Electric Bikes

[Kontiki]

Tried quite a few out at the Shepton Show last week, there seems to a lot to consider & the one we tried were all different. One of the big problems was we have no way of being able to verify some of the information on range or battery charging. Most of them performed far better than I expected, couldn't understand why there was such a difference in the prices of some of them. With the batteries only having between 6 months to a year warranty & replacements costing sometimes over £300 it is another point to consider. Talking to the dealers selling them they consider that the battery life would be around 4 to 5 years but even that length of time makes it expensive when you do have to replace them, assuming they are still available.

 

[defitzi]

electric bikes

U could- wewll I probably could and surely someone has somewhere written a book on this but
OK I have 2 at present one A DAHON FOLDER WITH A SRAM DOUBLE MOTOR : now out of production and a useless piece of junk-nothing but trouble. I ALSO HAVE A PAIR OF Bromptons, also one top of the dutch style sit up and beg Kogi non electric all purpose (best of its kind I've ever owned) a Sachs 25cc motorised, and I have had in the past 40 years some 20 30 other bikes all sorts, shapes and sizes so here's my quick best shot a advice.....
know that: they are still developng at quite a rate...mainly because of continous battery improvements
it is VERY MUCH a case of getting what you pay for and the other factor is what use you intend to make of it.....those cycle ways in rance for instance are usually very flat(cana or river banks or abandoned very soft gradint railways so a good pushbike is really great (my main reason for opting for assistance has been bad heart etc).
Motor is the main thing my present electric is a clasic -from electric bike company and price combined with its advajnced 36 volt jump start(patented>) motor was the reason I acquired it plus its relatively light weight and unisex ergernomics.... plus its advancd lithium battery and 36 volt brushless motor...all the best facets at a price (currently a grand (£999) .
In my opinion it matches the other but considerable more pricey top rangers like KOGI circa 2000euro plus and Kalkhoff (unique with its motor driving the pedal crank ...I consider this very good).
Beware other range toppers like Sparta -a much electronics which might nneed a QUALIFIED (TRAINED?), AND EQUIPPED REPAIRER AND ALSO THE BATTERIES ARE NOT REMOVABLE SO NO USE EXPECTING TO CARGE ON THE 3OTH FLOOR......
CHEAPER IS JUST THAT -OFTEN OUTDATED BATTERIES, MOTORS ETC THE LESS U PAY THE LESS U SHOULD EXPECT.
TWO other important factors....economy (like how far u go and how fast?) and length of charging time...both can be relevant bt minly ath out for outdated low power motors, muh weight , cheaP FRAME AND WHEEL AND OTHER BITS BUILD ( GOOD MAKE ACCESSORIES ARE PART OF THE COST LIKE SAY SHIMANO GEARS AND BRAKES...
THERE S MRE BUT THEAE ARE THE MAIN CONSIDERATIONS PS AS A COMPARISON MY NON ELECTTRIC KOGI (JAPANESe by the way) costs near enough 1600 Euros and it's non motorised electric!!!!!!!

 

[Pollik]

Putting motorbikes in the garage? I have the wrong type of motorcaravan!



Polly

 

[The Caller]

Wondering what others have got, how good are the claims for them regarding range.

I have recently bought an uprated version of the Airnimal Joey Move. See here. Mine is uprated in that it's the high torque version with a rear rack mounted battery, rather than the frame mount. I think the higher powered version is essential if you need to do much riding up hills. It's expensive, (getting towards motorbike territory) but, as someone said earlier, you only get what you pay for. I looked at lots of bikes before settling on this one. I needed a bike that folded because I have to get it in my VW camper, but I wanted a bike that was still nice to ride.

How do you charge the batteries if you aren't on a hook up, what are they like to pedal if your battery runs flat?

I haven't needed to yet. Mine does at least 30 miles between charges & that's using quite a lot of the available assistance level. I have an inverter that I think would just about cope, although it would flatten my leisure battery if I tried to fully recharge the bike without running the engine. As I never stay still for long, it's not likely to be a problem for me. It's not too bad to pedal with the assistance turned off, perfectly rideable on the flat.