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How an electric bike changed my life.

dan4x4

dan4x4

Member
Joined
11 Nov 2013
Messages
433
Hi, February this year I bought an electric mountain bike.

I ride bikes anyway but I'm too lazy to ride to work everyday only 16 miles in total but hilly. The commute would take me approx 1 hour on a normal mountain bike.

I don't like burning fossil fuels and also I don't enjoy driving to work.

So basically I ride to work on an "ebike" everyday now. I have done for the last month or so and I'm loving it.

If anyone on here is thinking about buying one of these things, do it! Do your research first though.

The bike is amazing, I have been doing red routes at forestry sites and commuting on the same bike. Its a great way to meet new people and the light exercise really chills me out.

I went for a ride yesterday, 41 miles in total, took me 3 hours and I only used between 40-60% battery.

Get one from a decent brand/bike shop and you cant go wrong.

Absolutely love it though. Even though it was expensive, it was definately worth it. You get to see stuff that you wouldn't notice in a car, yesterday I spotted a shrew and a heron! It was amazing to see a massive heron just standing in the middle of the path, obviously it didn't wait around for me but its easily the closest I've ever been to one. It was huge!
 
A friend burnt through a couple of these before finally accepting they're meant for recreational use not daily 50k in all weather ..... though could be they do better in sunnier climes
 
Have had a look at these in the past and fancied one, even if you just use the wheel conversion, bet it helps a lot esp on windy days when keeping your speed up can be hard work, plus keeping cool on hot days. The off road versions have pretty powerful motors too :twisted:
 
You also can look at ebay for the Bafang conversion kit, i know a few people converting any regular bike with it and it also rocks. These Bafang motors are realy good and very reasonably priced, come in 250 watt up to 1000 watt for extreme climbing. But for regular street use 500 watt already is a beast easily pushing a crazy 40 mph with a very strong torque..

I was planning, well still am, but yet not over the hill.. To sell my car which is only hobby use anyway and convert my old mountainbike with a 500 watt Bafang motor. What keeps me from it are the Batteries.. A quality battery is the heart of the system, these are darne expensive and stiil most maybe have (the verry good ones) around 500 load cycles and gradualy start losing capacity half way. So on a daily use and 2 chargings averagely a day, would mean over 500 load cycles per year. That would result in a new battery each year.. At $ 750,- for a good quality battery makes $ 62,50 per/month to ride an E-bike.. If it is 2 years with less use it's stilll $ 30.

Other things added a regular good quality bike chain is best to be replaced each 1500 km.. Sounds crazy but true.. If you don't they maybe hold a bit longer, but with about 1500km you can use 2 chains on one sprocket cassete before the cassete wears out. If you ride longer with one chain the chains wears into the cassete and a new chain on a worn cassete goes erraticaly ratlling over the sprockets.

Ask your bike shop for a bike chain checker
ker-Kit-Ruler-Multi-Functional-Bicycle.jpg_640x640.jpg

If the checker falls through it means chain is worn and needs replacement. Than you can wear 2 chains on 1 cassete, else both need to be replaced. ;) It minimizes the maintenance expenses and prevents the worst that can happen with the massive electric torque, which is a broken chain 40 miles from home. :thumbup:

All this together, keep in mind, doesn't make riding an electric bike as cheap as you may think. Do the math before you spend a lot. :)
 
Zeus. said:
Have had a look at these in the past and fancied one, even if you just use the wheel conversion, bet it helps a lot esp on windy days when keeping your speed up can be hard work, plus keeping cool on hot days. The off road versions have pretty powerful motors too :twisted:
Click to expand...

honestly if your in sport or turbo on the bosch bike which is 250w, its like riding down a hill when your going up ha.

I used to hate riding in the wind, it doesn't bother me though on the ebike. Even though motor assisted riding is limited to 15mph I am riding places in around half the time. For instance, normal mtb 1 hr, now its down to 35 mins thanks to the motor.

You can ride them over the 15 mph limit but this is through your leg power only, which is pretty difficult unless your going down a hill ha.

also there's loads of videos on youtube on how to maintain your bike. So if your willing to give it a go its pretty easy.
 
I just feel way more free when I'm riding around. Finishing work putting my shorts on and riding home in the fresh air after being stuck in the office for 8 hours is such a good feeling.

If you's are thinking about it, give it ago. I would bet you won't regret it.

I did try a bike before I bought this one with a yamaha motor it was a hai bike but I wasn't impressed, it really wasn't very smooth. I also tested a cube out, which I liked but I found the top tube was a bit high for my liking, i.e. could smash my balls on it.

In the end I went to a place in newcastle about 15 miles from where I am, ended up with a trek powerfly fs 5.
 
Hello Dan :) You wont feel much wearing that chain out till it breaks one day or making noise and stops shifting smootly.. I also do not know what kinda motor you got, but the majority today runs around with the bottom bracket motor pulling your chain. Hub motors are getting out of fashion.. And it has a massive torque stretching the chain a lot.. I did cycling for a sport for many years and replaced my chains about every 1500km when the chainchecker says it's streched to much. I learned it the hard way with breaking chains during a ride, one time in a sprint, oh boy than you get launched.. :lol: And for a good amateur 70 kg cyclist delivering 250 Watt musclepower, than you are pretty strong and darn fast and wears a chain in 1500km. A 500 watt E motor is twice the torque effective immediately all the time you full trotlle.

As said, if you have a bottom bracket motor than it's adviceable respect that rule. Use a chainchecker and replace it on time, than you can wear 2 chains on 1 cassette and it'll never break. It will safe you money as well. Because a quality cassette is averagely triple the price of the chain. And the cassette becomes useless of you over stretch a chain on it, they wear into eachother, after all it's metal on metal and a new chain doesn't function on a wornout cassette. Just a money saving tip not an absolute must.

I'm already following the e-bike industry for a few years now.. It wont be long i guess before i build one. Also checking into building my own batteries. :)

Have fun,, :thumbup: I bet you do, i would...
 
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250 watt is enough for me, I wish I had a go pro to show you some of the stuff I'm riding up.

Thanks for the advice on the chain Marcel because I didn't know that!
 
dan4x4 said:
250 watt is enough for me, I wish I had a go pro to show you some of the stuff I'm riding up.

Thanks for the advice on the chain Marcel because I didn't know that!
Click to expand...

I mean the top speed is electronicaly limited to EU regulations.. With the first generation Bosch there was an easy hack to get to the real 250 watt top speed over 50kmh. But Bosch found out it was hacked that easy and spoiled the fun, changed the concept, yet no hack for the new version.. :)
 
I bought myself a new chain, I checked the other night and I was on 0.75. So going to fit that today.

Some day I'd like to buy a road bike, without a motor and start using that to commute. However thats a lot more ambitious for me as I have a muscle wastage condition.

See if I enjoy riding through winter then I might possibly treat myself ha

Canyon recently released the 2018 endurance https://www.canyon.com/en-gb/road/endurace/2018/endurace-al-disc-7-0.html looks sweet.
 
zozo said:
you can wear 2 chains on 1 cassete
Click to expand...

Use to do Motocross and use to go though chains pretty fast esp on the muddy meetings, but like you say check on top of the chain wear and the spocket/cassete lasts much longer, a worm chain wears the teeth very fast.
 
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