E-bikes

[petek]

Turning 70 soon and I've had 54 years of motorcycling which I gave up on this past summer and didn't renew my insurance. The heart attack didn't help as well has how expensive bike insurance has become I just wasn't getting my moneys worth out of it Plus it needs some repairs. Larry expressed interest in getting an e-bike and it's had me thinking maybe I'd like one as well. Since clicking on a few facebook ads my feed has been inundated with e-bike ads. Plus all the ones on Amazon, best buy, everywhere I turn online it's e-bike ads. The price ranges are all over the place from $400 to thousands, two wheel drive, one wheel drive, mid mount motor, rear axle motor. Names no one has ever heard off.. they're being pumped out of China at an alarming rate and I don't expect they come with any real warranty or service centers.. So you'll be on your own to fix it or find a local bike shop that might fix it. Anyways after all that.. Anyone care to share their e-bike experience as far as ownership, reliability etc.. Not wanting to get into the stuff about they shouldn't be on sidewalks but go ahead if you want.

 

[phillymatt53]

Petek, I'll give ou my honest opinion on that subject.....

I'm now 72, reasonably healthy, just not as agile as I used to be, so I've taught myself to "take it easy" about things, and pace myself in order to avoid troubles.
Back in 2015, I did plenty of research on motorized bikes.
I have a nice American-Made Murray mountain bike that I used to take out biking through the local park, and I also have a cool vintage classic Honda motorcycle that I enjoyed riding.

The Honda has been stored since 1999, I simply lost interest in using it.
Nevertheless, I had plenty of fun on it.
The Murray bike also got neglected, mostly because my shop work schedule back then was hectic.

But going back to 2015, I got interested in "motorizing" the Murray.
At first, I checked out kits that turn a regular bike into an electric bike.
However, the Lithium-Ion battery packs were rediculously expensive, and didn't have the service life that interested me.
And the control modules also suffered from issues.
Plus, all the news I've heard about Lithium-Ion batteries exploding, catching on fire while charging or even riding - totally turned me off to that crap.
Of course they're made in China..... who I don't trust for any part of good Quality Control.
I like things to last, and be safe!

So.....
I went with gasoline powered bike conversion kits, sold at Bikeberry online in California. - mine cost about $300. and local gas stations gasoline, I get 75 miles out of a tank of regular gas.
To me, it's much safer, more reliable, and easier to repair if needed.
I installed the gas engine, and liked it, and consider its limitations, I don't need a bike that tears down the street - 25 or 30 MPH is more than enough.
Remember, it's a bicycle, not a motorcycle.
Basically, the Murray's now a pedal mountain bike still, but now with a motor-assisted gas engine.

My final thoughts - you do what you want, but I refuse to have anything that deals with Lithium-Ion batteries made in China in my house.
I don't want to worry while laying in bed about some fault that could cost me my home or life.

 

[petek]

I hear you on the batteries. I harbor that concern as well when I look around the house and our garage with all the rechargeable gadgets and tools. I'd like to leave them outside but can't do that here over winter.

I've seen a few of those gas powered conversions buzzing around town here but it's not for me.. They're a tad noisy with those 2 stroke motors and offhand I don't know if they're legal here, certainly not if they go over about 20mph. Anything over that and you need a m/c license which I have but my other half doesn't. Even an electric bike or sit down scooter is considered a m/c if you remove the pedals. It's not like the popo are actively going after them until they start riding on sidewalks etc .

 

[phillymatt53]

I hear you on the batteries. I harbor that concern as well when I look around the house and our garage with all the rechargeable gadgets and tools. I'd like to leave them outside but can't do that here over winter.

I've seen a few of those gas powered conversions buzzing around town here but it's not for me.. They're a tad noisy with those 2 stroke motors and offhand I don't know if they're legal here, certainly not if they go over about 20mph. Anything over that and you need a m/c license which I have but my other half doesn't. Even an electric bike or sit down scooter is considered a m/c if you remove the pedals. It's not like the popo are actively going after them until they start riding on sidewalks etc .

I can surely understand your concerns.
Here in Philly, gas-powered bikes with the add-on kits are not required to have any licensing or other legal paperwork, as LONG as they are under 50 CC, and no faster than 30MPH.
As for mine, it's a 48CC 4-stroke engine, which is substantially quieter than those 2-stroke noisemakers.

 

[cfz2882]

I have several early E-bikes: first one was around 2002, a Chinese made one with 350watt geared hub motor and two 17AH 12v SLA batts-it would go about 18 MPH,had decent enough power for a 145# young adult rider. next ones, (2009), were a pair of 750w E-zip scooters,one for the nephew to ride when visiting. these were 24v SLA batts too. these things had pretty decent pickup and range. I now see E-bikes and scooters all over-now these often have direct drive BLDC hub motors and Li-ion batts. A couple years ago, had an E-trike project under way: 48v SLA batt pack, differential axle with 1000w BLDC motor,fat tires. Got distracted by more important projects,but may work on the trike this winter. Small EV vehicles can be an odd fit in public traffic and people may hate you in areas not suited or used to these bikes: a fast motor vehicle on sidewalks, a goofy pedestrian vehicle when mingled with regular traffic ... Too bad these are great commuter vehicles.

 

[me]

I've got my dad's old e-bike, he ordered from Tesco when they use to do 2-3x the value bonuses on their Clubcard (grocery shopping) points, although I've only ridden it a few times. It has a 200 watt (output) front wheel hub motor, limited to 15.5mph which was the pre 2016 e-bike limit in the UK to not require driving licence etc. I did try it once with the speed restriction dongle unplugged, but with only a 200w motor (current uk/eu limit is 250 watt), it didn't make it noticeably any faster on the flat. it's folding, so is quite heavy and I do feel the front forks flexing slightly if I pull away just using the throttle, causing it to lurch as it accelerates, although it's not a problem. And it's small wheels means I would have to pedal like mad to go much faster under my own steam. I prefer road / racing bikes with 27" or 700c wheels, high PSI thin tyres for minimum rolling resistance and the bigger the crank sprocket the better for me, so I can go at 20mph+ on the flat with minimal effort, as I'm very unfit. If I was to convert it to an e-bike would go with a rear hub motor, so the drive is independent of the bicycle chain and gears, so I'd be able to pull away at junctions even if I'd stopped quickly and was stuck in the wrong gear. The terrain is quite flat here, with just a few steepish hills around, so I don't see there would be much benefit for me from a mid-drive motor which would benefit on hills from using the gears.

If you buy a decent e-bike, I'd suggest getting a angle grinder resistant ceramic coated u-lock.

My dad used to have a 1950s CycleMaster wheel, which had a 32cc 2-stroke engine with a BSA back-pedal brake and its petrol tank all in the hub, which you mounted in a bicycle to convert it to a Moped, that he'd used as a teen, hanging on the wall of his shed then garage for many years. He mounted it his old Raleigh racing bike a few years before he got the e-bike and taxed and insured it and got it back on the road, used it for 2-3 years for popping around the shops when he wanted milk or whatever, then flogged it cheap. He even took it to a local vintage vehicle show and got a mention in the local paper because it was the vehicle with the lowest capacity engine in the show.