Tailor

I'm looking to move from a hybrid driving/riding commute to riding the whole way.

Unfortunately, I am not in good enough shape to ride 60 miles a day. In fact, as a heavy guy at 40, I'm not sure I'll ever again want to ride 60 miles a day purely on my own power when I have a time deadline.

I'm hoping to find the ebike setup that can get me to and from work, travelling at least 20 mph, and either have reasonably priced batteries so I can buy tow of them, and charge one at work while using the fully charged unit to get home at night.

A little about the commute.

31 miles each way, most of it interstate or highways.
mostly flat, with some long very gentle hills.
When I've ridden the commute, it takes 2.5 hours, and I just cant put 5 hours a day into commuting.
The daily wind conditions mean that I have a headwind both ways, another reason I'm seeking some assistance on the ride.

A little about me.

I'm an uber clyde. 300lbs, I ride a lot, but cant do a 30 mile ride in a reasonable time frame.
I can ride 30 miles, but not at 20 mph, that and I'd be pretty wiped at the end.
I'm fairly technically inclined and good with tools, and ok with welding, so a reputable kit is not out of the question at all.


a little about the bike I'd like.
If possible, I'd love it to be a tadpole style trike. In a perfect world, it would be a tadpole that I could put a frontal fairing on to reduce how hard (for a given speed) the motor and I have to work.
I'd need enough range to at least make the trip 1 way, preferably both.
It doesn't HAVE to be an ebike, I'll consider gas powered, but battery is my preference if it can do the job.
it needs to not be so heavy that I cannot ride it home if the power assist fails.
obviously it needs to be built well enough to handle a heavy rider, riding it 15000 miles a year.
Oh, and of course, I'd prefer it be within the cost of a few years of commuting via my fairly efficient diesel bug. That said, I'm not out to buy or build cheap if there are options that will be good quality for the money, I'd love to look back in ten years and still be using the same bike (although of course the battery will have been changed several times by then).

Thanks, all constructive input is welcome.

350htrr

I'm thinking something like this, now you will have to pedal, and charge at work but with the solar panel...? Welcome to Organic Transit!

Tailor

That looks pretty interesting. I'd be a bit concerned about being too heavy for it, but depending on thier safety factor, that could be an option.

Aushiker

I would seriously consider your trike of choice with a Bafang BBS mid-drive motor of suitable wattage. I have just finished (well it needs tidying up) conversion of my Bacchetta Giro 20 ATT and fitted a Bafang BBS01.

Check out the Bentrider Power Assist forum for other ideas/discussion of your idea.

Regards
Andrew

chas58

You could build something using one of these kits: EM3ev

I'm a pretty strong biker, but I bought a $500 kit from here and ride 20-25 miles on it
E-bike kits 36V250W rear driving including li-ion rack battery-GreenBikeKit online store for electric bicycle components-GreenBikeKit.com

Cute Boy Horse

You say you can weld, so I'd suggest building an Atomic Zombie trike with an ebike kit. 26" rear wheel so ebay is full of them.