Electic Bike Part 2

[canonloader]

You may remember this thread from early December. Since then there has been one nasty winter and an almost equally nasty spring, which gave me time to put the bike together. Not that it really took that long, but with all the beer drinking, TV watching, sleeping, and so on, it took longer than it should have. Not that I could have ridden in 4 foot snowdrifts anyway.... But, here it is and it started up and everything worked first time, so I must have been doing something right.

1. The bike, ready to go...


2. From the front...


3. Front angle...


4. Rear view...


5. Controls...


6. The brush less, silent motor...


7. The wide ass seat and the batterry bag...


If you are like me, the most interesting thing in these pics is that seat. No weenie smasher horn, no crotch axe cleaver. This is like riding in a 57 bench seat Chevy. Not quite as comfortable as a couch potato dream cloud, but it is survivable on long rides of a couple hours. You won't be dead from the waste down at least.

Everything else seems to be invisible. I have put maybe 60 miles on it in the last week or so and the only thing I got was one comment on the seat by another old man. Seems no one has a clue that the bike is battery driven, although a few teenagers have looked at it pretty sharp. Oh well, stealth is the game here, if you want to ride the bike trails in town that have signs saying no MOTORIZED vehicles allowed.

[deadpass]

That's awesome! Do you have to pedal to get up the speed or can the motor start you from a stop? What kind of top speed does it have?

[canonloader]

Hey Deadpass. No, the motor is plenty powerful enough to start me from a dead stop. It won't do burnouts, and you don't want to try and beat an approaching car across the road, but you do not have to pedal at all.

Top speed is supposedly 20mph. But as with everything else, that's what the motor is rated at for the wheel size and the battery voltage. I use 3 Sealed Lead Acid 12volts, motorcycle batteries, for 36 volts. I can add one more, for 48 volts, and that will increase speed, or duration. So mine is rated at 20mph. Add a headwind, maybe a little up grade and it drops to 17 or 18mph. With the 48V. system, I think you get 25-27mph, or go slower and get more distance on a charge. I can tell you though, I rarely push it above half speed, say 9-10mph, because our streets are attrocious and the sidewalks even worse. In the tundra land, you get frost heaves and it makes everything bumpy.

A few little facts. If your commute is 10-15 miles one way and you can plug in the charger where you work, consider getting one of these. It costs 2 cents to charge the batteries and the range is roughly 20 miles. More if you pedal to help it.

If you live in flatland and warm winters, you'd be a fool to drive a gashog when you could ride one of these. Our winters are cold here, so at least 4 to 5 months of no riding, but since it warmed up, a couple weeks now, I have used my car three times. Twice to tow the boat to the launch ramp.

[deadpass]

Thanks for the info, that's really awesome. What does it feel like to be on a bike driven by the front wheel instead of the rear? How much does the bike weigh? I know lead acid batteries are not light.

[canonloader]

It feels exactly the same as any other bike. I can tell you, the power is impressive. I live along the Mississippi River, so the geography is mostly valley bottom flat all around town. I live right on the edge of town, where the roads start climbing up to the higher bluffs area. The hill from town to my house is fairly steep. At my age, I would be pushing the bike the last 200 yards or so, but this bike just pulls me up that hill like it's was a down hill.

Weight is heavy, but you could still sling it into the back of a pickup if you had to. The front hub motor is maybe 10 extra pounds, so it would be a little harder pedaling the bike with no power, but you could do it, and I do, often, just for the exercise.

The battery pack is the killer, it weighs 25 pounds. It makes the bike top heavy and that puny little kick stand won't hold it up on a flat sidewalk. I need to get a center stand, like small motorcycles use. They make them for bikes, but I just haven't gotten one yet. However, I weigh 240 pounds, so top heavy from the batteries is minute compared to that. Although, in just the last week, I think I have lost 5 pounds or so, so that is a huge plus.

Unless you live on a busy highway in the Rockies, I would recommend one of these for anyone who needs the extra push or commutes to work and doesn't want to be sweaty when he gets there. I think by next year, I will get a decent trike to put this on, so I can carry groceries and my camera and tripod easier.

Looks like I forgot to link to the site that sells the kits. Here is his main page link. And he has a forum, not very active, but it has a lot of pics of other peoples rides. Also, check out YouTube for the term Amped Bikes. There are quite a few videos about this particular motor and plenty of other electric bike videos. Very interesting.

Mostly though, the bike is just fun to ride. I can't wait for the sun to come up so I can go out again. LOL

[joayne]

Hey Mitch, that is very trick!
I dunno about that seat however, a cross between a patio lounger and a camp chair!
I guess if it is comfortable and it works, who am I to make remarks!

I tool around on an electric scooter.. no seat

[canonloader]

Hey stranger, been a long time.

That seat makes the bike, for me. I simply could not use a conventional bike seat for any length of time, at my age. My rides last an hour and a half to two hours, with seldom a break, so the old style seat would just be unbearable.

I have over 240 miles on the bike now, and everything is working perfectly. My daily rides average about 12 miles and the batteries could do more. I am pretty impressed with the equipment. I bought it and put it together cause I don't want to be part of the oil economy any more. And now that it's back up to $3 a gallon, it was a good idea.

Mostly I ride for fun, and it is great fun, but I have added a milk crate to the back, which holds the battery pack now, but will also hold groceries, or my camera, or both, so I can go out to the wetlands for pics and then stop off at the store on the way home. Anyway, it is saving gas every time I take it out.

[joayne]

Good on ya Mitch!
Back in the day I rode a bike everyday for about 150 miles per week.
Now I use the electric scooter for the shot trips.
It looks the perfect vehicle for birding etc and for those quick trips to the grocery!
Glad you've gone green!

[canonloader]

Well, the bad news is, where I live, we have long, cold and snowy winters.

[joayne]

Bad new for me is.. We have searing summer tempetures!
It's always something

[EVANDIXONdotCOM]

Wow, this has my wheels turning! (pun)

I'm a big guy and the standard bike seats are pretty rough on me as well. What's the one you have called?

[canonloader]

Evan, it's called Real Seat. It's a bit pricey, $100, but it's the only way I can ride anymore. After 240+ miles, I can recommend it over the old style seats for sure.

[EVANDIXONdotCOM]

I'll have to check it out, thanks for sharing. I think I'll have to do this as my next project after my Coast to Coast trip!

[canonloader]

If your riding coast to coast on a bike, better get the seat first.

[EVANDIXONdotCOM]

Not on a bicycle, but motor "cycle". Check out the link in my sig.