Volto looks very good - I like the folding one, and the chap who supplies sounds like a nice guy and on to it. Yikebike is awesome - but you get no exercise done and if you are flat on battery no other way of using it...
I have a Flying Cat Mounty www.flying-cat.co.nz it is awesome 300w rear hub will do 30 kph on flat no problem i live on the hill in Napier and no problem getting up my driveway many cars cannot get up it
I have two - one I built many years ago with 36v hub motor and 3x 12v9ah SLA's (too heavy so useless on hills but fun on the flat. crappy range). Went MUCH better with my 2 x 18v drill batteries.
New(er) one is a bofeilli 300w mid-drive with 36v 10ah Lithium - night & day better all round especially on hills, but still not a high end bike. I commute about 20km round trip with a few hills and it handles everything with ease. 30-35km/h on flat, 15-20 on hills depending on what gear I have to change down to. I still put in lots of peddling effort so as to get some exercise. Speeds would be much slower if you didn't pedal.
I paid $1100 for it slightly used and for that price I think it is ok value. I wouldn't pay the ~$2000 new price.
When you start looking at the individual component costs from China, most of the Trademe chinese ebikes look seriously overpriced!
I don't think I would be spending too much on the first one. Definitely not more than $5000.
John
Central Motor KIT from Bafang will cost you < $1000 Battery (I consider myself High Voltage battery Guru) you can easily build from LI-Ion laptop batteries and that could be more powerful than what they sell from overseas The 350W Bafang we tested was consuming 18Amps at high load - you do the math.
Highlights: motor-assist is good feature, Lowlights: the byke is heavy (although lightest ever frame was used, motor and battery are heavy) and unpractical to carry with you up the stairs or pedal w/o motor assist in case you need that. For that reason we deemed it unpractical and got rid of it. Doubtfull that you will be able to go up the hill in Wellington just by using 350Watt motor w/o pedalling (not to mention weaker 250Watt motor) - it will overload and go into protection (switched off). Tested up the hill in AUckland. Not impressed.
But remember that >250W - needs to be registered which would add extra cost.
If you have $5k to burn then go for 800Watt central motor - that would probably bring you up any hill in Wellington - go for that one and post your flights :)
KiwiNZ: I can imagine these will have the same restrictions on them as the Segway has when they grow in number and the City Councils notice them
I have no idea what this comment means. But if it has anything to do with legality, a sub 300watt power assisted bicycle is legally treated as a bicycle. And above 300watt is a moped. No idea why the city council need to notice anything.
DravidDavid: Don't get a cheap one. You want one of these: http://www.stealthelectricbikes.com/ There is a New Zealand distributor. Will set you back $4,000 to $6,000 if I remember correctly. For your commute, you won't need the top of the line version and by now you may be able to find one second hand.
If registration is truly $600+ a year, the expensive one won't take very long to pay itself off.
Just looked at the price on an Australian dealer for the Stealth Bomber .. AU$9900!!!!!!! Ouchie!!!!
KiwiNZ: I can imagine these will have the same restrictions on them as the Segway has when they grow in number and the City Councils notice them
I have no idea what this comment means. But if it has anything to do with legality, a sub 300watt power assisted bicycle is legally treated as a bicycle. And above 300watt is a moped. No idea why the city council need to notice anything.
Many of the >300W electric bikes dont meet the standard for Mopeds, Indicators, reflectors, lights, brakes etc etc. One of the reasons I sold my 1000W Evo Powerboard, to much rubbish to attach to it, I dont see why they class them any different to road\racing bikes, those things get upto similar speeds and half the time the rider is concentrating on the physical aspects of moving the bike.
Meanwhile on my 1000W powerboard travelling at 35 kmh, all I do is twist the throttle and devote the rest of my mental capacity to the traffic.
LTSA legislation will ensure that these alternate non fossil fuel burning options never get off the ground. Now who benefits the most from selling Petrol and Oil (Government and big corporates)
All, updates on the quest to replace my commute with eBike.
Thanks to Rick (rp1790), I bought a Volto ebike at a very reasonable price.
At Rick's suggestion, I asked for the 48volt version of the battery. I also have as a spare the 36volt battery.
I have been using it for 2 weeks now and covered about 200km. It is performing better than expected. I come into the city (down hills) in about the same time as my motorbike but additional 5 minutes going home (up hills). The bike computer indicated that my top speed had been 63.8 Kmph, averaging 28.5Kmph. The 48v battery is significantly faster than the 36v.
The specification for the battery range is 30 to 80 km. This is the only point NOT exceeding expectation. I am only getting about 40km. Probably my hills are rather too steep. I am peddling rather hard most of the time. I am getting rid of my gym membership next.
The service that I received from the eBike supplier is outstanding. Highly recommended. Anybody wanted to view/test, please get in touch.
Thanks everyone for contributing/replying to this topic.
I am on my way to saving some $ and the planet. Apparently it's costing 1 cent per kilometre.
The battery is rated for 1000 charge. Replacement is $599. so far I am charging the battery twice a week, which is good for hopefully 9 years or so. I have a second one with the bike as well. So battery is taken care of, hopefully.
Have not investigate cost of brakes and tyres. I suspect tyres around $50?. Will keep an eye out for the distance travelled to calculate cost per kilometre. I pumped them up to the maximum rated PSI (40).
In the end, it is a lot cheaper than my motor bike's which is going thru a $450 set around every 8000kms.
ren1316: The battery is rated for 1000 charge. Replacement is $599. so far I am charging the battery twice a week, which is good for hopefully 9 years or so. I have a second one with the bike as well. So battery is taken care of, hopefully.
Have not investigate cost of brakes and tyres. I suspect tyres around $50?. Will keep an eye out for the distance travelled to calculate cost per kilometre. I pumped them up to the maximum rated PSI (40).
In the end, it is a lot cheaper than my motor bike's which is going thru a $450 set around every 8000kms.
I suspect you might struggle to get nine years from a battery, they seem to degrade with time not just cycles. Your 'spare' 36v may well be dead in less than a year if you don't cycle it through a charge every month or so.
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