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I am not interested in the cruiser style E bikes, I would rather get a road bike that one can still use for extended riding and hills and then switch over the electric if your body cannot make it back or your ride plan was too long. 60 Minutes did an excellent story on the evolution of these bikes and they took an exact bike used by the Postal Service under Lance Armstrong TDF championship teams (bought from eBay) and the electric motor fit up perfectly with this model Trek bike.
The man who designed the electric motor was from Eastern Europe and was paid a million dollars for a 10 year non disclosure agreement and promising not to reveal the technology to anyone. He would not say who paid him. It was entirely conceivable that the Postal Team was using some version of an E bike back in the early 2000's.
I am not interested in the cruiser style E bikes, I would rather get a road bike that one can still use for extended riding and hills and then switch over the electric if your body cannot make it back or your ride plan was too long. 60 Minutes did an excellent story on the evolution of these bikes and they took an exact bike used by the Postal Service under Lance Armstrong TDF championship teams (bought from eBay) and the electric motor fit up perfectly with this model Trek bike.
The man who designed the electric motor was from Eastern Europe and was paid a million dollars for a 10 year non disclosure agreement and promising not to reveal the technology to anyone. He would not say who paid him. It was entirely conceivable that the Postal Team was using some version of an E bike back in the early 2000's.
I like the sound of an electric roadbike. Wheel hub motor Battery pack sat low behind a fairing on the downtube.
That's cool! I would consider that over a gas fueled scooter. What is the range and top speed?
30-35 mph on flat land; going up a moderate incline, the top speed gets down to about 20. If you're trying to get up a steep hill from a start, maybe 10 mph. Downhill, I would guess the highest I got to was about 45. It uses motorcycle tires and rims so it's extremely stable at high speed and feels like it'd be okay if you got another 20 or 30 out of it.
I'm a large guy (6'1, 210 or so lbs) and that negatively impacts the battery life if I'm trying to max out my speed, so I typically get about 25 or so miles from a charge. One time, I left it on the lowest power level (it has three levels, I usually just leave it on the maximum one) which meant that I topped out at about 15mph, but got 60 miles out of a charge.
The top-speed governor on the Trek is maxxed-out at only 20mph... speed hacks are an interesting option and some are quite ingenious. Just be ready to void your warranty if you start messing with it.
The top-speed governor on the Trek is maxxed-out at only 20mph... really annoying sometimes... speed hacks are an interesting option and some are quite ingenious. Just be ready to void your warranty if you start messing with it.
I installed the speed hack a few weeks ago, it's a USB thumbdrive that connects to a sensor wire under the left motor cover.
It rocks! My speeds on the rail trails are almost dangerous now.
Now I'm looking to 'gear-up' somehow, for even faster pedaling speeds.
Why would you spend more than 2k on an ebike when you can get a 50cc scooter for cheaper than that which can also get you into the countryside for hiking or camping or to another town not covered by public transit? Most states don't require special licenses for 50cc's too.
IMO the best way to do an Ebike is to install a Tongsheng TSDZ-2 mid drive kit to an existing bike. For about $700 in parts and a couple of hours work you’ll have a superior drive train to factory Ebikes costing thousands of dollars. My wife and I had Trek Verve IIIs we converted and they were great.
They were stolen last month but that’s another story...
IMO the best way to do an Ebike is to install a Tongsheng TSDZ-2 mid drive kit to an existing bike. For about $700 in parts and a couple of hours work you’ll have a superior drive train to factory Ebikes costing thousands of dollars. My wife and I had Trek Verve IIIs we converted and they were great.
They were stolen last month but that’s another story...
I can definitely see a price like that being worth it. What sort of range were you seeing, which size battery and what power motor did you pick? There's a few options for those kits from 250w to 750w for around $350-$450. It doesn't look like they include any battery, so that plus an hour or so for an install at your local bike shop I could see it being ~$700 which could easily be worth it.
Bonus points for using an used bike that is way less likely to get stolen.
Why would you spend more than 2k on an ebike when you can get a 50cc scooter for cheaper than that which can also get you into the countryside for hiking or camping or to another town not covered by public transit? Most states don't require special licenses for 50cc's too.
No insurance needed, ebikes can use bike paths, routes..etc., You can bring your ebike on public transportation.
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