Anyone into electric cycling? Electric Bicycles

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Let me guess: no suspension on that bike? It really annoys me that the more expensive an E-bike is, the less likely it is to have even suspension forks. Those forks come in handy when you hit larger bumps. I guess that people who can drop $5-15k on a bicycle have had all the harsher bumps pre-removed from their region. ;)
 
I am pretty sure that it does have front suspension...... that only adds $1K to the price!

My wife's Giant Liv Rove broke down yesterday, took it back to the dealer and Giant is revising the diagnostic software and has not let the dealers access it yet...... another reason to love the home-made ebikes.... although I will have no idea how to fix the Bafang midmount if the electronics fail....
 
I just bought a Ride1Up 700 ST in the "Steel" color. The plan is to ride that one and see how much I like it, then either convert the Metro to a direct drive and ride both bikes, or return the 700 within 30 days for a refund, or sell it next year for a hopefully modest loss. There seems to be NO perfect bike for me out there. At least the 700 will do 28MPH and will let me set the parameters for the PAS levels. It will likely come down to how much the motor noise bothers me.
 
It's unlikely that I'll have any takers, but I'm trying to get rid of several EZIP electric assist bikes, so I'm offering them for free (except for the step-thru, which I may convert using my current bike's drive train) to anyone here who'd like to pick them up in Upstate NY. I'll link the Craigslist ad shortly.

https://albany.craigslist.org/bik/d/mechanicville-ezip-trailz-bike-with/7353600919.html

They are good bikes for tinkerers - not unreliable, but a bit more maintenance is needed than with newer bikes. Mainly the motor drive chain adjustment.
 
Looking for my next bike, I have the Rad City, it's OK, but heavy and not "bike" like enogh for me.

So what's your take on the Ride 1 up 700? I really like the roadster, but wish it had gears and higher top speed, so I am considering the limited, which is very similar to the 700.
 
I just read a news article about an electric bicycle tax credit proposal making its way through Congress--I doubt it will pass.

Vermont has a $200 credit, available through the sellers and immediate, for both ebikes and the add-on motor/ battery units.
 
The bike came a day early. FedEx put it on the front porch despite my instructions, so I'll have to unpack the parts there and carry them to the garage. I'm barely mobile, but I intend to have it assembled by tomorrow night, barring setbacks. I have a bike workstand, so that should make it a bit easier...
 
First assembly hiccup: the conical spacer needed to install the fork is missing. 95% of assembly aborted. Also, the bike doesn't fit in a Park bicycle workstand, as the frame, which holds the battery internally, is too thick. So I have a mass of parts on my garage floor (on an old rug) waiting to be assembled. Oh, and first: you can't remove the parts from the shipping box singly, except for the fork. They are intertwined and zip-tied together. So I had to physically move the 75lb box off the porch, up the sidewalk, and through the gate. Then I was able to use a handtruck to get it into the garage. The gods are trying to kill me.
 
Well that's not a good start.

For storage over winter we have two of the bike lifts like these.

https://www.amazon.com/Wallmaster-Ceiling-Hanger-Storage-Garage/dp/B07VWWVMQQ/ref=sr_1_6?dchild=1&keywords=bike+lift+storage&qid=1627304712&sr=8-6

I have found now whenever I am working on a bike they come in really handy to lift them up to a working height. The only downside is they swing around as you work on them, that and installing the lift initially and making sure you hit a stud or something solid up top. They have a 4 to one ratio on lifting so that is nice as well.
 
I own a GoCycle I imported from the UK some 3 years ago. I chose it with portability in mind since I thought it would be a nice way to bridge the gap between where I charge on trips and where I want to be but it has not had much use for that purpose and I now own an electric scooter which is a much better tool for that job. It is not compact enough to put two of them in my Tesla Model 3 during trips so any notions of of going for ad-hoc bike rides with my wife are an unrealized wish.

Thankfully, it is also a very good e-bike. I ride it for about an hour at a time these days for exercise and enjoyment. The bike comes with an App that lets me set the assist as a function of pedal torque. It is uber customizable. The App also has an array of gauges while riding for those interested. I set the assist in a fashion that pretty much lets me ride 15 - 20 mph over any terrain at a constant effort. In a way I set it up to resemble an Elliptical trainer, but I get to be outside and in the summer the self generated wind is wonderful.

If I get winded or my legs say 'enough!' I can press a red button that invokes max assist unrelated to pedal torque.

The battery capacity is 250 Wh when new IIRC. My SoC meter on the bike is 4 lights. I still have 3 lights (so 50 - 75 SoC) after about 10 miles. Pretty darn good for a light, nimble E-bike. I think I paid ~ $1,800 although I saw much higher prices on the GoCycle website the other day. I'm not sure why.
 
BrockWI said:
Sage which electric scooter do you have? And would you recommend it?
Just about any scooter is fine for 1-2 mile rides, say from a charging location to your hotel.
Once you start thinking about more specific uses, a couple of things are true:

1. You get your money's worth
2. Scooters are an exercise in trade-offs
3. The more they do, the heavier they are

I own the https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07ZJVFW6P/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
It has good reviews and I'm overall happy with it, although it lurches forward when I use the hand brake. That might be a calibration issue, or just the nature of an un-opposed front brake. I've had to learn to lean backwards when I use that brake to not feel like I'm going to fall forward.
A friend of mine paid IIRC $600 for a Segway. That scooter has some suspension, a longer board, and a better ride. As I said, you tend to get a better scooter if you pay more.

The most important thing to know about scooters is that they are fun !
 
Ahhhh, I have the same Gotrax XR and use it and have been happy with it. And yes you have to learn that balance factor while braking. With the gotrax and Rad e-bike I am contemplating an electric version of something like this

https://www.amazon.com/BRAND-Street-Scooter-Matching-Choose/dp/B009B0L8II/ref=sr_1_54?dchild=1&keywords=electric+moped&qid=1627316300&sr=8-54

Or an e-bike that can go 35mph?
 
Any class 3 eBike is supposed to be limited to 28 mph, so short of a DIY you won't really find anything that will do 35 mph unless there's a controller setting to override the speed limit.

Before you buy a scooter or eBike, do lots of research. Micah Toll does a great job of reviewing eBikes and scooters, so you'll likely find something you like that he's reviewed at some point:

https://electrek.co/author/micahltoll/

CSC makes some reasonably priced electric scooters:

https://cscmotorcycles.com/buy-a-bike/electric-scooters/

How about a 60 mph scooter :)

https://electrek.co/2021/07/20/olas-60-mph-electric-scooter-gets-100000-pre-order-reservations-on-its-first-day/
 
Yes I understand the 28mph limit :) I wasn't really thinking of an e-bike for this task, but I know some crazy ones are out there, but don't know what's good. I was thinking more along the lines of the Wiz

https://cscmotorcycles.com/wiz-electric-scooter-black/

but there are so many out there to choose from and then the company is gone the next month. I did that a few years ago, ended up changing the controller twice, company disappeared, then went to a third party controller but never got it to work correctly and then gave up and sold it.

Then I would have all my bases covered,

Gotrax stand up scooter
Rad e-bike
then a larger scooter like the Wiz
Leaf for around town
Model 3 for distance travel
 
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