go electric

[Richard H.]

Almost comical, this being the eBike section of the forum yet most of the replies are the same wear-worn defensive missives from users on why petroleum fueled motor assist is better. Meh, people usually just recommend what they own in defense of their choices regardless if better options even are available or are nearby at hand.

Gas is fine if you have a very limited budget

THIS is the most salient comment of all considering the fairly widespread penchant for cheap box store bikes and low cost china kits that prevail in the motored bike world.

 

[pedalman]

You do realize that the process to create gasoline uses more electrical power than the distance it provides your gas engine (if you were instead to ride electric).

Many people have the option to buy renewable energy or put solar panels on their roof now.

How about the pollution you drop on anyone else using the roads? Joggers, cyclists, kids playing in their yard - they are all breathing in your ICE pollution. Even the ebikes powered by coal - the powerplants are usually way out in the countryside and have better emission controls.

My ebike goes 22 miles at 25mph cruising, no pedal. It launches off of red lights faster than traffic. It has regenerative braking so there is essentially zero brake maintenance. It can go up to 40mph. I never need more than 22 miles with my traveling. Refueling takes 4 seconds to plug the charger in. I can store my bike indoors. I can ride my ebike on bike paths with no one caring. I can avoid high traffic car routes due to these bike facilities.

Most importantly, I am so quiet that no one (most notably police) ever takes a second look at me. I'm just a fast cyclist with a few pedal strokes. I don't disturb the peace. I don't smell. It pays for itself in gas savings in about a year of use, over my Honda Civic. Batteries are lithium iron phosphate and are rated to last 2000 cycles before falling to 80% range.

Gas is fine if you have a very limited budget, don't live in populated areas where people don't want the noise, where you need to travel far distances. I had a Yamaha Zuma 50cc scooter before I got into ebikes. It just wouldn't work as well for me now where I live in a more urban area.

I have a gas and a ebike, comparing the 2 , I like the ebike for pedal assisting,in other words I still can get a nice biking workout just by not touching my thumb throttle as much.
Today though unfortunately my pedal chain broke, so I used the electric power to get me to a bike shop to buy a new chain,w/o the electric I would have had to walk quite a distance. Gas is ok, but killing the engine to pedal puts wear on things like the clutch and possibly the CDI unit,from what another member stated.

I second the quietness thing as stated above, this is ultimate stealth, people don't even realize my bike is powered at all...not a clue.

 

[Fabian]

Oh how funny this thread is. Electric is wonderful if you want to carry 137 spare batteries to travel 100 miles, with 150 lbs of gear in your bicycle trailer and continuously riding in mountain conditions up 10% gradients, quite apart from the fact that the electric motor will burn up under this load (when it's down on it's knees on a 100 degree day) reducing itself to smoke molecules, and heaven help that electric motor if riding in the rain for 3 hours or going through a few river crossings or riding on thick mud or loose sand where the filth and grit gets into seals and wrecks the electric motor.

For light duty trips to the corner store, electric is fine, but it's a "complete waste of time" for anything else. I would also place a single speed chain drive and friction drive in this "complete waste of time" category.

 

[Richard H.]

Everyone is entitled to an opinion but it need be remembered that opinions and facts are not necessarily the same thing though on the internet the attempt is often made to masquerade the two as the same thing. One can be stopped by what they know, defending their limited experience and choices made or by what they don't know, in defending those choices they stop exploring.

The world of eBikes has moved leaps and bounds beyond what is was even a few years ago, it seems to generally attract more creative people and the level of innovation I've seen with eBike builders recently surpasses that of gas bike builders perhaps by a factor of 10. One should keep their own counsel and make up their own mind and check it out, spend a little time on a site like endless sphere. IMO, of course, lol.

 

[Fabian]

Maybe i should send you a link of my gas powered bike and it's NASA inspired engineering, and a NASA inspired budget that's destroyed more than one relationship.
You can paste the link on endless sphere to end discussion on eBikes, for good

 

[Richard H.]

Since the admins saw fit to include an "electric bike area" on this forum I assume it's wanted and that's where eBike discussion take place.

I think it speaks volumes, and directly to the points I made one post above, that I never see eBike enthusiasts jacking into threads in other venues on the forum while the inverse is abundantly apparent.

 

[Fabian]

@ Richard H

Your point is a valid one, and i have no problems at all with the moderators deleting my posts in this thread, as they do not contribute to the knowledge base or technology advancement of electrically assisted bicycles.

Please feel free to PM the moderator/s to have my posts removed.

Kind regards
Fabian