Electric Bikes - Comparisons/Reviews and Locations to Buy?

BostonB

People here are just using the maximum they can, which is 1000. I know some at work who have just spent 300 or so. No intention of spending any more. You can buy a bike for 150 if you want.

garancafan

A forum that I have found very useful is www.pedelecs.co.uk.

My recently acquired Gazelle Chamonix Innergy from 2wheels Sandymount has given me a new lease of life. Well worth a look also is the Kalkhoff range. While these 2 are at the expensive end of the market they are great bikes even without the assist on. The Kenbay (Irish design - Taiwan built) while lacking some of the refinements of the others, should not be dismissed and are considerably cheaper.

Lemon_Drop

Thanks for the link garancagan,

What I really cant understand is that most the company's are saying that the top of the range bikes, the motor is on the rear wheel, for better traction and stuff.

I'm not really machanically minded so I can't really understand it at all.

I thought it would make more sense it the motor was on the front wheel, giving you two wheel drive.

ie: motor in the front wheel and power from the pedals going to the back wheel.
I seen the Kenbay one, in a shop but I was not impressed. It looks like a basic mountain bike with bottom or the range Shimano parts.

And at €1100, going buy their website prices, it would make more sense to buy a better mountain bike and add a conversion kit to that.

garancafan

Lemon drop.

IMO traction is not an issue in the case of such low-powered motors (wheel-spin is not a common problem!). I have not, in practice, found any difference between front-hub and rear-hub motors. I had a requirement for hub gears and that confined me to front-hub motors.

The other option is a pedal-crank motor such as those on the Kalkhoff "C" series. These are regarded as giving an advantage in very hilly terrain but are not regarded as being as efficient overall as hub motors.

As to the Kenbay - if mountain-biking is your thing then your suggestion of a good MTB fitted with a kit makes sense, but I think that you would find this more expensive than a Kenbay. Expect to pay at least e700 for kit + battery.

luminosity

Anyone familiar with this companys' bikes?
I have read all posts with interest as am searching to buy an electric bike. I am at feel at a loss as to which one to purchase!! All the websites make ALL the bikes look great. I am going to testdrive this one (cyclotronic) next week, it seems cheaper than the others but thats not necessarily a bad thing....not necessarily a good thing either!! I guess in the end it comes down to personal preference after a testdrive of as many as possible.
Was surprised to see how 'strongly' some people feel about a regular bike over an electronic one. Not everyone is so lucky to have good health and therefor fitness levels. And wouldn't it be great if cycling could be more inclusive .....

garancafan

Not familiar with "cyclotronic" Would it be "cytronex" possibly?

John L1

Hi guys

Just thought I'd mention conversion kits. I recently converted my giant crs 3 hybrid bike with a sunlova conversion kit (see http://cgi.ebay.ie/26-8Fun-Ebike-Electric-Bike-Conversion-Kit-36V-8F26R36-/190403989251?cmd=ViewItem&pt=UK_SportGoods_CyclAcces_RL&hash=item2c54f64f03) - this is the 26" version mine was the 28" one.

It took a little work to fit but its running very well now. Last week I tried to use up the battery on a spin but 45 miles later there was still life in it!

I'm not into simply sitting on the bike and letting it do all the work. With the motor on I pedal away as best I can. This way it feels like you have a wind on your back all the time. My average speed is about 16.5mph. The thing is that you can work as hard or as little as you like.

john

Lumen

John L1 wrote: »

My average speed is about 16.5mph.

Does the assist not cut out at 15mph? I thought that was a legal requirement, and it's mentioned on the ebay ad.

John L1

Unassisted the motor won't bring you over 15mph.

Its difficult to say in relation to assisted - the motor contribution after 15mph is not so strong but it is there to about 18 - 19mph. After that you're on your own. I didn't fit the pedelec sensor (not enough room behind the chainwheel) so I use the throttle on full and pedal away. Not sure about the legalities.

John

Lumen

John L1 wrote: »

Unassisted the motor won't bring you over 15mph.

Its difficult to say in relation to assisted - the motor contribution after 15mph is not so strong but it is there to about 18 - 19mph. After that you're on your own. I didn't fit the pedelec sensor (not enough room behind the chainwheel) so I use the throttle on full and pedal away. Not sure about the legalities

Ah, OK. I don't really care about the legalities, I just like the idea of cycling into work at 45kph.

I imagine the limitation is that electric motors produce the most power at the lowest revs, so as the speed increases the power tails off "naturally". I can't think of any way of "fixing" this in a hub motor, unless it's internally geared. Presumably a bottom bracket motor (e.g. Gruber Assist) gives good power at any speed.

luminosity

garancafan wrote: »

Not familiar with "cyclotronic" Would it be "cytronex" possibly?

Nope its definitely the right name. Theres a website and he's partaking in the government tax scheme.I think it's a guy out on his own selling ebikes.
Thanks for reply though.

Lumen

Lumen wrote: »

Ah, OK. I don't really care about the legalities, I just like the idea of cycling into work at 45kph.

I imagine the limitation is that electric motors produce the most power at the lowest revs, so as the speed increases the power tails off "naturally". I can't think of any way of "fixing" this in a hub motor, unless it's internally geared. Presumably a bottom bracket motor (e.g. Gruber Assist) gives good power at any speed.

Electric motors generally have an almost flat torque curve. This means they can produce the same torque at their max rpm (which can be 10000 + rpm due to the lack of reciprocating parts) as they do at 100rpm. On e bikes the power output is regulated so that as speed increases, power decreases. This is done in order to comply with legislation and is not due to any inherent property of electric motors.

Lumen

Deleted User wrote: »

Electric motors generally have an almost flat torque curve. This means they can produce the same torque at their max rpm (which can be 10000 + rpm due to the lack of reciprocating parts) as they do at 100rpm. On e bikes the power output is regulated so that as speed increases, power decreases. This is done in order to comply with legislation and is not due to any inherent property of electric motors.

Oh, OK. So can an e-bike be easily modified to produce the same power at any speed?

Lumen

Lumen wrote: »

Oh, OK. So can an e-bike be easily modified to produce the same power at any speed?

I would imagine so. However it would then legally be a scooter and would have to comply with all the relevant legislation.

Lumen

Deleted User wrote: »

I would imagine so. However it would then legally be a scooter and would have to comply with all the relevant legislation.

Sure, that would go right on my to-do list, after "tidy shed".

garancafan

Injuring someone with an un-insured scooter would bring it up the to-do list.

Lumen

garancafan wrote: »

Injuring someone with an un-insured scooter would bring it up the to-do list.

It's not an un-insured scooter, it's an uninsured electrically assisted bicycle. Keep up.

garancafan

If you want to be pedantic it's actually an un-insured Mechanically-propelled Vehicle. I'm up.

garancafan

luminosity wrote: »

Nope its definitely the right name. Theres a website and he's partaking in the government tax scheme.I think it's a guy out on his own selling ebikes.
Thanks for reply though.

Would be grateful for a link to the website.