Greetings from New Zealand

cheetor

cheetor

10 mW
Joined
Oct 16, 2010
Messages
26
Hi Everyone.
Thought I had better sign up, lots of interesting stuff on here. DEFINITLY glad I researched before buying one of the few crappy e-bike kits sold in this country.
I'm planning on converting perhaps my current hardtail a Marin Alpine Trail (20" Frame, HUGGE main triangle.. but alloy) or my recently purchased full suspention http://www.trademe.co.nz/Browse/Listing.aspx?id=322930103 (alloy too :( )

I've settled on probably going for a 9C motor conversion.. with one of those hackable Crystalyte controllers.. I was kinds planning to try to find one that will run at 24V all the way up to 100V, mainly cos the 9C motors @ 24V just squeak in under New Zealands 300W limit... But I'd like to switch to say 84V (4x24V Packs) for *cough*offroad use*cough*.

Now less about my plans and wee intrioduction to me.
I'm 26, living in Christchurch, New Zealand (and no the earthquake didnt flatten my home). I've bene playing with electrical and electronic things since I was about 5 years old.. I've spent a fair few years in the Lift industry here.. so 3 phase drives and motors of any kind I'm pretty at home with. I've tried my hand at some microcontroller programming too, mostly with Atmel AVR micros.
 
Welcome!

I think either of your bikes will be fine for a conversion. If it were me, and I was going to be on the road mostly, I'd use the hard-tail with Li-Po batteries from Hobby King and get some of the newer nano-tech batteries:

http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/uh_viewItem.asp?idProduct=11940

N6000-4S-25(1).jpg


And I would run your lower power set-up (if you plan on having more than one ... most of us here find we need more than one E-Bike :wink: ) run a friction drive with RC motor and ESC with the whole set-up being less than 10lbs including the batteries (my personal favorite is the Kepler Drive) and save the 9C for your off-road capable full suspension bike, believe it or not, you can put 100V of Li-Po batteries quite easily on even that frame since they are so compact & light!

There are several builds here you can choose to emulate and then add your own touches.

I think the real questions to answer are:

1 How fast?

2 How light?

3 How stealth?

Once you know those answers, the rest is pretty easy, just hold onto your wallet! This can be a very expensive hobby! (and make your wife/girlfriend an E-Bike Widow :oops: :lol: :twisted: )
 
You will be building that second, more powerfull bike anyway. So just get a street legal controller for one bike, and the 40 amp 100v one for the second one. Use the first bike to get some experience, and then go for the dirt bike.
 
Hi,

Just to let you know, I have bought a whole pile of nine continent motors, controllers, etc which I expect to have in wellington in Mid December.

Just in the process of building a website, www.evlab.co.nz, I have heaps of bits and pieces, not all listed on the site, so PM me if there is anything you need.
As far as I am aware I will be cheaper than bringing something in from USA.
 
Well. It's good to see a stockist in GodZone, but - frankly - there are much cheaper ways of sourcing kit. Those prices will serve only to bring all providers of ebikes/parts in NZ into further disrepute. And, with the way others have been selling 4 year old tech for twice its original price, there is enough disrepute here already.

Yeah - I know: who carries the risk? / parts fail and you've got to cover RMAs / etc etc

From the consumer's perspective though, the risks of Hong Kong (e.g., hobbyking.com) and Guangdong Province (e.g. evassemble.com) seem highly worthwhile to me if local stockists are going to continue with their rip off tactics. I mean, just this month I purchased and had sent here from the Eastern seaboard of the US a controller kiwi has got listed for NZ$219+shipping. I did it for a total of NZ$87 (including shipping, and it only took a week and a half to get here). Sure, it was on special but that's what one gets if they shop around and I do hope that readers of this recognise they're in a global market and they've got alternatives.

Part of what I like to see on ES is the way the ebike community, amidst some banter from individualists trying to make a buck, offers some alternative economic models which challenge the everybody-for-themselves BS which has dominated in NZ for 30 years. It'd be great of some of that rhetoric influenced these ebike startups which never seem to last because, let's face it, the consumer will eventually discover the rip off.

Shop around, dude.
 
Hi.

I am a e-bike enthusiast. I am passionate about getting people out of cars. I am also tired of working for other people whos businesses don't offer any real benefit to people and the planet. So I thought I would have a go at making part of my living from trying to get people out of there cars and back on to bikes.

I am not here to rip people off. I spend hours and hours with people who build bikes with me helping them, making parts, giving them bits, fixing stuff at no cost.
I know if you look around you can get stuff cheap. I do it.

I have now ordered direct from Nine Continent, and new prices will be put up soon.

What really stinks about reselling here in NZ is having to put 15% on top of everything. If you buy direct from overseas, you can avoid that. But I hope by surface shipping I can get close.

Perhaps my business wont last, who knows, but there are too many opportunities to help build the e-bike movement in NZ that I am going to give it a go.
My goal is not making money, its getting people on bikes. As I get better prices, NZ e-bikers will get better prices. If you have suggestions for quality suppliers, let me know.

I would love to have the support of the e-bike community in NZ, I think it would be cool to have a get together sometime and meet each other and check out your rides.

Regards,
Kiwi
http://www.evlab.co.nz

Its also amazing and saddening that as soon as you say you are selling something you immediately change from being a community member to a rip off artist. Thats reason enough to not try to run a business. :cry:
 
Hi Kiwi,

As I stated, it is good to have a supplier in NZ. We are at the mercy of overseas companies here, which forces NZ ebike consumers to do things as individuals across distance and that's risky and expensive. So, good luck to you: I hope it works out, drives the overall prices down and enables bulk purchasing. I also reckon that some aspects of your business model are quite sensible given NZ's isolation - especially shipping by surface, as long as you can stock the items in advance rather than force people to wait months for stock which isn't on the shelf. (It looks as though you are heading towards permenant stock, yeah?) I'm sure, also, that you prices reflect the $NZ:$US ratio before the recent gains of the former against the later, so that will likely filter through into cheaper prices as you replace stock.

Despite being a reasonably well-paid public servant, though, I just wouldn't be able to handle your prices for a full conversion. Perhaps replacement of indiviudal parts when they go bung (as they constantly do. Who knows? - I may even order a controller from you if I can't get my infineon to work with my mac), but purchasing all the parts for a conversion would be way beyond what my wife will tolerate!

If you and others want the ebike thing to thrive commercially in NZ, I suspect it will require some momentum at the level of full conversion kits. Only the absolutely filthy rich or those with highly specialist needs can afford an off-the-shelf ebike and there aren't that many of those folk in NZ. Perhaps you could look towards providing a reliable, entry-level conversion kit for the DIYer? (As I say, your only competition are claiming entry level, charging four times the price and selling old tech). That would ensure repeat customers rather than one-off purchasers. Another model that might work would be to supplement and therefore enable rather than attempt to compete with hongkong lipo. Now that I'm building a second ebike (for my wife), I can't see any NZ firm competing with the price of zippy lipo but to put together a bike based on that format I've purchased heaps of additional components locally. e.g., Battery harnesses made of andersons and appropriately gauged wire, otterboxes, topeak fixers to attach otterbox to topeak rack - all of these things mount up in price and are kinda tricky to source in NZ. If you could specialise in stocking the parts that 'I' (and others like me) WOULDN'T purchase direct from Asia, I suspect some mutually supportive trends might emerge for others who would do the same thing if they could do it with slightly more security.

=> Somebody is going to need to grow the overall market for an individual firm to profit, and that may require substantial up-front finance and the ability to cover losses for a few years.

Just some ideas but, generally, "good luck"
 
Hi Kiwi,

I guess it's good to have a local supplier. As a hardened ebike commuter (ebiked all winter - with the exception of rainy days)having spares close by is a bonus but I admit most of my gear was sourced offshore too :roll: with the exception of a few bits from the previous Crystalyte dealer in Wellington. Good to see you stock NC motors & gear.

Sadly most people see ebikes as a novelty even if they like the idea. A good conversion is about the same price as an ICE scooter which for many is the logical step (down) from the car. I really wanted to get out of the car and away from relying on fossil fuels where I can. Around here the local ebike dealer (Kelvin Cycles) sells the 300W turn key ebikes mainly to middle age people - which is fine. These bikes don't have the "cool factor" (who wants a bike your Nana rides?) like the DIY bikes on ES. These really don't have the pace if you really want to go somewhere other than a few km's.

Best of luck with the business - summer is a good time to start.

DSX
 
Welcome Cheetor,

Good luck with the build/s. There area a lot of very knowledgeable, helpful people here from all over the world. I look forward to seeing what you come up with.

Good to see so many Kiwis here. More than I thought, but I tend not to stray very far from the non-hub section.

Clay
 
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