Woohoo! First commute

[Kellan]

I finally got all my ducks in a row and made my first e-commute today. What an awesome magic carpet ride! I'm using a conversion kit from E-BikeKit.com on a hard-tail Trek mountain bike, with a Ping 48V 15Ah battery. Just to see what it can do, I pedaled very little and ran at full throttle. The 15 mile trip used about 2/3 of my battery charge, according to my Cycle Analyst, at a level ground speed of around 25mph. The trip took only a few minutes longer than on my gas scooter, and it's more fun. More fun, no gas, no license or registration, no property tax. Mission accomplished!

Kellan

 

[Icewrench]

Welcome to the ebike zone.
Your life will never be quite the same.
Traffic jams a thing of the past.

 

[dogman dan]

Woohoo! allright. 48v is great on the 9x7 motors. Perfect timing assuming you are on the north end of the world.

Wait till you get to tease a few pedalers in lycra. So fun till they realize you have a motor. If you see one catching you, stay just far ahead enogh for him to never know, and kill himself trying to catch the guy on the heavy bike.

 

[Demosthenes]

Beware the EVgrin, it can permanently distort ones face into that shape if overused.

 

[Airstream4Two]

Wow, I am jealous. As long as I work where I do, I will probably never commute via ebike. By car I am 35 minutes on the highway. Lots of traffic and 45-50 km one way. All you who commute to work (or school) are lucky as you get to enjoy the way there and back. Not me, just part of my drudge.....I know...suck it up

 

[dogman dan]

Get a nice bike rack and find a safe place to park the car halfway, or whatever distance works for you. The good racks for ebikes all attach to a reciever, and support the bike by the wheels.

 

[Kellan]

I calibrated my Cycle Analyst last night. This morning's commute showed a typical speed of 28-29mph on the longer, flatter parts. Sweet. I pedaled as much as I could, for exercise, but even in my highest gear I can't pedal fast enough to keep up with my motor. Also, I was very pleased with how it performed on the uphill leg last night. I don't have any really steep hills, but the long shallow inclines barely put a dent in my speed. Tonight I think I'll make a side trip to try a steeper hill.

Thanks so much to all of you, particularly Dogman, for the education and guidance.

Kellan

 

[mr.electric]

I like my Ebikekit too. Basic front wheel kit with a lead 48v pack. I just went on a leisure ride during lunch brake and had a nice time. I rode down to the bay and ate lunch next to the water.
I like the faint ticking sound the E-Bikekit makes. It sounds like a swiss watch.

 

[Mudder]

How large is your pack? Wh/mile?

 

[mr.electric]

This is my back up ebike. It has a 12ahr 48v lead pack. It is comprised of used crappy weak batteries so it seems like about 2 ahr usable. I ride like 1 mile to lunch so it is working so far but I think I will get a ping 10ahr 48v pack soon. No Cycle Analyst on board.

 

[Kellan]

I like the faint ticking sound the E-Bikekit makes. It sounds like a swiss watch.

At first I didn't know the tick was coming from the motor. I thought something was making contact on the wheel. After riding a gas scooter for a couple of years I'm not used to being able to hear every faint sound. It is really cool to sail along almost silently. It's like being towed by a ghost.

Kellan

 

[Kellan]

Wait till you get to tease a few pedalers in lycra. So fun till they realize you have a motor. If you see one catching you, stay just far ahead enogh for him to never know, and kill himself trying to catch the guy on the heavy bike.

I've been chuckling about this all week.