e-rad Giant Toughroad SR1 1000w 48v 14ah

Pete

New Member
I've ordered this bike from Lectric cycles:
http://www.lectriccycles.com

I maxed out the specs with the 1000w motor and the 48v 14ah downtube battery for the following reasons:
1. I'm a big guy
2. I'm looking to commute to work...hilly 19miles each way in the Bay Area -east bay

We'll see if this was overkill or a good idea. I didn't want to be in the situation of wanting to upgrade anytime soon.

I ordered on 12/24/15. Chris gave an estimate of February (under promise/over deliver... which I appreciate). I'll let you know how it goes...

-Pete
 
Welcome Pete, congrats on your decision - I think you went the right way.

My commute is very hilly, but only 4.5 miles each way. I weigh about 200#, depending on what I've been eating lately ;) With the 750W motor running at PAS level 3 (of 5; good for about 18.5 mph on flats) and me pedaling steadily but lightly I do not make a dent in my 14Ah battery on a normal day. If I make a lunch run (about 5 mi round trip) then I might see a drop to 4 'bars' of battery (of 5) but that's it. My longest mileage day was about 32.5 miles, and I still had some battery left at the end.

As long as you are able to recharge at work, and you don't floor the throttle the entire time, you should be fine.

Enjoy it, it's waaaay better than commuting in a car.

Mike H.
 
Welcome Pete, congrats on your decision - I think you went the right way.

My commute is very hilly, but only 4.5 miles each way. I weigh about 200#, depending on what I've been eating lately ;) With the 750W motor running at PAS level 3 (of 5; good for about 18.5 mph on flats) and me pedaling steadily but lightly I do not make a dent in my 14Ah battery on a normal day. If I make a lunch run (about 5 mi round trip) then I might see a drop to 4 'bars' of battery (of 5) but that's it. My longest mileage day was about 32.5 miles, and I still had some battery left at the end.

As long as you are able to recharge at work, and you don't floor the throttle the entire time, you should be fine.

Enjoy it, it's waaaay better than commuting in a car.

Mike H.
Thanks Mike! I'm really excited to get back on a bike. I used to do this commute on my road bike and it took me about 90 minutes each way (there's lots of stop and go traffic at the beginning and the end... also there's a huge hill in the middle). I'm hoping to be able to cut it down to an hour or less with the e-bike. I'm also hoping the e-bike speed will help me be more a part of traffic especially in the mornings when people don't seem to be thinking about anything but getting to work/school on time.
 
Good luck with your new toy Pete!

Seems like a solid bike.... Couple of suggestions

That 2A charger isn't going to cut it for a 14 Ah battery.

Have him throw in an additional 5A charger. you will need to recharge at work possibly. 19 hilly miles with a big guy could chew up those Ah.

Probably need a better saddle, and watch for suspension post ratings.
 
Good luck with your new toy Pete!

Seems like a solid bike.... Couple of suggestions

That 2A charger isn't going to cut it for a 14 Ah battery.

Have him throw in an additional 5A charger. you will need to recharge at work possibly. 19 hilly miles with a big guy could chew up those Ah.

Probably need a better saddle, and watch for suspension post ratings.
Hi JoePah,

Thanks for the suggestions. I'll talk to Chris about the 5A charger (I had ordered an additional 2A charger for work ). I have a comfortable Serfas saddle I'm planning on using. I've also been looking at the Ergon GS1 grips.

-Pete
 
I like the level of details they tell on the lectric cycle 1000 watt kit. They list the decibels of loudness when running ( less than 55db). 1000 watt sustained output 1600 peak watts peak. 160 newtons torque. It would be wonderful to have this much information for every electric bike and kit. Government regulates a standard for lumens of light a bike lights so comparisons can be honest. It would be nice to have this for the electric bikes motor industry.
 
I received an email from Lectric Cycles today. It looks like I'm on target to get the bike by the end of the month... so hard to be patient!!!
 
Emailed Lectric Cycles on 02/01. They hope to ship Friday or Monday. The wait is almost over.
 
The eagle has landed!
 

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Pete, congrats...and for those of us following your purchase, some periodic updates would be most welcome. Especially WRT any mismatch issues of the eRAD kit with the Giant bike and how well the non-ebike Giant ToughRoad is handling the more demanding ride of an ebike, day in/day out. Your commute would seem to be a good test.
 
@Jack Tyler will do! I'm building up my test rides and I'm up to 15 hilly miles which seemed to use about half the 48v 14Ah battery. This was mainly me getting used to the bike and included plenty of pedal assist 4/5 and outright throttle going uphill. It looks like I'll have to wait until this Saturday to do a one way test of my commute.
 
Was able to do a one way 22mi test of my commute today. The attached image is in the middle of the commute at the top of a nasty hill. The bike handled it no problem. I had about 40% battery left by the time I reached my destination. Most of the time I was in PAS 3. I used the throttle quite a bit for the last mile or two (when I was sure I was going to make it).
 

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@Pete

Is that picture on Alhambra Ave?
I used to ride from Moraga to Sun Valley Mall in Concord as a kid on my 10-speed back in the 70's. We would traverse down the hill from Lafayette on Taylor Blvd. The traffic wasn't too bad back then, even though the cars would be driving pretty darn fast on that stretch of the trip.
 
Yes it is! At the top of pig farm hill. My commute is from Hercules to Concord. Takes about 90 mins each way and uses about 65% of my 14Ah battery when headed east and 85% headed west. I attribute the higher usage on the return trip to my increased use of throttle as well as a head wind.
 
@Pete

Nice! Like your bike too! That is a nice ride to work - keep up the good work!!! Nice to see you putting your bike to good use!

I'm waiting patiently for my bike, which has several different people working on it before it comes to me. I only opted for the 750w e-rad motor, but am hoping the 20.3 amp battery will give me the ability to travel the distance I used to travel back in the 70's!!
 
I think you will find the 750w is plenty. I also think the 20Ah battery will give you a great range. Is that a rack mounted battery? The largest downtube mounted battery Lectric cycles had was the 14Ah (as of Dec 2015). I'm a big guy and was worried that 14 wouldn't be enough but it's been perfect so far.
 
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