Electric Bikes - Hello....I'm New to E-biking!!!

Hi, my name is Shawn and I'm from Buffalo NY. Last Summer, I rode my Mt. bike over 200 miles due to the $4.50 it was for a gallon of gas here. I found that I really enjoyed biking but didn't care too much for headwinds and pulling moderate to big hills. Well, one day last summer, a guy Flew past me with a Phoenix motor on his bike and I stopped briefly to ask him some questions. I been kicking around the idea of getting one ever since.

So I began looking into Ebikes. All I gotta say is that i can't believe I don't see more people with these in my area.

I have been Looking in to the Amped Bikes 36 volt 500 watt starter kit with the 3 SLA batteries just to get my feet wet in Ebiking. Seems like a good value for a complete ready to go kit.

Does anyone here have one of these and can I get your feed back about the kit? Quality, Durability, dependability, Actual Maximum MPH at full throttle, How long does the Charge last?

I'm excited that I found this forum and I hope to convert my Mt. Bike to an Ebike by March.

Thanx
Shawn

I believe Amped Bikes sells "Golden Motor" kits (that is, they use Golden Motor parts and components). I don't have any personal experience with these kits, but I've heard other board members speak negatively about Golden Motor and their lower quality components.

It seems like most board members prefer the Crystalyte Kits (ie: Phoenix, Road Runner, etc.). Another popular one is Wilderness Energy (although many say these kits are "cheap"). We offer several electric bike kits (http://www.eco-wheelz.com/catalog/electric-bike-kits-c-3_11.php), including Crystalyte. You might also consider a complete e-bike model instead.

Unfortunately, I don't know much about the Amped kits...

I beleive amped sells " Nine Continents " motors, not the same as Golden Motor.

Ebikes.ca sells that motor with a Crystalyte controller, and a power meter ( Cycle Analyst ).

Alot of it comes down to the choice of battery, how far do you need to go on average and max ?

Up to 30km range ( 20 miles ) is average for most ebikes if you drain the battery flat, SLA is ok for getting your feet wet but it's heavy.. like 30 lbs if you go with 12ah ( don't get 7ah SLA's.. get the 12's minimum ).

I'm in NB, Canada. Wind is what initially got me into ebikes, not many hills around here but plenty of " Stop you dead in your tracks .. get off and walk " type winds.. Not a problem anymore ! :D

Cool! Yea, having tried eBiking I can really see the allure.

I believe Amped Bikes sells "Golden Motor" kits (that is, they use Golden Motor parts and components). I don't have any personal experience with these kits, but I've heard other board members speak negatively about Golden Motor and their lower quality components.

It seems like most board members prefer the Crystalyte Kits (ie: Phoenix, Road Runner, etc.). Another popular one is Wilderness Energy (although many say these kits are "cheap"). We offer several electric bike kits (http://www.eco-wheelz.com/catalog/electric-bike-kits-c-3_11.php), including Crystalyte. You might also consider a complete e-bike model instead.

Unfortunately, I don't know much about the Amped kits...

I checked your site out and I'm really interested in your kit for $319.00. I'm still doing some reasearch but I'm thinking that I will be buying from you in march.

Really quick, what is the difference between the Crystalite Sparrow and the $319 Ebike kit? What impact does the Wattage of the motor have on the performance of the kit?


Thanx!!!!

Really quick, what is the difference between the Crystalite Sparrow and the $319 Ebike kit? What impact does the Wattage of the motor have on the performance of the kit?


The main difference between these 2 kits is that the Sparrow uses a "brushed" hub motor - while the Ebike Kit uses a "brushless" hub motor. A "brushless" motor is virtually maintenance free and will last much longer than a cheaper, heavier "brushed" motor -- advantage to the Ebike Kit. But the Sparrow is a bit more powerful and will produce more torque. So it really boils down to a choice between extra power and torque vs. a higher quality, longer lasting motor...

Brushless motors are also more efficient, and will produce longer range.

Wilderness kits have acceptable quality from my experience, but do not come out of the box nearly as customizable as Crystalyte, and you need to make / buy conversion wires to use the Crystalyte equipment. These are available from a couple of e-bike specialists out there.

Thus, it comes down to what you like. Hobbyists, customization fiends and those seeking lots of different high powered options will prefer Crystalyte. If you are content to enjoy your electric bicycle in a fairly standard configuration, Wilderness is just fine! It can also be adapted later on to use other controllers if you like, but its usually easiest and cheapest to just have what you need to begin with.

One of the things that makes Crystalyte so popular is that it is extremely versatile. Crystalyte motors will handle a wide range of voltages, there are many controllers and throttles to choose from, and accessories / secondary components are both numerous and continually improved.

For some examples of things available for Crystalyte and WE, Itselectric / Power in motion is an excellent resource. There is a lot of information available on their website, along with some more examples of related products:

http://us.itselectric.ca/Products_for_the_US_s/2.htm

I have personally dealt with Ken Cheung (the owner) of Power in motion quite regularly, as his bike shop is across the hall from mine, I own one of his conversion kits and batteries, and one of my tenants works for him. He's quite good on support, extremely knowledgeable, and innovating quite a bit on the product. He would be a good resource to go to for building a system.

The new WE kit (2008 or later), which is sensorless is actually quite good and one of the faster Mid-grade kits out there.

All hub kits need some work out of the box (especially if you buy from Ebay). If you buy from Ebike vendor, then they will most likely add some value like trueing the wheel, make sure connectors match, etc. Ask all these questions before you buy, especially trueing the wheel.

Here are some indepth reviews,

Wilderness - http://endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=8361
Amped bike - http://endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=5407
BMC vs Crystalyte - http://endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=7131

Sorry for external links, I love this board but for certain things, you have visit different and more targeted forum.