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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

#171

Post by Xylakant »

CydeWeys wrote: post #168
Xylakant wrote: post #163

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Good steel frames are not necessarily significantly heavier than aluminum frames but they ride much much better (have more flex). They also can be repaired if required while aluminum is probably toast after anything that damages the frame. In anything that is not a race or cargo bike I’d always prefer a steel frame.

Why wouldn't you want a steel frame in a cargo bike? That seems like an ideal application for it? Or is it about weight?

Cargo bikes require significantly thicker frames to sustain the load, so the weight difference is much more pronounced. They’re also quite heavy to begin with, so shaving an few kilos off is most often worth it. There are some bikes that actually have mixed steel/aluminum frames, Douce bikes for example use steel for the back part of the frame where the rider sits and aluminum for the front cargo section.

Re: First 100 miles on my E-Bike

#172

Post by tyldum »

quickben wrote: post #49
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.

I've been getting interested in e-bikes recently. Work is 15km away, but I do weight near 0.1 [t] :) Hows the battery holding if you carry extra weight? How much does the total setup, you included, weights?

I get 40km out of a 400Wh battery with similar weight. About half in cold weather with snow and studded tires. The tires seem to be the main reason for the reduced mileage. This is in sport mode with maximum assistance and going full speed.

Re: First 100 miles on my E-Bike

#173

Post by georgeoliver »

philfrasty wrote: post #165

I'd like to understand e-bike usage from a user perspective. Why does it appeal to a traditional biker to use an e-bike in the city (not talking cross country)? Why not „just bike“ or the opposite as in scooter/e-scooter? How come there is such a big market in between?

I recently built an ebike like the OP to commute. Up to now I would bike commute sometimes and ride my non-ebike or take transit for most non-work trips, but for work commuting there was too much extra friction -- too far, too much to carry (I work in construction) -- to bike consistently. However I enjoy biking and it's a great way to commute in my car-congested city (if I solved the friction problem).

The extra watts of the ebike removes the friction.

Re: First 100 miles on my E-Bike

#174

Post by mindB »

jdietrich wrote: post #87
mindB wrote: post #9

Author seems to think an internal drivetrain for a bike would be more reliable. Maybe somebody more mechanical can chime in, but my understanding was that the opposite was true: only reason cars have to use an internal drivetrain is for cooling and external ones are generally more reliable?

Internal gearhubs are drastically more reliable than derailleur gears and require almost no maintenance. They use an epicyclic gear train in a sealed oil bath, so most of the mechanical parts are protected from moisture and foreign objects. The use of a gearhub also facilitates the use of an enclosed chaincase, or a belt or shaft drive. The Sturmey Archer 3-speed gearhub has existed largely unchanged since 1938 and i…

Can you buy bikes that come with internal gearhubs on the consumer market, or is this always an aftermarket thing nowadays?

Re: First 100 miles on my E-Bike

#175

Post by Urbanxassassin »

CydeWeys wrote: post #101
monkmartinez wrote: post #90

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> You can't easily replace the frame though. You can. You just move the motor, battery/controller to another bike. What the author did is a great way to check the feasibility of the idea for himself without breaking the bank.

It took him ten hours of work the first time. Yes, it'll take him less the second time because he's gotten better at it, but it's still by no means easy or trivial. And we haven't gotten to how much he values his time yet.

You're right. He could've been watching Netflix instead.

Re: First 100 miles on my E-Bike

#176

Post by ebikelaw »

dmurray wrote: post #102
mantas wrote: post #85

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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

Yeah, I'd count the author's bike as being pretty close to being a moped. Except that it might get regulated as an e-bike, and it is possible to use it as a normal heavy bicycle if he wants or if the motor fails.

The law in many US states and most European countries views the machine in this article as a moped or motorcycle. It is throttle-operated, instead of being proportional to pedal torque, and it has no speed limiter. If it was limited to 20MPH, it could be a "class 2" or "type 2" e-bike in many jurisdictions. If it was pedal-operated and limited to 28 MPH, it could be a "class 3" e-bike. But as built, it's a moped. You need a license, registration, insurance, and a helmet to operate it.

Re: First 100 miles on my E-Bike

#177

Post by iamnothere »

ebikelaw wrote: post #176
dmurray wrote: post #102

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah, I'd count the author's bike as being pretty close to being a moped. Except that it might get regulated as an e-bike, and it is possible to use it as a normal heavy bicycle if he wants or if the motor fails.

The law in many US states and most European countries views the machine in this article as a moped or motorcycle. It is throttle-operated, instead of being proportional to pedal torque, and it has no speed limiter. If it was limited to 20MPH, it could be a "class 2" or "type 2" e-bike in many jurisdictions. If it was pedal-operated and limited to 28 MPH, it could be a "class 3" e-bike. But as built, it's a moped. You…

Maybe the author lives in a state where this is fine? Not all places have the same laws.

The author made a cool thing and did everyone the service of documenting the process. Why is everyone so quick to crap on his project?

Re: First 100 miles on my E-Bike

#178

Post by excalibur »

excalibur wrote: post #39

> If the ride is so great and economics so favorable, why haven’t I seen more adoption here in US and Canada? 1. What's an E-Bike?

I can't believe the number of downvotes this has gotten. It's a very large contributing factor that was overlooked by the author. Get over yourselves.
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