first electric bike

[Gorden]

My name is Gorden , this is just to introduce myself . I am an 80 year old geezer who has played with bikes most of my youth . I got interested in electric bikes about twelve years ago . Enclosed is a picture of my first bike . I picked up the frame and forks off of Craigs list , and the electrical components off of eBay . It had a 36 volt no name hub motor . The battery is just a bunch of cells wrapped up in silver duct tape . and the controller of unknown wattage and amps . In all it's crudeness it would still do 28 mph on level ground . A friend in a car drove beside me to check mph. I drove it for about three years , and had it stollen out of my garage. I never bothered to hook up the pedals to the rear wheel . I enjoyed it immensely and it got me hooked . I will post my current bike in the near future .

 

[harryS]

When you said hook up pedals, I thought you meant the pedal sensor, but now I see there's no chain! Bet you always got home before the battery went dead,

 

[Forever Dago]

Welcome

 

[Gorden]

I was living in Racine Wisconsin at the time , and used the bike for my half hour commute to work , which was in a mostly rural area . Taking back roads and through parks . I took my charger with me and charged the bike while I was at work . Then at home , charged it over night . Probably never ran the battery below half. I am not a long distance rider . Even with a large , and shock absorbed seat . more than a half hour exceeds my comfort level .

 

[Watana Bob]

Welcome Gorden, not trying to be negative, but that thing looks like a potential house fire when charging. I applaud your innovation, but please save up your nickels and dimes and buy a purpose-built e bike, if not for yourself, for your loved ones sake.

 

[Biplaneguy]

Welcome Gorden, not trying to be negative, but that thing looks like a potential house fire when charging. I applaud your innovation, but please save up your nickels and dimes and buy a purpose-built e bike, if not for yourself, for your loved ones sake.

Nah, you gotta understand the engineer/hacker mindset. I just bought a "real" ebike, these days I have too many projects, but his bike looks like something I would have built when I was younger (well, I did, but with a lawnmower engine instead of batteries... it was quite dangerous!). It's not just about the end result, it's about the journey.