Electrika bikes reviews?

[Akore]

New to e-bikes and I live in Jardin Colombia in the Andes mountains, Jardin is built on a hill side so it is not flat... I live above the town so getting down to the town is just a matter of coasting down and you can actually pick up very good speed but have to slow down 4-5 times due to the speed bumps they have here in Jardin and all over Colombia.

Mopeds and e-bikes here in Colombia are not regulated so no insurance or inspections or taxes or a DL needed.

I was looking at this DX-350 which as the name implies has a 350 watt hub motor. The problems is there's no information or reviews online to see how good or bad the moped is or even what type of gear is used to built it.

Mopeds eléctricas | Electrika

Importing into Colombia very costly so I am looking for something sold here in the country.

Thoughts?

(I am 5-7" and about 155 pounds, wife on the back of the moped would add about another 90 pounds)

 

[Dewey]

350w is not very powerful for a moped using heavy automotive components. As you intend to carry a passenger up steep hills consider converting a lighter long-tail cargo bike using a more powerful motor. There is a shop in Manizales that sells 500w 48v motor kits, ask if they can supply a geared motor, that would be better for climbing hills than a direct drive motor. Don't buy a 36v system, its not powerful enough for your needs.

Kit 500W Urbano PRO - BINCI S.A.S

500W Motor Trasero Display digital Batería de Litio Samsung 48V, 10.4AH Recomendado para bicicletas de ciudad Velocidad de entre 35 y 50km/h

bincicletas.com

Cuenta No Disponible - Sito Web No Disponible

 

[Akore]

Thank you for the reply and some great info and links! I was also thinking 350w would not cut it here in Jardin. 750w-1000w would be much better! Might just try and pick up a used electric motorcycle that was made before the 2017 law was changed to need SOAT (insurance)... something with this kind of specs: Engine: 3,000 Watts - 72 Volts, Torque 115Nm, Maximum speed on flat terrain 60 - 70Km should get me around town and to the next town over which is 15km away with steep hills.

 

[Dewey]

Might just try and pick up a used electric motorcycle that was made before the 2017

Yes, I see lots of posts on the Reddit ebikes forum from riders wanting an ebike but with the performance of a moped. You might consider buying a used Honda Super Cub and converting it to electric - this 1,000w motor peaks at 3,500w https://www.sh-customs.com/store/product/47 The battery provides a 25 mile/40km range at 28mph/45kmh with a 175lb rider according to this review https://electrek.co/2018/08/08/iconic-honda-super-cub-electric/

 

[Akore]

Yes, I see lots of posts on the Reddit ebikes forum from riders wanting an ebike but with the performance of a moped. You might consider buying a used Honda Super Cub and converting it to electric - this 1,000w motor peaks at 3,500w https://www.sh-customs.com/store/product/47 The battery provides a 25 mile/40km range at 28mph/45kmh with a 175lb rider according to this review https://electrek.co/2018/08/08/iconic-honda-super-cub-electric/

That is a very cool kit and if I was still in my younger years I would be all over that! However in my retirement years I think I am just going to go ahead and pickup a used Energy Motion "Ocean" model that I found not to far from me. I would get a new one but they are out of my price range and in 2017 here in Colombia electric motorcycles were exempt from SOAT (insurance) and taxes and all e-motos are still exempt from inspections. So with the deal I am getting on the used bike I will save a lot of money and have some money leftover to change the batteries in a year which are already 3 years old. And we all know how much batteries are and here in Colombia they are even more expensive. I will need to decide if it is worth upgrading to lithium batteries (I'm told it has 6 batteries in the bike) or to stick with the cheaper GEL batteries.

Here is the model: http://www.energymotion.net/Pages/p.ocean.htm

Ready the spec sheets and talking to the current owner of the 2017 model it sounds like not much has changed on it over the last 3 years.

 

[Akore]

I took ownership of the Energy Motion Ocean yesterday and it was delivered to my house this morning. So far I have taken "Azuleja*" up the mountain road to a trout farm to buy ... some trout of course! And I have ridden it down to the town to pick some cement and mixing sand (just mall bags). I must say this thing is a lot of fun! I was use to riding Harley's and then here in Colombia my Honda CB190R... riding this is totally different but only took me a few seconds to adjust to how it handles and rides.

It is not as fast of the line as I thought it would be but maybe that is due to a governor or how the transmission works since it is an automatic?

The batteries seem fine as it still shows Full Charge after the two trips and the first trip was up a very steep road. I will post more info as I use the E-Moto more.

*Azuleja is the name given to the moto by the original owner.... who am I to change it ...