Electric bike: Build or buy one?

I've been wanting an electric bike for commuting around
town for those times I don't want exercise or don't
have time to take reg bike

I have an old pieces **** Ross MT bike that I "thought"
abt buying an electric conversion kit for

However, I'm wondering if it best to just bite the
bullet and buy a bike designed form ground up as
e-bike?

Advice? Buy or build one?

If buy one... what can a person get in say $800 range?
Anything?

wrote in message
...
I've been wanting an electric bike for commuting around
town for those times I don't want exercise or don't
have time to take reg bike

I have an old pieces **** Ross MT bike that I "thought"
abt buying an electric conversion kit for

However, I'm wondering if it best to just bite the
bullet and buy a bike designed form ground up as
e-bike?

Advice? Buy or build one?

If buy one... what can a person get in say $800 range?
Anything?

Here's what you want!:

http://portland.craigslist.org/wsc/mcy/790973090.html

Hideous, isn't it?

Seriously, for that kind of money you can get yourself something
functional and nice for bumming around town with, like this:

http://portland.craigslist.org/wsc/mcy/790540696.html

Don't waste your time with an electric bicycle. The batteries
that are light enough and carry enough of a charge to
actually give you any range at all, haven't been invented.

If your ecological gene is offended, get yourself an Ethanol
conversion done on one and go to town

Ted

Electric bikes rule. I have a Schwinn Stingray electric, which is supposedly a kids
bike, but it packs a punch. It carries me and my girlfriend for 2 hour drives. And
compared to the nicer bikes, this bike is weak, heavy, and slow. There are tons of great
electric bikes in the $2000-3000 range, but I would never spend that much. Here are the
best reasonably priced ones:
www.scootersnbikes.com
www.izipusa.com


wrote in message


I've been wanting an electric bike for commuting around
town for those times I don't want exercise or don't
have time to take reg bike

I have an old pieces **** Ross MT bike that I "thought"
abt buying an electric conversion kit for

However, I'm wondering if it best to just bite the
bullet and buy a bike designed form ground up as
e-bike?

Advice? Buy or build one?

If buy one... what can a person get in say $800 range?
Anything?

wrote:
I've been wanting an electric bike for commuting around
town for those times I don't want exercise or don't
have time to take reg bike

I have an old pieces **** Ross MT bike that I "thought"
abt buying an electric conversion kit for

However, I'm wondering if it best to just bite the
bullet and buy a bike designed form ground up as
e-bike?

Advice? Buy or build one?

If buy one... what can a person get in say $800 range?
Anything?

I saw a load of them at Interbike. No one was interested. There were
some electric scooters from China with a wholesale price of $800 that
looked pretty good. The used Li-Ion batteries which is both good and
bad. Bad because the batteries have about a 3 year life, good because
they are more efficient in terms of weight/energy storage.

Per helpful guy:
ch. It carries me and my girlfriend for 2 hour drives. And
compared to the nicer bikes, this bike is weak, heavy, and slow. There are tons of great
electric bikes in the $2000-3000 range, but I would never spend that much. Here are the
best reasonably priced ones:
www.scootersnbikes.com
www.izipusa.com

I'm kind of attracted to the stealth models like IzipUsa's at
http://tinyurl.com/4hf3a8

Not that I'm ready for an electric bike.... but it seems like
it's not obviously being a motor vehicle would have some
advantages for path/trail access.
--
PeteCresswell

SMS wrote:

I saw a load of them [electric bikes] at Interbike. No one was interested.

It's a different market. Lots of bike shops won't even stoop to work
on them. I think there's a lot of motor-vehicle stigma around them,
but they really do have more in common with bicycles than they do with
motorcycles or electric wheelchairs or whatever next most comparable
thing.

There were
some electric scooters from China with a wholesale price of $800 that
looked pretty good. The used Li-Ion batteries which is both good and
bad. Bad because the batteries have about a 3 year life, good because
they are more efficient in terms of weight/energy storage.

Lithium iron phosphate is purported to be the Next Big Thing in
battery chemistries. it has slightly lower energy density than
lithium ion or lithium ion polymer, but it is purported to have
similarly high power density and much longer operating life (ten years
or thousands of charge/discharge cycles according to its
manufacturers). Dewalt and Milwaukee cordless tools use lithium iron
phosphate, and the upcoming Chevy Volt plug hybrid uses it too.

Chalo