Looking at the lower end spectrum, am I going to be able to find a better value on an E-bike than a $300 E-Zip Mountain Trailz Electric Bike? (Advertises 450 watts, max speed 18 mph, one battery good for 22 miles distance)
Ok so that is my primary question I need answered
One other important question, does it matter that it is a "Mountain Bike" but I want to use it primarily on the asphalt road? And if it does matter is this a simple fix of swapping tires or something like that?
I was also wondering if anyone has thought to cut up a bag to go over the electric portion of the bike. Seems logical to me maybe a little out there to some. Not sure if this would contribute to overheating during very hot weather . As a consumer I just want something cheap / good value / acceptable quality / readily available with no assembly / doesn't make me feel like Urkel the whole time I'm using it.
The bike will be used primarily to make a 15 mile (each way) trip to Pensacola Beach (FL) and around town a little.
Some other transportation I have looked at today and am considering:
Schwinn Point Beach Cruiser Bike - Its a Schwinn (entry level so what), Its $130, and it already has a nice rack mounted. Its not electric though
Another Schwinn some sort of road bike, might be the Schwinn Varsity Road Bike, not electric.
Abneycat
10-04-07, 10:44 PM
Looking at the lower end spectrum, am I going to be able to find a better value on an E-bike than a $300 E-Zip Mountain Trailz Electric Bike? (Advertises 450 watts, max speed 18 mph, one battery good for 22 miles distance)
Ok so that is my primary question I need answered
One other important question, does it matter that it is a "Mountain Bike" but I want to use it primarily on the asphalt road? And if it does matter is this a simple fix of swapping tires or something like that?
I was also wondering if anyone has thought to cut up a bag to go over the electric portion of the bike. Seems logical to me maybe a little out there to some. Not sure if this would contribute to overheating during very hot weather . As a consumer I just want something cheap / good value / acceptable quality / readily available with no assembly / doesn't make me feel like Urkel the whole time I'm using it.
The bike will be used primarily to make a 15 mile (each way) trip to Pensacola Beach (FL) and around town a little.
Some other transportation I have looked at today and am considering:
Schwinn Point Beach Cruiser Bike - Its a Schwinn (entry level so what), Its $130, and it already has a nice rack mounted. Its not electric though
Another Schwinn some sort of road bike, might be the Schwinn Varsity Road Bike, not electric.
You should go out to an electric dealer and try out some of the various kits. These pre-built cheapies can be okay for rolling around the city for fun, but there isn't a lot of real practicality to most of them. You can find the occasional good one, but they're in the minority at that price range.
Around the lower end of full blown e-bikes,
Most of the e-bike hub conversion kits are good quality for the money, they're more expensive than these cheap pre-built electrics but will outperform them in literally every category, provide more longevity and since you have the option of modifying a kit like a Crystalyte to your needs, you can increase output to 48 or even 72 volts for instance. There's not a lot of difficulty in installing or using them either.
The downside to that is that at a bare minimum you could probably order a rear hub and controller for maybe $350, another $12 for your throttle, and then you'll need a bike, battery and charger.
Mountain bikes make great e-bikes, and are the most common conversion choice. You just need to pick a new pair of non knobby tires and pick up a rack for the batteries. Be aware that many full suspension bikes require either lighter batteries or custom built packs, because you can't use a heavy duty rear rack in most cases. Either way, that'll cost you.
PunkMartyr
10-04-07, 11:35 PM
Reading a review on the bike I came across this in reference to the battery:
"sealed lead acid battery life is significantly reduced when the battery is discharged more than 80%. "
Is that about right? I need to make an effort not to discharge the battery all the way? Im thinking I will roll with this model just based on the reviews I am seeing. I can't see going E-BIKE for less than $500 any other route.
chicbicyclist
10-05-07, 01:35 AM
How long far of a range do you plan on using your ebike anyway? Most people will seldom, if ever, go past that 80% threshold.
If you're gonna travel less than 18 miles round trip on flat land, I wouldn't worry about it provided you help it along by pedaling. If you're THAT worried, just bring along your charger and charge it at the place you're going to.
If you already have a seprate bike, you can get a great ebike kit for about $500. I got mine for about $300 last year from Wilderness Energy from their bargain bin(including the battery). I'm not sure how much they cost now since SLAs seems to have risen in prices :s
The bike, btw, was $250. Kona Smoke, I highly recommend this bike for ebiking application - it's cromoly steel, it's cheap and has a comfortable geometry.
I agree with abneycat, avoid those cheap "complete" kits. Get yourself a cheap 36 volt hub motor kit instead :p
Abneycat
10-05-07, 01:39 AM
Well, making sure you don't totally bomb the battery flat is a good thing. Other things about SLA are:
It will develop sulfur if you use it and don't leave it charged, killing the battery faster. So when its not in use, you should charge it when you can right away.
Its often hard to really even discharge them all the way even if you wanted to. SLA gradually loses output as your power goes down, so you'll start to slow down and lose performance quite noticeably before your pack goes out.
These batteries also don't work well in cold conditions.
$500 sounds about right for minimum entry on a Wilderness Electric or a Crystalyte if you already had a bike.
If you did already have a bike and were able to put out the extra money, i'd personally suggest that. The quality, reliability and adaptability of these kits are proven. They'll outperform, outlast, and you can pick/replace/upgrade everything as you see fit without fuss down the road, if you break something accidentally or happen to want a higher voltage or lighter battery, etc.
Still, if you're set on just wanting a basic finished bike, i'd suggest seeing if there's any way you can try out the product personally first, along with some other ones. The big reason for suggesting a kit is that they're good product, whereas a lot of these basic e-bikes aren't great stuff, although a small number of them are okay.
pengyou
10-05-07, 05:52 AM
Some thoughts:
1. Yes, the SLA batteries are not a very dependable source of constant power. I have a 250 watt/48 volt bike I bought in China for about $200. It is basic transportation but when the battery gets to about 50% top speed (18 mph to about 14 mph) and acceleration is cut noticeably as well.
2. You say you want to go 15 miles to, tootle around and then, I am assuming, you want to go home as well. If this is one trip you need a bike that has a range of at least 35 miles. Most of the cheapie bikes I have seen won't get near that. The kits won't go that far either on one battery pack but most of them are designed with the ability to add another battery pack or two to the original set up so you don't have to worry about hacking your ebike up.
3. What do your local laws say about ebikes? Most places would say that a 450 watt bike is a motorcycle or motorized cycle, not a bike, and will have different laws re: riding, licensing, etc.
4. Most of the premade ebikes do not allow you to pedal at significant speeds, or at least comfortably. Many of them have 22 or 24" wheels which would not allow many people to stretch out their legs to get the maximum power out of a cycle.
5. Range is a funny thing to guesstimate...hahahahahahahahahaha hohohohohohohoh ...just kidding ...funny :) Range is affected by road conditions - a simple construction or accident detour will send you an extra half mile or mile out of your way. A moderate headwind (this is my guesstimate) reduces range about 15-20%. Having to change lanes often to avoid road hazards, slow moving traffic, etc all reduce your range. My friends who have had ebikes for the past year with sla batteries have told me that their range now is about 60% of when the batteries were new. Night riding with lights is going to reduce your range. I cannot put a specific number on these things but from my experience I have found it makes a significant reduction. If you have an internal combustion engine it is no problem - just pop into a nearby gas station and add a gallon or so to your motorbike and you can go on your way. With an ebike you don't have that option. If the bike is light enough - which probably means you have li-ion batteries, or something other than sla, pedaling will not be much of a chore but if you have sla batteries I hope your legs are in good shape and you are not in any hurry to go somewhere.
I guess maybe a bottom line to consider - if you need to be able to go 30 miles on a charge make sure your bike can go 50. Also, if you are going to make ebiking a necessary part of your life it may be worth while going for something with more longevity than sla's. They have 200-300 charges and then you have to replace them.
Abneycat
10-05-07, 10:57 AM
Also, if you are going to make ebiking a necessary part of your life it may be worth while going for something with more longevity than sla's. They have 200-300 charges and then you have to replace them.
I can attest to that. They're the cheapest option and deliver their value, but you get what you pay for. They will lose overall range as they age, they're heavy, and the necessity to charge them right away after use can be annoying.
NiMH can be a good choice for people who have high range, lower budgets and don't enjoy immediate recharging. The weight is lower than SLA, price is lower than lithium, and they're best used for someone who tends to have long hauls which nearly or completely drain the pack. They'll also stay in top shape *much* longer, making them ultimately, about the same price, simply because you don't have to buy a new pack nearly as often to stay in good capacity.
I'm personally a fan of Lithium, as the weight ratio is tops and you actually get a lot more range and performance out of a "same capacity" pack, but the price is probably way over what you're looking for.
mike-on-da-bike
10-17-07, 05:03 AM
forget the ezip bike i have it thats a bit too slow and it dont like any hills thats why its so cheap,i am changing my ezip to a hub setup,will put the toy currie setup on a small billycart or scooter the curry setup isnt for serious riding i dont think its more of a novelty thing.
mike-on-da-bike
10-17-07, 05:05 AM
currie also have on theor website the ezip trails is a 450 watt,but if you buy the same bike in australia they dont tell you its only going to be 250 watts.
Abneycat
10-17-07, 11:09 AM
currie also have on theor website the ezip trails is a 450 watt,but if you buy the same bike in australia they dont tell you its only going to be 250 watts.
Well, its expected that they'll enforce the local regulations which are 250w in Australia, thats more to do with local regulations than anything the business controls: but i've found that varies from place to place.
Here in Alberta for instance, the limit on power is 750 watts. Here frame mount motors aren't popular due to the weather, and for the most part the WE/BionX/Crystalyte x4's will all stay pretty legal, but the x5's can go *way* over that limit, and they're not regulated at all. In fact, the only regulation on ebikes here is "on paper".
I went up to a pair of police officers once who were doing speed enforcement along a popular road for speeding, and asked them about speed/watt regulations on an ebike. They don't care as long as you're not speeding down bike paths, and you're not exceeding the road speed limit. I guess it all depends on how common e-bikes are in your local area though, because here i've only ever seen e-bikes at power in motion, and there's one other e-bike user on campus. Thats about it.