I have gone e-bike!
 

Did the conversion on my touring bike this weekend. Went with a Bionx conversion kit. The bike rides like a dream. It's pedal assist. It still made me work... but man, we were cookin'!!! There was an earlier thread about taking a pull from an e-bike... you're welcome to hop on back. The pedal assist cuts out at 20 mph... I'm sure there are commuters that ride that speed. However, 20 mph uphill may be a different story. It's not going to be a problem for the bionx.

I'll still be riding my carbon fiber bike as a commuter on nice dry days. It's still a riot to ride. I'm set. Spring... bring it on!!!

I did the same a couple of years ago. My design makes me work just as hard in ebike mode, but gives me an extra 5 mph top speed (to about 25mph). Most of the time I am happpy to ride a light weight commuter at 20mph, but on days when I am dragging or just in a hurry, the ebike is a great commute option.

You are going to become weak and dependent on an electric motor. :lol: Post a photo or two.

I'm sure you want a photo of the bike... not the "weak and dependent" me. I'll try and get a photo (of the bike) posted soon.

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I didn't expect to like the way it looks, but I do!

Not too bad. Cool that you can retrofit to any bike. Won't be drafting you anytime soon due to location difference.

You are now expected to wear an oversize jacket and assume an upright position, to provide the most tow to the red-faced sufferers behind you who have not received the bionic man upgrade. It is your duty.

Plus a big goofy grin as you pretend to get a workout.

Help! We are all turning into motorcyclists!

Prior to the e-bike, I had plenty of compliments on my technique... "It's like riding behind a backstop."

@ alan s, Surprisingly enough, I still finish my commute with a pretty good sweat... I'm just done 5-10 minutes earlier. I find that I'm riding just as hard, but my speed is significantly faster. With the e-bike, when you stop pedaling the motor stops working. With a direct drive hub motor, when it stops, you feel some pretty significant drag and you slow down much more quickly than you would coasting on a regular bike. It kind of motivates you to keep the pedals moving and apply enough torque that the sensor kicks in for some assist. I did not install the throttle option on the bike... so no pedal, no go. But it's a blast!

Does it come with regenerative braking?

Yes, it goes in to regen mode anytime the front brake is activated. It also has 4 different levels of regen that can be used on long descents (it assists as a brake in that case to aid in deceleration.) I don't believe that the regen function is super efficient. I'm a lot more interested in "going" than "stopping." But yes, the regenerative braking function is there if it's an important selling point for buyers.

That's pretty nice looking setup! How much weight does it add to the bike? What is the maximum speed? You can always choose to pedal!

When you say pedal assist, do you mean the motor kicks in when it thinks it needs to? I rode a neighbor's bakfiets that was like that. There was no button to press, as I remember. When I pedaled and the resistance was above a certain threshold, the motor just started helping. Then it stopped. It was a seamless integration.

The difference between what I had before and with the bionx system is about 14.5 lbs (the battery itself is between 9-10 lbs.) My prior setup was about 34 lbs (fenders, racks, brooks saddle, front hub dynamo, lights, heavier pedals, and some beefy 36 spoke wheels) and was not a lightweight bike by any means. I'm still under 50 lbs now which is slightly better than average for an off-the-shelf e-bike.

Maximum speed is 20 mph with pedal assist. I've been above 27 on a slight downhill... but the motor isn't helping beyond 20 mph.

Pedal assist is exactly as you described it. However, the bionx system and torque sensor are the best that I have ever tried. I don't think of it as having to reach a "threshold" for the motor to kick in. It detects the pressure or torque applied at a very, very low threshold/pressure (about 1/4 through the first pedal stroke.) It's not ... BAM! motor is cranked up and jerking you down the trail type of "kick-in"... the transition is very smooth, natural, and quiet (I mean silent... you don't hear a motor.) The bionx system does come with a throttle, however, I chose not to have that installed (mostly for aesthetic reasons) and I can't say that I would use it if it were on the bike (seems to be a common statement by most bionx users after they have been riding it for a little while.) Yes, bionx is seamless... much more so than the many other systems that I tested. The Bosch center drive is well integrated and responsive, but you do hear the motor "whirring" a bit on the bosch. I think that the silence of the bionx system is what has been the most unexpected surprise to me. It's fabulous with a steel touring frame, longer wheel base, and the new schwalbe marathon plus tires are smoooottthhhh.

Impressive.

Was this a kit you could install yourself?

that is similar to my experience. I wanted to add 5mph to my top speed, so that is what I did
20mph normal road bike
25mph e-bike

I ride the pedal bike 90% of the time, but the ebike is just fun, and nice to use when I am in a hurry, or the day after doing a century ride. Ebikes tend to be heavy, but this one weighs in at about 30lbs.


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I'm thinking that if you are a pretty decent wrench, you could do it yourself on a flat bar bike. The drop bars did present some problems and when I talked to the authorized dealer in Portland he actually told me that. I decided to let him do the install. I was there to watch it. The only problem with doing the install yourself is that you are stuck with the default settings for the controller. We made some adjustments to the power delivered from the motor based on torque so that it would ride just the way I like it. We didn't do anything major, but it is noticeable. I had watched the install videos prior to my conversion, and they are pretty dead on for a flat bar bike. I still don't have the regen braking working quite the way it should. I'll have to make another visit to the dealer to see if he has any better ideas to make it work as intended. Otherwise, I'll have the regen mode disconnected for the brake actuated regen. I can still go into regen mode from the console.

The short answer is, if you are comfortable doing 90 percent of the work on your own bike (that's not me), you wouldn't have any problem installing the kit yourself.

You can use code 2002 and pick how much re-gen comes on when using the brake, at least 30 is suggested, I use 40 it's the best for me anyways...

I'm not sure why the regen wouldn't be efficient. Is something getting hot? I thought a useful function would be to 'flatten' out the hills and allow you to pedal at a more or less constant power.

For example, I have a 55m bridge to cross every day on the way to work. It typically takes 3-5 min to go up and I put out a little over 300W on the way up and maybe 100W on the way down. I'd prefer to just put out a steady 200W up and down and have the motor add a few hundred watts on the way up and take away 200W on the way down. I'd still pedal but all my energy would go into the battery. I'm not sure if that's feasible with your system.

Is the regen controlled by a conventional brake lever and it starts generating as soon as you move the brake lever? Is there a period of time where you get regen only without the brake pads touching the wheel (or disk?).

Appreciate your responses on this thread.

That is exactly how the system is meant to work, and at least on my bike it does... But you use the level 1to 4 re-gen setting on the controller when going down a hill to chose how much re-gen you want to happen. The brake re-gen is only for assisting stopping when the brake lever is pulled, makes the brake pad last longer if set up properly because I can use the re-gen to stop without using the brake pad most od the time.

What was installed on the bar? The throttle? LCD display?

Need pictures...