Author Topic: Should I go electric ?.  (Read 18063 times)

Re: Should I go electric ?.
« Reply #50 on: 04 February, 2018, 03:42:08 pm »
I've been mulling over whether to convert Frankenhilda to AWD just for the hell of it.  Two motors*, two pedal sensors, two batteries, etc.   Sort of befitting...       

* A front wheel kit and a rear wheel kit.

Re: Should I go electric ?.
« Reply #51 on: 04 February, 2018, 03:50:55 pm »
If I were you, I'd run a RWD 250W set up, but push 48V through it. All depends on what range you want, but that would go like stink. Your proposal sounds very Heath Robinson and befitting of the bike, but would be heavy! Alternatively, have the AWD set up, but have the FWD on a throttle rather than PAS. and use it as a booster.
Haggerty F, Haggerty R, Tomkins, Noble, Carrick, Robson, Crapper, Dewhurst, Macintyre, Treadmore, Davitt.

Kim

  • Timelord
    • Fediverse
Re: Should I go electric ?.
« Reply #52 on: 04 February, 2018, 04:04:34 pm »
Due to my normal lack of fund's I have tried to wild camp as much as possible but having use campsite s will be more expense and less trips :-)

I think this is a point that many contributors to this thread are unaware of - your unusual financial situation means that the one-off cost of a motor system is affordable, but the cost of things like campsite fees or leisurely pub lunches can be prohibitive.

https://electricbike-blog.com/2016/12/20/the-anarchists-guide-to-guerilla-ebike-charging/ is probably worth a read, but don't read too much into the technical stuff, as feeble leftpondian electricity and DIY battery packs raise issues that aren't really relevant here.

Re: Should I go electric ?.
« Reply #53 on: 05 February, 2018, 03:02:37 pm »
You won’t climb a 100 metre hill on the energy regenerated down a 100 m hill, because the perpetual-motion machine remains some way off. In that sense you won’t break even.

However, compared to a cyclist on a non-electric bicycle, you would do even better than “breaking even”. The aerodynamic losses of descending speeds (even 30 or 40 km/h) are so terrible that descending at very low speed while charging a battery with the excess power, and then using the stored energy to power up the next hill, does even better than breaking even: it gives you a net gain in speed over the course. This is true for any moderately efficient regen system. What you lose to charging efficiency you more than gain in avoiding losses to aerodynamic drag on the descent. If the system can cope with your pedalling down the hill at 10 km/h, even better.

Scribble on the back of an envelop if this is not intuitive.
You've not ridden with many recumbent cyclists, have you?
<i>Marmite slave</i>

Re: Should I go electric ?.
« Reply #54 on: 06 February, 2018, 01:39:38 am »
So, pretty much settled on a front hub conversion for my wifes bike.  It's got a Nexus7 rear hub, with a back-pedal brake that she really likes, so replacing that was out of the question. Mid-mount would mean she would have to pedal at all times and she wanted to have the 'throttle only' as a feature.

350w seems ideal, 250w may not be enough to fully pull her up some of the hills, if she's carrying cargo.
There's some real cheap kits out there.
https://www.greenbikekit.com/electric-bike-kit/front/36v-250w-gbk-100f-front-driving-e-bike-kit-with-36v-12ah-bottle-battery.html

$350USD including battery, which almost seems too good to be true, but also cheap enough that it might be worth a punt?.

Samuel D

Re: Should I go electric ?.
« Reply #55 on: 06 February, 2018, 09:07:22 am »
You've not ridden with many recumbent cyclists, have you?

Correct!

Kim is right that this isn’t the thread for this debate, but if the matter comes up in a future discussion I’ll be happy to debate it. I don’t know much about e-bikes but I have a fair feel for where energy goes when riding a bicycle.

Re: Should I go electric ?.
« Reply #56 on: 06 February, 2018, 09:17:10 am »
If 250 watts can lug my fat carcass around on the conversion that I did for a friend it will surely pull Mrs. Jakob and the messages up a 1 in 5 no problem.  :)

Re: Should I go electric ?.
« Reply #57 on: 06 February, 2018, 10:14:13 am »
250W is the limit for e-assistance in the UK, otherwise it becomes an electric motorcycle.

Re: Should I go electric ?.
« Reply #58 on: 06 February, 2018, 11:09:37 am »
So, pretty much settled on a front hub conversion for my wifes bike.  It's got a Nexus7 rear hub, with a back-pedal brake that she really likes, so replacing that was out of the question. Mid-mount would mean she would have to pedal at all times and she wanted to have the 'throttle only' as a feature.

350w seems ideal, 250w may not be enough to fully pull her up some of the hills, if she's carrying cargo.
There's some real cheap kits out there.
https://www.greenbikekit.com/electric-bike-kit/front/36v-250w-gbk-100f-front-driving-e-bike-kit-with-36v-12ah-bottle-battery.html

$350USD including battery, which almost seems too good to be true, but also cheap enough that it might be worth a punt?.

Isn't 350W illegal in Eu and therefore UK? Also, I had the idea that thumb throttles are also illegal excepting for off road use.
Sorry repeating part of what orienteer said above.
Never knowingly under caffeinated

Re: Should I go electric ?.
« Reply #59 on: 06 February, 2018, 11:23:37 am »
I believe Jakob is in Canada
<i>Marmite slave</i>

Re: Should I go electric ?.
« Reply #60 on: 06 February, 2018, 12:03:39 pm »
250W is the limit for e-assistance in the UK, otherwise it becomes an electric motorcycle.

Not Northern Ireland at the moment, apparently.

Re: Should I go electric ?.
« Reply #61 on: 06 February, 2018, 12:22:57 pm »
I believe Jakob is in Canada
Ah. Thank you.
Never knowingly under caffeinated

Re: Should I go electric ?.
« Reply #62 on: 06 February, 2018, 02:45:49 pm »
350w seems ideal, 250w may not be enough to fully pull her up some of the hills, if she's carrying cargo.
There's some real cheap kits out there.
https://www.greenbikekit.com/electric-bike-kit/front/36v-250w-gbk-100f-front-driving-e-bike-kit-with-36v-12ah-bottle-battery.html

$350USD including battery, which almost seems too good to be true, but also cheap enough that it might be worth a punt?.

That seems very cheap. My 17.5Ah battery cost £350. Tread carefully at that price.
Haggerty F, Haggerty R, Tomkins, Noble, Carrick, Robson, Crapper, Dewhurst, Macintyre, Treadmore, Davitt.

Re: Should I go electric ?.
« Reply #63 on: 06 February, 2018, 06:41:10 pm »
I believe Jakob is in Canada
Ah. Thank you.

Yeah. The limits vary depending on province, but here in BC, it's 500w, max 32km/h and it has to have functional pedals. This does mean that many E-scooters will have a barely functional set of pedals on them, so that they can use the bike paths, which is a bit annoying.

Some more googling suggests that that kit above is legit, but it does cost an additional $160 to get shipped. Will order after Chinese New Years.

Re: Should I go electric ?.
« Reply #64 on: 07 February, 2018, 01:10:31 pm »

Yeah. The limits vary depending on province, but here in BC, it's 500w, max 32km/h and it has to have functional pedals. This does mean that many E-scooters will have a barely functional set of pedals on them, so that they can use the bike paths, which is a bit annoying.
Some more googling suggests that that kit above is legit, but it does cost an additional $160 to get shipped. Will order after Chinese New Years.
When I was setting up the 250W Bafang I think it was possible to set that to 42km/h.
Never knowingly under caffeinated

Re: Should I go electric ?.
« Reply #65 on: 11 March, 2018, 07:34:34 pm »
Torslanda picked up my trice today and when it comes back it should be buzzing with power  :thumbsup: .
the slower you go the more you see

Torslanda

  • Professional Gobshite
  • Just a tart for retro kit . . .
    • John's Bikes
Re: Should I go electric ?.
« Reply #66 on: 11 March, 2018, 08:59:21 pm »
Yep. You're gonna have a 250w rampant rabbit!
VELOMANCER

Well that's the more blunt way of putting it but as usual he's dead right.

Re: Should I go electric ?.
« Reply #67 on: 11 March, 2018, 09:00:51 pm »
I was going to say "that should keep him quiet" but I suspect the opposite will be true...    :demon:

Torslanda

  • Professional Gobshite
  • Just a tart for retro kit . . .
    • John's Bikes
Re: Should I go electric ?.
« Reply #68 on: 24 March, 2018, 11:04:30 pm »
Well, he should be fairly buzzing in the morning. ;)
VELOMANCER

Well that's the more blunt way of putting it but as usual he's dead right.

Re: Should I go electric ?.
« Reply #69 on: 25 March, 2018, 10:16:03 pm »
Oh good , a rampant rabbit will attract the girl's . I will be popular at last  :D .
First impression s are that the assist works best when pushing a big gear at a fairly slow cadence so I am using the dual drive in 3rd and using the deraillier  as normal which surprises me as the front chainring is a massive (by my standard s ) 42 teeth . I have been experimenting with the 9 power levels and am finding that level 4 seems to give me around 10mph ave .time will tell what range I can get but so far I still have 3  Out of 4 bar's on the battery   :)
the slower you go the more you see

Torslanda

  • Professional Gobshite
  • Just a tart for retro kit . . .
    • John's Bikes
Re: Should I go electric ?.
« Reply #70 on: 25 March, 2018, 10:25:44 pm »
How many miles did you do this aft?
VELOMANCER

Well that's the more blunt way of putting it but as usual he's dead right.

Re: Should I go electric ?.
« Reply #71 on: 25 March, 2018, 10:43:07 pm »
I am not sure as when I went to Windsor the trip distance on the battery said I had done 8 miles but it is only 4.5 miles . I had not reset my cycle computer till I went out after tea and I know that I did 15 miles at 10mph then. The battery display reads 41miles at the moment . By the way how do I reset the trip distance on the battery display? .
the slower you go the more you see

Torslanda

  • Professional Gobshite
  • Just a tart for retro kit . . .
    • John's Bikes
Re: Should I go electric ?.
« Reply #72 on: 25 March, 2018, 10:59:57 pm »
This video gives all the setup info
VELOMANCER

Well that's the more blunt way of putting it but as usual he's dead right.

Torslanda

  • Professional Gobshite
  • Just a tart for retro kit . . .
    • John's Bikes
Re: Should I go electric ?.
« Reply #73 on: 25 March, 2018, 11:09:29 pm »
I obviously did something wrong when setting up the display info. Probably programmed the wrong wheel size.

On the plus side, if you're sure about the mileage you did today (and I've no reason to doubt you!) it looks like your batteries are good for around 60 miles between charges . . .
VELOMANCER

Well that's the more blunt way of putting it but as usual he's dead right.

Re: Should I go electric ?.
« Reply #74 on: 26 March, 2018, 09:03:09 am »
Thanks ,Torslanda  :thumbsup:
the slower you go the more you see