Battery in front basket? Pros & Cons?
- Thread starter scarte03
- Start date
theemartymac
Well-Known Member
I can't speak to that bike specifically, but I'm working a slow night shift, so I'm going to add my 2 cents whether you like it or not, lol
My first instinct upon looking at the web page was that a front basket-mounted battery would make the steering heavy, potentially to the point of dangerous with cargo as well. After watching the videos, I see they have ingeniously fixed the basket to the stem, so the handlebars and front wheel turn independently of the basket. That is a neat way to prevent that unbalanced feeling. Since most ebikes are rear heavy (hubs in particular), this is potentially a great way to help balance the bike by shifting some of the weight forward. It's only a 10AH battery as well, so it shouldn't be more than 5-6 lbs anyway. Looks promising.
My only standing concern with the design, is that now the bars and brake lines need to swing over the basket, so if your bag sticks above the basket, you will have some turning range restriction. May or may not be a problem depending on whether you just want to carry a little tool roll/water bottle/purse up there, or a full bag of groceries. The battery will make the basket artificially shallow, so it wouldn't take much to raise something up that high.
And a final question would be about the performance of a directionally fixed headlight (on the basket). A light on the bars or fender turns with your steering input and always points where you are going to be. A fixed light may not provide enough lateral illumination, and a bar mounted light would be obstructed by the basket. Curious how that performs, and what solutions owners might use to add an upgraded headlight.
These are just 'thinking out loud' items, so I'd be curious to hear from actual owners.
My first instinct upon looking at the web page was that a front basket-mounted battery would make the steering heavy, potentially to the point of dangerous with cargo as well. After watching the videos, I see they have ingeniously fixed the basket to the stem, so the handlebars and front wheel turn independently of the basket. That is a neat way to prevent that unbalanced feeling. Since most ebikes are rear heavy (hubs in particular), this is potentially a great way to help balance the bike by shifting some of the weight forward. It's only a 10AH battery as well, so it shouldn't be more than 5-6 lbs anyway. Looks promising.
My only standing concern with the design, is that now the bars and brake lines need to swing over the basket, so if your bag sticks above the basket, you will have some turning range restriction. May or may not be a problem depending on whether you just want to carry a little tool roll/water bottle/purse up there, or a full bag of groceries. The battery will make the basket artificially shallow, so it wouldn't take much to raise something up that high.
And a final question would be about the performance of a directionally fixed headlight (on the basket). A light on the bars or fender turns with your steering input and always points where you are going to be. A fixed light may not provide enough lateral illumination, and a bar mounted light would be obstructed by the basket. Curious how that performs, and what solutions owners might use to add an upgraded headlight.
These are just 'thinking out loud' items, so I'd be curious to hear from actual owners.
I’m not entirely sure what you are buying based on their website. In one section it’s states 4 piston brakes, then the specs say 2 piston (more probable). ditton the tyres, you pay a big premium to get The conti or Schwalbe tyres they talk about. 1000w hub motor and 80 mile range from a 10ah battery ? You’re going to be pedalling a lot in that 80 miles IMHO.
I do like the customisable nature but it didn’t take me long to add 50-60% extra onto the basic price, and that wasn’t much more than a paint job, fenders and a rack.
my wife’s Kalkhoff step thru Dutch bike has a rear rack battery and i do notice the weight on that , more so compared to the integrated tube mounted one of my Giant. i would imagine a high front mounted battery would be less stable again, albeit it’s not weight that has to be steered.
I do like the customisable nature but it didn’t take me long to add 50-60% extra onto the basic price, and that wasn’t much more than a paint job, fenders and a rack.
my wife’s Kalkhoff step thru Dutch bike has a rear rack battery and i do notice the weight on that , more so compared to the integrated tube mounted one of my Giant. i would imagine a high front mounted battery would be less stable again, albeit it’s not weight that has to be steered.
I've actually decided against the Y Model. Going with another company mini-foldable. I have a prius and my husband and I want to travel with our bikes and with the weight of an ebike, I won't be able to get two bikes on a rack, I don't think. This means one has to fit in my hatch. So, that kind of kills the cruiser basket idea.
Thanks all for the info. Love the knowledge on this site. This is a super confusing purchase. I've made easier decisions on a car! LOL Been researching for days and this has by far been the best resource.
Thanks all for the info. Love the knowledge on this site. This is a super confusing purchase. I've made easier decisions on a car! LOL Been researching for days and this has by far been the best resource.
Dallant
Well-Known Member
- Region
- USA
Yeah, I had a rack on my PriusV and even two analog bikes was a lot to hang out there. Especially for a car that Toyota says should NOT have a rack attached. Having two bikes on the rack also messed up the aero/weight distribution enough that it really dropped the MPGs. We added a 5th gen Rav4 Hybrid and it is a much better option for two ebikes on a rack.
Lectric XP ?
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