I am officially an old man (an e-bike convert, years ahead of schedule) Metakoo, Jetson Bolt Pro
 

https://ecomodder.com/forum/attachme...1&d=1657756301

A friend recently loaned me the above bike. It's a 48v 500w machine with both a throttle and pedal assist. (Details: "Rad Power Bikes" RadExpand model.)

I just finished 3 weeks with it, and while I always thought I would EVENTUALLY get an e-bike (when I got old), I can see how one works in my life RIGHT NOW.

My previous only long-term exposure to e-bikes was when my parents had this 24v, 200w lead-acid machine a hundred years ago:

http://ecomodder.com/forum/attachmen...1&d=1311600456

Thread: New hybrid in the family: e-bike by Schwinn ... or Currie

It was pretty terrible, partly because the bicycle was terrible: single speed. Technology wasn't great either (battery chemistry, power, range).

----

The newer Rad bike is better technology, but it's a pig -- 75 lbs!!

The weight is its biggest problem - it's almost unusable as a regular (non-powered) bicycle on anything other than flat land. But even at that weight, its electric range & power makes it a practical car replacement for local trips.

I thought an e-bike would make me lazy -- it definitely has that potential! But at least during the honeymoon phase, I still rode my regular bike for regular bike types of trips.

The e-bike got used for trips where instead I would have taken the car (eg. if I'm pressed for time, or if I've already done a normal amount of errands on my regular bike and/or I'm tuckered out.)

I'm doing so many short trips for my aging folks lately that an e-bike clearly makes sense. It's more fun, more efficient & more exercise. (Even if I'm only contributing 50% of the motive power on the e-bike, that's 100% more exercise than I would be getting in a car.)

I've told so many people about it that two relatives have gone out & bought their own.

My brother just bought this cheap 36v Walmart MTB style e-bike:

https://ecomodder.com/forum/attachme...1&d=1657757713

I've ridden it a bunch this week, and it's a much better e-bike than the Rad, mostly because it's a slightly better bike. (Even though it's basically a lowest-bidder built machine.)



What I mean is it's lighter (50 lbs), more maneuverable, and is easier to contribute muscle power to the mix. Though it's far from perfect - gearing is all wrong, the lowest pedal assist level is TOO powerful, and it needs a rear rack to carry things (easily fixed).

So now I'm looking for a good deal on a MTB style e-bike. Of course me being me, I can't just buy a new one. I'm on the hunt for a deal.

Awesome!
I don’t think this makes you an old man at all. With a basket on it you’ll be running all kinds of errands with it. For me the ebike was the difference between telling myself that next time I’ll do that trip by bike to now running pretty much all solo errands around town on my ebike and ebiking to work almost every day.
Cheers!

I'm years ahead of schedule, too.

What I really need is an Acrimoto MLM, but they're maybe a year away from production. If I get an FUV I'm just settling for what I can get this quarter.

https://rostelecomu.ru/uploads/posts...romobili-2.png.
rostelecomu.ru/uploads/posts/2022-02/arcimoto-nachinaet-priem-predzakazov-na-neobychnyj-pedalnyj-jelektrobajk-mlm-jelektromobili-2.png

I rode a top of the line e-mountain bike recently. Still a workout even though it was doing 80% of the lifting. Mostly a workout because I'm so out of shape. Still, something's better than nothing.

I've been so lazy since getting a mini Segway, and even moreso getting that EUC from Iamian. I ride that thing every day, sometimes only to the mailbox.

I don't think E-bikes will be a net-detriment to health so long as people don't use the no-pedal modes. If you have to pedal, there's always incentive to put in effort.

That was my brother's rationale for getting his: not to replace car trips, but for exercise. He has a pedal bike leaning against his fence that hasn't moved for a couple of years. So ANY exercise he gets on the e-bike (incentive: it's more fun) is excercise he wouldn't otherwise get. He lives out in the country by a lake with lots of scenic cottage roads to explore. So far, so good.



Interestingly, NONE of the the 4 current "Hyper" brand Walmart e-bikes have throttles; you have to pedal to get assist, even if you just "spin" the cranks and don't contribute meaningfully to your motion.




Just for $#its and giggles I took my brother's Walmart bike to my weekend MTB group ride. It's a bad mountain bike, but it was silly fun blasting up climbs and passing my friends. And it was still a good workout - actually MORE of an upper body workout because it's almost 2x the weight of my old MTB, so I actually got blisters on my hands from manhandling the thing for the usual hour and a bit ride.

The thing about the MLM is that it will double as an indoor exercycle. One will be able to use the charge to browse Ecomodder.

It doesn't have a no-pedal mode.

If you REALLY want to up your credibility as an "old man", you need an electric-assist recumbent tricycle, with full suspension. Almost everyone I've seen riding such a contraption is of retirement age or older. Hardly anyone else can afford one.

I have one. I consider myself "old", really am middle aged, and random strangers think they're looking at a teenager or college student. A number of people thought I was physically disabled for riding this thing only to get weirded out when they see me get off and walk. There's a high "WTF?" factor there with an electric recumbent trike. You can't go wrong.

Also, get a Jitterbug phone, start wearing highwater jeans, eat hard candy, and talk about your colon polyps test results! :)

Ha! I'm halfway there! I already have a semi-recumbent pedal bike...

http://ecomodder.com/imgs/ccm-evox-120.jpg

There was a "real" 2-wheel recumbent (pedals ahead of the front wheel) advertised locally just 2 days ago, and I was sorely tempted.

I've literally done this! Home-made bike generator years ago.

I'm sure the MLM will be far more efficient than what I kludged together.

Fully recumbent 2-wheelers are difficult to ride. I'd recommend saving up and getting a trike. You could build a velomobile out of it and get the equivalent of thousands of MPG.

That's what I did to mine. Best of all, I designed it to where it is fully operable as a "bicycle" if I shut the motor off, and the body was slippery enough that even at 91 lbs weight for the complete vehicle and with the motor imposing cogging torque losses, when disabling the motor I could maintain rolling averages significantly faster than I could with a normal bicycle for a given pedal effort in a hilly area.

Mine used 8-10 Wh/mile with the shell @ 30-35 mph riding speeds, but without the shell, energy consumption for the same riding conditions is about 40 Wh/mile when I tested it last month.

If I can sort-of replicate the slipperiness of my Milan SL velomobile for my next design, and perhaps end up with twice the Milan's CdA after I make concessions to practicality, I think 5 Wh/mile @ 30-35 mph is possible, as well as 20-25 Wh/mile @ 70 mph(once the vehicle is set up for cruising at that speed, that is).

A normal electric bike can do 30-40 Wh/mile @ 30 mph, but double that speed to 60 mph and it quickly gets into the triple digit Wh/mile territory or close to it thanks to drag.

What kind of Wh/mile figures have you gotten with each of those e-bikes you've ridden?

e-trike
 

Whoops, super delayed response...

I'm embarrassed to say I haven't measured it! In the past, I know I would have nerded out on that kind of data.

Also: I absolutely see the appeal of a streamlined tadpole e-trike. But it's not on the radar of future projects right now.

I did end up buying an e-bike, though... next post coming up in a couple of minutes...

My new EV
 

It's a brand I've never heard of before - "Metakoo Cybertrack 100". (China makes e-bikes by the billions, so I'm not surprised I've never heard of it.)

https://ecomodder.com/forum/attachme...1&d=1668539142

I got it used (with 80 km / 50 miles on it) for $900 CAD from a 6'3" guy who bought it online without noticing the frame size in the sales description -- it's WAY too small for his height. It's even slightly too small for me and I'm just 5'10.

Specs..

- 350W rear hub motor
- 375Wh battery
- 1.5-2 hr charging time
- 21 speeds
- 46 lbs
- "30 mile / 50 km" range... whatever that means


Cost...

Original owner paid 1250 CAD after taxes. He could have sent it back, but opted to sell it at a discount rather than go through the hassle of re-boxing, shipping & also paying a restocking fee.

Hassle for him = deal for me!

I specifically chose this bike because it's a "normal" bike with 21 speeds (including a nice, low granny gear) that also has electric assist (both via throttle or pedal-assist).

The key thing is it's usable as a regular bike (though it's portly at 46 lbs). I've ridden several other e-bikes that were either so heavy or awkward that you would be in trouble if you ran it out of charge far from home or in hilly terrain.


Range...

I've owned it since August and have charged it 4 times so far. Even limiting the max. charge level to around 80% and not draining it empty (to extend the life of the battery pack), I'm seeing around 40 miles / 70 km per charge. I almost always pedal when riding - I use the "pedal assist" mode rather than the hand throttle.

Usage...

I already do a lot of errands around town by bike. My justification for an e-bike is it's for the trips where I'm in too much of a hurry or feeling too lazy to take a regular bike. So it's definitely replacing some car trips.

Also it's fun! I've taken it on a couple of longer recreational/sightseeing rides that I wouldn't normally do on my regular bike. EG: my brother needed to borrow a car one very nice day last month, so I threw the bike in the back & drove one out to his place (42 km / 25 mi one way) and then e-biked home.

I was worried it would make me lazy... and that risk is real!

But so far, it hasn't turned out that way. Instead, it's definitely resulted getting MORE exercise instead of sitting on my butt in a car.

Random video review...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uQppB96B1ec

According to Dire Straits, sometimes you're the windshield sometimes you're the bug.

I see electric bikes zipping down the bike lane at 25MPH. I think they need a rotating beacon on the top.

I got to try a neighbor's e-bike recently. So much fun! I have some motors and a lot of dying Insight batteries.... :D

When I was shopping this summer, the used bikes at good prices were being snapped up pretty quick.


This bike was up for sale longer than most, and one reason I think I snagged it is because the owner mistakenly advertised the bike having a top speed of 20 km/h. But it's a US-market bike, and the speedo reads in MPH. Maybe he didn't know that. So vmax is actually 32 km/h, which is Ontario's max e-bike speed (and many states, I think).


Fumes: I always imagined I'd build an e-bike (or aero e-trike like Toecutter's). Life got in the way! Maybe later. Do it!

So the 375 Wh pack gets 40 miles range at 20 mph with light pedaling. That is testament to just how inefficient upright bikes are. I was getting roughly the same economy at 35 mph when the shell was still on my corovelo.

Do an e-trike! You won't regret it. You can get surprisingly great range for not much money in batteries.

It's not QUITE as bad as it seems - I'm only using about 60-70% of the pack capacity (trying to avoid charging past 80%, discharging below 20%).

Of course a trike would be more fun and efficient.

35-ish years ago I dreamed of making one. Sketched these...

http://ecomodder.com/imgs/darin-tadp...lo-concept.jpg

http://ecomodder.com/imgs/darin-delta-velo-concept.jpg


Thread: I was an aero/HPV/velomobile nerd way back when... (found some old drawings of mine)

The red and white tadpole has its wheels too far forward to be viable because it will end up very tippy in the corners due to the center of mass being so far back. You'd have to space the front wheels greatly further apart. This would also have the advantage of moving the wheel turbulence generated away from the body shell, allowing you to have laminar flow along the body instead of constant turbulence from the wheels disrupting the flow along the body. A greatly wider front track on this would significantly reduce drag. Although if you have a bicycle drivetrain in the vehicle, moving the wheels more toward the middle of the trike would probably be necessary anyway, because you will need room for your toes to clear while pedaling, and you don't want steering components in the way, which would then make the vehicle less prone to tipping.

The blue and white delta is more viable of the two, but I'd recommend fairing the front so that the front wheel isn't exposed, finding a way to seal the sides, and then fair the rear wheels, all of which are simple ways to cut drag.

You should definitely build one. You won't regret it. It will become your daily and you will look forward to using it every time the occasion arises. I speak from experience on this. Feel free to ask me any questions if you need any advice or help. Don't put this off, because by not having such a thing, you're really missing out.

That extra 3rd wheels takes all enjoyment away from 2 or less. Might as well have 18 wheels at that point.

Metakoo e-bike 1 year review... bought a Jetson Bolt Pro!
 

Just over a year later, I've put about 750 km on the "Metakoo" mountain e-bike. I added a rear basket, fenders, lights and a bell.

It does exactly what I want it to do. 99% reliable & useful.

The only bug I've encountered is sometimes right after charging, it will randomly power itself off -- just once -- while underway. Hard on/off via the battery pack switch fixes that.

I'd say 80% of its use replaced short car trips (errands).

---

BUT... it may have just met its replacement. I just bought the Mitsubishi Mirage of e-bikes!


https://ecomodder.com/forum/attachme...1&d=1698686850

I picked this up for $100 at a local thrift/overstock store. It's a 1 year-old "Jetson Bolt Pro".

New, these things go for around $425 CAD or $300 USD (plus tax) at Costco. The store I got it from buys warranty returns from Costco and re-sells the working & easily fixed ones for about $225. The rest go "as-is" for $100 to guys like me.

I rolled the dice, threw down my C-note, and it turned out the problem was just a broken wire to the throttle control! (This is actually the 2nd one I've bought. The first one only had a broken power switch.)

The 36 volt / 6 Ah battery is quite a bit smaller than the mountain e-bike I got last year. And the factory range specs are pretty optimistic:


https://ecomodder.com/forum/attachme...1&d=1698686935



So far, I've only ridden it about 75 km / ~45 miles.

Pros:

• It's silly fun to ride - short wheelbase & wheels make it hilariously steerable/chuckable, yet it still feels stable at max speed.
• It's small enough to easily carry inside / put in the back of a car
• Takes up much less room in the garage
• Surprisingly solid-feeling (100% rattle-free ride)
• It has a "cruise control" button on the throttle, so you can dial in whatever amount of assist you want, then hit the button, making for infinite assist levels vs. the 5 pre-programmed levels of assist on the Metakoo
• very bright, built-in 36v headlight

Cons:

• The pedal-assist function is too aggressive (adds way more power than I want for a given crank speed), so I disabled it (unplugged the cadence sensor). I just use the throttle & cruise control button - thus also saving energy.
• Not very light for its size: 41 lbs (steel frame) vs 46 lbs mountain bike (aluminum)
• If the battery ever dies, it's not a very good bike (short crank arms are my main complaint)

I've been using it regularly for errands and am surprised how useful & enjoyable it is. Yes, it's compromised, but it's about 80% as useful as the bigger bike ... for about 12% of the price!

I'm seriously considering keeping this wee bike and selling the Metakoo.

Common method of transport in Barcelona from what i see

Needs a better hitch as I suspect sitting on the rope could be a pain somewhere

Talk about an aero trailer.

I've aspired to be an old man from as early as I can remember. The Simpsons episode where Homer visits the care home and realizes he's been using his legs "like a sucker" resonates with me.

Hitched the bike carrier to the Segway and pushed a stroller on a sunny fall day when both kids were sick, just to get out of the house.

https://ecomodder.com/forum/attachme...1&d=1700846798

Plaid and camo, now that's très chic.

I try to be a trend-setter.

Probably bought the pants when I was 15 from the local Army surplus store, which used to be the Toys-R-Us of my youth. I could spend hours in there looking at flak jackets, hand grenade shells, knives, combat boots, helmets, MREs... it's now a hookah lounge.

I put on a plaid fleece-lined overshirt, since it seemed like the thing to do.

And I was in the legendary milsurp store in Aloha, OR, when I lived up that way.

It really is legendary. Only been a couple of times, but I'd have probably preferred to spend time there than Disneyland in my youth. Still have a couple tee shirts I picked up there.

Good thing I never had money then, or there'd probably be an APC sitting in my front yard, or a decomposing Huey.

That photo shows the only remaining camo I've got. Bought the camo hat recently because I needed one for camping or any time I can't be bothered to tame the Alfalfa hair, and I wanted something with the USA flag on it.

Strangers sometimes thank me for my service, which I assume they're referring to my stint on the prison chain-gang :P. BTW, thank you for your service freebeard; I have no idea what a person is supposed to say for a comment like that, and even less when I've never actually engaged in mortal combat with the enemy.

I had the chance to tell the tale to someone two days ago. TLDR: I rolled the dice and it was literally like being in the Peace Corps. The problem came when I returned to The World, and it was no longer the same any more. My haircut didn't match my combat boots. :)

If I can find a new banana seat for the $80 single-speed coaster-braked bike I'll have to post a picture. Here's the original:

https://ecomodder.com/forum/member-f...9-100-0381.jpg

The derailleur failed.

https://ecomodder.com/forum/attachme...1&d=1700846798

Right there, one of the best photos ever posted on EcoModder!!

Thank you for your service!