Electric Bikes
 

Anyone use an electric bike for commuting, or to assist with hills/wind?

If so, which kit/bike do you have?


BionX? Wilderness Energy? ///....ahem Crystalyte

I use a Tres Terra Europa. Has a Heinzman motor.

Until very recently I had a Giant Lite/Twist. Great bike.

--A

Brushless WE kit and a backup Giant Lafree. I like the WE kit way better.

which is bettor?

wilderness energy

or da crystalyte?

what about bionx is so expensive why is tat?

Crystalite is better, if I recall correctly, but WE kit is pretty good. It is cheaper and you have almost everything you need with the kit. With crystalite, you have to buy the controller, seprately, sometimes from a different vendor, but kits do exist. Not sure about the bionx, but for the price, you'll get a better value buying crystalite motors/kits. Also, check out Revopower.com, won't be available until spring next year and its run on gas, but it weighs way lighter than e-bikes, and the range is also longer(50 miles per one tankful of gas vs 20 miles for a single charge of battery).

I've done several electric bike conversions and used several of the kits available here.
http://www.werelectrified.com/unibikekit.html
If all you want is a little assist I would suggest the BD24-10 kit. It runs on 24 volts so one less battery than the BD-36 kit to haul around.
If your looking for an electric bike that you don't want to pedal very much, go for the BD-36 kit.
Watch out for local regulations concerning electric or ICE engines on bicycles! You can't go to your local DMV in most cases and get straight answers to your questions about electric bike conversions. I ran into that problem here is Alabama. I was given the old run around and was told that all motor vehicles had to be titled, registered, and have liability insurance. When looking up information in the Code of Alabama I discovered that what I wanted to do was to convert a bicycle into a motor-driven cycle and as long as the cycle weight was less than 200 lbs and 5hp or 150cc or less I did not need to have a title for it or register it, as long as I had a current and valid Alabama drivers license. Nor did I need to have liability insurance coverage, which is impossible to obtain anyway. One problem I did run into was the necessity of a brake light being required on all motor-driven cycles starting in 1975. I simply ordered a Cycle Pro Flashpoint Indicator light for $15 (+ shipping), which provides a brake light, taillight, and turn signal all in one package and easily meets Alabama's requirements.
http://www.bikeworldusa.com/cgi-bin/...&affiliate_id=

this is all very good information

thanks you all

i don't know which kit

but where i come from (ontario canada)
legislationj ust passed a few days ago october 4 2006

incredible

like part of histry

it now allow (the province) to have electric bikies on rodesways like where cars go, but on side by bike lane

basically where bike can go electric bike can go

ia m interested in getting electric
because it makes commuting easier against hills and wind

and make less sweat when i go to work or whatever, like meet people, and not have to be all sweaty if not wanted

it makes the option open, like when i bike when i want, but not be sweaty if i don't want

i think it is a good idea, without me selling out either

i don't consider it a sell-out

Remeber, power assisted bikes are illegal in Canada

You might want to read the following thread: http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=234651

--A

btw, in your expert opinions, where would you rather have the hub motor, and why? On the front wheel or back wheel?

i am try use thinking along lines of brakes, more stopping power with the front, when moving in forward direction, back wheel not as well when brakes applied, when moving forward with a motor, it seems this point is insignificant...

if motor on mback, it not seem as noticeable neither, on front it more noticeable

another bunch of questions for any experienced users and/or experts out there
1) How does battery and controller have compatible, i.e. if controller say 36-48V and battery is 36V 7Ah, they compatible, but if 36-48V controller, and 24V battery, not compatible?
2) What is significance of controller, 36-48V? What does this mean compared to 24V? Better tops speed, or better hill climbing?

or is this related to the controller's ampereage? like 36V @ 20A, versus 25A, 25A better hill climber

and 36V goes faster speed, than 24V? is this right or are amperage of the concern?

anyone know how the 36V and 20A combonation will provide in speed and hiill climbing?

some available options follow:
http://www.jvbike.com/crystalyte.htm

I'm not sure if people here can actually answer the more technical questions regarding voltage, batteries and amps(I know I can't, lol), so here's a good website where you can ask/read the answeres to your questions: V is for Voltage. Friendly technical people who don't mind newbiest of newbie questions :)

As for the front or back, some prefer front, some prefer front. Othere say there is no discernable difference. I have only used front mounted hub motors so I got no expereince with rear hub motors, and I'm very happy with it.

Front

pros: easy to install, widely available so it's cheaper, a more balanced weight distribution

cons: fork quality can vary, might not be suitable for very hightorque applications(but some motors specifcally used for torque have torque arms). Forks are also not generally designed(especially the lower end bicycles, they use lower grade steel) for electric bike application.

Back

pros: Supposedly stronger and most rear dropouts are standard

cons: harder to install(but probably not THAT hard), harder to come by, weight concentrated at the back might be a problem(or so my bike mechanic says).

I think it just means that you can use higher voltage stuff with the 36V-48V over the 24V. Deffinetiely choose something higher than 24V. 36V is a good starting voltage these days(they are conseqeutnyl the most widely available). 24V is too weak. And yes, a higher voltage generally means stronger(better on hills) and a higher top speed. I have 36V brushless and I can climb hills with 8% grade for over a mile just fine. Slower, but I can do it.

Oh yeah, speaking of brushed and brushless motors, generally, brushless motors are more efficient(95%+) compared to brushed(80% or so efficiency). The former has a higher range. The tradeoff is that brushed is better at climbing hills over brushless. My brushless range is around 24 miles when the battery was new(I think its down to 22 miles now). A comparable brushed motor would have a range of less than 20 miles.

that is good ideas

i like your psts

thanks you mcuhly

i think i go 36V stronger 24V week like you say

electric assist allowed

it was used be for canada but ontario not allow

now ontario allow and it is good here

i like to have electric assist to make more fun ride

how will weight be factor?

bionx say they light weight system

but much expensive for kit

i don't know

crystalyte is

they say more money for the nimh battery

what tyupe is best battery?

is weight so much necessary to consider?

Bionix is too expensive for what you get. For the same money, you can get a crystalite motor and NiMh batteries with greater freedom and choice.

Weight is not that big of a problem to me. You'll get used to it, it's not that not that big of a deal. To me anyway.

Sealed lead acids are ideally best for high drain applications but NiMh are preffered since they are lighter, but expect to pay a few hundred bucks more.

how much autonomy in miles can yo8u get

with what classification of battery? nimh 7ah? 12ah? can go 23 miles on flat? 12 miles on flat? all the way?
thanks

is that be supposed a goat on your avatar?

what system do you guys use?

is it fun?

cause i read 20 miles autonomy and that is fantastic

is that possible on regular batteries? please?

Yes, it is possible even on the cheapest of batteries, provided you help it along(i.e. pedal). The ah thing is the capacity(I think). Something with 12 ah is gonna have more juice than 7 ah. They are also indicative of weight. 12 ah SLAs are around 10 lbs each.

This is pretty interesting: http://www.cleverchimp.com/
Electric assist for Xtracycles.

but what if i not help it along?
i not like help bike along sometimes
what then? 4 miles only? thanks.

Well, range would be reduced, but yes, you can choose not to help along. With the bionx, though, I don't think that's possible. That's why I love the WE/Crystalite kits. You can choose between a controller that is pedal-first or on-demand.

these things will be fun

i hope tog eton sun to go on

i think i will go crustalytte now thanks

does anyone know the mile range for this?