Gadgets on your eBike that you couldn't live without

[chopper_elec]

Hey all,

I'm sure we all love our create comforts, was there any gadgets that you have added to your ebike that you couldn't be without (or could recommend to others).

For me it would have to be my Phone Holder and Bluetooth Headphones which are both used for GPS navigation, music and also movies (for when i'm chilling out for a break).

My next additions will include
- a small weather station attachment (good to figure out crosswind speeds and overall temperature).
- A trailer with a supplement 12v battery for other accessories
- The possibility of using heat thermal strips to make the seat and handlebars heated (LOL)
- A solar power charger for the mobile phone (to keep the charge up). I may try run a few of these in Parallel to try and bring up the amp charge rate up a bit.

[HypnoToad]

So far all I have on my bike is a horn, lights and a bell, along with a voltmeter mounted on the bars as I don't have a CA.

I'm looking into getting some sort of phone holder however, as having it in your pocket isn't ideal for navigation.

Are there any particular holders that are good or bad as there are loads on sites like Amazon and Ebay.

Also are there any rainproof ones, and will the touchscreen still work in a rainproof enclosure?

Thanks.

[chopper_elec]

So far all I have on my bike is a horn, lights and a bell, along with a voltmeter mounted on the bars as I don't have a CA.

I'm looking into getting some sort of phone holder however, as having it in your pocket isn't ideal for navigation.

Are there any particular holders that are good or bad as there are loads on sites like Amazon and Ebay.

Also are there any rainproof ones, and will the touchscreen still work in a rainproof enclosure?

Thanks.

I'm not too fussed with getting my phone wet luckily haha. one day it will break on me just before leaving on a long trip and i'll bite my words, till then though it will get considerably wet (just an old HTC Wildfire).

I have seen some pretty decent phone holders on ebay which seem to be waterproof but the screen section was still exposed if I remember correctly.

I love eBay for cheap stuff. I bought an AA USB battery charger, solar panel USB reserve power supply and an AA size battery holder (so it supplies USB power from the AA batteries) all for about $10 posted from China.

[DAND214]

I'm looking into getting some sort of phone holder however, as having it in your pocket isn't ideal for navigation.

You get lost a lot?

Special items, CA, a must, cup holder++, extra speedo with temp and time, Wish it was on the CA, Can't live without, good brakes, a mirror.
extras is cruse button, 3 speed, on/off switch headlight, (i never ride at night) and tail lite. Must always carry spare tube, tools pump and patches as well as co2 for quick fill. I even carry a spare throttle and controller. Lost i can live with peddeling home I won't if at all possible.

First aid kit and snack bars with lots of water.

All this crap a must but sure adds to the weight of the bike.

Dan

[johnrobholmes]

I get by fine on a basic stripped down ebike, but I love to have a CA on the bike. If there are ANY accessories to buy, the CA should be the first.

[DAND214]

If there are ANY accessories to buy, the CA should be the first.

+1

[Green Machine]

Beer holder and beer opener. Can hold 12 bottles.

[fizzit]

Uh... I have a tail light... does that count as a gadget? I might be able to live without it on sunny days, but when it's dark someone would probably rear end me dead because I wear black and my bike is mostly black.

Oh yeah I also have a cheap speedometer to tell how fast I'm going. I also use it as a battery gauge on long rides to tell when I'm probably going to run out of miles. I could definitely use a dedicated amp hour meter but I am very cheap.

[chopper_elec]

My dream has always been to go for a road trip in America one day on a big bar chopper or an older style bobber motorbike but unfortunately due to always worrying I think I couldn't trust myself on a bike so I stick with a motor bicycle haha.

For that reason I am adding as much weight and "creature comforts" to my lowrider lol.

[amberwolf]

Good bright automotive or motorcycle headlight, taillight, turn signals, brake light for any bike, ebike or pedal-only0.

Cycle Analyst for ebikes, and at least VeloAce on a PDA for pedal-only bikes. (any cheap speedo/odo will do, but there are useful functions on VeloAce, and you can get it free and the old PDAs it uses for free or nearly free these days).

I'm not counting the necessities like tools, spare tubes, air pumps, etc.

EDIT: I forgot to put good mirrors and at minimum a car horn on the first sentence's list.

[nechaus]

9000 lumen torch
Cycle analyst
Variable regen braking

[ebent]

ram makes a motorcycle quality holder for your phone. Headphones in many places are not legal. A very dangerous habit. I love music and I have a motorcycle stereo tied into my library of music on my phone. http://www.motorcyclespeakers.net/shop/ ... 7-prd1.htm is a link for the stereo.
I added a 12v converter and created a 12v bus. From there All my accesories do not need seperate batteries. I power my CA, headlight, taillight, stereo, and cigarette lighter to charge phone. I love being free of aa and aaa batteries. They seem to fail at the wrong time.

[chopper_elec]

ram makes a motorcycle quality holder for your phone. Headphones in many places are not legal. A very dangerous habit. I love music and I have a motorcycle stereo tied into my library of music on my phone. http://www.motorcyclespeakers.net/shop/ ... 7-prd1.htm is a link for the stereo.
I added a 12v converter and created a 12v bus. From there All my accesories do not need seperate batteries. I power my CA, headlight, taillight, stereo, and cigarette lighter to charge phone. I love being free of aa and aaa batteries. They seem to fail at the wrong time.

Oh nice as, i'll have to check our laws over here to see what needs to be done regarding headphones in Australia

I think long term i'll use a 12v converter to run everything. It would be much more complete in the long run.

[dogman dan]

A Cyclanalyst is gadget number one. After that head and tail lights if you ride in the dark at all. Go Pro camera on the dirt bike of course.

[Lebowski]

I have a bell which I ring to have the lycras make room for me when I want to overtake

[rojitor]

My cycle analist! I can no longer ride without it, i can't believe i upgraded the seat before the ca, i wish i had it earlier.
My front hidraulic 203mm avid has become a must as well.

[Sacman]

...a CRUISE CONTROL so I can give my hand and wrist a break on my long commutes.

[smudger1956]

My APM - mirror - Hayes hydro's - Halogen front lights.

[ddk]

mirrors (left and right sides)
never again will I ride a bike without two mirrors and/or a backup camera

-note- I don't ride at night . My lights are only for announcing my presence in foggy or twilight conditions, so they don't need to be zuper-duper blinding headlights/taillights... but they do have 'flash' modes where I light my wheels, not the road so much.

[chopper_elec]

Is cruise control something that could be added quite easily to most kits? I'm getting curious now haha.

Does anyone have any information that they have logged on their Cycle Analyst? I like the ability to upload my logs online. I'm super keen on Strava Cycle but there is an annual charge and i'm not so keen on continous costs to enjoy software. I like a one off cost.

[cal3thousand]

9000 lumen torch
Cycle analyst
Variable regen braking

Dude... what light is pumping those lumens?

I have some LED lights from DX that put out a couple hundred lumens and that is WAY brighter than the crap I regularly see on other bikes. What's your setup? HIDs?

[shock]

dashboard, digital panel voltmeter and GPS hardware. LED lights if night riding.

[Sacman]

Ja! Those are some seriously bright lights!

9000 lumen torch
Cycle analyst
Variable regen braking

Dude... what light is pumping those lumens?

I have some LED lights from DX that put out a couple hundred lumens and that is WAY brighter than the crap I regularly see on other bikes. What's your setup? HIDs?

[amberwolf]

Is cruise control something that could be added quite easily to most kits? I'm getting curious now haha.

Yes. Just add a switch with a resistive voltage divider to your throttle line. The switch will cut the actual throttle out of the line, and connect the cruise divider in. Set the divider for the voltage you want to cruise at, using a potentiometer.

For a more usable CC, there are some older Crystalyte handlebar units that AFAICR have an input for the throttle, and an output to the controller's throttle input. They sample the voltage at the throttle when you press Cruise, then hold that until you turn it off, or I think if you ramp up the throttle again after letting go. It also has a + and - button for increasing or decreasing just a smidgen. Connector on it is I think a 6-pin JST but you could rewire it to any connectors you want. Pinout for it is in at least a couple of threads here on ES abotu Crystalyte Cruise Control, and probably also from people that still sell it.

[sn0wchyld]

Ja! Those are some seriously bright lights!

9000 lumen torch
Cycle analyst
Variable regen braking

Dude... what light is pumping those lumens?

I have some LED lights from DX that put out a couple hundred lumens and that is WAY brighter than the crap I regularly see on other bikes. What's your setup? HIDs?

maybe 3 of these or someting? http://dx.com/p/fandyfire-uv-s5-xm-l-t6 ... =affiliate

9k lumes is just crazy though. ive got 1200 on mine, that's heaps... 9k... no wait, wrong smiley... this one