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Anyone here got one? I do a 25km each way commute and there is no way I
am up to it without assistance. I am thinking an ebike might be the best way to get my arse out of the car. I have a coupe of bikes that would do as a base for conversion but I am thinking it is probably easier to buy one ready made off ebay for $800. Fraser |
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In aus.bicycle on Wed, 21 Sep 2011 13:51:10 +0800
Fraser Johnston wrote: Anyone here got one? I do a 25km each way commute and there is no way I am up to it without assistance. I am thinking an ebike might be the best way to get my arse out of the car. I have a coupe of bikes that would do as a base for conversion but I am thinking it is probably easier to buy one ready made off ebay for $800. First off, decide if you want to be legal ornot.... If you do then check your state laws. In NSW you arelimited to 200 watts. When comparing bikes, take note of battery type and weight and efficiency. You want the thing to be usable without a motor! Bigest hassle with buying cheap off ebay is like buying anythign cheap: how much work do you ahve to do to get the thing in reasonable condition? You might be willing to go oevr it and get the bicycle bits properly fettled and working well, you might not. As far as I know the conversion is "replace the wheel with the hub motor one, locate the battery somewhere, run the cables." Zebee |
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For a trike check out
http://secure.oatleyelectronics.com/...&products_id=9 40&osCsid=78c9516a506712be955423b51a509ac6 this does not include the batteries but looks like good value and they are in Sydney. "Zebee Johnstone" wrote in message ... In aus.bicycle on Wed, 21 Sep 2011 13:51:10 +0800 Fraser Johnston wrote: Anyone here got one? I do a 25km each way commute and there is no way I am up to it without assistance. I am thinking an ebike might be the best way to get my arse out of the car. I have a coupe of bikes that would do as a base for conversion but I am thinking it is probably easier to buy one ready made off ebay for $800. First off, decide if you want to be legal ornot.... If you do then check your state laws. In NSW you arelimited to 200 watts. When comparing bikes, take note of battery type and weight and efficiency. You want the thing to be usable without a motor! Bigest hassle with buying cheap off ebay is like buying anythign cheap: how much work do you ahve to do to get the thing in reasonable condition? You might be willing to go oevr it and get the bicycle bits properly fettled and working well, you might not. As far as I know the conversion is "replace the wheel with the hub motor one, locate the battery somewhere, run the cables." Zebee |
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On 22/09/11 1:45 PM, Zebee Johnstone wrote:
First off, decide if you want to be legal ornot.... If you do then check your state laws. In NSW you arelimited to 200 watts. When comparing bikes, take note of battery type and weight and efficiency. You want the thing to be usable without a motor! Bigest hassle with buying cheap off ebay is like buying anythign cheap: how much work do you ahve to do to get the thing in reasonable condition? You might be willing to go oevr it and get the bicycle bits properly fettled and working well, you might not. As far as I know the conversion is "replace the wheel with the hub motor one, locate the battery somewhere, run the cables." I'm thinking illegal. It's not like they are going to dyno it and I will be riding it a fair way so having a fairly high average speed is important. From what I see the conversion kits cost as much, if not more, than a whole bike which means that I can get a whole bike and pull the bits off and stick them on my current mountain bike and still be ahead. Fraser |
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Fraser Johnston wrote:
I'm thinking illegal. It's not like they are going to dyno it and I will be riding it a fair way so having a fairly high average speed is important. Collide with a pedestrian, and somebody might take a keen interest in the bike. I wouldn't want to shoulder all medical costs because I was riding an unregistered vehicle. That 200W limit is Australia-wide (enshrined in the Australian Road Rules). John |
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In aus.bicycle on 29 Sep 2011 21:22:34 GMT
John Henderson wrote: Fraser Johnston wrote: I'm thinking illegal. It's not like they are going to dyno it and I will be riding it a fair way so having a fairly high average speed is important. Collide with a pedestrian, and somebody might take a keen interest in the bike. I wouldn't want to shoulder all medical costs because I was riding an unregistered vehicle. I doubt it. Unless the bike is very obviously overpower (eg you were speeding) they might well not care. There's a rumour that the power limit will be raised to 250 Watts but that's been around for a while now. pannonrider.com looks interesting. 250 watt nominal velomobile with solar charging. The fairing and a reasonably fit rider could probably get that going at a fair old speed. I would love to see a graph of aerodynamics vs weight. Zebee |
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On 30/09/2011 8:05 AM, Zebee Johnstone wrote:
In aus.bicycle on 29 Sep 2011 21:22:34 GMT John wrote: Fraser Johnston wrote: I'm thinking illegal. It's not like they are going to dyno it and I will be riding it a fair way so having a fairly high average speed is important. Collide with a pedestrian, and somebody might take a keen interest in the bike. I wouldn't want to shoulder all medical costs because I was riding an unregistered vehicle. I doubt it. Unless the bike is very obviously overpower (eg you were speeding) they might well not care. There's a rumour that the power limit will be raised to 250 Watts but that's been around for a while now. pannonrider.com looks interesting. 250 watt nominal velomobile with solar charging. The fairing and a reasonably fit rider could probably get that going at a fair old speed. I would love to see a graph of aerodynamics vs weight. Zebee Do they or can they reverse the flow when going downhill to recharge the battery? Like the electric trains up and down the Blue Mountains putting power back into the grid? |
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Rob wrote:
Do they or can they reverse the flow when going downhill to recharge the battery? Like the electric trains up and down the Blue Mountains putting power back into the grid? I'll bet they don't do regenerative braking. It'd add significantly to the cost for very little gain. Most bikes don't do much braking at all compared with higher speed, higher mass vehicles. John |
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In aus.bicycle on Fri, 30 Sep 2011 15:31:46 +1000
Rob wrote: On 30/09/2011 8:05 AM, Zebee Johnstone wrote: pannonrider.com looks interesting. 250 watt nominal velomobile with solar charging. The fairing and a reasonably fit rider could probably get that going at a fair old speed. I would love to see a graph of aerodynamics vs weight. Do they or can they reverse the flow when going downhill to recharge the battery? Like the electric trains up and down the Blue Mountains putting power back into the grid? No idea about that lot, they probably don't bother given they've gone solar. I know Greenspeed were looking at that for their Velomobile, and had trialled it on some unfaired electric trikes. Zebee |
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On Sep 30, 4:31*pm, Rob wrote:
Do they or can they reverse the flow when going downhill to recharge the battery? Like the electric trains up and down the Blue Mountains putting power back into the grid? Regenerative braking is a fairly common feature on electric bike motor controllers, or it was last time I looked. However, I think it's more of a feel-good thing than a practical feature; the cumulative inefficiencies involved mean that of the energy that goes into getting the bike moving, only a very small proportion ends up back in the battery. -- Phil |
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