Are you thinking about an E-Bike someday?

[Xringer]

I am.. Ever since I turned 65, I can feel my old bones telling me that I should be riding an electric bike!

At some point during the next 5 or 10 years, we are going to be needing some assistance to get up the hills around here.
Since there is no way to get out of this neighborhood, but climb a steep hill.

So, when we decided to get new bikes this summer, I kept E-bike conversion in mind.

I looked around and found out about Crank-Forward bikes.
The CF bike is great for old folks who want to put both feet on the ground at a stop light etc.
Plus, they are easy on the legs (and knees), since you don't press down,
but forward, with your feet. While pulling back on the handle bars.
These bikes allow you to hill climb without standing up on the pedals.
They are semi-recumbent bikes.
And, I can ride mine for 20 miles in the morning and still want to get in another 7 miles in the evening..

Anyways, I think this type of bike will be almost perfect for E-conversion.
Being a low-rider and able to put both feet on the ground will be very
important, when there is 20-30 pounds of battery on top of the rear rack..

Here's what ours look like.. (Before old age forces E-conversion).



You might also notice these bikes have Seats, not saddles..
Meaning your butt will allow for double mileage, and the ability to walk normally after a long ride.


If you have enough money to buy a used motorcycle, this is the best
of the CF bikes that I've seen on the web..
Ran Fusion (made in the USA, by RANS Designs, Inc. )

I wanted to buy my wife a new bike too, so I skipped getting a Fusion.

[Patrick]

Where did you get your bikes?

[Frank Lee]

I took a "Giant" e-bike for a brief test ride recently and LOVED IT way more than my Chinese electric "bicycle". I felt like I was bionic on it.

[Ryland]

I know a hand full of people who have bike motors from ElectricRider.com their higher end motors are great altho a bit heavy, they go up hills at full speed, you can tow a small trailer, they are not wimpy motors to say the least, mine is their mid speed motor and tops out at about 24mph without pedaling on a flat road running off 33v from my DeWalt (labeled as 36v) Lithium batteries.

[Xringer]

Originally Posted by Patrick

Where did you get your bikes?

Here: Electra Townie 21D Bike at REI.com

I was looking at a few other brands, Trek, Giant etc, but none of the LBSs
had any CF bikes in stock, that we could test ride..

[Xringer]

Originally Posted by Ryland

I know a hand full of people who have bike motors from ElectricRider.com their higher end motors are great altho a bit heavy, they go up hills at full speed, you can tow a small trailer, they are not wimpy motors to say the least, mine is their mid speed motor and tops out at about 24mph without pedaling on a flat road running off 33v from my DeWalt (labeled as 36v) Lithium batteries.

I'm interested in that kind of rig. I once saw a video on youtube..
Yes, this might be it.. More plug-in hybrid bike video - YouTube

I would be very interested in seeing your project posts on your build.
If there are none, some pics of your setup would be nice too.

I'm not too crazy about going real fast on my bike, I've been in a few
mishaps on bikes and mopeds, that involved speed..

I don't think (at least I hope) that I'll need a lot of power to get up the
local hills, just an assist, maybe 30% of the HP needed to get up a short hill.

One of my problems now, is my right knee needs a 10-15 minute warm up
before it wants to take on a steep hill.. The hills aren't a problem when
coming home at the end of a good ride..
My cold-knee solution this month is to dismount and push the bike
up the killer hill and then warm up on flatter ground..

[Xringer]

Originally Posted by Frank Lee

I took a "Giant" e-bike for a brief test ride recently and LOVED IT way more than my Chinese electric "bicycle". I felt like I was bionic on it.

I've heard there are some systems that will sense how hard you're working,
and adjust the power to give you more assist as you try harder..
While that would be nice to have, the cost is likely a lot higher than
the regular stuff that's been around for a while.

If health permits, my goal would be to use the least amount of assist possible.
And to have the added hardware load be light enough,
that I could still ride around on flat ground without busting any part of my body.

If the hub motor and battery was small and light, I could still ride my normal
mileage and just use the assist when it was really needed..

Like right now, I'll use the push mower on the lawn, until it gets away from me..
Then I'll get out the gas mower..

[skyl4rk]

I recommend full suspension for an e-bike.

[Xringer]

Originally Posted by skyl4rk

I recommend full suspension for an e-bike.

I read on some seller sites, not to use front forks with a hub, if the fork had shocks.

They warned buyers to use nothing but plain old steel forks.
Since the motor torque could cause a fork failure..

But nowadays, I no longer see that warning. And people are installing hubs with shocks..

Wonder what that was about.?.

[skyl4rk]

I think that there were some front fork failures, which could have been from rough riding or improper installation. The ideal setup would be a rear hubmotor. I have a front hubmotor on a Giant Sedona with front suspension and have not had a problem, but I haven't used the bike for some time. I would like a 48V-48aH Lipo battery, but would settle for a 48V-24aH battery.