I'm going electric!

i did to and wondered till i got it all hooked up if my disk brakes would work to charge. however it dosnt matter what kind of brake set up you have because the motor is where extra braking and charging come from
 
Cycloptishred said:
The battery says 36V 12Ah SLA. I don't know what that means other than voltage.
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I think it is very easy to think of it as WATTS of power that is available. 36v x 12ah = 432 watts( think of it as your gas tank) If you use 20 watts per mile you should be able to travel for 21 miles. There are fancy watt meters out there that can give you a readout of current watt usage and total watt usage. Just like a speedometer and odometer. Useful for knowing when to pedal to cut watt usage so you can get home without pedaling the whole load all of a sudden. Keep in mind though, every time you recharge your batteries you will go slightly less distance per watt the next time.
 
here is something i found on the new lifepo4 batteries

Benefits of LiFePO4 batteries

Flexible Form Factor - Small in size and light in weight 1/3 weight of Lead Acid and 65% weight of NIMH.
High Rate Capability - For all high power output application
Extraordinary Long Cycle Life - over 1000 times recharge, actually lowers the cost of ownership, you could use them for more than 5 years, would be over 8 times life of Lead Acid and 3 times of NIMH, 2 times most Lithium batteries
Extremely Safe Chemistry - made of stable materials, High intrinsic safety , no explosion & will not catch fire under collision, over charged or short circuit. High thermal stability of phases up to 500C.
Wide Working Temperature Range - From -4 F to 150 F (-20C to +70C) Extremely cold and extremely hot weather will not effect its performance
No Memory Effect

What's LiFePO4

LiFePO4, lithium iron phosphate as cathode, a kind of advancing technology to change the world!

The safety characteristics inherent to LiFePo4 technology result from the incorporation of phosphates as the cathode material. Phosphates are extremely stable in overcharge or short circuit conditions and have the ability to withstand high temperatures without decomposing. When abuse does occur, phosphates are not prone to thermal runaway and will not burn. As a result, LiFePo4 technology possesses safety characteristics that are fundamentally superior to those of Lithium-ion batteries made with other cathode materials.

LiFePo4 technology does not contain any heavy metals and does not exhibit the "memory effect" of Nickel-Cadmium and Nickel-metal Hydride solutions. LiFePo4 technology demonstrates excellent shelf life, long cycle life and is maintenance free.

Another key benefit of our LiFePo4 technology is its flexibility, both in terms of battery application and cell design. It can be used in wound cylindrical, wound prismatic and polymer battery construction types and manufactured to fit smaller applications.

The advantages of traditional Lithium-ion coupled with the safety features of phosphates, make LiFePo4 technology the Lithium-ion technology for the future. LiFePo4 Lithium-ion technology utilizes natural, phosphate-based material and offers the greatest combination of performance, safety, cost, reliability and environmental characteristics.
 
Mile for mile you can't beat a gas/diesel engine cost wise. So far, ALL battery operated vechicles are more expensive to operate, no matter what they power or what battery powers them. That's why they can't sell electric cars.
 
i disagree thier. but my situation is different. i live on a caribbean island where gas is expensive and 2 stroke oil is even more expensive. with the new batteries lasting 5 years and not haveing any maintnence to do on the bike after 300 miles definately ads up. replacing bolts that vibrated of and new exaust and gas tank and everything else imaginable to replace, my 2 stroke was pretty expensive. biggest plus for me is being able to bring the electric bicycle in the house which was out of the question with the gas bike.
on that note cost was not a big factor for me. i wanted reliable transportation to play and go to work and the electric bike meets that criteria.
 
paul said:
i disagree thier. but my situation is different. i live on a caribbean island where gas is expensive and 2 stroke oil is even more expensive. with the new batteries lasting 5 years and not haveing any maintnence to do on the bike after 300 miles definately ads up. replacing bolts that vibrated of and new exaust and gas tank and everything else imaginable to replace, my 2 stroke was pretty expensive. biggest plus for me is being able to bring the electric bicycle in the house which was out of the question with the gas bike.
on that note cost was not a big factor for me. i wanted reliable transportation to play and go to work and the electric bike meets that criteria.
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You have a good point on your situation. I like electric actually. It just costs more and is more inconvienent here. I keep my 4 stroke in the garage to sleep! She don't vibrate much. I agree, electric is more reliable for the average person who is not blessed with mechanical skills and is definetly cheaper than hauling around the extra 3000 lbs. of metal that a car contains.
 
I am blessed with mechanical skills and have 3 running gas bikes. Spiders call them home. I'm going to get rid of them.

Gotta make room for more electrics - :)
 
motortriker said:
Small electric cars are popular in Florida.

http://villagesgolfcartman.com/

Maybe more in our state than any.

The nice weather and fun I would guess.
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I agree, it's just a novelty. If they want a/c though, they are parked in the garage like motorcycles are up north in the winter. And all-electric in the winter is even worse up here.

I went for a little cruse with my 4 cycle today on a state trail and some information turned up. I wanted to find out what was going on, but I didn't load up with enough gas to go much further and get back. No problem, the DNR worker gave me some gas along the trail, but I think I had enough gas to get to a small town anyway. It turned out from a planned 15 mile jaunt to a 40 mile jaunt. Try the same situation with electric. I had an electric bike for 3 years btw, and you are definitely limited in what you can do, cheaply.
 
Mike B said:
I am blessed with mechanical skills and have 3 running gas bikes. Spiders call them home. I'm going to get rid of them.

Gotta make room for more electrics - :)
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If you have the money for replacement batteries and don't travel far, electric is a great thing.
 
Yup, I live in a bicycle paradise. The city is ~80,000 population, Central Valley CA, big fat bikes lanes everywhere.

I could ride the perimiter of the city and not run out of juice - :)
 
Mike B said:
Yup, I live in a bicycle paradise. The city is ~80,000 population, Central Valley CA, big fat bikes lanes everywhere.

I could ride the perimiter of the city and not run out of juice - :)
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Lucky you. In my town they don"t like these things, and they adhere to the laws of bicycles as it is written, whether you get killed or not in the process. From past 'accidents' here, it is legal to kill anyone on a bicycle with no consequences, let alone a bicycle that has a small motor. It is a non chargeable offense.
 
Fugi93 said:
Lucky you. In my town they don"t like these things, and they adhere to the laws of bicycles as it is written, whether you get killed or not in the process. From past 'accidents' here, it is legal to kill anyone on a bicycle with no consequences, let alone a bicycle that has a small motor. It is a non chargeable offense.
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What town are you in? I know in Champaign-Urbana it's not like that.
 
locell said:
What town are you in? I know in Champaign-Urbana it's not like that.
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Ottawa. If you have the copy on you of the law here concerning low speed bicycles, don't waste your time showing it to the gestapo wannabes here, they don't know how to read, or refuse to read it. Fortunately, the Chief of police here knows how to read. They still look at me as though I am John Dillinger.

I think they may of even put a person here in jail falsely for riding one of these that had a suspended license previously, and it slipped though the judge even. The cop that stopped me was bragging about it while pointing his finger at me. From what I heard, the low speed bicyclist got 6 months in jail whereas the law actually protected him here. The law clearly states that a valid license in not needed. Giving back a little freedom to the people is not in their comprehension, only to take it away.
 
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I wouldn't want people with suspended licenses riding motorbikes either. They have shown wanton disregard for the law and got their license suspended. They should take the bus.

They might put a dent in my car - :)
 
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Mike B said:
I wouldn't want people with suspended licenses riding motorbikes either. They have shown wanton disregard for the law and got their license suspended. They should take the bus.

They might put a dent in my car - :)
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The law says otherwise. Besides, they are classified as a "low speed bicycles" and not "motorbikes." If in this case the only offense was riding a low speed bicycle on a suspended license and he was put in jail on account of that, he can sue the pants off of people who say he should take the bus, in law enforcement that is and maybe the judge, who has has a DUI herself.
 
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I am glad we have a license requirement for gas bike here in CA.

That will keep drunks with suspended licenses off the roads on anything but pedal bikes and low powered ebikes.

I have zero tolarance for drunks.
 
Mike B said:
I am glad we have a license requirement for gas bike here in CA.

That will keep drunks with suspended licenses off the roads on anything but pedal bikes and low powered ebikes.

I have zero tolarance for drunks.
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I can get behind that to a degree. The tweakers/homeless crowd seem to be drawn like magnet to motorized bikes, and (in my area at least, AZ) it has become somewhat of a stereotype that if you are on a motorized bike, it's because you can't afford or cannot legally drive a car.

This sterotype is why some police officers pull over motorized bikes as a matter of routine.

It kinda seems like motorized bikes are a "loophole" for people that have DUI's, plus they are awesome for pulling a bicycle trailer full of scrap metal to the scrap yard to make a few bucks.

That being said, a motorized bike is a great bar-hopping machine!
 
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Whatever.

I grocery store hop, hardware store hop and resterant hop.

I nite cruise the hood at 10 mph to cop some breeze and enjoy the sight, sounds and smells.

Don't ever bar hop. Drink at home. Where it's safe. Every day too. Never get drunk.

I despise drunks.

What are tweakers?
 
Mike B said:
Whatever.

I grocery store hop, hardware store hop and resterant hop.

I nite cruise the hood at 10 mph to cop some breeze and enjoy the sight, sounds and smells.

Don't ever bar hop. Drink at home. Where it's safe. Every day too. Never get drunk.

I despise drunks.

What are tweakers?
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LOL, i LOVE bar-hopping on my motorized bike, its one of the primary times I ride it

A tweaker is a crystal meth addict, maybe also called a speed freak, but i've always just called them tweakers

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=tweaker
 
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