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First 100 miles on my E-Bike

yilunzh.com

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Re: First 100 miles on my E-Bike

#131

Post by username223 »

eesmith wrote: post #127
username223 wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> He used an alu bike... My bad -- the name "IRON HORSE" threw me off. Still, the thing supposedly weighs 37.75 lbs., which is terrible for a bike. For $1500, he could get something with much better parts weighing 20-25 lbs.

Ahem. Speaking with mock outrage, as someone who goes bike camping with front and back panniers and a tent, I'll point out that my bike is about 40 lbs, unloaded. Eg, https://www.koga.com/en/bikes/trekking/collection/worldtrave... . ;) 'Course, my average speed is about 8mph. I like to stop, look at things, and read the signs, and sometimes travel along hard-pack dirt roads. Their e-trekking bike is about 54 lbs. I k…

That's some heavy hardware! A bike trailer is 3-4 lbs, and a 20-lb road bike is around $1500 new (far less used). You'll pay more in money or weight for a cross or mountain bike, but 40 lbs is still pretty painful.

EDIT: Pro deal is 50-60% of retail, so you can buy a used bike for about half of the sticker price.

Re: First 100 miles on my E-Bike

#132

Post by zerni »

gkya wrote: post #47
lumberjack wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A fast e-bike would be dangerous, anyway. At that point, you should just get a small capacity motorcycle or a scooter.

I wonder if sth. like an electric Vespa would be feasible. You would be able to pack in more battery than an e-bike, but the last mile would be a problem because you can't just pedal the rest of the way.

Check out unumotors.com

Re: First 100 miles on my E-Bike

#134

Post by Fricken »

mantas wrote: post #85
dmurray wrote: post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

100 watts would turn it back into a manual bike with some electrical assist. There's a place for that, but it's clear the author was looking for something more.

E-bikes are bicycles with electrical assist. Fully motorised bikes are mopeds or, well, motor bikes.

If you can pedal it, it's a bicycle.

Re: First 100 miles on my E-Bike

#135

Post by pixelbill »

I purchased an E-Bike last summer as I am disabled and have difficulty walking, however I can still ride a bicycle with limited ability. This seemed like the perfect solution to getting around.

I have about 300 miles on it so far, I don't use it to commute but just for recreation, but it has been a lot of fun and lets me actually get out instead of being stuck either where I am or driving.

I get annoyed by the "e-bikes give you an unfair advantage" argument I hear all the time. I'm sorry, but LIFE gave YOU an unfair advantage, now that technology gives me an unfair advantage it's suddenly a problem?

Re: First 100 miles on my E-Bike

#136

Post by gknapp »

kevin_thibedeau wrote: post #125
yilunzh wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yup, the brakes is definitely the limiting factor currently, but other parts of the bike have held up surprisingly well. I didn't really know anything about bikes before starting this, so it was a cheap way to learn. I figured I can always upgrade the parts over time if needed. I had set a max budget of $1500 for the initial purchase and had to make tradeoff somewhere.

V-brakes would have been more than suitable without the pointless disc brake faddishness.

Disc brakes are catching on, but for good reason: they increase the stopping power in rain substantially.

Though, it doesn't matter if you don't ride in the rain, and many people don't.

Re: First 100 miles on my E-Bike

#137

Post by brianpgordon »

CydeWeys wrote: post #10

I'm surprised the author spent so much money building on top of a base bike of such low quality. That department store bike is what bike snobs would call a "bicycle-shaped object". You certainly shouldn't not be cheaping out on the actual bicycle for an e-bike, as you're putting the bike (and particularly the brakes) through forces they were not properly designed for. The author even admits such: > The brakes are oft…

I bought a pretty basic no-frills bike (https://www.feltbicycles.com/USA/2016/Bikes/lifestyle/Urban/...) and used the same conversion kit that the author of this post uses (Bafang BBS02 from LunaCycle - less than $100 for a local bike shop to install). I've been riding my e-bike to work for several months and the caliper brakes that came with the bike have held up fine. They have enough braking power that it feels safe, and don't seem to be wearing too badly. So I don't think you need disc brakes at all.

The only problem I've had with the underlying bike is one incident where I slammed on the throttle from a full stop and the motor wrenched the whole back axle out of its alignment and jammed the wheel at an angle to the body of the bike. I guess the nuts securing the axle had worked themselves loose. Luckily I was close to work and was able to walk my bike in, and bring some tools the next day to loosen and re-tighten the nuts.

Overall I think it's been great. I wouldn't go back and buy a more expensive bike if I could. The nearly car-like prices of "good" bikes are too much.

Re: First 100 miles on my E-Bike

#138

Post by cjensen »

yilunzh wrote: post #5
eesmith wrote: post #2

"Most of the commercial E-Bike uses 250W or 350W motors, because that’s what the European specs are. While that amount of power is able to achieve 20MPH range, it does take its time to get there. In the US, with the open roads, that’s simply not enough power to keep up with traffic. Quite frankly, they still feel like a plain bicycle and it’s a bit boring to ride. Higher adoption require more power." As I understand…

Yeah, in the US, my understanding is that the regulation is much looser relative to the rest of the world. You can have a maximum of 750W with a top speed of 28 MPH without pedal assist, which in my view is plenty fast for a bike. The problem is that because US is such a small market for EBike that most are imported with European specs. In the US with straight and open roads, they just aren't fast enough

No. In the US the top speed is 20mph [1].

The author's bike is not street legal. It's classified as a motorcycle under US and Arizona law.

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electric_bicycle_laws#United_S...

Re: First 100 miles on my E-Bike

#139

Post by jordache »

kevin_thibedeau wrote: post #126
jordache wrote: post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In an e-bike assisted context, the extra 10-15 lb, most of which is non-rotational weight is negligible. A 20-25 lb steel bike with sufficient robustness does not really exist for $1500. Something like a surly ogre is about 30lbs. To shave off that extra 5-10 lbs you're looking at some very performance oriented parts and/or construction with extremely elevated prices.

It wasn't that hard to find 20 pound aluminum road bikes before CF took over.

uhhh you don't want to electrify a 20lbs alum road bike.

when electrifying you value robustness over light weight. The energy from the motor more than makes up for the few extra lbs it has to haul.

Re: First 100 miles on my E-Bike

#140

Post by codingdave »

VLM wrote: post #50
jmull wrote: post #19

The laws around e-bikes in the US can be a deterrent. E.g.: [The Murky Legality of E-Bikes]( https://www.citylab.com/equity/2016/02/the-murky-legality-of... ) The second paragraph gives you the flavor of it: > Under federal law, an electric bike with a maximum assisted speed under 20 miles per hour can be sold as a bicycle, not a motor vehicle. Under New York state law, riders would need to register these as they wou…

Don't forget the state and muni laws. I was going to build a ebike with my teenage son last summer, however it would be illegal for him to ride it in our state regardless of power output until he gets his drivers license. Also during the electric skateboard/scooter fad about a decade ago my home town banned them from city sidewalks, city property (aka parks and trails) and city roads, and the anti-e-skateboard code w…

I'm all for e-bikes. I've been DIYing e-bikes for myself for over a decade. But I also see the argument for needing a license. With additional speed and distance, kids can outpace their understanding of traffic flow, shooting themselves through intersections without understanding how drivers will/will not see them. Here in Utah, where parents tend to let kids ride dirt bikes on roads, or ATVs on roads, there are a few fatalities EVERY summer, from kids who didn't understand what actions put them in danger and which did not.

Now, I think waiting for kids to be 16 and get a license is overkill. But I would support a drivers ed program for kids to teach them how to be safe on e-vehicles, and requiring that course to be completed before kids can ride at 25-30mph in traffic.

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