What a basic ebike can do

[JennyB]

With some of the exotic machinery on display here, it's easy to ignore the capability of the basic UK-legal ebike. With a regulated 15 mph top speed, surely a good standard bike with a fit rider can go further, and as fast?

I've been cycling all my life. I've done 20 miles in an hour and 400 miles in four days. That was a long time ago, but I'm still as fit as most normal cyclists. I have tow bikes. One is Shadowfax, a much modified Trek hybrid that is now a fine touring bike. The other is Oliphaunt, my grocery-getting e-bike.

Oliphaunt is a bit of a lash-up, well over twice the weight of Shadowfax. A cheap chain-store mountain bike with an Xtracycle, and a basic Bafang front hub motor with a 36v 10ah battery, all held together with straps and string. No gears; the only concession to efficiency is slick tyres so he doesn't sound like an Army truck.

A few days ago i took Shadowfax for the first long ride of the season. it was 22 miles of quiet country roads with many short but steep hills. A lovely day, but I was working hard at times, and quite tired when I finished an hour and fifty minutes later. Today I took Oliphaunt over the same route. Since I had previously managed to drain his battery after only 20 miles, I decided not to use power on anything that resembled a down slope. Such a heavy and high-geared bike is rideable wihout power on the flat but I sometime yielded to temptation. Wherever i was on the middle with Shadowfax, I was either out of the saddle or using power, and where I went to the small ring with Shadowfax, I was doing both. Most of all, it was frustrating that Oliphaunt could not coast as far and as fast.

So I took my time. I did not bother to tuck for the fast passages, just sat up and enjoyed the view, and was grateful for the help of the motor on the hills. I was a *lot* less tired when I got back - nearly half an hour earlier!

No unpowereed bike, no matter how expensive, is going to make that much difference!

 

[wheelbender6]

Your experience is an example of how to make the best use of an e-bike.
If you limit the speed, make use of the terrain (down hill) and pedal a bit
you can travel impressive distances without a lot of physical exertion.

 

[jdcburg]

I agree. We live uphill from everything around here so the ride back home is always tough. We have a tandem that we haul down to the rail trail for some exercise and fresh air but I was always finding an excuse not to ride from home, tandem or single. But now I ride my homebuilt 350W ebike from home and back all the time - to work, to the store, to visit friends. I use the motor uphill and some on the flats and coast down the hills. I pedal almost all the time, but the motor makes it easy. I haven't checked my weight but I've lost a little girth and I can tell I'm getting stronger. I won't be throwing away the car keys but the gas bill is definitely lower. So far it's all positive - jd

 

[Miles]

There's also a case to be made for 100 Watt systems (Gruber et al).
Ref: http://autos.groups.yahoo.com/group/ULEA/messages/1

 

[spinningmagnets]

I am 50 years old, and a few years ago I began bicycling for my general health. My knees caused me soreness on hills, so any E-help is much better than nothing. Kepler is re-designing his compact/light-weight RC-friction drive to be more adaptable to a greater variety of frames. I believe there is a huge market for something like this, especially in the 500W-and-below segment (Europe/Australia/Canada, etc)

Sometimes retailers draw the wrong conclusions from customer reactions. A bike shop might begin carrying a very expensive but poor-quality/low-performance kit, and if customer response is negative, the retailer will tell everyone that the majority of the public just isn't interested in E-bikes.

Many bicyclists in my age bracket have access to significant resources, and when a product arrives that is reliable and provides great performance...they will pay.

 

[JennyB]

There's also a case to be made for 100 Watt systems (Gruber et al).
Ref: http://autos.groups.yahoo.com/group/ULEA/messages/1

Thanks, Miles, I've just signed up! It took a while to find the original article which is certainly very interesting. I'd really like something like that for Shadowfax, so that the hills are as easy as with Oliphaunt, but unassisted riding is as it should be. It would need to be a through-the-gears system, I think, because some of the nicest roads round here have hills that would bog down Oliphaunt's hub motor, and it would be nice to still have assistance if I should decide to go chasing tractors.

 

[Miles]

Jenny,

If you get a copy of the proceedings of the 4th velomobile seminar : http://www.futurebike.ch/FB_Web_WM99/events/wm99/english/e_seminar.html it has John's first article (I.C. motor) plus lots of other interesting stuff........ http://ds1.dreifels.ch/fb/index.asp (click on "Literatur / Shop").

 

[JennyB]

I am 50 years old, and a few years ago I began bicycling for my general health. My knees caused me soreness on hills, so any E-help is much better than nothing. Kepler is re-designing his compact/light-weight RC-friction drive to be more adaptable to a greater variety of frames. I believe there is a huge market for something like this, especially in the 500W-and-below segment (Europe/Australia/Canada, etc)

Sometimes retailers draw the wrong conclusions from customer reactions. A bike shop might begin carrying a very expensive but poor-quality/low-performance kit, and if customer response is negative, the retailer will tell everyone that the majority of the public just isn't interested in E-bikes.

Many bicyclists in my age bracket have access to significant resources, and when a product arrives that is reliable and provides great performance...they will pay.

Kepler's roller may be just the thing for Shadowfax: light, no drag, and powerful enough not to bog down on the steeper hills, none of which are very long. The other system I have my eye on is the Cytronix.They claim to have a retrofit kit coming out later this year (but they've been saying that since they started )

If you are only using the system for hill assist, then anything suitable will lift a kg of bike about 180 metres for each watt hour used. Or to put it another way, if batteries weigh 1 kg per watt hour, then each % weight devoted to batteries will take 180 metres of hiils out of your road.

 

[Timbo]

The other system I have my eye on is the Cytronix.They claim to have a retrofit kit coming out later this year (but they've been saying that since they started )

Looks very much like a Tongxin motor in terms of szxe, weight and silent operation. Not sure if I like the idea of the boost button; a throttle is a pretty simple & intuative arrangement. The bikes certainly look nice though - have you had a chance to see one in the flesh and test ride?

 

[icecube57]

Moose Stuff?!?!?