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E-Bikes
- Thread starter olbriar
- Start date
And so it should be my friend if that is your passion.
It's colder today and the wind is gusting above 30mph but I hit the road with my bike. It was super nice yesterday but I was meeting some friend and missed out on riding. It's supposed to be even colder tomorrow but maybe not so windy. I hope to get out again but I'll have to wait and see.
I will be a E-Bike owner one day
It's definitely something to look forward to. I do think they are gaining popularity and we'll see more affordable models with the added market pressure. Cities will be more inclined to provide bike paths and bike lanes as time passes as well. It's a win win deal for those that wait.. or at least I hope it is. I also think that when and if we have covid behind us we'll see a lot more gas consumption and the pump prices will escalate. That will make E travel even more attractive.
Have I mentioned that my bike controller has cruise control? I've only played with it once but you turn it on like an auto and set the speed. Tap the breaks and it's off. Hit resume to reach and maintain the set speed. No pedaling required.
I'm not a Juiced brand bike salesman but I did receive an email today proclaiming that most of their bikes are on sale. $200 to $500 off depending on the model. If anyone is on the cusp of being a consumer with an interest in a Juiced bike, you might want to give them a look.
I think that most if not all of their bikes fall between the two and three grand range.
That's what I've seen too. To rich for my blood.
It's no small investment for sure. Only people that really love to ride can come close to justifying such. Our society is not really geared for E-bike transportation which makes it even more difficult.
You say that that your borrowed bike or bike laws restrict you to 25 kmh? Where I live in the US the law restricts E-bikes to 48 kph. It takes some legs but my bike will do 50+ kph. The battery will let me ride with that much assist for 110 km without a charge. I'm 68 and though I'm fit and ride, there is no way I could cover that sort of distance in that time without my E-bike. Though I ride for the enjoyment of riding, I enjoy it more with some help.
September of 2021 my son took me out to play a round of golf. I hadn't played the game for over 50 years. I was immediately hooked on the game all over again. I've spent all of my spare time since either playing or practicing golf. I was in my shed today and there stood my lonely E-bike. I haven't ridden the bike in over a year. I wiped it down and added some air to the tires and I was off for a ride. I was very happy that I had some assist. After a year of not riding my quads have turned to butter. It sure felt good to ride. It felt so good that I rode a few more miles tonight. I'll be riding more as time goes on. Lesson learned. It's way too much fun and relaxing, besides being beneficial, of an activity for my bike to be gathering dust in my shed.
It sure felt good to ride. It felt so good that I rode a few more miles tonight. I'll be riding more as time goes on. Lesson learned. It's way too much fun and relaxing, besides being beneficial, of an activity for my bike to be gathering dust in my shed.
rootabaga
Android Expert
^^^ I haven’t been on mine for more than a year. I had to quit riding (and a whole passel of other things!) when I tore up my shoulder and after I recovered from surgery there really hasn’t been enough spare time to make that a priority. (At least according to my wife…but that’s another story.)
Glad you got out to enjoy it!
Glad you got out to enjoy it!
You should make time to ride. I managed a six mile ride after dinner and before dark tonight. It wasn't a long ride but was fun. The weather was perfect and the wind in my face felt great. The tension that my day created melted away. It was definitely time well spent.
I've put just over 50 miles on my bike since I started riding again. Today's ride was fantastic!! Like a dumb rookie rider, I never checked the height of my seat. It has a quick tension clamp and it wasn't tightened sufficiently. Over time it let my seat creep down over an inch and three quarters. It's no wonder that riding was killing my quads. After a couple of miles I stopped and raised the seat as well as tighten the tension clamp. The rest of my ride was a dream experience. Low sixties temp with zero wind and a cloudless sky was perfect for a pre football excursion.
I topped 100 miles on my bike since I started riding again. I didn't ride yesterday, I had things going and it was extremely windy. Today I just rode 15 miles. It feels so great to be riding again that I wonder why I quit riding last September. I'm tracking my miles between charges. I remember it lasting longer than it is now. Nothing lasts forever but a new battery is not on my agenda. I'm guessing now I might be able to do a 50 mile loop without a charge. It was 70 miles when it was new. I'm trying to build up my endurance to take rides like I did years ago and travel the country to neighboring towns. The last thing I want to do is try to pedal that heavy bike home with a dead battery.
I rode another 20 miles today and averaged 19.6 mph. I have to push it that hard to get in a workout. That average speed is not bad considering I cross a busy street twice in my two mile loop and often have to stop and wait for traffic. The weather was perfect and it's not likely to last so I just had to ride today.
I recently encountered a problem with my bike. Randomly, after braking and slowing down to check traffic that I wanted to cross, the assist would not engage. I found the work-a-round was to briefly engage the throttle which returned the bike system to assist my riding efforts. I called support and they worked me though a number of things to inspect and adjust with no success. I called again today to report on the last failed attempt to repair and the rep had me disconnect the electronics from the brake levers. I was unaware but not only are the brakes hydraulic disc brakes but they also have sensors that cut power to the motor when engaged. That is something I hadn't considered and was the culprit for my power loss. One or both brake sensors were out of spec and once adjusted the bike again was a dream to ride.
My bike is way out of warranty being I purchased nearly four years ago. I was blown away by the attention my problem was given and sincere desire by the support team to set things right.
My bike is way out of warranty being I purchased nearly four years ago. I was blown away by the attention my problem was given and sincere desire by the support team to set things right.
Being as my bike repair cost me nothing I invested in a gadget for it.
It's important to me to know what's behind me, especially if it's overtaking me. I've used all sorts of rearview mirrors to aid me. The best I've found is a mirror that sticks inside the handlebar. I rode forever with just such a mirror. The grips on my bike are fantastic for riding and I'm not willing to exchange them for standard grips or to butcher them up by cutting a hole in them to access the end of the handlebar. I have a bar mounted mirror but it doesn't extend out far enough to see around my shoulder. I've tried mirrors that mount on my glasses but they pull my glasses down. I have not tried a helmet mounted mirror but I just can't see it working well. So, today I stepped into the modern bike gadgetry world and ordered a rearview camera with a handlebar mounted monitor. I hope that it proves to be the aid it is advertised to be.
Not my bike or camera / monitor but to give you an idea of what I've ordered....
It's important to me to know what's behind me, especially if it's overtaking me. I've used all sorts of rearview mirrors to aid me. The best I've found is a mirror that sticks inside the handlebar. I rode forever with just such a mirror. The grips on my bike are fantastic for riding and I'm not willing to exchange them for standard grips or to butcher them up by cutting a hole in them to access the end of the handlebar. I have a bar mounted mirror but it doesn't extend out far enough to see around my shoulder. I've tried mirrors that mount on my glasses but they pull my glasses down. I have not tried a helmet mounted mirror but I just can't see it working well. So, today I stepped into the modern bike gadgetry world and ordered a rearview camera with a handlebar mounted monitor. I hope that it proves to be the aid it is advertised to be.
Not my bike or camera / monitor but to give you an idea of what I've ordered....
It warmed up enough today to mount and try my rear view monitor. The installation was plenty easy enough. The supplied cable between camera and monitor was much longer than needed so I wrapped the excess around the seat post. Beyond that, I was well pleased with the install. I took the bike out for a ride, and though windy, I logged 18 miles. The new gadgetry worked as well as expected. In full sunlight the monitor is a somewhat reflective and road vibration was a bit of a factor as well. Even with the shortcomings mentioned, the viewing plenty fine to excellent to check overtaking traffic. I do think that off road biking would make it less than a good investment. I took a pic of the monitor and another of my baby when I put her in the shed.
Bearsyzf
Android Expert
Pikaboost turns any bike into an ebike in less than 30 seconds (newatlas.com)
this looks interesting
this looks interesting
Same concept as the tiny 2 stroke motors people used to mount on bikes. My question is does it last more than 30 seconds? Seems an aweful small package to house both a motor and very much battery?Pikaboost turns any bike into an ebike in less than 30 seconds (newatlas.com)
this looks interesting
It is an interesting idea if it works. It reminds me of my older cousin's bike that had a rope start engine. It worked pretty good except stopping was a problem. I would feel more confident putting my money in an E-bike that was designed to assist and designed around that assistance. Maybe they have all of that covered with the Pikaboost. It sounds like it has a cadence sensor of some sort. However no torque sensor or motor shut off when the brakes are applied. Most cheap E-bikes will have a cadence sensor but also the instant brakes are applied the motor shuts off. Better E-bikes have a torque sensor which acts much like an accelerator by detecting pedal pressure and throwing power to the motor. Also most of the better E-bikes have hydraulic disk brakes. The brakes are designed to stop a faster moving bike vs standard pad brakes. A person would be hard pressed to buy an E-bike with any features for less than a grand. Some of the feature rich bikes sell for over seven grand.
For information only, my bike has a 750w motor powered by a 52v 19.2 Ah battery that will assist me for 70 or more miles between charges.
I would feel more confident putting my money in an E-bike that was designed to assist and designed around that assistance. Maybe they have all of that covered with the Pikaboost. It sounds like it has a cadence sensor of some sort. However no torque sensor or motor shut off when the brakes are applied. Most cheap E-bikes will have a cadence sensor but also the instant brakes are applied the motor shuts off. Better E-bikes have a torque sensor which acts much like an accelerator by detecting pedal pressure and throwing power to the motor. Also most of the better E-bikes have hydraulic disk brakes. The brakes are designed to stop a faster moving bike vs standard pad brakes. A person would be hard pressed to buy an E-bike with any features for less than a grand. Some of the feature rich bikes sell for over seven grand. For information only, my bike has a 750w motor powered by a 52v 19.2 Ah battery that will assist me for 70 or more miles between charges.
I continue to have problems with one of my brake sensors shutting off the motor. It has a threaded connection to adjust the sensor in and out that is loose and won't stay properly adjusted. I've ordered a new sensor for $14 and will see if fits tighter and doesn't change adjustment as the bike vibrates. If it is as loose as the other, it is the female side of that connection that is out of spec. I think if that's the case I will wrap the threads in teflon tape or put a bit of varnish on the threads. I could order a new brake assembly. They have a break lever that has a setscrew to meet the sensor threads just to keep it properly adjusted. That seems a wise upgrade I might consider next spring.
I received the replacement sensor for my bike break last Monday but it was the wrong one. They were very apologetic when I called. It seems that have an entire box of the sensors with the incorrect sku number. They did have my sensor but they were also tagged wrong.
They informed me that they received them that way from China and now they are wondering how many replacement parts are wrong in their warehouse... what a nightmare. They told me that my correct part would be in the mail the day I called at no charge. It's been below freezing most of this week so it's not like I'm desperate.
They informed me that they received them that way from China and now they are wondering how many replacement parts are wrong in their warehouse... what a nightmare. They told me that my correct part would be in the mail the day I called at no charge. It's been below freezing most of this week so it's not like I'm desperate.
I did receive the correct break sensor but found it threaded into the brake lever just as loose as the original. I wrapped the threads of the old sensor with teflon tape until it required a wrench to screw in and have had luck with that work-a-round being the fix. Obviously, I need to completely replace the break lever at some point. At least I can ride for now.
I rode yesterday. It is getting almost too cold to ride.
It was just over 40° and traveling at an average speed of 25 mph I was experiencing a wind chill feeling like 15°. I have cold weather riding gear but my gloves proved to not be sufficient. Either new gloves, two pairs of gloves, or warmer weather are the plans for my next ride.
I rode yesterday. It is getting almost too cold to ride.
It was just over 40° and traveling at an average speed of 25 mph I was experiencing a wind chill feeling like 15°. I have cold weather riding gear but my gloves proved to not be sufficient. Either new gloves, two pairs of gloves, or warmer weather are the plans for my next ride.