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My wife and I are thinking about buying a couple of electric bicycles to ride on some of the trails in the Black Hills and elsewhere. Trails such as the Mickelson trail is what we have in mind. I would like to hear from anyone who has some experience or knowledge of these electric bikes and trails. What should we know before we buy?
I have an electric mountain bike. You can pedal it with 7 gears, or electric with only one gear, or a hybrid mode where you can pedal and add some power to it.
New, it was good for 14+ miles, but I never used it on trails so not sure how long the battery would last there. My bike came with one battery, however the rack will hold two batteries. Can only run on one or the other, when it runs dry, you flip a switch to the other battery.
Now that it's 5 years old, the battery is good for about 3 miles. New battery runs about $140. shipped to the house. The battery takes about 4 hours to charge when plugged into the outlet.
I pull one of those bike trailers behind mine and my dog rides in it. As far as power is concerned, it will go up a pretty steep hill, pulling the trailer and not bog down. I paid $298. at WalMart, for mine.
Bike and trailer. Timber (dog) is ready to go.
Bike, battery is shown in rack on back. Rack holds one battery on each side, but it only comes with one.
Cool pics. As I think I said, this is all new to me. I am running into some confusion over what type of battery is best. Apparently there is a difference in quality, depending on what matierials are used to build them. Do you know or know where I could find out what the best kind of battery is.
I may be mistaken, but it seems that some electric bikes have gears to boost their torque and others don't. Is this true? If not, is there a good reason to have a 3 speed rather than a 16 speed or whatever?
Cool pics. As I think I said, this is all new to me. I am running into some confusion over what type of battery is best. Apparently there is a difference in quality, depending on what matierials are used to build them. Do you know or know where I could find out what the best kind of battery is.
I may be mistaken, but it seems that some electric bikes have gears to boost their torque and others don't. Is this true? If not, is there a good reason to have a 3 speed rather than a 16 speed or whatever?
Thanks,
uh
Not sure on batterys, best to just look at the stats on the internet. Mine is a gel cell and I have a little charger, connects to a wall outlet, small plastic box in the middle of the cord (transformer) and then the cord hooks into the battery. When you put the battery in the bike, you can lock it in so nobody walks off with it.
My bike is sproket, chain, sproket for the electric motor, no gears. However, the bike is a 7 speed for pedal power. When the battery gets toward the end of it's life, pedal power comes in handy to help it over the hills a bit. I would definately take a look at if the gears effect the electric motor, I've never seen one that did.
My bike has 3 modes, selectible with a switch.
1) Pedal power, 7 speed
2) Pedal power, assisted by electric. Depending on how much you crank the throttle is how much power you add to the pedals. There is a photo sensor, if you stop pedaling, the electric quits too. You can't cheat. hahaha
3) All electric. Has a throttle like a motor cycle, twist grip, the more you twist, the faster you go. I have a speedometer on mine and 15 mph was top end, but 15 is plenty fast as far as I am concerned.
I'm disabled and yet I have to exercise my legs. Problem is, when my legs give out, they are done. I was afraid to get a bike and pedal around town and when my legs went, I was stuck a couple miles from home. That's why I started looking at electric. The local WalMart had them so being in a remote town, I figured WalMart was the best place. Nobody else carried them and I, like you, didn't know squat about them, so I wasn't ready to order one over the internet. With this setup, if the motor ever goes, I'll just use it as a regular mountain bike.
Too bad it isn't like a hybrid where when you're coasting or going down a grade and not peddling the motor would become a generator and charge your battery.
I am thinking we are going to invest in a decent human powered bike to ride the Mickelson trail.
There is at least one company out there that makes a bike that uses gears for electric as well as leg power. I believe the name is Velero. It is a little pricey, but having the gears could save a lot on battery power. Still looking. Probably will not make a decision for a month or two.
There is at least one company out there that makes a bike that uses gears for electric as well as leg power. I believe the name is Velero. It is a little pricey, but having the gears could save a lot on battery power. Still looking. Probably will not make a decision for a month or two.
uh
I have mine stuck in the back of my shed, for the winter, or I could take a picture. Pedal power goes through the gears. Pedal sprocket, chain, 7 gears stepping down in size. The electric motor goes to the axle, so it doesn't make any difference what gear you are in, it applys power directly to the axle.
I really like mine. I've looked at several over the past few years and there certainly is a big selection out there now. I've seen some that boast 60 miles on battery, I've seen some that boast 50+ mph speed. There are a lot of them now with wide tires that are small, like scooters tires. Matter of fact, do a seach of Electric Scooters and you'll find a wide variety of electric bikes that are listed under scooters.
Here's kind of a top of the line machine (not for hiking trails).
185 miles on a charge. Top speed of 124 miles per hour.
isn't your range somewhat limited by the length of your extension cord?
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