Best commuting cargo bike?

[veloman]

Really excellent points. My commute is half 50 mph and half 25 mph, and the car full speed commute time is only about 5 minutes faster than my ebike at just less than 30. Traffic tends to slow the car more than the ebike so the difference in real life is even smaller. Keep ebikes under 30 for safety, efficiency and range.

Very true. I noticed it when I switched to an ebike capable of 25-30mph, from my 17mph limited ebike. I hated stop signs and lights more on the fast bike. If only car drivers understood that flooring it from one light to the next, a 1/4 mile down the road will very likely not get them to their destination faster. I'm sure there is some mathematical algorithm that predicts the most efficient overall speed given the traffic and stops, etc. The only reason I don't have ebikes capable of real high speeds is that it is so inefficient, and you pay for it in reduced lower speed torque given the same battery power with hub motors.

 

[cwah]

To answer your questions:

How solid does it feel?
It feels ok at my speed. But it gets dangerous when the road isn't slick or when I'm loaded (more than 10 kg load)

How does it handle when the road gets rough?
It handle ok at low speed, when more than 15mph on rough road it's quite dangerous.

How does it handle when there is debris on the road such as sand or gravel?
It handle very badly, have to cycle at 15mph on such road.

How quickly does it accelerate? Quicker than cars?
It accelerate faster than most car and moped. It's a Mac 8T on a 16" brompton at 3000W :lol:

How quickly does it stop?
Doesn't stop very fast. Especially at 27 mph. If a car does an urgent stop, I need at least 30m to stop otherwise it's a crash

Does it feel secure and safe at 27 mph?
It feels safe and secure on slick road. It feels dangerous when it isn't.

What speed does it maintain up a good gradient?
It slightly slower on good gradient, but it maintain a good speed.

How is the riding position? How does your body feel after an hour in the saddle?
Pain in the ass after 1 hour. But it's more about the seat than anything else.

Does it feel solid and safe enough to make a long commute every day?
Depends on the road. It should be on the actual journey I'll have.

 

[cwah]

Going 50 mph on a commuter E-bike sounds dangerous.
My Mundo does 25, plenty fast for me, especially with cargo....have you considered how you would get it stopped.
I've added Avid BB7s (G2,160mm F, 180mm R), still experiencing under braking, especially with a trailer.

40 mph is fine. But at 25mph, I would just keep my brompton as the upgrade is quite costly and doesn't bring much in return.

 

[Kent]

Today I drop by the local motorcycle shop to check it out and found a recently traded in Suzuki 125. Single cyclinder. Cruse comfortably at 50. Top speed 60. 80-100 mpg. Front disc brake, comfortable seat with rack, and a 3 gallon tank. 275 lbs. 16" rear tire, 17 front. Less than $1500.

If you want 50 mph, thats the way to do it. And you can even pick up grocerys on the way home from work.

Kent

 

[melodious]

I'm sorry. But a noise making ICE bike doesn't do it for me personally. I want tunes in my head. And with electric drives, there's a bit of joy knowing your getting there with a minimal amount of disturbance between the ears. Unless you can find a bike that can take the amount of battery weight at the desired speed/distance you want is meant for metalsmiths (now why isn't that a legit word :lol: ?) that will fabricate (or reinforce ) a frame to do it. Sure, you can try it on any manufactured longtail currently on the market (or soon to be on the market :wink: ) but they were never built for such purposes as this. I can already picture in my mind all the kinds of weird bends and cracks you'd be facing from the constant forces.

 

[Chalo]

I'm sorry. But a noise making ICE bike doesn't do it for me personally. I want tunes in my head.

50mph makes enough wind noise that you might as well be running a motor.

 

[melodious]

50mph wind + electric motor =
50mph wind + piston motor =

:lol:

 

[Chalo]

50mph wind + electric motor =
50mph wind + piston motor =

You can sell that idea to some folks, but I used an 1100cc motorcycle for my regular transportation for twelve years.

The wind across my ears (or across my helmet straps) was louder and more predominant at 50mph than the motors of my Honda VF1100S and my Suzuki GSX1100G at cruise power. You could reasonably object to the quality of the gas engine's noise, but the quantity of noise was all in the wind's favor at more than city street speeds. I didn't use particularly quiet pipes, either.

 

[miuan]

A modern low power tuned 4-stroke 125cc engine can be extremely silent. Is still kinda stinks as any petrol engine does, but given the amount of gas it uses, it's fairly reasonable. For me a much worse obstacle is I can't take such bike with me into buildings, up staircases, pushing it in padestrian zones, or pedaling it along on bike paths and sidewalks. This is why an e-bike is much better unless you desire the impossible.

 

[cwah]

My main concern over anything else with a moped or motorbike is...
WHERE CAN I PARK IT IN LONDON????

I already have trouble to find where I can park my bicycle, so with a motorbike I'll have to park it so far I'd better arrive to destination by bus

 

[dogman dan]

True true true. After Sandy hit New Jersey, everybody had to drive to manhattan to work till the subway tunnels got pumped dry. My first thought, once there where on earth will they park with 4x the normal number of cars on the island?

Your best bet is going to just have to be a compromise between really fast speed and the cargo capacity of a full blown longtail. Have you looked at Ideas from the racetrack?
Farfle made a custom steel swingarm to lengthen the wheelbase on a FS mtb. Not a "longtail" but it brought the wheelbase of a FS mtb to closer to the motorcycle norm. It helps to have a bike that's a bit longer when going above 30 mph. Or get a greyborg frame for example.

My main objection to your plan is to do it with too weak a frame.

I'd say your need to go fast is more than your need to carry really huge cargo fast. So build a moderately fast bike on a FS mtb frame. 40 mph or so, Moped tires, disk brakes, etc. Lots and lots of examples here. You should be able to do it by carrying 72v 15 ah of lipo. Put a seatpost Axxiom pannier rack on it, but just put some smallish bags on the rack so you can carry some cargo. Going from 27 mph to 40 mph doesn't sound like much, but 40 mph really is a lot faster in terms of how quickly cars overtake and pass you. After some experience riding a relatively affordable 40 mph club build, then you can decide if you want to ante up to a full blown 50 mph bike. Going to 50 mph SAFELY will cost a hell of a lot more.

 

[HAROX]

50mph wind + electric motor =
50mph wind + piston motor =

You can sell that idea to some folks, but I used an 1100cc motorcycle for my regular transportation for twelve years.

The wind across my ears (or across my helmet straps) was louder and more predominant at 50mph than the motors of my Honda VF1100S and my Suzuki GSX1100G at cruise power. You could reasonably object to the quality of the gas engine's noise, but the quantity of noise was all in the wind's favor at more than city street speeds. I didn't use particularly quiet pipes, either.

I simply have to quit chiming in! But Chalo once again you whack it OOTP! ANYBODY will tell you you're safer as well if they can hear you. That's why Harleys are popular. WRT your choice of bikes, I particularly enjoyed the 1100E, the COG was OK, the aluminum swingarm could have been designed by NASA. It was like riding an electron beam before I knew about volts!

 

[veloman]

Today I drop by the local motorcycle shop to check it out and found a recently traded in Suzuki 125. Single cyclinder. Cruse comfortably at 50. Top speed 60. 80-100 mpg. Front disc brake, comfortable seat with rack, and a 3 gallon tank. 275 lbs. 16" rear tire, 17 front. Less than $1500.

If you want 50 mph, thats the way to do it. And you can even pick up grocerys on the way home from work.

Kent

I can haul more cargo with my ebike than I've ever seen anyone move with a motorcycle. See my thread in the Picture/Video section.

You can't ride a motorcycle on sidewalks, use bike lanes, or pass stopped traffic legally.

You sure aren't reducing air pollution, as these small ICE engines are arguably worse than a modern economy car.

You are almost sedentary on a motorcycle, no ability to get exercise.

Sure, if you must go 50mph and the above statements don't matter to you, then it's a good choice. But most of us ebikers ride ebikes because of their unrivaled benefits.

 

[SamTexas]

You can't ... pass stopped traffic legally.

In California you can. It's called lane splitting.

 

[veloman]

Its not legal in most states and extremely frowned upon around here. Some people hate on bicycles for doing it too.

 

[dogman dan]

Technically, not legal to lane split on a bicycle in NM, since bicycles have to obey ALL vehicle statutes just like regular cars and motorcycles.

Bikes in NM can pass cars at stop lights by using the bike lane if there is one. But invariably they right cross you for it. Better to just get in the lane and take your turn IMO.

But what frocking difference does a lane splitting law make? He's already going to build an illegal unregistered unlicenced homemade motorcylce with pedals on it.

I'm not saying it's the right thing to do or the wrong thing. Just saying that cops won't be likely to like him for it. Here, you get ingored unless shooting or bleeding. You can drive a car with no licence plate for years here and get by. I don't know about London cops.

 

[SamTexas]

But what frocking difference does a lane splitting law make? He's already going to build an illegal unregistered unlicenced homemade motorcylce with pedals on it.

+1
It's so entertaining to hear from people who break the ebike law on a daily basis and talking about legality at the same time.

 

[Chalo]

E-bike equipment violations are usually surreptitious, unless you ride like an idiot where cops can see you.

Moving violations are by nature out in the open, and cops are quite accustomed to writing tickets for them. Especially near quota time.