getting a regular bike after my battery fails?

[fooferdoggie]

As my trek e bike with a bosch motors battery is over 500 cycles its getting close to its lifespan. the bike has 20,000 miles on it. The motor may give me another 20 or fewer before the bearings start to go. for most of my life, I had serious energy issues and without a ebike I could not really ride. but now I can average 120 to 155 watts on my commutes so I think I can ride an analog bike. I have two 1 block 18# grade hills I need to get up that I will need lower gearing for. I know I want flat bars and I have a lot of parts to upgrade a used bike. I have two sets of dt swiss wheels shimano deore


4 pistion brake parts shfters and such. though I think I would need a 11-52 cluster and maybe a 36t chainring. I don't need to go ver 20mph, so maybe that should work well for me? I could buy a bike and work on it and do what I can. I can't run new brake housing and i dotn want to buy the tools to do it so a local bike shop. not sure how narrow of tires I want to use. my first bike had 1.5” tires and my trek has 2” I don't want that large of a tire it makes the bike too sluggish.


I can climb my short hills putting out 450 watts

 

[Stefan Mikes]

Perhaps you could consider a 2x drivetrain, Steve? You have got used to the 1x but that's just a compromise, assisted by a powerful motor.

As for me, my health's deteriorating, so I must ride e-bikes!

 

[fooferdoggie]

Perhaps you could consider a 2x drivetrain, Steve? You have got used to the 1x but that's just a compromise, assisted by a powerful motor.

As for me, my health's deteriorating, so I must ride e-bikes!

ya if you can find it now yes i thoughto f that too. I really want through axles I am so tired of the regular QR. my wheels can adapt to it. I could just get the frame and fork too I have a lot of the parts.

 

[mschwett]

As my trek e bike with a bosch motors battery is over 500 cycles its getting close to its lifespan. the bike has 20,000 miles on it. The motor may give me another 20 or fewer before the bearings start to go. for most of my life, I had serious energy issues and without a ebike I could not really ride. but now I can average 120 to 155 watts on my commutes so I think I can ride an analog bike. I have two 1 block 18# grade hills I need to get up that I will need lower gearing for. I know I want flat bars and I have a lot of parts to upgrade a used bike. I have two sets of dt swiss wheels shimano deore


4 pistion brake parts shfters and such. though I think I would need a 11-52 cluster and maybe a 36t chainring. I don't need to go ver 20mph, so maybe that should work well for me? I could buy a bike and work on it and do what I can. I can't run new brake housing and i dotn want to buy the tools to do it so a local bike shop. not sure how narrow of tires I want to use. my first bike had 1.5” tires and my trek has 2” I don't want that large of a tire it makes the bike too sluggish.


I can climb my short hills putting out 450 watts

you can definitely ride a regular bike ! it'll just be slower. unless you're very heavy i really doubt you need 36-52 at the low end with ±150 watts sustained, one block isn't all that much and it would be nice to be able to pedal when going downhill, make up some of the time lost going slowly up hills without a motor. a lighter, easier rolling bike can be very addictive. sounds like you have almost a whole bike, buy a nice light frame and some bars and have a shop put it together for you. i wouldn't go > 38mm on a bike i have to pedal myself on pavement, went down that road with "gravel" wheels for the creo and it's a waste of energy. (literally!)

 

[fooferdoggie]

I weigh 212 so I am not light. and I am 62 years old. The bigger tires would be for comfort. but its been so long since I rode a regular bike I dont really know. but it is nice to know how many watts I can put out. I usually coast down steep hills anyway or use the brakes. my commute only had one just steep hill each way. for most of my non-commuting riding, I have the tandem. plus I often carry groceries.

 

[RunForTheHills]

ya if you can find it now yes i thoughto f that too. I really want through axles I am so tired of the regular QR. my wheels can adapt to it. I could just get the frame and fork too I have a lot of the parts.

Look for a touring bike. This Surly Disc Trucker still comes with a triple in the front. I think the lowest gear is around 20 gear inches. Or you can buy a frame and roll your own. I have an eight or nine year old factory equipped LHT and a newer Disc Trucker I built from a frame with upright bars about six years ago. I put a Grin kit on the Disc Trucker. They are the most comfortable bikes I have ridden.

https://surlybikes.com/products/disc-trucker-700c-pea-lime-soup

 

[Stefan Mikes]

Any gravel bike would do but I'm sure you wouldn't like the drop bar?

I weigh 212 so I am not light. and I am 62 years old.

64, 225. However, my health is ruined.

P.S. My brother swears by Marin DSX3. Yes, a 1x flat handlebar gravel bike but 12 speed and wide range gearing.

 

[fooferdoggie]

Look for a touring bike. This Surly Disc Trucker still comes with a triple in the front. I think the lowest gear is around 20 gear inches. Or you can buy a frame and roll your own. I have an eight or nine year old factory equipped LHT and a newer Disc Trucker I built from a frame with upright bars about six years ago. I put a Grin kit on the Disc Trucker. They are the most comfortable bikes I have ridden.

https://surlybikes.com/products/disc-trucker-700c-pea-lime-soup

I can just get the frame the components kinda suck on it. I have most of what I need. the dt-dwiss wheels will adjust to fit. I would have the back drivetrain already, brakes would just need new lines run and maybe new levers as the ones I have click. its setup for fenders and a rack.

 

[spokewrench]

I weigh 212 so I am not light. and I am 62 years old. The bigger tires would be for comfort. but its been so long since I rode a regular bike I dont really know. but it is nice to know how many watts I can put out. I usually coast down steep hills anyway or use the brakes. my commute only had one just steep hill each way. for most of my non-commuting riding, I have the tandem. plus I often carry groceries.

78 years old and 255. I hated the 20 x 3.3 tires on my first e-bike, largely because they seemed to have a lot of drag. However, it's stretches of rough pavement that really slow me down. When I tested them against 27 x 2 tires coasting down a hill on rough pavement, the fatter tires were consistently faster. I need to keep an open mind about fat tires.

Years ago, I spent maybe $30 on a laser level, which makes it easy to measure grades. I read my speedometer as I climb with no motor. If I convert that to m/s and multiply that by percent grade, that's my climb in m/s. If I multiply my gross pounds by 4.45, that's newtons. Multiplying that by my climb is watts. The watts I put out on a given hill can be much lower at some times than at others. Depending on the length of your commute, that could be reason to want a motor for backup.

 

[fooferdoggie]

I have tested many tires. my long wheel recumbent with a wind screen and the hill at my house was a perfect platform. I have been doing this commute for over 5 years so I know it well. The ebike is good when I am sick, though. but now I can put ut more watts while sick then when I was feeling good but sick two years ago. I can always go easier ways if I need it. I had commuted on a recumbent and a road bike when I was even sicker. but I never did the steep roads I do now. Same commute though. but I have felt a lot of differences in tires, especially once I went tubeless. I could tell the difference on the same tire with and without a tube.

 

[Rás Cnoic]

As my trek e bike with a bosch motors battery is over 500 cycles its getting close to its lifespan. the bike has 20,000 miles on it. The motor may give me another 20 or fewer before the bearings start to go. for most of my life, I had serious energy issues and without a ebike I could not really ride. but now I can average 120 to 155 watts on my commutes so I think I can ride an analog bike. I have two 1 block 18# grade hills I need to get up that I will need lower gearing for. I know I want flat bars and I have a lot of parts to upgrade a used bike. I have two sets of dt swiss wheels shimano deore


4 pistion brake parts shfters and such. though I think I would need a 11-52 cluster and maybe a 36t chainring. I don't need to go ver 20mph, so maybe that should work well for me? I could buy a bike and work on it and do what I can. I can't run new brake housing and i dotn want to buy the tools to do it so a local bike shop. not sure how narrow of tires I want to use. my first bike had 1.5” tires and my trek has 2” I don't want that large of a tire it makes the bike too sluggish.


I can climb my short hills putting out 450 watts

So my Salsa Vaya has a nowadays, very old fashioned 3x chainset 24/34/46 with an 8 speed block 11-34. It has 38mm Panny Gravelkings semi-slicks. I'm not fit and the hills are very steep, but at least with this gearing I can just about get over them (not too many in a row mind you, that's why I have the e bike) The 38mm are great for the rough tarmac/potholed lanes around here. Fast when it's smooth but enough bounce to save my wrists and bum.

I'm looking at converting to a 2x thinking of a sub compact 42/26 or perhaps 40/26 and an 11-36 at the back. It'll give me a similar low gear and I don't need the top much on these roads. Just not sure about that 34 middle ring range on the triple, seem to use that a lot. Need to do a few rides and some calculations. Advantages are the front derailleur should work better, dropping down to the smallest 24 ring is a bit hit or miss no matter how I adjust it. And just a simpler set up overall.

 

[stompandgo]

There's not a lot of options for a crankset like that. The ones I've seen are square taper. Watch the Q-factor and chainline.

 

[Rás Cnoic]

This is a 15 year old steel bike I'm talking about. Luckily in the UK there are a number of old well established touring/Audax specialised bike shops, Spa Cycles and SJS in particular that do numerous parts for all kinds of Bikes. Spa does its own relatively cheap chainsets, and also sells ones like Stronglight and a number based off the famous Sugino XD2 type alloy chainsets. Their own brand alloy 2x and 3x are cheap but very reliable. The Q factor is not bad at 159mm , think my mid drive Vado SL is 181mm!

Here's the chainset page, you can see the different types. The ones I'Il probably get called the TD-2 Super Compact. I can pick inner and outer rings of many tooth sizes plus crank lengths from 165 to 175mm.

Drivetrain | Chainsets | Spa Cycles

www.spacycles.co.uk

 

[kevinmccune]

Perhaps you could consider a 2x drivetrain, Steve? You have got used to the 1x but that's just a compromise, assisted by a powerful motor.

As for me, my health's deteriorating, so I must ride e-bikes!

one of my favorite dedicated ,gaunt riders rides a 2x11,he swears by it and believe me he can climb!

 

[sc00ter]

My wife still has her Electra Ed Roth Rat Rod chopper bicycle. It's basically a fancy Townie with a Nexus 3 speed. I took it to the store yesterday and I found myself wondering why the PAS wasn't kicking in! I doesn't have a motor! Once I remembered what I was on I actually enjoyed riding it. Regular, analog bicycles are still fun to ride for me.

I have zero experience with hills. I lived in central PA for awhile and was shocked when I saw their version of road bikes with the huge gear clusters! Only bikes I had when I lived their was a bmx bike and a beach cruiser with a 7 speed Nexus. Neither could climb the hill going back to my house that was on the top of the hill. I had to do the push of shame!

 

[Chazmo]

Good luck with the transition back to leg-power-only, foofer.

 

[RunForTheHills]

Good luck with the transition back to leg-power-only, foofer.

He could always put a kit on it if it doesn't work out. That said, I will never put a kit on my Raleigh or my dropbar LHT.

 

[Chazmo]

He could always put a kit on it if it doesn't work out. That said, I will never put a kit on my Raleigh or my dropbar LHT.

Yup. Actually, I was wondering the opposite… What about “un”-powering his Trek? Is there any reason not to do that? I mean, in the case of my fat e-bike that would result in a useless bike, but can his Trek be ridden without power? I presume foofer already thought of that.

 

[RunForTheHills]

If he has a mid-motor, you aren't going to fit a regular bottom bracket and crankset to the bike.

 

[fooferdoggie]

Good luck with the transition back to leg-power-only, foofer.

should be fine I used to ride a regular bike with I was really sick. I will just go slower with the same effort. my trek is such a dog without power. Even a 2% grade takes 200 watts to get up.