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The eBike thread

unkel

A quick look seems that this doesn't really seem to fit in the cycling forum. So starting a thread here about all things eBike

I'll get the ball rolling. I have zero experience with eBikes. But I was going to build myself a battery anyway, for various reasons (like in bringing with me in my EV as a "petrol can")

I'm going to buy a solderless kit to make the battery (with 18650 cells I have removed from dead / old laptop batteries). This kit cah handle 20A max, and I would like the battery pack to produce 1kW constant. P=V*I so 1000W = 50V * 20A

This dictates that my battery needs to be nominal 48V (was thinking of making a 24V battery pack, but that won't be able to charge my car)

A quick browse on eBay and Amazon shows that you could buy a powerful 1000W bike conversion kit with everything needed except the battery for about GBP120 (a bit more from Amazon but peace of mind)

What to buy though, front wheel or rear wheel kit? Pros and cons? Any other advice?

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DaveyDave

Quick follow up on my Canyon Endurace ON with Fazua motor. 43km return trip from Lucan to Santry, N4 into town then up through Drumcondra, 317m elevation gain. Motor on full power, bit of a headwind when cycling into town so the motor was kicking in a bit on the flat to keep the speed up. Lots of stopping and inclines once past the city center to put the bike through its paces.

A more realistic spin than my test rides. Despite being on full power the entire time and the motor coming on a fair bit I got back with 50% battery, not bad at all considering I'm 110kg. Very surprised since range is usually quoted at 90-100km in 100w mode with someone who is probably fit and 70kg and I could probably manage 80-90km at 250w.

My fears of not being able to use full power going to work and also needing to charge daily are no more. Very impressed with the Fazua system.

atahuapla

forestgirl wrote: »

How far do you need to cycle?
Will you be using the train as well?

About 19km per day (9.5k each way).
No, not training, I have road bikes for that. This would be purely a convenience commuter.

griffdaddy wrote: »

It's plagued by issues. The main one is that the saddle pole keeps sliding down. Check out their other, slightly older but cheaper model, the D4S. I have one and it's been excellent to ride. Think it cost me about 580. Will upgrade the brakes etc. when I get a chance but it's excellent out of the box

Interesting, haven't seen any youtubers mention that issue in their reviews. Will take another look.

SCOL

atahuapla wrote: »

About 19km per day (9.5k each way).
No, not training, I have road bikes for that. This would be purely a convenience commuter.

Interesting, haven't seen any youtubers mention that issue in their reviews. Will take another look.

I use my bafang 750w mid drive kit as a commuter up to 80hrs on the clock now
and so far no problems about 45ish km per day I like the stealth look as it looks like a ordinary bike, just take the battery off and lock up up anywhere.

Nemanrio

Morning lads,

Would appreciate some advice or any tips here...

My partner is looking at getting an eBike (never had one myself) for some casual cycling, Sunday spin on a greenway/bring on holidays etc. It won't be used for commuting.

She would be getting it through the bike to work scheme and will want to put basket/panniers on too.

Any help would be greatly appreciated or must have accessories.

peaceboi

Just ordered the cube touring hybrid 500, comes with pannier, lights & side stand. 2 weeks delivery time.

Executioner511

Where is the cheapest retailer to get an E-bike now I'm not looking for the entry model lidl type special ,decent but not off the scale price wise.

[Deleted User]

Executioner511 wrote: »

Where is the cheapest retailer to get an E-bike now I'm not looking for the entry model lidl type special ,decent but not off the scale price wise.

I just spotted this company today, around 100 for shipping.

https://greatebike.eu/apache-yamka-mx5

I don't notice a throttle on these, not sure if it can be added, but I think the 25 Km/hr limit can be removed.

1600 Euro's, decent bike, a Bosch powered bike would cost twice this for the same level of torque. They have plenty of other bikes to choose, stick to the Bafang I think, can't beat the power for the money.

I would not get a bike with less power than 70-80 Nm if you are not in good shape and if you are heavy and have any decent hills around you + ebikes are heavy.

Magzire

oops nvn

geo88

For people that bought the S3 - how was the experience of stopping/starting at intersections for you?
My height is 178cm and wondering if the S3 would be uncomfortable for frequent stops.

Any other good options in the same price range that also qualify for the bike to work scheme? I see people recommending Cube and Haibike - thought they tend to be quite a bit more expensive.

Is there any thread for DYI conversions - e.g. what would be the best MTB to buy under ~1250e for attaching a kit to it? (Bafang mid drive seems popular here from what I can see).

mailforkev

geo88 wrote: »

For people that bought the S3 - how was the experience of stopping/starting at intersections for you?
My height is 178cm and wondering if the S3 would be uncomfortable for frequent stops.

I have both an S3 and X3 in the house.
I’m 1.87m so the S3 is perfect for me. It is a big bike though, tall crossbar. They’re built for Dutch people size.
To be honest at 1.78m I’d say you’re just about hitting S3 height but with the saddle quite low. You might be more comfortable on the X3. Depends on your inside leg measurement a bit.

Redkite200

Hi, another e-bike noob question here:

Looking for a reliable e-bike that would handle say a 20km approx (total) daily commute on normal Irish main roads.

Would this be a decent bike to start off with?

https://greatebike.eu/apache-dakotah

(If I could bring the overall cost down a bit even better of course!)

[Deleted User]

Redkite200 wrote: »

Hi, another e-bike noob question here:

Looking for a reliable e-bike that would handle say a 20km approx (total) daily commute on normal Irish main roads.

Would this be a decent bike to start off with?

https://greatebike.eu/apache-dakotah

(If I could being the overall cost down a bit even better of course!)

At that price you're already very limited in the quality and power you can have in an ebike, that motor will provide maybe 45 Nm of torque and that's not a huge amount for a hub motor but should be just fine for level ground to give your legs a boost and it might surprise you on some short hills.

Most people now go for the likes of the Bosch and Yamaha crank drive motors because they can be more efficient especially for hills but on level ground crank drives don't have any advantage and can be somewhat of a disadvantage as you have to ease off on the power before changing gear, you don't with a hub motor.

The real advantage with crank drives is that if you have 45 Nm of torque then it's available in all gears, if you slow down on hills change to a lower gear for more power with a hub you can't because it's a fixed gear so when it slows down under max power then a lot of power gets wasted as heat as the hub becomes inefficient, the solution ? more power ? well yes because the more torque you have the easier the bike will overcome the force that's slowing it down but the consequence is more power needed which drains the battery faster.

So the only real way to know whether the bike would suit you is to test it out but you can't so it's a bit of a gamble, hubs are great with the right level of power so it might have just the right amount for you on level ground if you still peddle along.

nokiatom

Redkite200 wrote: »

Hi, another e-bike noob question here:

Looking for a reliable e-bike that would handle say a 20km approx (total) daily commute on normal Irish main roads.

Would this be a decent bike to start off with?

https://greatebike.eu/apache-dakotah

(If I could being the overall cost down a bit even better of course!)

If its only 20km you are doing and theres no steep hills then that bike would suit you

Redkite200

Thanks for the replies.

SCOL

Redkite200 wrote: »

Hi, another e-bike noob question here:

Looking for a reliable e-bike that would handle say a 20km approx (total) daily commute on normal Irish main roads.

Would this be a decent bike to start off with?

https://greatebike.eu/apache-dakotah

(If I could bring the overall cost down a bit even better of course!)

I use a 750w mid drive for my commute 50km ish round trip If your in bad weather and want to get home it's nice to have that little extra power. 250w is EU legal but a little under powered.

[Deleted User]

Don't get fooled, most bikes are well beyond the 250 watt limit, the likes of Bosch are at around 750 watts or possibly more and Brose 1Kw or more.

No one cares about power any more really but the 25 Km/hr limit and not being allowed a throttle and I think acceleration limits.

250 watts is just a sticker put on the motor to make it look all nice and compliant. I bet ( but can't confirm ) even this bike with hub motor in the link above is closer to 500 Watts peak.

Redkite200

SCOL wrote: »

I use a 750w mid drive for my commute 50km ish round trip If your in bad weather and want to get home it's nice to have that little extra power. 250w is EU legal but a little under powered.

Hi, which bike model are you using can I ask? Cheers

loughside

Great ebike weather out there !

Martin_B1886

Hey wondering could someone help me out I'm looking to commute from Bray to Dublin daily roughly 45km total commute, I wanted to get an ebike to help with the slight gradients I don't want to spend an absolute fortune on my first one so I'm going to do the bike to work scheme but I'm clueless about bikes and was wondering which of these two are the better option?

https://www.halfords.ie/bikes/mens-bikes/carrera-crossfire-e-mens-electric-hybrid-bike-2.0---17%22%2C-19%22%2C-21%22-frames-445998.html

http://everestcycles.ie/falcon-turbine-27-5%e2%80%b3-electric-mountain-bike/

On paper the Carrera looks the better option but I asked on Reddit and those guys said both are terrible and won't do for what I want but they were pro build your own and that's not an option for me. I weigh 270lbs so I'm not light but I'm not unfit either.

Thanks for the help

SCOL

https://boards.ie/discussion/comment/117604504#Comment_117604504

I put the kit onto a Trek T30 Hybrid, fitted fine and a few thousand KM on it.

spalpeen

Looking for a bike rec. I want electric, foldable for convenience (eg taking on public transport.) I'm not an avid cyclist but I want to be able to get around Dublin, maybe max 20km trips return but also would like to be able to take it with me on trips to rural areas. Don't really know what else to say

leche solara

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117707900#Comment_117707900

Have a look at the Kuma F1. Kumabikes.com. There's a video review on YouTube too.

spalpeen

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117712246#Comment_117712246

Thanks, I'm reading about it now. I guess it is more expensive than:

due to greater range?

leche solara

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117717188#Comment_117717188

You could get a Fiido from cyclebike.com for about half the price of the Kuma but I think the Kuma is far superior

spalpeen

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117717204#Comment_117717204

Seems to be. I've also come across lots of others in my googling, namely legend siena, legend monza, radmini and brompton e bike

leche solara

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117717390#Comment_117717390

Try to get a test ride and see what you like

Eoin

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117623461#Comment_117623461

When I was looking a few years ago, I decided on one with a mid-drive Bosch engine (Haibike sduro 2) - it cost a bit more than the ones you posted, but I figured it was better than having a cheaper one that I may not actually use. I'd absolutely recommend that motor anyway; loads of torque and well able for the hills. I used it for the exact same commute you're going to do, and I'd get there and back twice on a charge. I know it's not the question you asked, but from memory, spending a little bit more gets you in a much better range of options IMO.

celticWario

Thoughts on this one?

https://ride1up.com/product/roadster-v2/

Specs wise it looks like a great belt driven E-Bike for the price.

leche solara

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117730230#Comment_117730230

Is that on sale here or would you be thinking of getting it delivered from Nevada? The range of 20-30 miles is very low and 40 torque kids and low too

celticWario

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117730441#Comment_117730441

I'd be importing yeah, the range is a concern but I'd be charging in work so I think I'm ok on that regard, there's also a battery add on, and as for the torque, it's a very light bike.