I bought an electric bike last year. I paid a lot of money for it and it was quite the gamble. They are not cheap. Verdict: Worth every penny! I have such a blast and still get an incredible work out with it. My commute was just to long and to steep for me to manage on routine basis with a regular bike. My commute is 40 miles round trip with major elevation increases. I e-bike commute 2-3 days a week...I use my Peloton for exercise on my off days.
Federal law here in the states is 20 mph max 750 Watts (1 horse power). Stay with in those limitations and you're A-Okay. I've recently sold my car. I now use my e-Bike as my primary mode of transpiration. My pocket book is Very happy.
250w and 15.5 mph (25km/h) here in UK/Europe (except Northern Ireland). In Northern Ireland, ebikes are currently classified as mopeds. You need a motorcycle licence, tax and insurance, L plates if you are a learner, and you have to wear a motorcycle crash helmet. Beggars belief. Our rulers are brain dead.
I've always argued the safety and advantages of ebikes. Worst of all, the registration and regulation of ebikes were disincentivizing its use in several countries so some people would rather use motorcycles.
Don Ofarrel these are the politicians that are making money from the gasoline companies getting pressure so like that bikes don't get a foothold in the transportation market.
THEWATCHERISLOOKING agree completely but many purist bicyclists have many irrelevant issues about that. Weight, cheating, ruiñs the bike. Et al. You wont believe the things i hear.
THEWATCHERISLOOKING range and cost of the battery is relative. I have a lithium iron battery that i charge in less than 2 hours for a 50+ km trip, city driving w/traffic stops et al. 900watt/hour. Cost retail about usd$450. Est life is 5-8 years but of you know the charging techniques you can extend to way way more like 20 yr.
Since 2014 I've been using an e longboard with my dial a driver service. Drive to customer, put my longboard into their vehicle, drive them home safely. Eftpos or cash transaction then I e Longboard back to my car. Currently interested in the electric Brompton 16 inch folding bike
This comment is just my observation. I'm not familiar with the e bikes but I would be glad to hear constructive comments to enlighten me. I do see the possibilities of an e bike. The only thing I'm not crazy is the batteries. Each bike has a closed battery system. Once the battery dies. How do you dispose of them. The other is how to get new ones when some of these batteries packs are shaped to the frames. Either each company has a replacement battery plan for the bike or make the bike with open battery compartment. Like that you can buy and change the batteries that need changing. And replace them. Some of these e bikes at the shops with batteries that may no longer be able to hold the charge like its suppose to. Fresh batteries are needed. I would gladly get one of those delivery bikes to and from work and charge the batteries at work and at home. Like that I don't pay for the gas back and forth or the public commute home would be more pleasant.
I am no expert myself about e-bikes. However you might want to look into Bosch powered electric bikes and you might just find your answer. Their battery packs are removable and exchangeable, and after the battery no longer works, which by the way after 1515 recharges it will still hold about 30% (ADCD test, fall 2015), bosch has a battery recycle program that is completely free to the owner of the bosch battery. (at least here in the USA) Also, Bosch battery packs so far have been retrocompatible with earlier versions (Bosch power pack 400/ Bosch power pack 500). I hope this helps 8D
on my store bought one i noticed that i could drive around 60-70 km in high power mode but just with peddal assist. Mabey you could get to work and back without even having to charge.
E-bikes currently have their limitations, but with further development, especially of batteries, they do have their place in the transportation mix. I DO wish that Matt would speak more slowly. It is almost impossible to understand him.
To his credit, he had to squeeze a shitload of information into less than 10 minutes. I also know him personally and he always talks this fast - he's very passionate :)
NightOwl3 within an urban environment they are perfectly adequate for commuting a d short journey. In Europe 50% of journeys are less then 2 miles you can walk that distance very easily
While the advantages of such a bike seem obvious to me, I have a hard time envisioning doing my normal routine of going from about 3,000 ft. elevation down to sea level and back up to 3,000 ft., with at least 1 passenger and some sizable cargo, in varying weather, day and night. Thus, I'm not really in the market for an e-bike ... but it's fun to consider!
Electric vehicles dont have to be 2 wheel ebikes. Where I live its temperate, meaning we get lots of precipitation. Also wind and road salt in the winter. I built an electric vehicle that handles all of that. On youtube it's called electrovelo.
Yes, that's very true. From 0 to 20kph, wind resistance is almost flat. The slope of the consumption curve increases with increasing speed, probably to some point where the bow wave creates an envelope, or parts fly off.
Elhanan Maayan The bike with a 100 + mile range is a touring recumbent bike with 720 Wh pack. The bike with windscreen on it, gets 6-7 Wh/mi (not km). It measures the riders exact wattage input to the drive train using a Thun magnetostrictive bottom bracket. It can recognize rider torque on the cranks and because of its hall sensors, it measures riders cadence (rpm) as well. After knowing the riders average wattage output in a high mileage touring scenario, I then program the bike to multiply the riders input wattage a specific number of times. That figure in W is then sent to the motor. EX) rider inputs 100 watts continuous X multiplier of 2.5 = Motor receives 250 watts. Human + motor power = 350 watts in forward propulsion. After many hours of testing / calibration, the rider and bike as a pair are able to achieve 15-20mph, 6Wh/mi and over a 100 mile range reliably. Granted, on my personal e-bikes that utilize the vast majority of the legal 750 watts and higher speeds, I personally get around 20Wh/mi.
Matt Meleski 6-7 wh/mi is pretty rare in the ebike community. Sure, someone can add torque sensors on a really light bike with 2/3 human power input, but for the majority, Ebike efficiency is measured in robust utility across environments and road conditions. Uphill, against the wind on a snowy day.
Ken Bell Oh sure, I agree. Even 10 wh/mi is rare! However this bike isn't a sub-par retail EV or a buy it in a box from China conversion. These bikes are designed from the ground up to coincide with each individuals specific needs. This 2 wheel Rans recumbent with its low stance and wind screen has the right stuff to make it possible. Lots of prior design work in the electrical system as well as pairing the right hub motor / V with corresponding 20" wheel size, really helped. What really dropped the Wh/mi down, was the countless hours in programming in the field with the client. Fine tuning the rider input W : power delivery W to motor took forever but was worth it. Lots of other tinkering, like power delivery ramping etc helped cut out allot of the waste we normally get when accelerating or cracking the throttle abruptly. The Wh/mi # (logged on a calibrated CA-3.0) comes from the cumulative power consumed over long touring style trips through the Finger Lakes, which are not flat to say the least. It is a real gem though. If you're ever in the Upstate NY area, I'm positive I can arrange a test ride for you. I have no real data concerning snow however... Long stretched out 2 wheel recumbents are precarious enough without adding that into the mix ;-)
Only if you store them outside for some reason, which I think most people don't. I store mine in my apartment, and then at work I store it in my cubicle. And when I take it to my parents' house or my friends' houses or apartments, I store it inside there as well. So basically that thing is always within eye-shot. But yeah, if you intend to lock it up outside on a regular basis, then you need some good bike locks and insurance, but that is still going to cost way less than operating a car. Plus, some ebikes come with gps tracking, and you can also add it on. And some are programmed to lock the wheels up when the owner is not present, which prevents some opportunistic theft. Cars can be stolen too; the trick is to make your bike harder to steal than a car by implementing some or all of these measures.
I build velomobiels, e-velos. Just finished and delivered one to doctor. Their here to stay. We need infrastructure. Follow build on recumbents dot com in velomobile forum, i am carolina there. 3&4 wheelers.
