How Fast is your Ebike versus How Fast do you want it?

^^^I guess I a simple option for you would be to get big rotor disc brakes for the front and switch out the pads in the back to Koolstops for much bigger stopping power.

Your ebike is back heavy, so in emergency braking, you have a lower chance of flipping over your handle bars than other bicycles. Plus you can get into emergency stopping position to further prevent you from flipping over in a monster stop.
 
nutsandvolts said:
50kph is plenty fast enough for me on a bicycle. For faster speeds, I'd want a motorycycle conversion.

Same here. I just don't think these bicycles are meant for speeds above 50 kph on "normal" roads(I usually average in the 40-50 kph range when I'm bicycling, with 50 kph being a "top normal full-pedaling" speed); I've already been quite jarred going down this one local 50 kph road that happened to be somewhat curvaceous/bumpy on my front-suspended hardtail.

But, the thing is, I want an ultimately stable platform for high speeds and by stable, I mean you're not skidding/falling-on-the-ground/flying-over-the-bars in the situation where someone nudges/pushes you over in the event of a collision. So I'm looking for my future electric vehicle to have a 3-wheel design with a relatively wide platform(for stability and for room). It's probably not going to have pedals since human power would only contribute possibly 1/30-1/200 of the total power it'd consume.
 
hehehehe, Got the batteries today and did 38 KmH up a hill I'd usually avoid when carrying an extra 60 lbs.
The 48 volt pack, not topped up, reached 57.9 KmH unloaded.
In about 200 feet it did ~43KmH up a slight incline and ~48 on the way back down.
I don't have torque arms on the 5304R so was going easy on the throttle and pedalling to start from a stop.

My bike is, if anything, too fast downhill now. That extra weight builds momentum quickly. Something with better brakes would help me go faster.

When I was into such things I'd log my monthly milage and average speeds. They varied between 17KmH in winter to 20KmH in summer.
There's a lot of stop-and-go traffic on the other side of the lump. I expect my average speed to increase due to spending considerably less time going slow on the climb out from my home.

Don't worry swbluto, the 5304 does everything I expected of it at 48volts.
 
BUT THE TRAFFIC!!!

The thing with going fast in traffic is that vehicles and pedestrians take a glance, see a bike, and have certain expectations about how fast you're going.

I can only go around 25-30 k.p.h., and even at that, pedestrians and cars will make more dangerous decisions around me than if I'm on my peddle bike, and going slightly slower. When I couple that with the additional stopping time due to speed and weight, I'm not sure if I want to go faster...in traffic...

Where no one else is around, with a suspension free bike with v brakes only, maybe 50k.p.h. would be worth trying.

Bob
 
swbluto said:
nutsandvolts said:
50kph is plenty fast enough for me on a bicycle. For faster speeds, I'd want a motorycycle conversion.



But, the thing is, I want an ultimately stable platform for high speeds and by stable, I mean you're not skidding/falling-on-the-ground/flying-over-the-bars in the situation where someone nudges/pushes you over in the event of a collision. So I'm looking for my future electric vehicle to have a 3-wheel design with a relatively wide platform(for stability and for room). It's probably not going to have pedals since human power would only contribute possibly 1/30-1/200 of the total power it'd consume.

thats what i did to my etec powered trike, I did include pedals. I lengthen the trike and made it wider. very stable at high speeds ans super fun to ride
 
mines top out at 56 kph, but I like to cruise along at around 37 kph, it just feels about the right speed, I get more range at this speed too.
 
Right now I am topping out at 20mph to get used to the area on an Ebike, but of course I want more!! 30mph would be good, because the speed limit is 35mph all the way to town.


Had a car cut me off yesterday, I looked straight into her face while riding next to her. She acknowledged me then pulled a hard right turn! Good thing I was just waiting for it to happen and was already grabbing brakes. She didn't even signal, the dumb broad.
 
Getting up to 70kph with 80V on a 5304 C-lyte but it is scary. Only do this on certain roads (smooth with no intersections). You don't want a car pulling out in front of you at 70 (about 42-45 mph).
 
EDIT: loose dogs that chase are one reason why it might be SAFER to have a higher top speed. I clocked the one on my street doing 35+ KMH and he gave up when I hit 40 KMH. OTOH, I went much slower, to save my battery for the race, on the way back and he only came to the end of the driveway and barked a few times. :)

I've had my bike to 56 KMH (35 MPH), both downhill gravity powered, and down a short hill with my 20s1p batteries half depleted and partly damaged. 52 KMH or 32 MPH have been easy to reach on flat.

In theory, the calcs and simulators indicate I SHOULD be able to get 65 KMH (40+MPH) on flat with 20s1p charged to 84v open circuit. I'd like to see that just to prove the calcs, or even 60 KMH (37.5 MPH).


I don't NEED this speed, but it's fun to try. I'm more interested in range and hill climbing with best efficiency. With a front XLyte 404 and 20 amp controller on 19.1 inch wheel my top speed with 5s4p should be about 27 KMH or 17 MPH. I've tried 5s1p before and thought it would be laughable, but it was surprisingly OK for the low nominal voltage of 18.5v.

IMO, 17 MPH should be plenty for my "pedestrian range extending" rides on bike paths and such. 5s4p, or perhaps even 5s8p could be really useful for keeping my batteries in good shape and I'd be worrying much less about voltage drop and end of ride LVC.

I keep thinking I need a system with FETs that can switch me from 5s8p to 10s4p or 20s2p on the fly so I can have fun at higher voltages or extend range and cell life at lower voltages. Maybe I'll build this.
 
My front drive trike will run 40 mph . with the hook worm tires it handles well at all speeds. We just went on a 60 mile ride sunday on the rails to trails ride in Inverness. the guys love to draft off me lol.. The etek powered trike goes way faster than i planed. I went to a 84 tooth driven sprocket and it still will run 48 mph. I cant run a two wheel bike because of balance problems
 
Etek trike..... droool. 8)

I used to ride in cowboy boots when I was in colledge. The slum I lived in was full of loose dogs so the high top boots came in real handy. The pointy toes slipped into old school toe clips and straps like a breeze.
 
johnrobholmes said:
Right now I am topping out at 20mph to get used to the area on an Ebike, but of course I want more!! 30mph would be good, because the speed limit is 35mph all the way to town.


Had a car cut me off yesterday, I looked straight into her face while riding next to her. She acknowledged me then pulled a hard right turn! Good thing I was just waiting for it to happen and was already grabbing brakes. She didn't even signal, the dumb broad.

If I'm taking a "real road", as opposed to a "neighborhood one laner", I take the lane. So that kind of situation is eliminated. But, yeah, I feel more comfortable taking "real roads" when I'm going or close to the speed limit(usually 30 mph) so I probably would have taken the 'side' if I were forced onto a "real road" if I were limited to 20.
 
That's one of the interesting points of there not being a lot of bikes around here. People probably see me and think WTF is this guy doing in the middle of the lane? and then realize Oh he's doing 30mph NVM. then probably Wait LOL WTH?
 
Tiberius said:
Hi diver*,

What battery set up are you using to go 60 miles?

Thanks,

Nick

(* After I wrote that, I thought maybe it should be highdiver)

I use 75 amp hour wet cell marine grade. the trikes have upgraded axles and wheels. I need to get a finished pic of the etek trike. heres a couple of photos on of the etek build


 
diver said:
Tiberius said:
Hi diver*,

What battery set up are you using to go 60 miles?

Thanks,

Nick

(* After I wrote that, I thought maybe it should be highdiver)

I use 75 amp hour wet cell marine grade. the trikes have upgraded axles and wheels. I need to get a finished pic of the etek trike. heres a couple of photos on of the etek build



Wow, don't we all wish we had that capacity without it affecting our handling too badly.
 
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