grindz145
1 MW
Hey Lock, yeah I ought to sail up to toronto somtime and meet up. We sailed to the thousand islands on a hunter 23 last year. It was a long rough trip. I'm probably getting rid of that thing 
Some Questions About E-Bikes as a Primary Mode of Transport
- Thread starter JJ2525
- Start date
dogman dan
1 PW
I think that comment got totally misunderstood.
An ebike is easy to cut the lock on, and load into the truck or van.
Or, perhaps you do, or do not want to travel to a nice place to ride, and bring you bike, motorcycle, quad, sailboat, etc. That place may be far beyond the one day riding range of any ebike or the Zero.
The ebike is obviously going to load up easier than a zero, but either can hop on a trailer pretty damn easy. I'm just saying the ebike, if it weighs 60 pounds, is easier to steal than anything over 100 pounds.
There is, in the end, only ONE solution. Forget the idea of only one solution. Start with a regular 48v, 20-30 mph ebike that is quite cheap. Then as you save money using it some instead of a car, start to save up for the next fun as hell ride. It could work out ok to drive part way, then bike the rest to some destinations. I did that the first 6 months, using both car and bus.
An ebike is easy to cut the lock on, and load into the truck or van.
Or, perhaps you do, or do not want to travel to a nice place to ride, and bring you bike, motorcycle, quad, sailboat, etc. That place may be far beyond the one day riding range of any ebike or the Zero.
The ebike is obviously going to load up easier than a zero, but either can hop on a trailer pretty damn easy. I'm just saying the ebike, if it weighs 60 pounds, is easier to steal than anything over 100 pounds.
There is, in the end, only ONE solution. Forget the idea of only one solution. Start with a regular 48v, 20-30 mph ebike that is quite cheap. Then as you save money using it some instead of a car, start to save up for the next fun as hell ride. It could work out ok to drive part way, then bike the rest to some destinations. I did that the first 6 months, using both car and bus.
LockH
1 PW
"The ebike is obviously going to load up easier than a zero, but either can hop on a trailer pretty damn easy. I'm just saying the ebike, if it weighs 60 pounds, is easier to steal than anything over 100 pounds."
Easy solution maybe. The Toronto Electric Riders are thinking of a device that can be armed/disarmed remotely to energize the whole frame of the vehicle with 10,000 volts using a capacitor.
(Note: Currently there is only a sign that threatens that option. Also, if the Association goes ahead with product development, not mentioned in the sign, ZERO Amps.)
Easy solution maybe. The Toronto Electric Riders are thinking of a device that can be armed/disarmed remotely to energize the whole frame of the vehicle with 10,000 volts using a capacitor.
(Note: Currently there is only a sign that threatens that option. Also, if the Association goes ahead with product development, not mentioned in the sign, ZERO Amps.)
Just thinking here, but is there anyone on the forums who has been known to build bikes for less intelligent people like myself? A poster mentioned earlier that you can build an e-bike that will do 50MPH for less than $2000. If it can look anywhere near as clean and nice as the Stealth (I assume that's the bulk of the premium you pay for), I'd be very interested.
LockH
1 PW
Yes, one may definitely ride a vehicle that operates by an electric motor (with energy stored as "electricity" in a chemical rechargeable "battery"), such that one may kill ones self (or worse, other animals - some of them "human", in an "eco-friendly" fashion) given a fast rate of speed. But that may be "sooo 20th-century". OTOH, some others of us urban dwellers "moved on". (See also "lithium", as used for "batteries".)
pendragon8000
100 kW
get a 2nd hand strong bike , doesnt matter if its heavy. dont worry about its fork or wheels.JJ2525 said:
replace the fork with the cheapest suspension one on chain reaction cycles and get a front disc brake and a front wheel that has a disc hub. put some big tyres on there like crazy bob 2.35". that would cost about $200.
get a kit from ebikes.ca , something like a hs3540 with the 40a controller. run it on the big 48v battery.
that would cost about $2k and its relitevly plug and play. safe battery for a newbie to.
by the time you get a good lock and maby a seat and new helmet, gloves, lights , glasses and other bits you should be done for just under $3k and would have a good solid commuter that has a good front brake to stop hard in emergencies.
wesnewell
100 GW
You can build one that will do 50 mph for a lot less than that if you know what you're doing.JJ2525 said:
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wesnewell said:
Yeah, but the problem is that I really have no idea what I'm doing. At all. I have no experience or aptitude in anything related to constructing something like this. I was wondering if this occurs at all on the forums, where someone has some goals in mind for a bike, buys the parts and pays someone else to construct it.
dogman dan
1 PW
You can hit 40 mph quite cheap. Faster tends to melt the cheaper motors really fast, so to truly have a 50 mph bike can get quite a bit more expensive.
That does not touch the subject of can the bike you chose stop, can bike tires handle much running at 50 mph, cornering at 35, etc. Or how you should dress when you know damn well you will crash.
The cheap 40 mph club bike is a steel 26" bike with at least v brakes, a basic direct drive motor, 72v 40 amps controller, and 72v 10 ah of RC lico batteries. It should hit 40 mph for the first mile, then as voltage drops it will slow 2-3 mph. More than 10 miles of riding will melt the motor, so many drill big holes in the side covers.
That does not touch the subject of can the bike you chose stop, can bike tires handle much running at 50 mph, cornering at 35, etc. Or how you should dress when you know damn well you will crash.
The cheap 40 mph club bike is a steel 26" bike with at least v brakes, a basic direct drive motor, 72v 40 amps controller, and 72v 10 ah of RC lico batteries. It should hit 40 mph for the first mile, then as voltage drops it will slow 2-3 mph. More than 10 miles of riding will melt the motor, so many drill big holes in the side covers.
JohnT818
10 mW
I'm a little late to the party here, but I've seen one or two guys advertise on Craigslist L.A. that do custom conversions as well as selling converted bikes. They might be able to convert one to your specs. I don't know enough about them to recommend anyone.JJ2525 said:
I'd agree with others that for your speeds, a motorcycle seems like a better way to go. I believe in California, the top speed for a moped is 30mph. A 40-50mph bicycle would need to be registered as a motorcycle. That probably means meeting all the motor vehicle code regulations like DOT tires and lights, including turn signals, and you'd need a motorcycle license of course. I'm looking into something like this for a future project.
If you don't have any experience on e-bikes or e-motorcycles, check out Hollywood Electrics on Fairfax between Santa Monica and Melrose. They're a Zero dealer, and they have e-bicycles and scooters. I haven't been by their shop yet, but I've met them at a couple of events, and they seem like they know their stuff.