E-bike thread

In reply to Mezzanine :

It seems that you are speaking of on-road applications, which I have no problem with and even fire-roads are okay as long as the rider has a modicum of courtesy. It's the single-track that concerns me.

In reply to Kreb (Forum Supporter) :

An e-Bike with a 3500 watt motor is not offered by any mainstream manufacturer, US made or otherwise. 

And definitely not for $5000. Major manufacturer e-bikes start at prices above that and top out well above $10K. 

Whatever you saw is not a "normal" e-bike. 

In reply to Ian F (Forum Supporter) :

It seems like there's a ton of bikes out there and as in cars, mo powa is a good way to get people's attention.  

In reply to Ian F (Forum Supporter) :

Sounds like he's describing a Talaria or Surron. 

If it's mo powa you seek this could be what you seek

https://www.biktrix.ca/products/juggernaut-xd-duo

And it's from Saskatoon just like Streetwiseguy and ShawnG

There is a wattage limit for use on bike trails and supposedly a speed limit programmed in.  There are different classes according to power and top speed, at some point a license plate is required.  Problem is right now no one is enforcing this so bike trails become open to anything.  

Peabody said:

In reply to Ian F (Forum Supporter) :

Sounds like he's describing a Talaria or Surron. 

Maybe, but neither of those even attempt to mimic an e-Bike. Those are pure EV dirt bikes.  The lack of pedals is a giveaway. 

I'm glad this thread has been dug up. 
 

I am thinking about making the jump to e-bike. I have been looking at an Emguie M20 or the Lectric XP03. I rode a Teslica (Canadian?) bike at a campground last weekend, after a nice neighbor from Ottawa offered it for a spin. I was amazed at how much better that made biking for me. 
I am currently out of shape and heavy, my Sunday BMX bike just kills my knees, I just sold my road bike because it was too fragile and racey for my needs. 
many input on those two bikes or other bikes in the 1-1.5k range would be cool

I used Citibike rentals on vacation in NYC. Would use their standard bicycles all day till I got tired, then head back to the AB&B  on an electric assist model. It was a hoot, but again 500 watts. A brief stroll around the internet finds up to 8000 watt "pedal-assist" bikes. So they're out there. I also read a cautionary tale from a guy who bolted on a 5000 watt rig to his traditional mountain bike and said that it was pretty sketchy offroad -  the power overwhelming the tires, brakes, and his talent level. 

I'm just talking. Possible EV car in my near future, but e-bikes don't float my boat enough to do a purchase. One reason is that on urban streets there's just too much of a target on 2-wheelers. 

In reply to Kreb (Forum Supporter) :

That Juggernaut XD has two chains, a standard bike chain for pedal power to the gear set and a motorcycle chain on the other side for e power. They had found that the higher watt motors played havoc with bicycle chains.

A few years into my Rad Power Bikes Rover 5, I'm happy as a pig in poop.  Range is awesome, ride is awesome, even has a great saddle.  Just ordered some more accessories for it the other day.  The bike is heavy, but that was expected.  My 235 lbs doesn't help either.  The only thing I would change if I had to do it all again would be to get a 1000w instead of 750w.  We have some pretty steep hills around here.

I have a few ebikes and my riding bros have them too.  We have all ended up gravitating to Trek Rails for your "EDC" bike.  I have a Rail 9.9 AXS and yeah it cost as much as a 5 year old Civic.  My wife has the Rail 7 and its just about as nice and 1/3 the price.  

The Bosch motor is awesome.  With an OK rider you can catch a good and lighter rider on the Specialized Turbo Levo even though Special Ed claims the Levo makes even power.  

Mainstream manufacturer e-bike prices are dropping as supply catches up or exceeds demand and the new generation of Bosch motors come out.    My recommendation to anyone is to buy from a local bike shop, not a Dicks or Cabelas or Canadian Tire, or similar.  Buy a mid-drive bike (where the motor is by the cranks) and not a hub drive bike (where the motor is part of the hub on one wheel).  Buy a name brand bicycle from a mainstream bicycle manufacturer that is supported by your best local shop.  

I need to put my eBikes together; I have a battery just chilling in my basement ready for me to mess with.

Never shoot down a hub motor because they're direct drive- understand how the motors work and in what way. The mid-drives are really nice if you're after human+ feeling of power, but understand that bike parts are built for human power levels and they top out at 120 watts. There's mid drives that go above 1500 (the BBSHD02 does) but they eat chains and gears like mad. Hub motor kits can be slotted in place of the front wheel with a cheapy battery pretty easily, and now some of them even have an internal planetary gear allowing for 2 speeds.

We have recumbent trikes and hub drive is our choice.  With a chain 3x longer the possibility of a break is higher.  And a hub drive is the only way to get home if you have a shifter or other failure.  Plus its way more fun to put your feet up and boogie.  My trike is good for 28 MPH which is way fast on a 20 inch wheel recumbent trike.

Keep your eyes on the scrap heaps:

https://grassrootsmotorsports.com/forum/motorcycles-and-bicycles/got-a-wrecked-vivi-folding-e-bike-now-what-to-do-with-it/241579/page1/

I wanted an ebike but I didn't want to shell out the money for one. But since I rescued this one I ride it all the time. I still have and like my normal bike, but the ebike makes quick trips around town so easy. And with the twist throttle it is like a scooter if you put it in high power mode.

Late last month I picked up Tangram - The Tangerine Dream. Biktrix Juggernaut Duo (it has provision for a second battery. It's been great so far. 

I've been looking at these guys after watching a ton of 'tailhappytv' reviews on YouTube. 
 

https://www.velotricbike.com/products/velotric-nomad-1?variant=41310255644855

seem too inexpensive to be true, but the specs are pretty good. 
 

I bought this Aventon Sinch for SWMBO about a month ago. She's only ridden it a few times around the neighborhood with me, but she hadn't been on a bike since she was a kid. Hopefully she'll stick with it & start riding more. 
 

I really don't like the unnatural feel of the hub drive, but apparently the new v2 Sinch is supposed to feel more like a mid-drive. 

My search ended last week when I found this on the local Craigslist. I though the af was a scam but I called anyway. It is the Lectric XP light. I wanted a 3 but this was literally still in the box and I got it for $350 cash. It was an older couple who said a friend bought it for them and then they passed away. Sounded fishy but after meeting them I am confident it's true. I've only ridden it a few times but it is really fun to ride. 

Just as an aside, so many electric bikes are eyeball searingly ugly. Perhaps I'm vain, but when I do go electric, it's gotta be something attractive. 

In reply to Kreb (Forum Supporter) :

Lol, my bike is ugly but it makes me look even better by comparison! 

NY Nick said:

In reply to Kreb (Forum Supporter) :

Lol, my bike is ugly but it makes me look even better by comparison! 

Can't argue with that logic!

Curtis73 (Forum Supporter) said:

Brakes:  Most are disc, but I don't need hydraulic.  I'm riding a bike to Home Depot, not coming down a steep mountain.

If you don't have full-hydraulic brakes you'll need to squeeze the daylights out of the brake levers to get any braking power, it's a bad enough problem with an unpowered bike, I would recommend full hydraulic. They're a lot lower-maintenance than hydraulic brakes on a car especially if you don't work them hard.

Edit: Also the time it takes to ramp up squeezing force on the mechanical brakes makes them feel laggy and isn't good for rider confidence...plus if you borrow a friend's full-hydraulic bike  you might accidentally apply your usual amount of brake lever force and slam to a stop-and-drop like a doofus, ask me how I know

I've had bike mechanics of ~20 years on the Endless Sphere forums say that rim brakes are fine, so long as they're good quality material and properly adjusted. 

NY Nick said:

In reply to Kreb (Forum Supporter) :

Lol, my bike is ugly but it makes me look even better by comparison! 

Nobody steals an ugly bike Nick!

Random thought:  I wish EV bikes wouldn't ditch the top tube.  Its nice for rigidity (more important even when the bike weighs 20lbs more?), but also makes it harder to use on certain bike racks and to carry.  I was in germany recently with a non-ebike bikeshare model that weighed a metric ton and had to carry it down the stairs.  Without the top tube there wasn't a good place to grab and made it much more awkward than it should have been.