Electric Bikes - Kilowatt Bikes 70% off, what do you know about them?

I just saw on the Clymb today that they have Kilowatt bikes for 70% from now until like Thursday. That is a pretty amazing deal but I am not super familiar with the brand. Does anyone have any familiarity with them? I am looking specifically at Bamboo Electric.

<edit--url redacted by moderator>
Their site is by invite only... You can get by that by using this link from their FB page.

<edit--url redacted by moderator>

(You can invite people via a personal link as well and get credits when you buy something but I didn't want to come in here posting a link that I get credit for... Didn't think it would be cool. )

POLYMER BATTERY is not long lasting battery, longer lasting than LeadAcid but not as liong as LiIron Phosphate.
250W motor for so much money?
MC

Thanks MC... Yeah I have been reading up on the batteries and think that is my debate around it. But a $3600 bike for $999.99 feels like a good value. I need to try and do comparisons on other lines with comparable models.

Thanks MC... Yeah I have been reading up on the batteries and think that is my debate around it. But a $3600 bike for $999.99 feels like a good value. I need to try and do comparisons on other lines with comparable models.


so these are usuaully sold for $3600 and they now are selling them for $999 , and most likely STILL making money on them. Talk about markup ! Even if they were selling them for $500, it wouldnt work for me because a 250 watt motor is way underpowered for my needs.

***moderators note***

Those links were pretty close to being spam since the site pays people to join their "club". And what is up with the "invite only" thing? Also those are not bamboo bikes; those are carbon frames that have had their top tube cut and replaced with a piece of bamboo.

***moderators note***

Those links were pretty close to being spam since the site pays people to join their "club". And what is up with the "invite only" thing? Also those are not bamboo bikes; those are carbon frames that have had their top tube cut and replaced with a piece of bamboo.

Yeah that is why I didn't post a link with my own invite code. (I don't get anything by using that link... I would feel scummy trying to make money when I was looking for opinion) I grabbed that link off of their Facebook page. Otherwise you guys wouldn't be able to sign in and see price.

As far as the whole "club" thing... I guess it is like Gilt Groupe and all the other "private" sale sites out there... There are a few hundred. The Clymb is the first one I have been in since I am not into high fashion or anything.

Right on and no worries.

I don't know that I would consider that bike though. They don't give a lot of info on what's on it save the internal gear hub (which is a good one). The added bamboo does make me circumspect. It looks like they bought a bunch of Chinese carbon frames and cut them up just to add some bamboo for sales reasons. Google, Calfee or Brano Meres to see how a real bamboo bike is constructed (I've made several bamboo frames as well).
And cutting the price by 2/3s is a little too good to be true.

I looked these up at their website and the only ones listed there have BionX kits on them. The ones on Clymb have 250w front hubs and are most likely EPAC compliant. It is funny though that on the Clymb offering there the female cruiser offered in blue at least per the picture retains the BionX kit and is offered for 699.98 which would be a screaming deal because those kits list for about $1800:thumb:


193633

(Picture copied off the Clymb offering)

That aside for Portland a 250w 24v system will not get you much satisfaction. The Oregon wattage limit is 1000w and although limited to 20 mph it is all about how fast you can get to 20 and what percentage of grade you can maintain it that matters and more watts and volts will do that. So look for at least a 500w/36v system but 1000w/48v is really good and what I run in my pusher trailer down here on the coast.

Thanks for all the feedback, I really appreciate it. I will Google those other brands to check them out.

I've got some reading to do tonight.

I was looking at The Clymb yesterday, too. Since I couldn't find very much useful info on the website - and because kilowattbikes.com & theclymb.com had some apparently conflicting data, I called kilowatt bikes this morning and spoke to Richard. He seems to be the man with all of the information. I am specifically interested in the commuter 700c and this is what I learned:

The company has switched to the Bionix system because it is selling a lot of bikes for municipal use and they spec'd rear-wheel drive. The bike on theclymb.com is a protanium front drive system that has been in use in Europe for a while. It is in fact the 250 watt/29V system listed in the "Details" box of the clymb's description, not the 350/36 listed on the kilowatt bikes website. However, he did say that they will continue to support the protanium system in the future, so warranty support/maintenance is not expected to be an issue.

Richard said 18-20 mph is as much as you can get out of the system - if you exceed 20 mph, the motor stops helping. He said it was designed this way because 20 mph is the limit for most US bike lanes.

If anyone has additional concerns or suggestions, I'd like to hear them.

There is not a lot of info about these bikes on the web, but here is the contact info I found if you have more questions:


3 3 6 L e w i s S t r e e t # 3
K e t c h u m , I D 8 3 3 4 0
p : ( 2 0 8 ) 7 2 5 - 4 0 0 0
f : ( 2 0 8 ) 7 2 5 - 4 0 0 2
e m a i l : s a l e s @ k i l o w a t t b i k e s . c o m

Sounds about right for a 250 watt system. Is that what you want? I've heard there is 200 million chinese ebikes so there is going to be many choices available. I'll try to help you. I don't sell anything so I have nothing to gain. I'm awaiting a battery for my kit I added to a bike and spent 3 months in research.

The Protanium system is used by lots of companies. They are well regarded and found on bikes in the $2k range so the Clymb deal is not too bad if you are happy enough being able to go 20 mph on flat ground with a tail wind which most cyclists can achieve anyway. But if you want assist for beating hills and headwinds you would be better off as I indicated before going with more volts and watts.

Mabman,

Your experience suggests that 250w isn't enough to flatten out the hills? I live in Reno and would just like to get to work with less sweating - do you think 350w/36v would be enough for that purpose? The hills are significant, but not killer. I'm tempted by the 250 because the price is so reasonable, but if you don't think it's worthwhile perhaps I'll wait. I don't have much experience with this stuff.

Thanks.

350w/36v will certainly be better but one of the problems that e bikes face is that there are so many variables involved in regards to those that could potentially benefit from their use. I don't have any formula for universal success but would suggest that if you can find any way to try out an e bike in your habitat before buying one that will give you your best barometer for your needs.

I do know that my personal experience has led me to have as much power on tap as legally allowed because it makes the most sense for my needs which encompasses short steep terrain that I like having the ability to get over in good time. I also have found being able to launch from a standstill quickly enabling me to do stop and goe's very efficiently is of benefit. I also pedal 95% of the time because I like the exercise and the extra range it gets out of my battery. But I don't have to pedal in the sweat zone unless I want to.

I went with a 1000 watt kit. I don't have to use all of it but it's there if I need it.