E Bike commuters

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7773 posts

Uber Geek

#1745256 21-Mar-2017 16:36

Jarno:

rosco62: The ones in the shops are pissy underpowered 250 or 350 watt units and expensive. I bought a hub motor kit from Luna Cycles in the US, 52 volt, 1500 watts.

Just don't use it on the road. In New Zealand electric bikes are limited to 300 watts by law. Otherwise they are no longer considered bicycles, but more like motorbikes with the associated requirements of licensing and registration.

Easily resolved with a sticker that says 300W.

E-bikes look like great EV option. I have 5-minute walk to work so no need but I like the idea. A few people in Nelson have them in trike configuration with a useful looking cargo/dog tray at the back.

Mike

Krishant007

1403 posts

Uber Geek

#1745269 21-Mar-2017 16:50

Our company is trialing out Ebikes and letting some of the employees use the bikes for personal/work appointments within a certain radius of the city. I got to trial it out by taking it home overnight and commute in. Seriously got me thinking of buying an ebike - i have a couple of big hills on the way to work in the mornings and the bike certainly made things easier for me. You still have to paddle it of course and honestly speaking, i did feel like I was cheating in an exam. But then I reminded myself that its still better to have one car off the roads, so I can deal with the cheating :).

rosco62

55 posts

Master Geek

ID Verified

#1745370 21-Mar-2017 20:36

I think i paid US 340 for the kit less the battery. Battery was NZ 700 and was shipped from their sister company in OZ. All up NZ 1200 Inc shipping. Took me a couple of nights to fit it all and fine tune. I have been using it since Oct last year and ride it almost daily. Ebikes in the shops are anything from 3k up to 7k. With using my own mid quality mountain bike I have a safe reliable ride, hydraulic disc brakes and front suspension. I have upgraded to Kevlar lined tyres and led lighting. The 350 watt bikes are very sluggish to get going from a dead stop which is one of the most dangerous situations to be in when you are surrounded by cars especially on main roads. I can accelerate at a brisk speed which gets me out of those situations quickly. I have also had 30 plus years on Motorcycles so I can see the danger to slower cyclists that cars pose.

Benoire

2798 posts

Uber Geek

#1745380 21-Mar-2017 20:51

I'm looking at an e-bike when the company I work for fully moves in to the Auckland CBD. My commute in to the city at the moment takes an hour and averages 29km/h. With a decent 300w motor, I can get out of Titirangi and on the north-western and in to the CBD in about 35 minutes; much quicker, cheaper and more effective. Shower at work and eat breakfast on the job! Will save $10K a year too and not get caught in the pesky traffic.

I've seen some reasonable ones for about $2.5K, I really just want the assistance for the hills for most days!

1eStar

1604 posts

Uber Geek

#1745392 21-Mar-2017 21:31

The mid drive spins the gears. If you have a bike you love, chances are you can bolt a bafang, bbs-02 or derivative on. Available in a range of wattage and voltages.

Eg https://lunacycle.com/bafang-bbshd-1000w-mid-drive-kit/

GJones

41 posts

Geek

#1745397 21-Mar-2017 21:55

The ride in from Titirangi is 35 min on a standard road bike if you're willing to do the effort, cycle lane virtually all the way to town, it's great! Quicker than car, bus or train. Bit longer on the way home, more uphill...

Benoire

2798 posts

Uber Geek

#1745399 21-Mar-2017 21:57

I'm not that fit yet and no real promise of decent sleep from my non-sleeping 1 and 4 year old so the e-bike allows me the flexibility of assistance when tired and hauling a 25kg bike when not!

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Batman

Mad Scientist
29760 posts

Uber Geek

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#1745400 21-Mar-2017 22:02

question: if the battery is weak/flat, does it cause resistance to pedaling? wouldn't it be great to be able to charge it up by pedaling too eh

yann

135 posts

Master Geek

#1746184 22-Mar-2017 23:28

joker97:

question: if the battery is weak/flat, does it cause resistance to pedaling? wouldn't it be great to be able to charge it up by pedaling too eh

If my battery is flat, it just continues to ride as a normal bike, no additional resistance apart from the fact the bike is heavier given the motor and the battery. I think some models of ebike with hub mounted motors sometimes have regenerative features. I think bikes like the Specialized Turbo variants have this feature, where the battery can charge a little under braking, though I don't think it adds much back though (10% if I remember but the charging is under certain conditions). I think if it was a case where charge could be added by pedalling, it would certainly add a bit of resistance, and wouldn't be too efficient.

I think my bike's battery takes 4 hours to fully charge, though a 2 hour charge will net you 80% of a full charge.

zespri

412 posts

Ultimate Geek

Lifetime subscriber

#1769377 23-Apr-2017 21:09

Still no reviews / recommendations in this thread apart from may be one.

It looks like there is quite a bit of interested but most people are not on "bought one" stage yet. The purchase is quite expensive, so would be interesting to know impression of people who actually bought / used one.

Benoire

2798 posts

Uber Geek

#1769835 24-Apr-2017 15:29

I'm still looking. don't actually need one until October so I'm looking for others to see what they think.

Batman

Mad Scientist
29760 posts

Uber Geek

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Lifetime subscriber

#1769840 24-Apr-2017 15:35

I don't see anything wrong with these bikes, bicycles have been around for a long long time

kiwisoma

46 posts

Geek

#1769856 24-Apr-2017 15:55

This is the current model I like the look off. Kiwi design too.

http://smartmotionbikes.co.nz/index.php/bikes/sport-models/smartmotion-pacer

NedLudd

38 posts

Geek

#1769938 24-Apr-2017 18:25

Someone asked for a recommendation...?

I have been using an electric assist bicycle for daily commuting since July 2012. Four and a half years in Auckland (Mount Eden to CBD, plus home for lunch most days, and weekend use), then the past four months at Nelson.

I bought the Volto TDE03Z model, at the time www.volto.co.nz. That brand marketing ownership changed last year to www.nzebikes.co.nz, which still provides spare parts support.

I bought my first replacment battery ($570) in December 2016 soon after I relocated to South Island, so the original (36 volt, 12 Ah lithium) battery lasted four and a half years (about 22,000 kms), initially recharged about each three days, it gradually needing to be recharged more and more often during the following four years, until I by late 2016 it required recharging all night every night, for scarcely enough range to get to work and home.

Overall my electric bike has proven reliable. Other than recharging the battery, there is no 'electric specific' maintenance, just the usual regular bicycle maintenance of periodically adjusting gear and brake cables, oiling chain, checking tyre wear and air pressure, and tightening bolts.

In use I find that the big advantage an electric assist bicycle offers is that burst of speed, being able to 'filter' to the front of queues of cars at a traffic lights confidently, knowing that at a green light, I can accelerate across the intersection fast enough to get out of the way of following traffic without feeling 'crowded' or threatened by vehicle drivers behind getting impatient and passing too close and dangerously.

Plus of course the hills, and against headwinds, and simply the timesaving advantage. As of the behaviour of many car drivers toward cyclists, don't get me started...

KiwiME

213 posts

Master Geek

#1769951 24-Apr-2017 18:38

I have a rear hub eBike marked "300W" that I bought off Wellington eBikes for $1500 early last year, one of hundreds of variations available from China. I use it for commuting to local pubs or just to get around town efficiently. It can do 28 kph on the flat, or 35 if I pedal moderately, only 20 if there's a headwind. It's quick off the line and I can get up most hills around Napier at 20 with moderate pedaling.

Frankly, it's just a brilliant way to get around without sweating provided you have a secure and dry place to park it when you get to your destination.

Hill climbing ability is where you have to decide if you want the extra expense of a mid-motor design. These are usually 250 W EU standard but still go pretty well from what I understand.

There are units over 300 watt in both hub and mid-motor format but I prefer to be legal where possible and for my 80kg it works just fine. 300 watt or under is legally classed as a bicycle as long as the eBike is based on a muscle-powered bicycle.

If you're, umm, a bit porky you have three choices ... the cheap option is to import a 500W rear hub motor unit which doesn't look much different than legal units. Or better, buy a 250W mid-motor, or third, a more powerful mid-motor of which a few are available. You need to try them out. If you import one yourself pay attention that a quality brand of cells supplied.

jimbob79:

Out of curiosity, what is the general rule-of-thumb regarding changing the batteries on an ebike?

Is it best to keep topping them up to 100% when ever possibles or let them drain down to <10% the give them a full charge.

I would assume no different from any other Li-ion battery pack, cycle it in the 40-85% range. Since I don't need the range, I've modified my 42.0 V charger to taper off at 40.0 V (42.0 v is a full charge) which gives me roughly 85%. So that's 4.0 V per cell rather than 4.2 V.

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