I seriously considered pulling the trigger and pre-ordering a Faraday electric bike.
Things I liked:
- The look.
- Batteries hidden in the frame.
- Pedal assist only; no throttle.
Things I didn't like:
- If Faraday doesn't make it (sorry Faraday, but highly likely) then a few years down the road you'll be left with a $4000 used-to-be electric bike for which you can't find replacement batteries.
- The 16-mile range of the bike. Seriously? I have a 16-mile r/t commute everyday. I'd be worrying every day if I was going to make it.
- The look. After contacting Faraday, I found out much of what appealed to me on the prototype was not going to be transferred to the production bike. Really???
So I decided to build my own. I bought an inexpensive Peugeot U-O8 and upgraded/added these components:
- VO Montmartre handlebars
- Dia-Compe onverse brake levers
- Kool-Stop dual-compound brake pads
- VO sealed-cartridge bottom bracket
- VO porteur rack
- Temple bell
- Schwalbe w/w tires
- VO fenders
- Some no-name cheap 42T crank off eBay
I really liked the bags from Laplander, but they said they're on hiatus and not currently selling or making anything, so I made my own porteur bag from canvas bought for $1.99/yard at the discount fabric store and then waxed it myself.
I settled on a Bionx SL 350 HT RR XL. The Peugeot was 120mm at the rear dropouts so I manufacture a wood clamp that fit over the brake bridge and the seat stays then had the frame professionally spread to 135mm to accommodate the Bionx. I also bought 13ga butted spokes from Peter White and relaced the Bionx hub onto my Peugeot's 27" Rigida rim.
I put everything together this weekend and tooled around town a little yesterday. I left the bike as pedal-assist only; no throttle. This morning I commuted into work in pea-soup fog. Wow! What a blast. I still worked to get to work, but instead of coming in 14-15 mph, it was 20 mph the whole way. I love the feeling of acceleration off the line at red lights. I really get why you guys find this so much fun.
