Researching Ebikes

[Mick Saxton]

Hello. My name is Mick. I currently have a pedal powered bike and live in California. I am moving to New Hampshire for the late spring/summer, over to Washington for fall and winter then back out to the east coast to North Carolina for spring and summer. After that I'll probably go back to California.

I do have a car but I want to switch to biking as the car is simply getting to expensive for me. I would probably keep the car as a just in case emergency option however.

Anyways I am currently undecided on getting an ebike or converting my pedal bike to a gas. I saw a family riding their bikes with a small lawn mower looking motor and a 1 gallon gas tank that seemed pretty cool.

My issue is my commute. My commute now is about 20- 30 minutes driving and my commute in the states I'm moving to is about 30-45 min driving so I am not sure if there is really any ebike that I could afford that could help me. I am 6'5, 180 lbs, and haven't exercised in awhile. I would like the ebike to be transporatable in a plane so that way I don't need to be paying for 2 cars; one for the west coast and one for the east coast (current plan is to buy a used car when I get to the east coast and then sell it when I move back to the west coast, stop by California and then drive the car I have in California to Washington, etc).

Any advice or thoughts? Or am I better off trying to figure out a way to finance 2 cars?

 

[Nirmala]

Are you commuting during rush hour? If so an ebike might be able to come close to those times, as the cars are not moving that fast anyways. Also, if you keep the box it comes in, you could ship your bike to yourself at moving time. That way you would not be limited to a bike that fits easily on an airplane, and also to a battery that is legal to fly with.

I doubt the gas motor would really be that enjoyable. I had a friend over for a ride on our 2 Magnum Ui5's and he has owned every other kind of two wheeled vehicle there is. He currently has a big 800 pound motorcycle. He said that an ebike was the most fun he had ever had on two wheels, and one big reason is that it is quiet, unlike his motorcycle. You probably can convert your existing pedal bike to electric if you wanted to. There are lots of do-it-yourself kits and even bike shops that will do the conversion.

Another option that is coming possibly soon ( maybe by May) is this one: https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/shareroller-add-on-e-power-for-bikes-scooters/x/12713097#/story
That is a system you could take on the plane and then mount it on used bikes that you buy in each of the places you move to.

If you do find an ebike that works for you, maybe you could just rent a car for the occasional times you really needed it.

Finally, there is lots of info on this website. I would start reading and watching reviews on here to get the lay of the land.

 

[JoePah]

HI Mike..
A 30 minute drive to work sounds like 20 miles.. That's a long trip to take on a bike twice a day. even long on a scooter, in winter.

And electric bike conversion kit that could take you one way (charge it at work for the home trip) at a reasonable speed of 20-25 mph would cost around $1300.

Check out Luna Cycles.. In CA

YOu could buy an electric bike for around $1500, but you may not get everyday reliability.

A gas motor conversion kit is around $300 i think.

 

[Mick Saxton]

Thank you for the responses. Yes I will be using the bike for long trips. 20-30 miles one way. I would like something that helps out with making the ride easier so I don't show up to work a sweaty mess. Coming home from work I don't necessarily care about how sweaty I get as I can shower and relax. I like the looks of the shareroller Nirmala and I'll take a look at Luna Cycles Joe.

 

[Deleted member 803]

If you buy an ebike, I suggest a mid-drive with a large battery as they tend to be more efficient with battery usage and hence get better mileage. I would start by looking at some brands such as Kalkhoff, Haibike, and even perhaps the Stromer ST2. Test ride a lot of bikes to find the geometry, size, equipment, and battery size that meets your needs. A competent ebike shop can guide you. Buy as local as you can to develop a solid relationship with your dealer as ebikes tend to warranty higher service levels.

P.S. You want a bike with an easily removable battery and you will also need a second charger to keep and use at work.

 

[KenM.]

Hi Mick, You can learn so much here about e-bikes.
As far as a gas bike goes, I have been looking into building one, just for something to do. The more you look into them you will find that the kits are very, very low quality . I mean they only cost like from $100 to $200 . If you have some time on your hand and can to your own maintaence , they could be ok for a fun bike, but not what you need though I think.
They get about 100mpg. But their gas tank is only 1/2 gal. So i am thinking 50 miles per tank might be about it.
Sorry for the bad spelling . Hope this helps you some.
Keep looking up! Ken.