hardd1

I am looking to add a few E-bikes to my rental fleet of bicycles and scooter(50cc) business....we want 26" electric beach styled cruisers...unisex, if possible...what brand suggestions ???..............

Geekybiker

willing to DIY, or do you want something already put together?

I'd be looking at currie bikes. Cheap, SLA is resilient and inexpensive to replace. batteries are lockable IIRC. The thing I don't know it long term durability in a rental environment. You might want to add something like a g sensor to the battery case so you know to test the battery if a customer dumps the bike.

https://www.currietech.com/currie-tec...ctric-bike.php

https://www.shockwatch.com/

morph999 

You can't get the full e-bike experience on SLA batteries, though. There is a huge difference between an SLA e-bike and one with lithium.

Are you talking about e-bike motors or bike frames? If you are talking about e-bike motors then here are the ones that are popular

Bionx kit
crystalyte 406,408
crysatlyte 5303, 5304, 5305
nine continent 2806, 2807
Trek e-bikes
Heinzmann
Bafang
Golden motor magic pie
conhismotor

As a rental place, your best bet might be to go with a kit from E+ where the controller, battery, and motor are all in the rim so the customer really can't access those things very easily. They come with lithium batteries too. They also sell ready made bikes but they are pretty expensive.

https://epluselectricbike.com/shop/pr..._Kit-39-4.html

picture:

in-control

I would convert some of your existing fleet as a test case and then expand it as demand grows. I would stay away from SLA. If it goes well you may want to become a dealer! Here is the kit I used and they are very good to work with. The wheels are made in the US so you can market that as well. It would cost you ~$900/per bike. There are a few other conversion kit's around - check around if you like.

https://www.e-bikekit.com/

Enjoy and good luck

Geekybiker

I agree LiFePo4 is alot better but a rental
-Gets knocked around alot
-Probably will get run dead flat regularly
-Will be exposed to alot of theft hazard

LiFePo4 aren't exactly the most forgiving batteries and they are much much much much more expensive. Especially as a trial. I'm not sure Id want to give someone who has no experience with them and no investment in their condition a set of LiFePo4 batteries. Particularly as an aftermarket kit where the batteries often aren't bolted securely to the frame and well protected.

Geekybiker

I guess I should say where you want to go with this depends alot on your intentions.

Are you planning on renting mainly to tourists who are out of shape/elderly/have a minor disability, or are you looking at these as basically demo units to get people into ebiking, and sell them an ebike. If you're a dealer, yah go with lipo.

If you're a shop that just rents bikes on the beach, there are other considerations.

morph999 

Well, maybe going with NICD batteries would be the best since you can run those down and not ever damage them and they don't need a BMS, either.

nwmtnbkr

Since you're a business and can deduct expenses, I'd go with ready-made. That said, I'd start small. You'll also need to sit down and discuss with your attorney whether you need to make any modifications to your existing liability waivers, if you have customers sign them when renting bikes. Also, talk to your insurance agent. Here's a ready-made cruiser-style bike that comes with lockable LIFEPO4s on board (and good brakes, important for an e-bike)--Pedego.






https://www.pedegoelectricbikes.com/

hardd1

thanks for the many replies.......we have looked at the Pedego bikes sinces they share the same designer of 3G bikes :Gary Silva.........great idea for converting a few of our 3G bikes.....https://www.e-bikekit.com/shop/index....&parent=0...we get folks of all ages desiring rentals...the hot weather may deters some bike people but the assisted bikes may make them renters ...Pedego may even have an electric tandem.

Allen

https://www.giant-bicycles.com/en-us/....w/5732/36617/

Panasonic makes the perfect electric bike IMO, but you can't get ahold of them in the US.

yopappamon

I would go with ready made just for the liability issues you could have from kits.

hardd1

factory builds seems the way to go......

15rms

There is a electric bike rental in old town Sacramento. I rented a bike from them last week. A Pedigo. Nice experience.

Geekybiker

Looks like the same frame, but the Zuma uses a geared hub while the pedego uses a direct drive hub. Both claim 500w, so the Zuma should have better acceleration.

El Duderino X

Hybrids with BionX kits. That is what these guys, https://www.jvbike.com/ , have been doing for years and they seem to be doing okay..