Digikid

Now I have seen that there is a little hostile additude here against Veloteq E-Bikes ( and please do NOT say that they are not E-Bikes in this thread!!!!! ) and I was wondering.....how would YOU go and improve on these? I plan to notify Jim Wood on this topic and see what he has to say about your ideas so keep it clean and polite please and thank you.

Please state the model that you are talking about as well if you own one. here is an example....and a true one at that.

Model: Veloteq Cavalier

Personally I think that Veloteq needs to come up with a better placement for the pedals as they scratch the ground when you turn. Also is it next to impossible to actually USE the pedals on a wide chassis like the Cavalier has. Just try....you will get a "waddling" effect and a pair of very tired legs. LOL!!!!!

Also we NEED a more powerful motor for hills. I have asked Veloteq about the new Powereagle model that they have hoping to get one for my Caviler but unfortunately it will not fit at all due to a "Chassis Redesign" for the motor.

Also a new and more powerful technology battery at a reasonable price. It MUST be backwards compatable with existing Veloteq Models.

LED Headlights/Tailights. Why? They use a LOT less energy and last longer and are a lot brighter.



Now please list your ideas...and KEEP IT CLEAN!

karma

20 inch rims would be a start. that would get rid of the pedal problems.

Abneycat

Well, it would get rid of the scraping, but not the stance issues.. Another thing though, is that 20 inch rims would likely help stabilize the bike during pedaling, which would be another bonus.

I can't really think of many 16 inch wheeled bikes out there. The ones that come to mind are the Dahon Curve bikes. From riding one around in a bike store for a minute or two, they seemed to handle decently, not as nice as their slightly larger cousins. However, the Curve doesn't weigh 165lbs, a Veloteq does. I'm not sure if larger wheels would help the Veloteq models or not, but presumably they would, as there would be a greater gyroscopic effect to help keep the bike stable at low (pedaling) speeds. This would require a substantial amount of modification though, as to retain the same center of gravity, the chassis would need to remain at the same height (wheels would need to sink farther into chassis, requiring considerable changes)

There would be two other ways to help with the pedals striking the ground, shorter crank arms, and bringing them closer together. Considering that they need to be brought closer together *anyways*, this is a sure and simple way to improve on both problems. Shortening the crank arms could only complicate things further.

All I can comment with on battery technology, is that you get what you pay for. There aren't really any gentle jumps between chemistries, each one is a pretty big leap.

On LED's, I absolutely love LED tail lights. The PB superflash and knog frogs are tops. On headlights, I simply don't find them bright enough for anyone who plans on riding at a decent speed.

geebee

Bigger wheels would not greatly effect gyroscopic forces which are negligible especially as stated at low speed, with suspension it has been argued that they are faster (check out recumbent forums).
Small wheels also allow a lower C of G helping both low speed handling and off the bike handling.(my real world testing also suggests it helps high speed handling as well.)
Led lights are great if done properly and as noted need less power.
More power will mean more regulation as well, but yeah more power is always better especially if where you live has lots of 20% hills.

Golectric

You can get an idea of Veloteq 2008 improvments here. www.valuride.com
I have peddled every Veloteq model and although they are not primary they are capable of propeling and help alot on large hills. The law is 500W continuous power, The name of the game is efficiency not raw power. That is why scooter style bikes can be classed as ebikes.

karma

i love the new motor with gearbox thay have coming out. https://www.valuride.com/gt-motor_specifications.htm

only problem i see with this is making it easy to replace with a faster brushed motor hehehehe

Digikid

I am not sure if I understand this exactly. Do you agree that LEDS would be better? Or the other way around.

Abneycat

LED tail lights are more than enough, as all that they need to do is allow people to see you, which some of the better models like the forementioned PB superflash taillight do really quite well.

Headlights however, don't have enough oomph. I've tried a great deal of them, including the MEC shark one, PB super spot headlight, and other similar 1W systems. Typically, LED lighting doesn't go any higher than that, but its not enough at 35kph.

https://planetbike.com/page/learn/lightfinder/

Here's a sort of example. Now, the technology is picking up from what I can understand and may soon be bright enough for adequate use, but i've yet to find one that really is currently. The cheapest lighting systems that really perform well enough at that speed are ones like the higher powered halogen systems (see the PB 5000x on that page for an idea)

Digikid

But some cars even have LED headlights now.........

Abneycat

The few cars that do are typically sporting 100s of LED's per headlight. They're some of the examples of upcoming technology that I mentioned before, but they're certainly not without issues either. LEDs also have light decaying issues, they tend to lose potency over a long period of time (think SLA battery wear out)

*For now*, HID and Halogen are better options for seeing, LED a better option for being seen.

Maybe if companies were to start coming out with larger LED configurations it might work out, but whats out there right now just doesn't impress me. I've got one of those MEC shark ones lying around, its only good for seeing the shape of the trail/road ahead of you at about 25kph, not for actually making out those tree roots jutting out of the trail.

Abneycat

Negligible is hardly the term i'd use to descripe the gyroscopic force of a wheel. Take a 26" wheel in your hands and start it spinning, then change the plane its moving on.. The whole wheel will resist your movements quite readily. It is this very motion which tends to keep you upright without effort.

As to whether or not larger wheels would actually help, i'm starting to rethink that, largely due to the fact that whether they would help or not, introducing them would be a pain.

Smaller wheels are faster, yes and no. Faster off the start, typically. However, worse on tracking and they suffer greater penalties from road irregularities.

Vehicles are typically designed to work around lowering the center of gravity when larger wheels are used by simply lowering the chassis farther to compensate. This, in Veloteq's case though, would mean a lot of redesign work. Another obstacle to overcome would be that suddenly the motors would provide a greater top speed, but would be *even worse* on the hills, and they'd need to be using a different motor configuration as well as a result. In this case, while it might have been neat to see at the start, its likely impractical to change now.

Digikid

Nice points.

Any more ideas there guys**********???

geebee

Abneycat, have a look at some research on bikes not forum chatter, my statement about gyroscopic force is correct.
Try your wheel spinning exercise with a 16" or even a 12" wheel (I have had folders with both) the gyroscopic force could not keep a bike and rider upright, what about the sinclair A-bike 6" wheels but it is still ridable.

geebee

If you could ask for a re-design, I have considered cutting mine in half and streching the frame to make it more like a foot forward motorbike or semi recumbent and fitting a full multiple gear train and comfortable to use pedals.

Abneycat

Larger wheels do typically make for a better ride, but I also understand where you're coming from. That force does not so much keep you upright outright, as it does smooth out the movements.

As for the A-bike, its hardly what i'd call rideable, or practical. The Strida is a much better example in that particular style, I think. Someday I can forsee the need to own a folder, but I want a Dahon Mu SL or Speed TR

Digikid

BOTH of you have valid points.

Any more ideas?

Abneycat

Well, I did another round of shopping for lights for myself again, and I *did* find some good LED powered units. When I completely denounced LEDs last time, i'd honestly completely forgotten about the Dinotte lights that i'd looked at, which were actually quite good. That said, decent LED systems look to run $150US+, and the high powered ones like the Dinotte's last hours instead of days. All LEDs I can think of still suffer from light degredation over time.

So I don't know how you feel about that much for a light, but they're out there.

Digikid

hmm....thank you for investigating that for me as I did not know about the degradtion issues.

no cc

My Hub Motor Challenger Powered Out After Charging.found Wires Loose Inside Loop Connectors Connecting Wires To The Batteries.soldered All To Secure,good Preventative Maintenance.disconnect Before Soldering.the Ride Is Kind Of Unusual,super Nice On Average Roads And Very Harsh On Semi-rough.don't Want To Reduce Tire Pressure Too Much To Keep Handling Good.suggestions?any Body Disconnect The Single Blue Or Yellow Wire=more Speed.

cerewa

Veloteq bikes would get more interest from me if they were more on the "lightweight and designed for people who want to pedal" side of things. Small wheels sound good to me. LED lights, yes. (By the way there are 3 watt LEDs headlights out there, maybe 5watt too).

electrogreen

I'd make them more like bicycles. I saw someone peddling one the other day and I laughed outloud.

Autoworker

Soaking them all in gasoline and lighting a match would be a good start.

stokell

I actually talked to an owner of one of these 'bikes' recently. I've had my share of dislikes for the gendre, but I thought I'd talk one-on-one to an owner to see what their thought process is.

This guy bought the bike last summer for about $1200 (about a years worth of transit). He was not a bike rider but someone who was attracted to the fact that it was a cheap scooter. He said he initially liked the fact that he could plug it in instead of buying gas. He was unhappy with the claims the seller made about the range. He said that without pedalling, and as we know pedalling is just about impossible with these 'bikes', he got about 10 kms before the battery slowed him down to the point he couldn't get up rises in the road. Rises, not hills.

He also complained about the number of re-charges his SLA battery took before he had to pay for a new one (he said it was another $500). He says there are a number of cheap gas powered scooters coming out of China these days and he's going to buy one and dump his electric scooter on craigslist.

Are you looking for a cheap e-scooter?

Oh, and by the way, he compalined about how the bike community accepted him. He said people laughed, they told him to get off bike paths and just treated him with distain.

karma

thats about what i paid for mine, and i got the same laughing and people yelling out there windows passing by.
i also found it to small and hard on the back.

gota love a simple bicycle with a hubmotor way better ride.

dewdad

I don't believe a word that comes out of your keyboard....Batteries are between $250.00 and $300.00 for Veloteqs, first....the whole E-Bike Community would have to disagree because even a 14 amp hour bike will give you at least 30 with hills and wind to boot...the laughing from windows is also in your mind because in 2 years no one has laughed and many have even pulled over to ask where I got it... You have to make things up to prove YOUR point.
Stokell, you are a knocker...that;s all and nothing you say any more matters...I have listened to you guys knock pedestrians and automobiles as well on the thread...I bet your teacher wrote "does not play well with others"