Electric Townie clone for $1225

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Dec 21, 2007
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Ft Riley, NE Kansas
Green Bike Effect (GBE), based in San Francisco is selling a model they call the "GTO Cruiser", and the Amazon price has been fluctuating. right now is the lowest I've seen it, at $1,225 (was $1,400 last week). I have no experience with this company, YMMV.

The electric system is pretty generic. Rear geared hub (Bafang BPM?) using 36V / 10-Ah LiFePO4. Not a bad starter bike, and the only thing I would change if somebody gave me one is to move the battery to the triangle onto the bottle holder of the downtube (to improve the weight distribution and balance). When the battery died, I'd move up to a cell_man 18-Ah triangle pack.

http://www.amazon.com/GBE-GTO-Beach-Cruiser-Electric/dp/B007322JE8
GBE3.jpg

For a comparison, here's Nicobies eTownie:
http://endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=23701
DSC01264.jpg
 
If given just the money, I would personally prefer an authentic Townie, using a cell_man MAC kit for ~$300, and also his triangle-shaped 18-Ah pack for $725. The result would be a little over $1,500 for everything, but every part of it would be better quality, more powerful, and having 18-Ah over 10-Ah would be well worth the extra price.

Along with the weight of the battery being in the triangle instead of the back of the bike. However, doing this would still require fabricating a frame housing to secure the battery.

http://em3ev.com/store/index.php?route=product/product&path=36&product_id=107
http://em3ev.com/store/index.php?route=product/product&path=35&product_id=123
 
That's not too bad of a deal for a starter bike at all. Free shipping is a ~$100-$200 value on a package that is likely in the 60-70lb range.

Converting a townie would be much better though of course. Or a specialized expedition, Trek also has sort of a similar cruiser-y frame as well..
 
European Cruiser for 300 euro's with nice flat dropouts http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/UK-26-New-Beach-Cruiser-man-boys-Bike-Bicycle-Vintage-Retro-green-fluorescent-/150978307682?_trksid=p3284.m263&_trkparms=algo%3DSIC%26its%3DI%26itu%3DUCI%252BIA%252BUA%252BIEW%252BFICS%252BUFI%26otn%3D21%26pmod%3D320993347600%26ps%3D54

Edit: No, What am I saying. Some are at 100 euro's. This used one is quite tempting http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Mizani-Flyer-3-speed-Beach-Cruiser-like-Schwinn-Chopper-/300926963257?pt=UK_Bikes_GL&hash=item4610a50e39
 
spinningmagnets said:
Green Bike Effect (GBE), based in San Francisco is selling a model they call the "GTO Cruiser", and the Amazon price has been fluctuating. right now is the lowest I've seen it, at $1,225 (was $1,400 last week). I have no experience with this company, YMMV.

Hey SM - excellent find on Ebay for the Townie clone. That bike has one very nice advantage for the price: those disc brakes front and back. Nicobie had to weld his disk brake onto the rear seatstay (awesome work BTW). That bike might be a "starter" because of the battery pack but I'd put 12S on it and ride the heck out of it.

My "Phat Bike" is a Specialized Sport Expedition. I went 18S3P (74v nominal 15Ah) with a 9c 2810 and it does the job. I've been experimenting with an HS3540/26" wheel and it is a significant improvement in performance - enough so that I'd spend for another 5Ah just to take better advantage of the bigger motor.

That big open triangle just begs to be filled with a huge battery. I've got 18S15Wh (9 bricks) and have room left over for more. The FalconEV bag is a fantastic fit and the bike rides great - very stable and responsive.

Nicobie' eTownie was REALLY where I wanted to go, but Townies here in the southeast US cost more than I wanted to spend - I couldn't find the 21 speed for anything less than the high-$700's - with tax, around $800 out the door. (REI is the biggest local vendor of the Townie). I was able to get the Specialized for $400-and-change, but it hurt to give up the disc brakes and I'm thinking I'll switch to discs sometime soon - I'm getting tired of abrasive items getting kicked up and trapped in the brake pads and making a mess of the tire rims.

BTW: I went with this frame geometry after a mountain bike I was test-riding (for future conversion) threw me off - even though I'm 260lbs, the seat was so far rearward that the front of the bike wanted to pop wheelies on me even when I wasn't trying. After getting thrown and picking gravel out of my palms (and putting up with a broken toe for a few weeks after), I wanted a longer wheelbase, bigger frame and much more stability.

I've been extremely happy with the choice and I plan to keep this frame/geometry for my everyday commuter. The riding posture is anything BUT aerodynamic, but throw on a little more battery or just pedal harder and you can get whatever range you need.

I've already been caught out in darkness and in pouring, pounding rain on the Phat Bike. In both cases, you can't really tell what debris you are hitting and you don't want to stop and take a look - you just go WOT and hope you make it. The stable geometry, huge tires and upright riding position made all the difference. It takes more energy than your average bike, but that's a happy tradeoff for stability and safety.
 
Hey spinningmagnets...

Has anything ever "happened" with the information you provided about the GBE? It's actually a pretty good looking conversion platform to me, would be a worthy successor to the Phat Bike....
 
I don't know of anyone who bought one. The only Geoby bike that has user input here at ES was a different model bought from a dealer, so direct-purchase of a Geoby from China is still an unknown...
 
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