Can I Ditch the Car? Speed Commuter with Some Cargo Needs

[Bruce Arnold]

Hey @Bruce Arnold ! I have seen your posts in several places, so thank you very much for the info you have already given elsewhere. You have been more helpful to me than you know

That Wald basket looks great--do you need to do anything to get it attached to the existing rack on the CCS?

I have looked a bit at the CCX, it looks like a great bike. Viewing the specs here (https://www.juicedbikes.com/pages/compare-all-bikes), I do wonder if it is perhaps overkill for my needs, given that I can charge at work. Could you tell me any of the big benefits that I may be missing given my newness to the subject?

Last question--what is a reasonable top speed that you are able to achieve on the bike, and how long can you sustain it? I see many people post that after 20MPH, air resistance makes going faster exponentially more difficult.

I live in an area with mostly level ground, so maintaining 26-28 mph is not that much effort. It affects battery drain more than my legs with the excellent Sport mode on the CCS. A month ago I was coming home from a conference and there was a storm out over the Neuse River. It was a 12 mile ride and I outran the storm in 90 degree heat without strain. Warmish, but not bad as long as I kept moving -- a 28 mph wind chill is remarkably refreshing. I don't typically ride that fast but I'm glad I can when I want or need to. I usually top out around 20 mph as air resistance does affect battery drain quite a lot at higher speeds.

There are 3 factors which make the CCX such a fine bike. In mechanical terms it is no different from the CCS. Electronically, it has the 25 amp controller and the 52 volt battery which come standard. Here are the 3 factors:

• Performance: The battery and electronics allow the CCX to operate at higher level of performance and for a longer amount of time. That doesn't mean faster necessarily. But you can get up to speed more quickly, you can maintain a higher speed for a longer period of time, you can demand more effort out of the motor without overheating the controller, and so forth.
• Distance: You would be able to ride the CCX farther at a given speed than the CCS.
• Fun: Feeling the bike respond vigorously to command inputs such as throttle or pedal assist is just a blast. Don't downplay this!

The Wald baskets attached to the top rails of the rear rack just fine with the included hardware. The hardware that secures the basket at the bottom wouldn't fit so I used zip ties. It doesn't need to support the weight of the load, it just keeps them from rattling or flopping around.

You can find a less expensive bike that meets your needs very well. The CCS, for one. Rad Power bikes have a good reputation too, and of course there are so many others listed on this site I couldn't name them all. But for the money, the CCX would be hard to beat.

Thanks for your kind words. I have found this technology to be life-changing and hope to help others enjoy the fun and functionality of ebikes.

 

[christob]

Maybe some free weekend this month, I'll have to try an experiment of finding a lot of fairly flat, largely empty riding space (perhaps the vast satellite parking lots near the Pentagon, if I wouldn't get chased off -- I sometimes see them used for weekend motorcycle driver's ed.) Then, set out on a full charge, and deliberately aim to maintain >25mph consistently... (using/staying in higher Assist Levels than I normally ride with.) Solely as an exercise to examine the accelerated battery drain that would result...
Most of my rides, on average: >75% of the time spent in Level 1, ~20% Level 2, very rare dips into 3, 4 or 5.

I vividly remember my one ride, a month into my ebike, which drained the battery completely to dead, 1-2 miles before I got home... I used lots of higher Assist Levels, don't recall now if I efficiently used my gears or not (probably not!) and was dealing with insane, nearly gale-like headwinds much of that afternoon (on top of being fairly out of shape / very new to biking) -- end result: I only got 20.1 miles out of the full charge that day!

Much later, I spent a 3 day weekend deliberately using lowest Assist on all my riding, just to see how far I could go before draining the battery -- I accumulated about 80 miles over 3 days up to Sunday night, with 2 bars left on the display; then I had to charge it up full for the work commute the next morning -- I think I could have hit 100 miles on a single charge, with that approach of very judicious use of Assist...

 

[Johnny]

I have a cross bike with Bosch cx motor and 400wh battery. If I were you, I would stay around 17-18mph and arrive in around 55-60 minutes without much sweat. I also like to go fast but what I realized is that it is not worth it to go 5-10 minutes earlier. I stay in eco mode and around 18mph I have a very comfortable commute while still having a good workout. When I do 21+ mph average I realized that the time I gain is simply not worth the faster battery drain and sweat. With my 400wh battery I can exceed 48miles (But I prefer to charge the battery up to around 80-90 percent and not discharge it below 20 which still easily gives me around 30 miles). Btw I am around your height but significantly heavier (30-40 lb) so I expect you to get a round trip with 60 percent charge if you use eco mode and stay below 20mph.

As others suggested for higher speeds the hub drives maybe a better choice.

Best of luck in your search.

 

[Citycrosser]

My Magnum Metro+ will cover my 35 miles commute with only using 55% of the battery as I only charge to 80% and it never gets below 25% at the end of my commute. I'm using PAS 4 or 5 and averaging about 21 to 23 mph. The Metro+ will stop assisting around 25 mph in PAS 6 (the highest PAS). It won't get to 28 unless it's downhill or you are pedaling hard. If you can charge at work (I bought an extra charger to leave at work), then you could easily use PAS 6 for your whole commute, topping out around 25 mph.

The CCS or new CCX would certainly meet your needs. However, the lack of a local LBS to rely on might be an issue. My Metro+'s upper battery mount broke, which is the same part as the CCS (and someone commented that their's broke too). My LBS replaced it with one from his floor model and I would have had the bike back the same day. However, I had a broken rear spoke which took longer to get replaced. I could have rented from the LBS if needed though (and I'm sure he would have offered me a discounted rate to rent).

I suppose it depends on how handy you are. I'm comfortable replacing parts, diagnosing battery issues etc. from years of flying model planes, working on cars/motorcycles/bikes etc. I would have been fine with a CCS but having the LBS close by for warranty work is nice to have and I chose to with the LBS for my first e-bike.

 

[reluctantsuburban]

Maybe some free weekend this month, I'll have to try an experiment of finding a lot of fairly flat, largely empty riding space (perhaps the vast satellite parking lots near the Pentagon, if I wouldn't get chased off -- I sometimes see them used for weekend motorcycle driver's ed.) Then, set out on a full charge, and deliberately aim to maintain >25mph consistently... (using/staying in higher Assist Levels than I normally ride with.) Solely as an exercise to examine the accelerated battery drain that would result...
Most of my rides, on average: >75% of the time spent in Level 1, ~20% Level 2, very rare dips into 3, 4 or 5.

I vividly remember my one ride, a month into my ebike, which drained the battery completely to dead, 1-2 miles before I got home... I used lots of higher Assist Levels, don't recall now if I efficiently used my gears or not (probably not!) and was dealing with insane, nearly gale-like headwinds much of that afternoon (on top of being fairly out of shape / very new to biking) -- end result: I only got 20.1 miles out of the full charge that day!

Much later, I spent a 3 day weekend deliberately using lowest Assist on all my riding, just to see how far I could go before draining the battery -- I accumulated about 80 miles over 3 days up to Sunday night, with 2 bars left on the display; then I had to charge it up full for the work commute the next morning -- I think I could have hit 100 miles on a single charge, with that approach of very judicious use of Assist...

Haha, if you do end up experimenting, let me know the results!

I finally went to a store and demo'd a bike in person over the weekend. Gave me a lot clearer picture of how the assist feels, and I can definitely see how those higher levels would burn through power quickly.

 

[reluctantsuburban]

I have a cross bike with Bosch cx motor and 400wh battery. If I were you, I would stay around 17-18mph and arrive in around 55-60 minutes without much sweat. I also like to go fast but what I realized is that it is not worth it to go 5-10 minutes earlier. I stay in eco mode and around 18mph I have a very comfortable commute while still having a good workout. When I do 21+ mph average I realized that the time I gain is simply not worth the faster battery drain and sweat. With my 400wh battery I can exceed 48miles (But I prefer to charge the battery up to around 80-90 percent and not discharge it below 20 which still easily gives me around 30 miles). Btw I am around your height but significantly heavier (30-40 lb) so I expect you to get a round trip with 60 percent charge if you use eco mode and stay below 20mph.

As others suggested for higher speeds the hub drives maybe a better choice.

Best of luck in your search.

Hey Johnny, thanks so much for the reply. One thing I love about this forum is the variety of experiences and perspectives.

Honestly, what you say here may make more sense for my specific situation (commuting to work with no shower available once I'm there). Can I ask what you're riding? Was it a DIY build? Guess most of my concern is around top speed/cruising speed in Eco mode and if the bikes I'm looking at would perform comparably.

 

[reluctantsuburban]

My Magnum Metro+ will cover my 35 miles commute with only using 55% of the battery as I only charge to 80% and it never gets below 25% at the end of my commute. I'm using PAS 4 or 5 and averaging about 21 to 23 mph. The Metro+ will stop assisting around 25 mph in PAS 6 (the highest PAS). It won't get to 28 unless it's downhill or you are pedaling hard. If you can charge at work (I bought an extra charger to leave at work), then you could easily use PAS 6 for your whole commute, topping out around 25 mph.

The CCS or new CCX would certainly meet your needs. However, the lack of a local LBS to rely on might be an issue. My Metro+'s upper battery mount broke, which is the same part as the CCS (and someone commented that their's broke too). My LBS replaced it with one from his floor model and I would have had the bike back the same day. However, I had a broken rear spoke which took longer to get replaced. I could have rented from the LBS if needed though (and I'm sure he would have offered me a discounted rate to rent).

I suppose it depends on how handy you are. I'm comfortable replacing parts, diagnosing battery issues etc. from years of flying model planes, working on cars/motorcycles/bikes etc. I would have been fine with a CCS but having the LBS close by for warranty work is nice to have and I chose to with the LBS for my first e-bike.

Thanks Citycrosser, it's helpful to hear from a Magnum Metro+ owner, as on paper it looks like it really suits my needs. Definitely some good considerations in regards to LBS--I'm not super handy but would like to learn enough to perform some at home maintenance.

 

[Lenny]

Class 3 bikes do hit 28mph, but it takes a lot of energy. Both you and the battery. A rider is an aerodynamic brick, the energy usage goes up exponentially above 20mph. When you build a kit, you may get some help from the supplier if you buy from a quality supplier. If you go cheap like Amazon or eBay, you need electrical knowledge if something goes wrong. Even purchased bikes can be difficult to troubleshoot, and some suppliers just start shoving parts at you.

The Syno motors from Stromer can get you there pretty quick

 

[reluctantsuburban]

The Syno motors from Stromer can get you there pretty quick

They make beautiful bikes, but the class 3's are definitely out of my preferred price range of $2k

 

[Lenny]

They make beautiful bikes, but the class 3's are definitely out of my preferred price range of $2k

Magnum makes a few Class 3 E-Bikes in your targeted price range