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Long Range E-Bike (2021)

jacquesmattheij.com

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Re: Long Range E-Bike (2021)

#271

Post by avhon1 »

Manuel_D wrote: post #236
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…

Disagree, the wattage of the motor is what's relevant. A 750 watt ebike with pedal assist has more potential to cause harm than a 250 watt "emoto" with a throttle. The whole throttle vs pedal assist distinction makes way less sense than delineating the difference based on power.

Wattage is basically meaningless. There is nk standard way to measure it. Almost all "250 watt" ebikes consume much more than 250 watts of electricity at full throttle, and can produce much more than 250 watts of mechanical output for seconds or minutes at a time.

Re: Long Range E-Bike (2021)

#272

Post by Panzer04 »

fgfarben wrote: post #216
Panzer04 wrote: post #175

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Human effort just isn't worth very much. The strongest humans on earth can manage about 400W for an hour. Even very small ebike motors are usually capable of 500w continuous/forever, so long as the motor does not spend too much time stalled or at very low speeds. For a normal human, a "legal" 250w motor is easily doubling or tripling their normal power output, so hauling around an extra 20kg on top of the existing ~1…

A heavy battery makes an ebike extremely unpleasant to pedal manually. You should try it. I built almost exactly the same size pack (2 kWH) as Jacques in 2020 on a hybrid road bike and hated it so much that I only rode it 20 times or so. The battery still sits in the corner of my house doing nothing.

It goes without saying that you need the electrical components to be operational and assisting, otherwise yes you are just hauling around weight for the sake of it. As the other commenter mentions though, on flat terrain this doesn't matter much (since wind resistance tends to make up most of the friction at speed, and is independent of weight)

Re: Long Range E-Bike (2021)

#273

Post by avhon1 »

jandrese wrote: post #106
Aerroon wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

The cost wouldn't necessarily be in the bike, but in requirements for mandatory paid registration, licensing classes, insurance, inspection, and safety equipment.

Re: Long Range E-Bike (2021)

#274

Post by avhon1 »

jdboyd wrote: post #7

In my city, travel habits and condition, I find I wish for more torque and lower speed. Every place I want to go has significant hills that the motor can't handle, and easing climbing hills is the main reason I want an ebike. My ebike's minimum speed for the motor is 15kph, which is ok by myself, but my family likes to go slower, so I have to go fully manual with them. When I look at ebike ads it feels like nobody el…

> My ebike's minimum speed for the motor is 15kph

That is a flaw in your ebike. Weird and dangerous.

Re: Long Range E-Bike (2021)

#275

Post by avhon1 »

jandrese wrote: post #113
jeffbee wrote: post #72

The aerodynamic situation of a bicycle is so disadvantageous that the easiest way to get a long range e-bike is to simply ride more slowly. People internalize beliefs about energy-range ratios from electric cars, but they don't translate well to bicycles.

It is kind of a shame that recumbent bikes are expensive and bike nerd coded. A recumbent e-bike with an aeroshell would be fantastically efficient and useful in so many situations, but if you tried to buy one today it is going to cost as much as a car and have everybody else sneering at you.

> recumbent bikes are expensive

New recumbents are expensive, but used ones are very cheap. Afyer seeing several within an hour's drive of me for $300, I got a Rans Rocket for $100. Appparently it had been available (but poorly advertised) for two years.

A little while after I became "the guy who rides a recumbent", I was given a Rans Vivo for free, because the owner hhad determined that the expected sale price wasn't worth the time and effort to sell.

Re: Long Range E-Bike (2021)

#276

Post by avhon1 »

jacquesm wrote: post #116
jandrese wrote: post #113

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It is kind of a shame that recumbent bikes are expensive and bike nerd coded. A recumbent e-bike with an aeroshell would be fantastically efficient and useful in so many situations, but if you tried to buy one today it is going to cost as much as a car and have everybody else sneering at you.

They're also a great way to get really badly hurt.

Recumbent trikes have the potential for leg suck, but two-wheelers havee no especial safety risks.

Re: Long Range E-Bike (2021)

#277

Post by neya »

jacquesm wrote: post #129

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 withi…

The setup looks lovely! How heavy is it in real life? Just curious. Is it, say, as heavy as a small moped or motorcycle or not that big of a deal? My only fear of trying this out is if the bike falls on its side, how difficult it might be to lift it back up. TIA

Re: Long Range E-Bike (2021)

#278

Post by brador »

jacquesm wrote: post #129

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 withi…

How’s your sperm? That’s quite a strong field. R squared and all that.

Re: Long Range E-Bike (2021)

#279

Post by carlosjobim »

Qwertious wrote: post #171
carlosjobim wrote: post #119

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> could/should replace car usage for many people Motorcycles already did that. E-bikes or E-motos do not bring any advantages compared to normal motorbikes, so you shouldn't expect many people to switch.

Is $$$ not an advantage? Motorbikes are at least triple the price AIUI, not to mention more regulated. The main advantage of an ebike is that it's basically a pushbike (in terms of cost) but it lets you be lazy and unfit while still using it successfully as if you were fit. Yes, there's a few extra hundred bucks in cost, and there's an electricity bill for charging it, but frankly that's nothing. You can buy an ebike…

> Is $$$ not an advantage?

Of course not, since motorcycles are much much cheaper than cars.

Re: Long Range E-Bike (2021)

#280

Post by jacquesm »

neya wrote: post #277
jacquesm wrote: post #129

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 withi…

The setup looks lovely! How heavy is it in real life? Just curious. Is it, say, as heavy as a small moped or motorcycle or not that big of a deal? My only fear of trying this out is if the bike falls on its side, how difficult it might be to lift it back up. TIA

Much lighter than a moped, but way heavier than a normal bike, I estimate the total to weigh about 33 Kg, but there is a big set of bike bags on there as well.
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