A Recumbent Grocery Getter

[Jonathan in Hiram]

I've been riding my electrified BikeE "grocery getter" long enough now to wear a Schwalbe Big Apple on the rear all the way down to the Kevlar cords, I figure about 4,000 miles or so (that's why the funky rear tire is on it right now, I have another Big Apple on the way from Amazon). Other than a couple of loose connections in hall wiring and replacing a few dying cells in the pack I've had no electrical or mechanical problems with the rig.

Geared Bafang rear motor running on 12s8p repurposed salvaged 18650 laptop cells. The motor, throttle and controller came from a electric folding bike I bought off Craigslist and the laptop cells came from a friend who works at an electronic recycling center. About 35 miles range currently @ 18 mph cruise, I can carry a weeks worth of groceries and a 20 lb bag of dog food in the trailer with plenty of room left and barely tell it's behind the bike at all. Since the trailer clamp on hitch doesn't fit the BikeE at all I cut a dropout off an old BMX bike and drilled it to screw on the rear of left dropout of the BikeE and that's where I clamp my trailer on.

The bag behind the seat is a large cordura camera equipment bag I got from a thrift store and it holds the battery pack easily with room to spare for a pump, two spare tubes, a few tools and even some shopping items if I'm not doing a major run.

The only transportation I own since I retired, this is a very comfortable and relaxing bike to ride, I can easily go an hour without any neck, butt or hand pain while on a regular bike I can't ride ten minutes without all three bothering me. Since I ride mostly on two lane roads with a fair amount of fast traffic I have made a real effort to be visible with a flag and a Portland Design Works Emergency Zone flasher on both the bike and the trailer and I have a Princeton Tec EOS headlight I set to flashing mode on the front.

 

[footloose]

Love the streamers! Safety with some style.

 

[Kent]

I love the fact that this is a daily part of your life-a grocery getter-not some toy you wheel out on weekends. You have also demonstrated how we can indeed get long term, economical and dependable performance from these setups as long as we keep the power within designed limits....

 

[StudEbiker]

Electric Bike E bikes ROCK as car alternatives.

Put a trailer on them, and you can carry a butt load of cargo and the 20" wheels give you all the torque you need.

 

[Jonathan in Hiram]

I love the fact that this is a daily part of your life-a grocery getter-not some toy you wheel out on weekends. You have also demonstrated how we can indeed get long term, economical and dependable performance from these setups as long as we keep the power within designed limits....

I can't be sure about this it could just be that I've gotten used to it but I think the motor is quieter now than when I put the setup together, it certainly isn't any louder. The controller only has 50V caps so I'm not going over 12s but I feel the motor could easily take 14s or maybe even 16s if the amp draw was kept fairly low, it really doesn't get more than warm to the touch even after a 10 mile ride in hilly terrain at full speed pulling a trailer full of groceries.

I'm to the point now that I'd like to have a completely silent drive that would go about 25 mph or so, that would be very nice. I was talking to one of my neighbors the other day and mentioned I'd like a silent machine and he said the only noise he could hear when I went by was the pea gravel crunching in the private road we live on.

If I had the money I'd like to try one of the Falco 5 phase hubs but they cost more than I have in the entire rig including buying the bike in the first place.

 

[Jonathan in Hiram]

Electric Bike E bikes ROCK as car alternatives.

Put a trailer on them, and you can carry a butt load of cargo and the 20" wheels give you all the torque you need.

I've found something even better than a BikeE.

It's a Cannondale "Easy Rider"

 

[torker]

I took a test ride on one a few ago. I finally got a Sun EasyRider. Like 700 dollars. Not as nice though. I need to see if I can get a better shock. I cant find a pic but there is one in my photobucket link. There it is..

 

[StudEbiker]

Those Canondales so seem like they would be a nice ride, but $$$.

Also, with the power of the motor (especially in a 20" wheel), I've never felt the need to have 20+ gears on these bikes, so with the Canondale you are carrying extra weight you don't need.

The Suns seem like they would be pretty cool, but they are VERY hard to find in that model with the rear suspension.

Bike E ATs have rear suspension and at least here in Oregon are fairly commonplace. One of the things I really like about converting Bike Es to electric is being able to run all the wires down the middle of the frame. If you take your time and do it cleverly you end up with a very clean install. My girlfriends Bike E is a great example of that.

Note the little 6fet controller tucked up under the tail of the rear of the frame.

 

[slacker]

nice clean build studebiker, very steath looking.would not know its electric just by looking at it.

 

[Voltron]

There is a whole series of the Bike E that was recalled due to the bolts holding the seat on snapping.. just an fyi