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Wife finally wants one - $400ish budget

C

cgbjake

10 mW
Joined
Apr 29, 2011
Messages
27
So the wife is actually interested. I've been riding an Ebike since living in Hawaii 7 years ago. I heavily leark around these boards and try to absorb all that I can. I really need to find someone to talk to in my area, I can keep everything straight...in come my question.

She has a simple woman's mountain bike with narrow tires. She has a bad knee and would like to ride in the area, but the hills kill her...flats are ok. Any idea what the best would be, keeping the budget under 400ish? I could build a system like mine, but may be a bit noisy for her. Hub motors are another easy install, but I'm new to those and can't keep the technology straight (brushless, halls, sensors). So anyone have a reliable kit that can take her up some of the CT hills and allow her to pedal on the flats?

I'm in the middle of my new build and may have to speed it up and build two. I'll post my pics soon!

Bret
 
Cell_man kit, shipped via the cheapest shipping method.
Lead acid batteries.
Something to hold the lead acids to the bike..
It will be heavy as hell though and you may have to carry it for her.

That's what you get for $400.

If you throw down another $400, you could get a bike kit with a lithium battery which would save a lot of weight, and the battery would last 3 times as long or more.

But your budget is cutting it way too close. You are in eZip trailz territory. Those are noisy and heavy.
 
Bike size? Her size? Is CT hills as in the state if CT. How fast/far do you want to go on flats. Hard to advise on anything with such little info. That said, it's not hard to build one for $400 unless you want a lot of range. I've built 3 in the last 6 months. The one in sig being the most expensive.
 
Don't forget to tell her that pedaling a 50+lb bike on the flats (without throttle) is about twice as hard as a normal bike. This is why I never understand when someone wants a motor 'just for the hills'. I was that someone until I had the experience myself.
 
codd power sells rejected A123 cells. And the packs are even heavier than headway packs. I wouldn't recommend those to anyone.
 
Rear geared hub kit from cellman. Just the small inexpensive one.

But the budget is simpy going to have to stretch to include a lithium battery too. For short rides, it can be pretty small using cellmans a123's.
 
I'd look at it this way:

1. Have your wife try your machine before you buy anything.

2. Consider the good advice given by the ES members above.

3. Again, forget the lead acid batteries. The weight, "poor" performance, and hassle of running lead acid will, imo, put a real crimp on her initial e-bike impressions.
 
I think that is auraslip.
otherDoc
 
Thanks a ton for all the suggest sources of supply. Best advise is to have her try mine out. I'll let her take it for a spin as soon as I'm done...maybe a few weeks...very busy time for me. This is why I love ready here, you guys can make heads or tails of this stuff so much better than I can. Keep her going!!!
 
I've tried building an ebike for my wife several times. She just doesn't get it. Since she doesn't want to and will not ride faster than 5-10 mph, she gets nothing out of the assist. Admittedly, at those speeds even the slowest ebikes I've had are still too fast. This makes controlling the throttle real touchy for her. So she has trouble getting the assist level just right. It does take practice to ride anything but wot, and she won't ride long enough to learn it. Hope you have better luck.

I haven't done pedelec, so maybe that would work better. I felt cheap pedelec would be even wierder, and can't afford bionx.
 
In all honesty a $400 budget will only get you a piece of junk ebike with SLA batteries you will have to replace in a year. You will end up having more headaches and stress than it's worth. You need to spend at least $1000.

Just my opinion.
 
True ish. $300 can get you a 350 watt gearmotor kit. But you'll need another $300 for any kind of battery that doesn't weigh a ton.
 
$230 can get you a 48V 500W DD kit shipped.
$280 can get you a 1000W DD kit shipped.
$100 can get you 5ah 12s lipo pack.
$40 will get you a cheap charger to balance them.
 
Any charger that isn't defective should be safe if used properly. If defective or used improperly, none are safe, no matter how much it cost. I've safely used my SLA charger to charge my lipo pack lots of times even though I've got a Hyperion 1420i at my disposal.
 
interesting...
i got read up more on this,


I was asking cause I remember reading this,
maybe the info is dated and there are cheaper options now... :?:
If I only need a $50 charger, this is very tempting way to go...

from mar 2009,
http://endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=9170
#4 Price. Now, LiPo cells are not the cheapest cells, but, for the technology you get, they are quite resonably priced. I paid $435 for that 48 volt, 10ah pack (of course, I also need a $250 charger to charge that pack properly). So, price is also relative.
Click to expand...
 
$400 is really low. Like others said, a thousand dollars is more reasonable, but in Hawaii you can get a decent scooter for that money. It's a tough call, but if you take your time you can get a good setup for a little more than your budget.

I'm not sure why I'm responding, since I don't have any good advice, but the word "Hawaii" caught my attention. I LOVE Hawaii. I'd move there in a heartbeat, but it's sooooo expensive.
 
At the risk of being band from the forum I an going to disagree with many of you on a few points. Of course with the limited info it's hard to say if my opinion would work anyway. Depending on how much your wife peddles, how steep and long are those hills and how far does she want to ride an ezip is not a bad way for her to go. Yes they have there down side but they also have an upside too. My wife has been riding a $240 EZip for 3 years now and it's still on the first battery pack. When we ride together we started out at 5 miles per ride and increased it to 10 miles now. This is all on 1 old SLA pack. OF course I have been very careful to be sure to recharge the pack as soon as I return from a ride which is a major reason it has lasted. When not riding with her I ride 20 - 25 miles. She is also someone who feels 10 to 12 mph is just fine but we ride exclusively in forest preserves so it's as fast as most other bikers are doing.

Please don't ban me but I think it's worth considering an EZip for her. BTW, from what I have read the new EZip motor are no longer noisy. And of course if she really enjoys the riding and the pack eventually poops out you can upgrade to lifepo4 at that time. A Thunder Sky 24v 20ah pack is only $250 + shipping and a BMS. And you can even use the old 24v SLA charger to charge it. Bob
 
My wife rides an iZip Via Rapido, which she purchased for $999 plus tax. She's on chemo and weak with low stamina. She doesn't need the best, just wants to ride 14-15 miles per hour without feeling dead at the end of the ride.

iZip makes a good product, though as with most pre-made ebikes you pay for lower power motors and lower capacity batteries. I believe the Via Rapido comes with a 6Ah Lion battery, enough for a 12-15 mile range.
 
I was ridiing the beach at 30mph and felt like I was in a airplane down low. But when I went 15mph I got what Dogman was saying enjoy. The road is differanet. Is there spell check here ? Check please.
 
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