Need alot of help and advice

cris11368 · #1 (**permalink**) 04-26-2009, 06:56 AM

I am really really confused right now, since gas powered bicycles are illegal in new york i decided to go with an e-bike...the problem is I dont know anything about these wonderfull machines and was wondering if someone could point me in a good direction. I was hoping for a kit that would come with everything, something that will give me a good speed and last a long distance between recharge.

anyone out there?

cris11368 · #2 (**permalink**) 04-26-2009, 07:48 AM

update...after doing alot ...and I mean ALOT of reading (like 3 pages worth of threads. not including the google searches)...I was wondering if anyone were able to tell me if this was possible

possible motor (could go with something bigger) - 55$
controller - 45$ dont know what this is for but I seem to notice everyone else use one of these
just putting this here just to keep the idea alive - 35$
throttle with led volt meter - 10$

Total of 145$.... missing of course stuff that I dont know is needed to complete because I don't know what I am doing... lol. and alot of work? and a bicycle? and mounting this all pretty like....

edit: I guess you could also add some type of Ignition so that the engine will only work once key is in and depending on how its mounted I think it needs a small piece of chain and a tensioner.

deacon · #3 (**permalink**) 04-26-2009, 08:04 AM

okay you are going to be trading money for convenience. I have been working with home build bikes and a kit ebike as well. You can buy a hub motor kit for about three hundred and fifty dollars that will do some of what you want. If you add highly efficient lithium polymer batteries you can double that.

Or you can build a simple pusher motor for about a hundred and fifty bucks sla batteries included. There are lots of other options but none are really cheap. The high efficiency batteries are the killer. Also the hub motors are not cheap.

Any kit running less than 24 volts is a waste of your money. I think the ideal small kit is the 500 -600 watt 36 volt hub motor kit. It is easy to install and comes with everything. Some come with batteries usually SLA.

Some of the guys are having a lot of luck with the complete bike purchased from Wally-mart. It is the Izip for about three hundred bucks. It comes with Sla batteries and runs on a Chain drive system. I have heard a lot of good things about it, I personally have not tried it.

But that is just my opinion.

RFPavlik · #4 (**permalink**) 04-26-2009, 09:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cris11368

I am really really confused right now, since gas powered bicycles are illegal in new york i decided to go with an e-bike...the problem is I dont know anything about these wonderfull machines and was wondering if someone could point me in a good direction. I was hoping for a kit that would come with everything, something that will give me a good speed and last a long distance between recharge.

anyone out there?

I have a 26 inch Specialized Expedition bike which I converted to an e-bike about a month ago. After searching the Net for a couple of weeks, I decided on purchasing a complete kit from Electric Bike and Kits - Bike, Trike or Recumbent Electric Conversion Kits
Like you, I wanted the total package. The internet is flooded with them. I knew I wanted a brushless motor and the long range alkaline batteries which are about about $125.00 vs lithium batteries which are about $400.00. The bottom line is that I have gone well over 100 miles with my longest trip being about 26 miles. The batteries did not give out until about 2 miles from home. Getting 24 miles from fully charged batteries is probably unusual for this type of kit. However, I do a lot of pedaling and do not start out from a dead stop using only the engine. Also, on hills I still do some pedaling and do not try to get maximum speed, which is about 20 MPH, although it's possible to do much better. I paid $359 for the kit and I paid a bike shop $50 to install it (Most people do their own installation). The bike itself, a real honey, was $175 three years ago when I bought it used. So, for $585, I feel I have an above average e-bike. It's powerful, dependable and a lot of fun. What I liked best about my purchase was the tremedous customer service I received from Lyle who sold me the kit. He's in upper New York state by the way. The kit includes a new front wheel with the motor built in. My bike shop is "fineky" and told me that the wheel was out of round somewhat and would cause a bumpy ride at higher speeds. So when I told Lyle, he quickly shipped me a replacement which also turned out to be a little out of round, so I stayed with the original wheel. I think you would have to go to a bike well over
$1 K to get a higher quality wheel, and there would not be much difference from the ride with the less costly kit. I don't think the ride is all that bad and definitely it's not problem. When I thought I had a problem with my charger, Lyle shipped me a new one within 2 days and he took the time out to do this just before he was scheduled to start driving the South Carolina. As it turned out, I had a couple of loose wires. My advice woud be that you do not buy your kit from a warehouse type company. With Lyle, I have someone I can call at anytime with my problem and he responds with an A+++ customer service rating. So check out Electric Bike and Kits - Bike, Trike or Recumbent Electric Conversion Kits before you buy. You'll be pleased with what you see and what you get.

Hope this helps.

"Granpa"

cris11368 · #5 (**permalink**) 04-26-2009, 10:52 AM

Do you know what kind of batteries he is selling in his kits? and how much weight the whole thing adds? or if there is someone who sells rear wheel kits .. front weels seems a little dangerous to me

evmatt · #6 (**permalink**) 04-26-2009, 12:18 PM

I dont know how they could possibly do it and make a profit, but Northern Tool sells an electric bike for $399. Everyone who posted a review seems to love the bike.

I don't know why it costs us so much more to build an electric bike from scratch than it does for them to sell the whole thing.

grouchyolfart · #7 (**permalink**) 04-26-2009, 12:22 PM

Actually, once you git'r going, you can't tell the difference. My daughter's bike has a 350w front hub and she and the wife love it. Top speed is around 18 mph. It's a small motor so acceleration needs some pedal help.

My bike has a 450w gear drive motor on the rear wheel and is "external", having to be mounted to the frame and is chain drive. Top speed is 20 mph with some pedaling to get there. Wife likes this one too, but likes the "stealth" of the hub motor. Btw, I'm pushing 220 lbs., so I'm getting pretty good performance, considering.

Both are 24V and uses 2 12V SLA batteries in the pack. They're okay for short commutes which would be under 10 miles, but I wouldn't push it past 8 and that's still with some moderate pedaling. Better still if you can charge your battery at work or can carry a spare pack. My commute is only 2 miles one way, but there's a pretty good hill I have to ride and is longer on the way home. I still throw the battery on a charger at work, just to make sure I have the juice to help my up the longer hill. The weight of one pack is bad enough, two would be rediculous on my bike.

If your commute is longer, go with what Deacon said about the 36V units and possibly a trailer to haul a spare batter pack or even the whole drive unit.

I've recently been looking for a single child bike trailer to haul an extra pack and for the extra storage. We can find them around here on CL or garage sales for fairly cheap.

As an option, you can check out Currie Industries at
https://www.ezipusa.com/159-currie-e...tery-pack.html

Their new kit is what I have, less the fancy batt pack and rack.

deacon · #8 (**permalink**) 04-26-2009, 12:40 PM

Batteries are the still the bugaboo for ebiles, but I expect that to change with all the e cars coming on line soon. They will have to have batteries and when someone gears up to make them the surplus should hit the hobby market. The new lith poly maybe the answer but they are complicated. i would rather see a cell as simple as the SLA but much lighter and would hold a charge longer. All that extra circuitry of the lith poly concerns me. Just more to go wrong.

If I get tired of the pusher I'm going to buy one of those Wally world bikes and modify the battery pack. That is like what the Grouch and Doc Blum have.

RFPavlik · #9 (**permalink**) 04-26-2009, 12:52 PM

The batteries in the kit I purchased are alkaline and weigh probably about 30 lbs. Most e-bikes are front wheel powered. Putting the motor on the back just puts more weight there.

GranPa

deacon · #10 (**permalink**) 04-26-2009, 02:12 PM

Frankly it easier do it yourself with a front hub wheel. Just drop out the old one and slip in the dew one piece of cake.

with my small rear wheel I have been thinking about putting my battery pack in a basket attached to the front. Just to give it some more drive pressure.