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Need a reliable electric bike for daily commute to work! upto $4000 budget. advice?

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Need a reliable electric bike for daily commute to work! upto $4000 budget. advice?

Old 11-18-15, 09:26 AM
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I have a 48 volt 350 watt Bionx. I love it. If I were you I would find a good bicycle you are comfortable with and have the Bionx installed. You can find a good enough bike for $1,500 and the Bionx is round $2000.
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Old 11-18-15, 11:49 AM
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I totally disagree with this one about designing and building your e-bike from scratch. The individual parts of a bike cost nearly three times what buying a ready made will. If money is no object sure.

I have played with the Raleigh mid drives and love them. The Hai Bikes are built by Accell also and are well designed.

There are a lot of e-bikes out there, they are not selling as fast as maybe the manufacturers hoped. I would bet there are significant deals out there. I would stick with the big brand names as parts will be easier to get. I would buy an extra battery right from the start.
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Old 11-18-15, 11:57 AM
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The Accell group is one of the largest producers of e-bikes in Europe also. They own Raleigh, Haibike, Atala, Batavus, Currie. They have a lot of experience and a great parts department at both Raleigh and Currie.
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Old 11-19-15, 12:39 AM
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I have a Faraday Porteur S.

https://www.faradaybikes.com/product/porteur-s/

It's wonderful: you order it, a bike shop assembles it, you ride it: life is good. Easier than a kit, and just a joy to ride. The fact that it's gorgeous is just an extra.
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Old 11-20-15, 07:03 AM
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Originally Posted by Rick Imby
I totally disagree with this one about designing and building your e-bike from scratch. The individual parts of a bike cost nearly three times what buying a ready made will. If money is no object sure.

I have played with the Raleigh mid drives and love them. The Hai Bikes are built by Accell also and are well designed.

There are a lot of e-bikes out there, they are not selling as fast as maybe the manufacturers hoped. I would bet there are significant deals out there. I would stick with the big brand names as parts will be easier to get. I would buy an extra battery right from the start.
Yes, starting with a bare frame and selecting each individual part is punishly expensive, very time consuming (3-12 months) and nearly impossible. This is only for someone who has a high budget and unlimited patience.

Buying from a dealer and keeping the ebike more or less stock is smooth sailing in comparison. More riding time=win.

Last edited by IndustrialEBike; 11-26-15 at 10:55 PM. Reason: Update info
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Old 11-20-15, 09:14 AM
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Originally Posted by hbok@mac.com
I have a Faraday Porteur S.

https://www.faradaybikes.com/product/porteur-s/

It's wonderful: you order it, a bike shop assembles it, you ride it: life is good. Easier than a kit, and just a joy to ride. The fact that it's gorgeous is just an extra.
The Faraday Porteur S is a fantastic ride, but it lacks one feature quite a few people need. The battery is non-removable for charging off the bike. This is a problem, as storing a bike in a garage, etc, exposes the battery to extreme temperatures. Constant hot/cold drastically reduces the life and performance of the bikes battery. If the op is going to keep the bike indoors when rot riding, then this is a non-issue.
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Old 02-28-16, 12:49 AM
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Originally Posted by Rick Imby
I totally disagree with this one about designing and building your e-bike from scratch. The individual parts of a bike cost nearly three times what buying a ready made will. If money is no object sure.

I have played with the Raleigh mid drives and love them. The Hai Bikes are built by Accell also and are well designed.

There are a lot of e-bikes out there, they are not selling as fast as maybe the manufacturers hoped. I would bet there are significant deals out there. I would stick with the big brand names as parts will be easier to get. I would buy an extra battery right from the start.
I disagree about building your own bike as being more expensive then the Prefabricated solutions. You can build a system that leaves the premades in the dust for less.
example
48v 15ah Calibike.com $450.00
1000 Watt Rear Wheel Conversion Kit $260.00
or if you want name brand then
Magic Pie Hub Motor Kit Magic Pie V4 Complete Kit E Bike Conversion EBike Kit 1500W 30MPH | eBay

Bicycle - $300.00 Take your choice
Then find a bike mechanic and pay $200.00 -$300.00 for assembly
Total Cost- $1300.00 -$1500.00 or if you are handy then deduct the $300.00 for labor, and this bike will KA almost all the premade bikes. Around 28mph - 30mph no pedaling.

Last edited by tomzgreat; 02-28-16 at 12:53 AM.
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Old 03-03-16, 07:15 PM
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The Battery is very important.
I recommend a minimum 48v 15ah battery.
You need to go mimimum 20 miles so to be safe you'll want 15ah or highe for distance and 48v and higher for speed.

I get 30 miles out of mine pedaling and conserving.
Flat out throttle on max I believe that I get a little over 20 miles but haven't tested it out yet.

I weigh 265Lb and am on a mountain bike with thick tires.

Good luck.
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Old 03-04-16, 07:51 PM
  #34  
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Originally Posted by InTheRain
Congrats on your bionx! I've had mine a few months... I love it! I have the 350 DV. I didn't ever get the throttle installed. Pedal assist level 4 gets me wherever I've needed to go. I also get the feeling that there isn't a lot of love for Bionx in the ebike forums. I guess it's the proprietary nature of the product and the high price. However, it seems to deliver as promised and I haven't had any issues. It's been as simple as "get on and ride" for me. What bike do you have it on? My only regret is not having disc brakes... I'm getting my bike modified now to add tabs for disc brakes.
njt07 & InTheRain, Can't say I've encountered animosity towards BionX systems (not to say it isn't out there) I own a D500, there isn't a lot of coverage of BionX systems here because there isn't really much you can do to modify it--by design. Most of the posters here are more in to building from the ground up. Is one way or the other better? It depends on what you're looking for from an e-bike system. Me personally, I wanted "plug & play". My e-bike replaced my car, I was happy to pay for the reliability. 1500 miles so far and still very happy with my D500, rain & snow haven't been a problem so far. For my trips to the local "big" city which is mostly a flat trip, I get 50 miles of assist there and back. To go to the closer "big town" which is up and over the mountain, it's about 25 miles round trip, I get there and back too with assist. However, those numbers are slowly starting to go up because I'm losing weight and I'm using less assist.
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Old 03-05-16, 11:09 AM
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I own BIONX 350 and no problems so far.
Just like with any Lithium battery do not use all the way until cut off, because it shorten battery life.
My BIONX delivers incredible range bearly sipping Watthours from battery.
It is edrive designed to Western standards, example fail-safe system which cannot be burned, overloaded, overcurrant, overvoltage, overtemperature protections .
Most off all BIONX uses REAL battery SOC meter not a useless 3-light throttle toy like cheap crap.
You dont have all this protections on cheap eBay ebike kits.
Of course BIONX costs money,
you get what you pay for.
You need reliable commuter?
I commute on my ebikes /summer and winter ones/ 300 days in a year in a minimum.
Reliability is number one if you serious ebike commuter.
And reliability = $$
$4000 can buy you reliability on build ,ready to ride ebike, just read reviews,
Stromer if you prefer hub or BOSH/YAMAHA if you prefer middrive.

Last edited by powell; 03-05-16 at 11:18 AM.
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Old 03-05-16, 12:13 PM
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Originally Posted by powell
I own BIONX 350 and no problems so far.
Just like with any Lithium battery do not use all the way until cut off, because it shorten battery life.
My BIONX delivers incredible range bearly sipping Watthours from battery.
What is your average/normal watts/per mile with your system, and at what speed... clear weather ... would be nice to have something from experienced members for comparison against other systems ...
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Old 03-05-16, 12:49 PM
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Originally Posted by BruceMetras
What is your average/normal watts/per mile with your system, and at what speed... clear weather ... would be nice to have something from experienced members for comparison against other systems ...
I'm going to sneak my numbers in here... https://www.bikeforums.net/electric-b...r-numbers.html
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Old 03-05-16, 03:50 PM
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Originally Posted by 350htrr
I'm going to sneak my numbers in here... https://www.bikeforums.net/electric-b...r-numbers.html
Thanks.. can you distill your numbers into average watts/mile at 20mph average speed with you pedaling on relatively flat to rolling hills type of terrain...

I'm trying to get a feel for watts/mile at 20mph - 25mph - 30mph.. without huge grades to negotiate ... or stop and go traffic .. 10/15/20 mile commute.. that type of thing..
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Old 03-05-16, 04:12 PM
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Originally Posted by BruceMetras
Thanks.. can you distill your numbers into average watts/mile at 20mph average speed with you pedaling on relatively flat to rolling hills type of terrain...

I'm trying to get a feel for watts/mile at 20mph - 25mph - 30mph.. without huge grades to negotiate ... or stop and go traffic .. 10/15/20 mile commute.. that type of thing..
If my numbers are done correctly I get about this much worth of assistance out of my BionX, at about 26KM/16MPH, my average ride speed...

6.1 wattHr per mile using level 1.
8.4 wattHr per mile using level 2.
11.3wattHr per mile using level 3.
16.9wattHr per mile using level 4.
21.1wattHr per mile using throttle only.

Last edited by 350htrr; 03-05-16 at 05:28 PM. Reason: add stuff
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Old 03-05-16, 04:57 PM
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Originally Posted by 350htrr
If my numbers are done correctly I get about this much worth of assistance out of my BionX,

6.1 wattHr per mile using level 1.
8.4 wattHr per mile using level 2.
11.3wattHr per mile using level 3.
16.9wattHr per mile using level 4.
Thanks again! so from this and your linked data, it looks like at approximately 20mph, you're using close to 17 wattHr/mile pedaling .. that's helpful ..
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Old 03-05-16, 05:26 PM
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Originally Posted by BruceMetras
Thanks again! so from this and your linked data, it looks like at approximately 20mph, you're using close to 17 wattHr/mile pedaling .. that's helpful ..
Oh, I guess I should have said that is my average ride speed, about 26Km/16MPH Sorry.
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Old 03-21-16, 01:52 PM
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Originally Posted by tomzgreat
I disagree about building your own bike as being more expensive then the Prefabricated solutions. You can build a system that leaves the premades in the dust for less.
example
48v 15ah Calibike.com $450.00
1000 Watt Rear Wheel Conversion Kit $260.00
or if you want name brand then
Magic Pie Hub Motor Kit Magic Pie V4 Complete Kit E Bike Conversion EBike Kit 1500W 30MPH | eBay

Bicycle - $300.00 Take your choice
Then find a bike mechanic and pay $200.00 -$300.00 for assembly
Total Cost- $1300.00 -$1500.00 or if you are handy then deduct the $300.00 for labor, and this bike will KA almost all the premade bikes. Around 28mph - 30mph no pedaling.

Obviously you have never used long term a good 3k crank mounted system....

Ok one of the main advantages to the crank located motor is it gets to use the bicycle gearing, like the rider does. Electric motors have a fairly narrow rpm power band like humans. Also just starting the motor from zero rpm takes a lot of power. Getting the rider to start the movement is a huge battery energy saving. If you ride a hub model and go to crank power you will be amazed at the benefits.

If you are just out for speed that is one thing, if you want a quality piece of equipment that will last and work well that is a totally different story.
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