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Long Range E-Bike (2021)

jacquesmattheij.com

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Re: Long Range E-Bike (2021)

#121

Post by jacquesm »

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.

Yes, I'm pedaling just fine, thank you for asking.

The range on this thing is not that large even when you are pedaling strongly, it just uses a lot of power. As you probably know the power consumption of a bike goes up considerably as the speed increases, this is NL and while we don't have hills we do have wind, and plenty of it. Add in a 40 to 45 kph top speed and you can see the battery dwindle in real time.

As for pedaling if the battery is low: I have a bad leg, which is why I ride these to begin with, they help me to get started at traffic lights, which we have a lot of. Once at speed I can ride just fine but getting up to speed really hurts.

Re: Long Range E-Bike (2021)

#122

Post by Aurornis »

majormajor wrote: post #117
Aurornis wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I agree. I thought the electric motorcycle problem was overstated by people complaining online at first. Then they became popular around my house and I agree it’s a huge problem. I’m fortunate enough to live around a lot of walking and mixed use trails for bikes and pedestrians. Recently they’re unsafe to use in the evenings because you have to be ready to jump out of the way of groups of kids (plus a few adults who…

why is the throttle the issue and not just the 45MPH? would it be better with pedals and people peddling along in some only-would-ever-make-sense-on-an-ebike gear, but still going 45? the problem is recklessnesss and speed, restrict and enforce those things, don't just let the bike makers shift the product 10% and re-create exactly the same issue, but "legally"

> why is the throttle the issue and not just the 45MPH?

The bikes with throttles are not legally e-bikes, so the products on the market ignore all of the other e-bike restrictions too. They have much more power and higher top speeds.

Even if they were fully limited, pedaling ensure more rider engagement and changes how people ride them. When you have to put some effort, however small, into moving the bike around you ride differently than if it's an effortless throttle input.

Re: Long Range E-Bike (2021)

#123

Post by jacquesm »

bgnn wrote: post #93
gcanyon wrote: post #75

It's weird that these restrictions apply: 25km/h, 55km range? The Evolve Carbon skateboard tops out at 50km/h, and 80km range. Granted, you have to be a little bit crazy to ride that fast on a skateboard, and having owned an earlier version, I guarantee it's not pleasant riding that far on one. But people do it. Someone must be putting out faster/longer distance bikes that don't look like/ride like mopeds. Okay, a qu…

Ebikes cannot go faster than 25 kph in the Netherlands, where the author lives. Also they cannot provide power assist without pedalling.

The blue one is actually an S-Pedelec, governor kicks in at about 43 kph and indeed, you need to keep pedaling and quite strongly if you want to maintain that kind of speed.

Re: Long Range E-Bike (2021)

#124

Post by Aurornis »

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.

As someone who has spent a lot of time riding both bicycles and motorized things, this is not true at all.

I could hop my bicycle over curbs that would bring a police motorcycle to a halt, or even toss a bike over a fence and then pick it up on the other side if I wanted. Or I could dip into the trees near the bike path where a police motorcycle has no chance of maneuvering.

Re: Long Range E-Bike (2021)

#125

Post by aeternum »

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…

A throttle is excellent on an e-bike especially for city riding. It is far easier to move at slow speeds by applying a small amount of throttle vs. trying to torque the pedals just the right amount, if behind someone or near pedestrians.

Many e-bikes don't have torque sensors and instead use a cheap rotation sensor so the motor engages almost randomly at certain points in pedal rotation when moving at slow speed.

Re: Long Range E-Bike (2021)

#126

Post by jacquesm »

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.

That's why you don't touch Lithium Ion packs unless you know what you are doing. I've repaired many Bosch packs before I tried building my own and seeing the guts of professionally designed and robotically assembled packs after they're a few years old is a very sobering exercise in what to do and what definitely not to do.

There are a bunch of youtubers that go out of their way to give massively dangerous advice to people and I always wonder what their liability situation is.

Re: Long Range E-Bike (2021)

#127

Post by oblio »

zardo wrote: post #85
brianwawok wrote: post #57

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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?

Why would people have a hard time doing 25mph on a pedal assist bike that isn't limited to less than that?

They're talking about riding a regular bike at 25mph. Most people can't sustain that.

Re: Long Range E-Bike (2021)

#128

Post by oblio »

parineum wrote: post #77
WarmWash wrote: post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

New Jersey just passed some of the most onerous and short sighted ebike laws in the world last month. Basically anything that has two wheels and a non-human energy source drive is now a motorcycle, requiring a license, registration (including a license plate), insurance, and a DOT approved motorcycle helmet, as well as This law came on the back of two teens being killed on ebikes last year. This is the exact kind of…

This is what happens when ebike companies take every opportunity to skirt the laws like putting easily removable limiters on motorcycles with pedals and a chain with a gear ratio that makes pedalling practically impossible. I don't know if there was an existing attempt at regulation in NJ specifically but that's happening all around the country. The problem is that, while ebikes have a ton of really good use cases, t…

Why is it even legal to import illegal bikes into a country? Shut this thing at the source, make Amazon & co liable for ebikes that don't respect national legislation. The entire problem disappears in 6 months.

Re: Long Range E-Bike (2021)

#129

Post by jacquesm »

So, this got posted again I see. A few years later: the pack is still going strong and has not - so far - shown any signs of wear. I've put close to 15000 Km on it now and there is no degradation worth mentioning, though I suspect that if I do a precise capacity measurement that it would definitely show some reduced capacity.

The really neat thing is that at the end of a long ride the cell groups still track to within 2 mV of each other, which is a strong sign that all cell groups are discharging equally fast and that there are no cells or welds that are causing problems. Of course with 17P the cells are only mildly exercised compared to what they would be going through in a regular pack.

Re: Long Range E-Bike (2021)

#130

Post by oblio »

SoftTalker wrote: post #47
conductr wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As an alternative mode of transportation, that could/should replace car usage for many people, I think we need to separate the two completely as well. The throttle version needs to be regulated more like a motorcycle or moped. This would take it out of the hands of most kids and cause license suspension worries for young adults and other reckless users. I agree they are essentially death machines and governments gene…

> most people don’t want to peddle at all. Most people don't want a two-wheeler, period. Otherwise everyone would be riding motorcycles. People want a vehicle that will keep them dry, comfortable, and safe. Two-wheelers of all types fail at all of those things.

Plenty of people will ride two wheelers if the infrastructure is good. Most places in the world just have crap infrastructure for using bicycles safely and calmly.
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