anxiety to the max. What? 55km with a 500Wh battery? Was he not pedaling at all? Why does he even have range anxiety on an ebike? You can just pedal if the battery is low.

E-bikes suck pedal if the motor is not helping. Also, someone going that far is almost certainly doing it at the maximum speed of the bike, and power use goes up quadratically with speed. You could probably do that trip with plenty of power to spare at 15kph or arrive with no charge remaining at 30kph.
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