Saturday, December 28, 2013

What is the best electric bicycle out there?

best battery assist bicycle on Electric assist bike demo - by Eco Miles Consulting.com .m4v
best battery assist bicycle image



Tim


Looking for an electric bicycle for commuting...range isn't too crucial as long as it's greater than 10 miles. Affordability is important.


Answer
There are now many electric assist bicycles out there. Some come complete and some kits you adapt to your own bicycle. A great place to start might be here: http://www.electricbikesreviews.com/

There are two general types of electric assist bicycles. They are hub motors and friction motors. For either one the motor and batteries will add weight to the bicycle.

Features you will want to look for should include:

Light with a good power to weight ratio.
The added weight of the batteries should be well placed for the design of the bike and not simply put anywhere.
Ability to remove the battery for charging inside the home.

Regenerative braking captures inertial energy and tries to convert that back into electricity to charge the battery. Bicycles are much lighter than a car and so have less inertial energy to capture. Batteries can't accept a massive influx of energy at once. As a result batteries are not so good to capture inertial energy. The good news is that while this may not be an extremely useful feature it virtually comes free with an electric motor

A fairing of some sort will extend range probably more than regenerative braking. Because of its lower wind resistance an electric recumbant makes some sense: http://www.recumbents.com/wisil/e-bent/default.htm

how much does it cost to maintain a motorized bicycle?




emp_symph0


i'm trying to buy the cheapest commute transportation possible to maintain for a year. i have about 2000 dollars to buy with. speed isn't a big factor (15 to 40 mph is fine) so i'm considering buying a bicycle and putting a motor on it (either gas or electric). i figured something small would be cheaper to buy/ maintain/repair but i dont know. if you have advice that doesn't directly answer my question- that would still be welcome.
thankyou.



Answer
It depends on your state. MOST states allow a bicyce to have an ELECTRIC motor with a maximum power of 750watts, if the motor stops propelling the bike at 20mph, above that then its legs or gravity. This is a federal law called HR 727 and was passed Nov 2002. States can opt out, but most don't. This is not for gas powered bikes, just electric!

The "Ebike" must have pedals that work and can have 2 or 3 wheels and weigh less than 100 lbs. Then they (legal low powered electric assist bicycles) are allowed most places bicyles are legal and illegal where they are not allowed.

There are age, helmet and other limitations, so check with your state. However, you do not need insurance or state vehicle registration- you are a bicycle.

All that being said, a recumbent bicycle with electric assist and a fairing will really be comfy, really be fast, and will cost about $2k including a nice electric assist with a range of about 30 miles. for about $1k you can do ok but the comort, speed and range will be greatly decreased.

If you need speeds above 25mph and more than a 35 mile range, consider a gas based bike. Most ebike dealers offer phone support (thats me for one) most gas dealers want you to bring the motor to a dealer.

You will need to maintian it like a regular bike, and have to swap batteries about every three years, depending on use.

We build, ship, sell and advise folks like you every day, and hope we can be of help.

Good brands of Ebike Kits- Cylone -usa,.
www.cyclone-usa.com
Bionx;
www.birdrv.com/electricbike.php
Crystalyte:
www.poweridestore.com/




Powered by Yahoo! Answers

Title Post: What is the best electric bicycle out there?
Rating: 83% based on 9498 ratings. 4 user reviews.
Author: Unknown

Thanks For Coming T0 My Blog

No comments:

Post a Comment