Best commercial electric bike

[dudley]

Hi
I was wondering if any one out there can tell me what they think is the best all around electric bike may be in the 1-3000$ range might be. By best all around I mean one that would offer me the best quality, range, speed, and mild hill with flat road capability. I live in the southern Atlanta area ( Stockbridge) with this type of terrain. Ideally I would like a no or little peddle range of 25 miles or so and of course lithium batteries. I would also like a beach cruiser type frame or comfortable mountain bike frame, disc brakes would be a plus as well as 26 inch wheels. While I have no experience with electric bikes I have many years of experience with larger electric remote control planes and helicopters and mine utilize larger capacity lithium batteries, dedicated speed controls, brushless motors, (mostly out runners) and specialized connections. The point is, I think I can, (for the most part) understand the concepts of of an electric bike using these type of components. Add into this equation my hieght-6-1, and weight 190.
Is thier a reputable company in the US or south east that makes sustom built electric bikes that would 'fit the bill' ? I realize a custom build would command a higher price. Thanks alot for your help, Rhett Dudley

 

[bamabikeguy]

From what I've been reading (and I'm an e-bike-dummy), the best performances ARE when you marry kit and bike yourself, rather than buy a complete unit.

By punctureproofing the tires yourself, and selecting a bike style that really suits you, (basketry, brakes, saddle or seat etc.), that gives you a whole lot of confidence.

You could also go into the build with expandability in the back of your mind. Buying the bike locally gives you a support system on small problems that may come up.

The electric part of it all revolves around having enough space to carry enough batteries to carry you easily on your round trip estimate, including the terrain factor.

I'm 3 hours west of you, in the same type hilly area, (Sand Mountains in Alabama), and a guy in Cullman is hitting a reliable 35 miles per charge, (leaving me in the dust at the start line), and he has $1,200 total in his kit, charging unit, batteries and battery carrybag system.

 

[dudley]

Thanks BamaBike GuyYes

Yes, I had a feeling that a 'do it yourself' or a custom build would be suggested. not very long ago I contacted ,Spooky Tooth and inquired about thier new line of electrics and even though they carry some good ones and are willing to lightly modify their electric bikes, I was interested to know what else other people might know about where I could seek other choices. I am a retired pilot and my wife is with the DOD at FT. McPherson and we just just moved here from Germany after nearly 7 years there. My point is this, when we left Orlando 7 years ago for Germany I had been flying 'gas' RC for several decades. When I got to Germany I immediately jumprd into electrics and in that short 7 years went from 'brushed' motors to ,brushless,, from nickle metal hydride to lithium ion to lithium poly batterys, from very unsophisticated speed controls and chargers to ultra sophisticated. I swear I spent well over 20,000$ just keeping up with the technology over just those 7 years and if I am going to pay thousands for a top notch electric bike then I better get it from a company that knows thier stuff and can support it. I dont think that I have that type of "electric bike" knowledge yet. I am going to call around to some Atlanta area bike shops today to see if any of them are currently involved or know any one involved in electric bikes. Hey thanks for your reply! by the way, do you know that guy in Cullman!---Rhett

 

[cooltoy]

From what I have seen, most users modify the bikes. Why don't you have a look at this site, maybe even search out a guy that goes by "safe", although Kurt is my hero.
http://endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=4936&st=0&sk=t&sd=a&hilit=kurts

 

[MitchJi]

Hi,

Better bang for buck picking a bike and purchasing a kit.

Great people to buy from (if they have something you like). The Ezee kits are good. Even if you don't purchase from them there is a lot of good info on their site:
http://www.ebikes.ca/index.shtml

You could use an RC Motor and Controller like this:
http://www.wisil.recumbents.com/wisil/shumaker/default.htm
http://endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=3904#p57685

or this:
http://endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=5156
http://endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=5168

Best Wishes,

Mitch

 

[Email]

Schwinn Electric Bikes

http://www.greenspeed.us/schwinn_electric_bike.htm

Not sure if they're the best, but definitely one of the more sleek designs I've seen.

LOOK AT IT

The battery and electronics are stored in the front hub, the motor is in the rear hub.

Cool idea, not sure how much it would cost altogether to do a in hub design but here's some of the numbers...
30 - 8AH D's @ $5/ea = $150
3 - 10 Batt NiMH @ $45/ea = $135

So that part of a hub is $285... then you have to build your own hub, install electronics, and figure a good way to route the signal/power from the center hub to elsewhere.

Of course spending $$$ like this you're better off buying a very lightweight frame and footing it... replacement battery packs for the E+ are $650.

 

[robin bird]

The idea is great---it is real boring driving one and more dangerous because there is no noise -people pull out in front of you

 

[cooltoy]

I was watching a show on that fact last night. They say we will have down-loadable sounds that we will install in our cars. Anything from a VW with the sound of a Porsche to the guy in the car with train sounds, going down the road. The funniest one was the one with the sound of a Ship driving down Main Street with it's Fog horn.
Interesting times ahead!

 

[imperfectionst]

I have no experience with them, but this one looks awesome. There's one at my local bike shop for about $3,000, lithium batteries...

http://ultramotor.com/Usa/Products/ProductDetails_USA.aspx?gProductId=57

 

[ozzyu812]

Go chain drive

http://www.cyclone-usa.com/index.php
bigger stuff available here but its in Taiwan
http://www.cyclone-tw.com/order.htm