Originally Posted by velonomad
I know a few people over the years who have tried some of these kits, if they work they don't last that long and parts can be tough to find since most of the dealers are fly-by-nights who don't have a long term interest in the product...
There are a couple places that have been selling the Chinese kits for a long time. Some of the parts don't last long, but then, replacement parts don't cost a lot either.
...For lazy days you are better off with a moped. With a little patience you can find good used mopeds under $500.
A lot of this is on my web pages, but just to hit a few high points:
--
BEFORE you spend money for one of these kits, you should
really find out the legal status of them in your locale (state). Different states have different laws on what is required to use them on the street, or if they can even legally be used on the street
at all. And bicycle path use is another whole separate question as well.
--Another point I make on my site is that a bicycle used at ~30 mph all the time will get pounded a LOT. I normally cruise at ~15 mph and many roads that were reasonably smooth at that speed were pretty jarring at twice as fast. Most people who ride motorized bicycles a lot use suspended MTB's or beach-cruisers, so they can run huge balloon tires for shock absorption. You could put one of these kits on your 700c x 23mm road bike, but unless you're track riding, you're gonna be fixing a LOT of pinch-flats. If you expect to use a motorized bike a lot at full-speed, then you
really want a bike that can run the fattest tires you can find.
Originally Posted by Dr.Deltron
...I have recently set-up a couple of friends bikes with a StokeMonkey motor attached to an XtraCycle.... The motor is electric so you can continue using your current 0 emission handle!
A lot of people buy the electric drives for their ease of use (pushbutton power) and their silent operation (running "stealthy" and not bothering with any sorts of licensing or use-restriction issues) but the electrics can be deceiving in three ways:
---The
first & s
econd ways are that electric motors have a
lot of torque from a standstill, but their batteries run out of power relatively quickly when pushed hard for longer periods. When someone test-rides one up and down the street in front of the bike shop, they get to feel the awesome low-speed torque, but they don't ride it far enough to see how quickly the batteries will discharge under hard use. If you look at electric-bike online forums,
by far the main question asked is how to get more endurance out of these setups. It doesn't matter if people buy the cheap setups or the expensive ones; they ALL end up wishing the batteries would last longer.
---The
third way is that many people just assume that electrics are cheaper to operate, and that they are "better for the environment" because they don't have a stinky exhaust pipe--but if you use an electric bicycle/vehicle a lot, their cost-per-mile can actually be several times higher than what a comparable 4-cycle gasoline engine would cost after you factor in regular battery replacement, and it is
very debateable if their ecological impact is lower than a 4-cycle gasoline engine overall. One of the pages I have up goes into this in detail.
If you want an electric setup then lay your money down and get one--but don't buy one because you think you're saving the planet. After all is considered, compared to a gasoline setup, you may not be doing Gaia any favors.
~