Ideas for e-bike vacation
 

Hi everyone,

I'd appreciate your ideas on how to make this happen.

Here's the situation. I live in Hawaii and my favorite vacation spot is Boulder CO. I can only get there once a summer. At 46 and coming from sea level the hills are tough. I would love to have some electric power to help me enjoy the killer bike paths.

This year I plan to rent a storage space in Boulder to leave a bike and some other toys. One option is to electrify a Rivendell Atlantis and leave it in the Boulder storage.
* Are there batteries that can be safely left in a deep sleep for a year?
* Or, is there some kind of charger that you can leave plugged in to keep the battery happy?

The other option would be to bring a Bike Friday with Bionx kit. I can't fly with the battery but I could buy one Boulder and leave it there.

Last question, can a (non haz mat certified) person ship a bike battery on the mainland via ground service? Or, do you need to go the haz mat route?

Thanks for your help,
Dave

Part of the problem with some (maybe all) Lithium batteries is they deteriorate more rapidly at 100% charge than 80% (by a significant factor). I know that BionX batteries can be left in deep sleep for six months. BionX is very responsive, and I would email them and ask how to proceed. I think their batteries would have the best chance of good storage performance. Also, maybe if you purchase in Boulder, the store will "babysit" your battery. Then, you could take your bike back home and use it with a second battery. Not much help, but best I can do.

Rent one for the time you are there. I googled and there's at least one shop that sells e-bikes in Boulder. You could buy a bike locally and arrange to rent a battery, but who knows if they will be there in 2017.

If I lived in Boulder, Id gladly loan you one for vacation. Perhapse you can find someone to swap with for a week or two, I know I'd love to eBike Hawaii someday.

Thanks for the ideas. I have contacted Bionx and will reply with their input. Also, I will be contacting Community Cycles in Boulder once they open today. I'm surprised there is only one Bionx dealer in Boulder. I think Boulder has the best rated bike paths in the US. Seems like it would be a great market for the e-bikes...guess not. Thanks,
Dave

Of course it would be a great market, BUT....

E-bikes are still largely unknown. Also unknown are any laws regarding them especially on trails. All you need is one wacky LEO to ruin it for everyone when their opinion is its a MOTORIZED vehicle. Check with that local shop to make sure there will be no headaches. Here in OH the letter of the law says e-bikes need to be licensed but reality is nobody knows about it.

Have fun on your trip.

-SP

+1 with speedy's advice. CA supposedly wrote a law which allows Class 1 bikes to ride on trails, but it's so ambiguous (TO ME) that it'll be of little use until interpreted (probably in the courts). It did provide acceptable rules for road/bike lane use though.

Hey, thanks for the advice.
Bionx says the deep sleep will work just fine.

I called the Boulder bike shop and spoke to their e bike guru and he thinks I'd be better off going with the Lectric Cycles mid drive (e-RAD) to get my 230 pounds up Flagstaff mountain.

How are the e-Rad mid drives? I will contact them about their batteries being left idle for a year.

Thanks,
Dave

Flagstaff...
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-4...0/IMG_1555.JPG

Here's the bike that will be converted and me from 2001 when I first got the Atlantis:
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-l...with%2Bbox.jpg

Mid-drive is a good consideration for hills, but the BionX 500 that I rode pulled them easily too. I don't think the Lectric BBS is worth more than any other that's programmed correctly at about half the price. Also, I think the BionX battery is superior to those you'll procure from garden variety vendors. It's partially proven by the warranties --- BionX, three years; some others, three months. As a famous poster says, JMO. This may be more of a pain than it's worth, but you can travel by air (AFAIK) with 100 w/h batteries in your carry on luggage and string them together when you arrive.

Mid drive would definitely be favored if you will climb significant hills often.

Here is link to e-bike use on Boulder paths - you may wish to check with local venders etc too:

https://bouldercolorado.gov/goboulde...-policy-review

If this will be an on-going thing for you maybe a vendor you buy from in Boulder can help you out (store the bike?) and perhaps have battery in good condition when you arrive and bike ready to ride. Maybe you apply what you would have spent on storage toward their servicing.

Maybe they will just rent you a bike?

Here are a couple of places in Boulder that deal in e-bikes although I don't believe they handle BionX:

Small Planet EBikes

https://optibike.com/

In WA e-bikes are defined as a "motorized vehicle" but not a "motor vehicle" if you stay under a certain number of watts (750?). As long as it's not marked with "no motorized vehicles" we can ride it. Ours are usually marked "no motor vehicles". They are only explicitly prohibited from sidewalks.

Wow! I can see basing eMTB's future on the difference between the signs "no motor vechiles" vs. "no motorIZED vehicles" as a real issue. Sure glad California took the <=750W pedalic limited to 20mph is a bicycle route.

Only thing I can add for your consideration is many of these E-bikes don't pedal well without power. If you want to pedal without power without resistance within the driveline, do your research carefully; meaning test ride what you buy without power before buying.

Have a wonderful vacation!

Hi Guys,

I wanted to give an update.

Today I ordered a Bionx P 350 DX for my Bike Friday. It should arrive in 10 days. I wanted to see how the Bionx kit works compared to a Ezee / Grin front hub motor I have on my tandem. I'm curious about hill climbing and also the pedal assist of the Bionx.

I'll take the Bike Friday / Bionx to Boulder and figure out how to rent or buy a battery there.

Is it legal to ship a Bionx bike battery via ground service (USPS, UPS, FedEx) without the special HAZMAT stuff?

Thanks,
Dave

It all depends on how much assistance you need/want/expect... I have used an E-Assist BionX system on my bike for 4 + years. :thumb: And am 100% happy with it, but some people ride/want to ride their "E-Assist" bike as a moped. So that would be a fail.... BionX is designed as an "Assist" NOT as a moped/electric bike, to get "around the laws". ;)


EDIT; It is, actually designed to conform/meet, and NOT be worked around, the E-Bike Laws...

+1 with 350; I pedal almost all the time on my e-bike (occasionally "ghost" pedaling when the bike is going too fast, and ride my p-bike 75%+ of the time;
that said, I really liked the BionX 500D for steep ascents.