I think electric is the answer for me .

[Paratrooper]

I am looking for something that I can carry in or on my Baja Bug when I go out prospecting . Also it can help if my main ride has a problem . The downside to the small engines is that the BLM will try to consider a bike with an engine to be a motor vehicle . They are in fact prohibited in some areas . With an electric assisted bike that can clearly function as a bicycle I can probably avoid any problems . I am not planning on zipping about in the desert but rather might need some way of getting a bit of equipment to some of the more remote areas . Even if I have to load the bike and walk next to it for a ways . Kinda like getting back up big hills when we were kids . My biggest problem or perhaps I should say "concern" is the range/strength of the batteries . I am seeing many claims that are ambigious at best . "Speeds UP TO 15 miles an hour . Range of UP TO 20-30 miles (with pedal assist) " and so on . Considering that I will be in the desert a small solar panel would probably be a GREAT investment . This would virtually guarantee that I will get back to my Bug "almost" regardless of where I am . Not to mention the fact that since I am looking for help getting "UP" hills coming back down should be as easy as falling down . (No pun intended) .
Sooooo perhaps some of you "more seasoned" hands could help me with the world of FACT AND FICTION as far as RANGE is concerned and how to know how much "juice" is left in the battery at any given time .
My next area of concern will be TIRES . I am seeing ads about non-tube tires with some kind of hard tube inside that virtually guarantees no flat since there is no air to lose . I see guys that put a smooth tire inside of a more "aggressive" treaded tire . Perhaps that AND the hard round roll inside will alleviate the threat of flats .
Boy , I sure got a lot of questions . I would appreciate any help at all .

 

[Ypedal]

there will be a HUGE difference between riding on smooth pavement vs sandy trails..

On average, a 200 lbs guy, riding a mountain bike with an electric motor on fairly level ground with not too much wind, at 20 mph or less, not pedaling at all.. will use 10 wh/km

To figure this out.. a wh is " Volts x AmpHours " .. so for example.. a 36v 10ah lithium battery has roughly 360wh of energy so figure 30~35 kms per charge.

I would recommend against the solar panels, invest in more battery instead.

Forget SLA if you can afford lithium, a 12ah SLA battery can only deliver roughly 6ah vs a 12ah lithium pack will deliver 11 to a full 12ah depending on who rates it.

Get a cycle analyst www.ebikes.cs and you know exactly how much capacity you have used and how much you have left.

Riding on soft sand with a fully loaded bike, expect 20 wh/km or more if you don't pedal much, the more the bike weighs the less pedaling makes a difference.. there is a point of diminished returns.

 

[wheelbender6]

When choosing batteries higher amp hours provide more range (roughly 1.2 miles per amp hour on the street). Higher volts provide higher speed.
The BLM recently tried to ban ALL wheeled vehicles from their lands, including bicycles. Tread lightly.

 

[Paratrooper]

The BLM recently tried to ban ALL wheeled vehicles from their lands, including bicycles. Tread lightly.

I need to point something out . NOT to criticize BUT this is the EXACT mindset they want to see . I am not loved by these bozos because when they call it "BLM land" I tell them to their face "It is NOT BLM land . It is PUBLIC land . You only WORK here."

 

[Paratrooper]

I would recommend against the solar panels, invest in more battery instead.
QUOTE]

I just threw that in since most desert folks keep a small solar panel on their batteries just to keep a charge in there . We use batteries for dry washers , mini hi bankers and other small pieces of prospecting equipment . Not to mention a 12V electric blanket for spending the night in the chilly desert in my Baja Bug so as to get an early start the next day .Most guys use a 1.8 W panel which works pretty good since most equipment takes 4 amps and this helps . The equipment isn't always working BUT the sun is .It is also a VERY popular prize at prospector meetings . Most clubs make their money through chances on stuff like that . These panels enable us to use smaller batteries instead of "weighty" car batteries . Motorcycle and garden tractor batteries fit the bill well . I know it's not much as far as a bike is concerned but if I am sitting all day with a 1.8 W panel working the bike batteries and another one for my equipment it adds a bit of insurance that I will get back to camp .These small panels are VERY light . Thank you for your math aspect . My math is good BUT I have no practical knowledge of the actual drain on a battery in any given situation . This will help immensly . Thank you again .

 

[Slackbiker]

I have taken my gas Staton friction drive on all surfaces, single track to Interstate, only brief BLM access roads to overnight camping. I have went on hundreds of miles of forest roads, sometimes 40 mile stretches. I have only been pulled over by curious cops on state highways, and once was politely asked to leave the Interstate in Utah. In all the time on dirt roads, i've rarely seen cops, but once on the way to a National hippie rainbow gathering i went though a roadblock with no hassles (the LEOs were fascinated), while all the cars were being hassled. I don't know if Electric will get it done, dirt roads can be steep, washboardy, and rugged.