Electric Bikes - Making up my mind...

I'd love to have an electric bike so this winter I'll be saving my pennies. My question is this: Which is a smarter move...buy a complete electric bike that's ready to go...or...look for a cheap bike to buy and convert it to electric? Since I'm a tight wad...which is the most economical?

I already have a commuter bike and I think it would not easily convert...here it is http://www.performancebike.com/shop/profile.cfm?SKU=24141&estore_ID=1366

What do you guys think?

Thanks!

Since you already have a bike (and if you don't have room or need another frame) then maybe just go for the Ampbikes hub motor in a 700C wheel and batteries:

http://ampedbikes.com/availableproducts/DSCI0006.JPG http://ampedbikes.com/availableproducts/DSCI0008.JPG

http://ampedbikes.com/buynow.html


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This is a really good deal on a complete full-suspension e-bike:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=110307941218&ssPageName=ADME:L:LCA:US:1123

Thanks for your responses...I'm going to save a few dollars this winter and buy an e-bike. So I do have alittle time yet to make up my mind.

Since the forks on my commuter bike aren't wide enough for a kit and I'm not sure if alum. alloy would take the torq created by the motor...I'll just save my pennies and wait.

I've heard that a simple e-bike with a lead battery may be the most economical way to go. True?

Thanks!

I've heard that a simple e-bike with a lead battery may be the most economical way to go. True?

Thanks!

I'm pretty sure that's the cheapest way, and it's definitely worth considering. For many needs, the simple e-bike works quite well.

The drawbacks are 1) a much heavier bike, which is pretty impractical without using the motor and 2) shorter range unless you weigh yourself down with additional batteries 2) Many models are limited to 10-15 mph speed 3) I think (and I may be corrected on this) that the lead acid batteries are more of a pain when it comes to charging. (You can't partially charge them just to get some extra juice in a pinch.) and 4) Some of the cheap e-bikes have limited options (at least for me). You can't just pedal without the motor, and you can't go on electric power alone.

Advantages are 1) Cheaper setup. Less drama if something gets damaged or stolen. 2) Cheaper batteries 3) Probably the best solution for short commutes (5 miles or less)

How far will you be commuting? What are your expectations for speed, convenience, etc? Do you have a good place to stash the bike at work/school where it won't get stolen? Those factors will have an impact on whether you want to go high or low end.

How far will you be commuting? What are your expectations for speed, convenience, etc? Do you have a good place to stash the bike at work/school where it won't get stolen? Those factors will have an impact on whether you want to go high or low end.

recumelectric,

Thanks for your input.

I'm commuting 10 miles round trip. As far as speed...I don't know. Right now it takes me about 25 min. to get to work. No problem about the bike being safe. I can even charge it there if I need to. I've been told the lead battery may last for 150 charges. True?

recumelectric,

Thanks for your input.

I'm commuting 10 miles round trip. As far as speed...I don't know. Right now it takes me about 25 min. to get to work. No problem about the bike being safe. I can even charge it there if I need to. I've been told the lead battery may last for 150 charges. True?

5 miles each way is pretty do-able on the cheaper e-bike. Just make sure to check the specs on the model you buy, so you know exactly how far it can go between charging. My guess is that you'll be able to go round trip and charge it at home.

If you're going 5 miles in 25 minutes, I'm estimating that you average 12mph, including stops. So you're probably going a bit faster when in motion. The cheaper e-bike will get you up to 15 mph with minimal effort. So the main difference for you will be effort level and not speed. Are you looking to increase speed or lower effort or both?

I don't know how many charges you will get from the lead battery. I'm still learning about the lithium-ion one I have. Maybe someone else here with experience can help?

The sealed lead acid (SLA) battery doesn't like to sit around even partially discharged. So if possible, charge it at work to increase its life span. My 36volt SLA battery lasted almost a year. It now has much less range so I am going to recycle it and I have replaced it with LiFePO.

The sealed lead acid (SLA) battery doesn't like to sit around even partially discharged. So if possible, charge it at work to increase its life span. My 36volt SLA battery lasted almost a year. It now has much less range so I am going to recycle it and I have replaced it with LiFePO.

Since I'm new to this let me ask some simple questions OK? Can any type of battery be used with any motor? Say I start with a SLA can I change to a LiFePo or a Li-Ion later? Are all the connections universal?

Since I'm new to this let me ask some simple questions OK? Can any type of battery be used with any motor? Say I start with a SLA can I change to a LiFePo or a Li-Ion later? Are all the connections universal?

So long as you avoid buying a motor which uses proprietary batteries (like BionX), then yes. You can start with SLA and move on to different types as you please. Electric bicycle kits in particular, are *very* customizable. With Crystalyte for instance, you can purchase the motor, pick any chemistry you like, switch out throttles, voltages, add pedal assist sensors, all sorts of features as you go.

Unless the manufacturers have intentionally made proprietary components, which not many have, changing things around is easy.

P.S. I'm not sure if you were intending on riding your electric bicycle in winter or not. Lead batteries can have difficulty in winter situations, as they suffer from voltage sag in the cold.

I'd love to have an electric bike so this winter I'll be saving my pennies.

Why not buy one tomorrow......start using it the day after tomorrow....

And, this winter you can be saving dollars instead of pennies.

Why not buy one tomorrow......start using it the day after tomorrow....

And, this winter you can be saving dollars instead of pennies.

Several reasons: I don't have the cash for one and I refuse to put it on my visa. I'm trying to pay cash for everything as to reduce and eliminate most of my debt. I still want to do some more learning about batteries and everything else that goes along with an e-bike.

Another question is 10Ah. Is that amps/hour? Is a higher Ah better? How does it relate to volts from the battery?

10 Ah. Yes that is Amp hours. It's a measure of battery capacity.

for example, if a motor consumes 1 Amp per hour, then a 10 Ah battery would last approximately 10 hours.

A more realistic consumption for your motor is probably around 17 amps, so a 10Ah battery would only provide about 38 minutes of operating time. However, depending on how you use that 38 minutes, you might get 1 hour of riding, 2 hours of riding, or ofcourse just 38 minutes of riding.

With my Izip, I use 24Ahr worth of batteries ( 2 packs instead of 1). I'm 380lbs, and I my trip to work is about 22kms ( 55 minutes). During this time, I'm pedaling about 75% of the time AND running the motor 100% of the time...

When I get to work, it takes my 2Amp charger about 8 hours to charge the batteries, so I'm estimating that my actually power consumption was in the neighborhood of about 16 Ah.

Notice that I haven't once mentioned voltage in this post. I hope this helps.

Best of wishes to you!
Regards, Tyler

Several reasons: I don't have the cash for one and I refuse to put it on my visa. I'm trying to pay cash for everything as to reduce and eliminate most of my debt. I still want to do some more learning about batteries and everything else that goes along with an e-bike.



:thumb: to both goals!

Regarding battery capacity, AH, I went with a 20AH pack for powering my Sun recumbent mid-drive system. That pack weighs in at 15 lbs. I have yet to go on any single ride longer than 15 miles or so and usually use 5AH or less of the capacity. In retrospect, a 10AH pack would be enough and would save weight although I'm not sure it would be a 50% savings. It would also cost less, again not 50% less.

I will probably buy a smaller pack for my "lunch runs" etc. 15 lbs doesn't sound like much until you add it to a bike that only weighs 35 lbs.

There's a guy on YouTube that shows how he utilized DeWalt 36V tool batteries on his eBike. It's cool in a way 'cause if he's just running to the store 2 or 3 batteries may be enough, for longer rides he just snaps in more batteries. Not meaning to suggest here that using 36V DeWalt batteries is cheap or easy to do.

The problem for someone starting out is getting a good idea of how much battery they need. I suppose you could make an assumption like 10AH (probably a good starting point), make sure it's a well known "commodity" battery like a Ping, then if it turns out to be insufficient, sell it on eBay.

Consider too that AH only tells part of the story, if the battery uses Battery Management System (BMS), it may cut power from the pack if current in excess of rated is reached. So you need to try and match the controller maximum continuous current draw to that of the battery pack otherwise you will fnd yourself doing a lot of pedaling :(

I think mislexi illustrates quite well the need for us to relax a bit and realize that this process is still a learning process....we won't find the ultimate ebike in the first shopping trip.

...Consider too that AH only tells part of the story, if the battery uses Battery Management System (BMS), it may cut power from the pack if current in excess of rated is reached. So you need to try and match the controller maximum continuous current draw to that of the battery pack otherwise you will fnd yourself doing a lot of pedaling :(

That something I really don't want to do...my left hip started hurting this last summer...I'm over 50 now so that may be part of the prob. :)

I think this may be a good bike to start saving for... http://www.scootersnbikes.com/cs-220b.html is this price to high for the cs220b? I realize it's not a lead battery but I've heard that Li-Ion does a pretty good job. True?

Mike, looks like a pretty good price, and an nice package, too.

Rgds
Tyler

PS I'd consider the woman's frame if you want a family friendly bike. I take mine out camping, and my wife is borrowing it steady.