Mongoose Electric Beach Cruiser

[ZapGuy]

I was wondering if anyone has any information about these.

I have been looking for one, on and off, for about a year.

Whenever I try to order one through a website, the order never goes through. Had a terrible experience with Amazon/Target last year regarding an order for one of these.

I was sold on getting one from the information & video posted on this webpage: http://teazo.blogspot.com/

As far as data, all I really know is that it's a 16 mph bike, powered by 24v @ 450w....about a 10 mile range.

I liked the long frame, easily replaced [upgradable?] battery, the springer front end, and the fenders.

I wasn't crazy about the motor hanging off the rear hub..but that also meant it'd be easy to get at to modify.

Please tell me more!

-ZapGuy

 

[Alaskavan]

How far do you need to be able to ride? Your other post was for a bike with a theoretical 60 mile range, this one has a 10 mile range. Quite a difference. I would wonder how much power you would get from a 250 watt motor. I think this 450 is more in line with what people ride.
You might want to start out with figuring out how far you want to go, and how fast you want to get there.

 

[sabrewalt]

Mongoose Review.

Hello, I own 2 Electric bikes. One of them is a Mongoose CB24V450 that has the EXACT same battery/motor/controller setup as the Beach Cruiser in that Video but on a "Comfort" bike frame. It has 2 12AH Lead Acid batteries connected in series for 24 Volts. I would dare say that you MIGHT get 10 miles if you weighed 100 lbs and rode it at 8 to 10 MPH but I doubt it. Full throttle and no pedeling drains the batteries FAST. It makes a lot more noise than the hubmotor's do. It's noisy enough to make people look. It's not good enough IMHO for serious commuting but it is a start.

I bought mine at Northern Tool for 300 bucks so I don't feel cheated or anything. I knew what I was getting for that money. It is geared so it will pull you up a hill from a standing stop but wont go very fast at all on a hill without pedel help. My tests show 15 mph on a flat but only in the first 10 minutes of running it motor only. It starts to drop off MINUTES a little after you take off. Some of the guys over at endless-sphere.com have put NIMH batteries in it and some have even bumped it up to 36 volts which apparently makes a HUGE difference. Just go over there and do a search on mongoose.

I bought it to run around the neighborhood but now I keep mine on an airport ramp and use it to run around the tarmac between hangers. Perfect for that nice flat work area. My Hubmotor is better for the neighborhood. Hopefully some better Electric storage will be invented in the near future and these nice little electrics will be able to compete against the "smokers"

Here is a test report on that one of the moderators did with some nice photos.

http://endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=44
Basically his results were.
Test Ride Results:
Total Ride Time: 48 Minutes
Max Speed: 19.2 MPH (30.9 KPH)
Level Top Speed: 17 MPH (27.4 KPH)
Average Speed: 14.2 MPH (22.9 KPH)
Total Ride Distance (unassisted): 11.5 Miles (18.5 Kilometers)

Pros:
Cheap
Good first "e-bike"
Everything included (batteries, charger, motor, controller, bike, already built)
Safety feature on brakes to prevent braking and motor at the same time
Sturdy design
Easy speeds to maintain
Gears top out at motor max speed

Cons:

Chain comes off front sprocket when shifting into really low gears (1st, 2nd, or 3rd). You basically have to get a chain guard for the front sprocket to prevent this.

Charger gets really hot, almost scary to anyone that's never used one before.
Low Speed - Debatable of course
Low Range
SLA Batteries, you have to be careful to charge the batteries as soon as you are done riding or you'll kill them if left in the uncharged state for too long

 

[srdavo]

here's a link to my currie electric.....
http://www.motoredbikes.com/showthread.php?t=5769

 

[ZapGuy]

How far do you need to be able to ride? Your other post was for a bike with a theoretical 60 mile range, this one has a 10 mile range. Quite a difference. I would wonder how much power you would get from a 250 watt motor. I think this 450 is more in line with what people ride.
You might want to start out with figuring out how far you want to go, and how fast you want to get there.

Yes. Quite a difference. That's why I wanted a point of view on both of them. I have no clue how to get my hands on either right now, anyhow.

I can see "my" motored bike used for 10 mile recreation rides, carrying just my 140 pound self.Maybe it would be used for runs to the grocery store, under 10 miles away. Add a few more pounds for that...

It may also be used as part of a commute, where it would be stuck in a rack on the front of a city bus or two, then make a 2 mile ride to/from work from the last stop. If I tried to cut out the second bus home, I would have some huge hills to ride up. In any case, too much duct tape or a gas powered engine may raise a few questions.

Thanks for all the info on the Currie systems. Great stuff!

Are there any advantages to having this "second" chain-drive system over the hub motors?

 

[sabrewalt]

Second Chain Drive

Since I own both I will comment. Second chain drive is geared so you can sit down on the bike, turn the throttle and you will accelerate to cruise without peddling.(On a flat). Ungeared Hubmotors will fuss and use a TON amps to get you started so it is better with those to peddle up to 3-4 mph before engaging the motor. At least mine anyway. At the top end. My 350 watt 36 volt hubmotor beats my mongoose by about 4 mph on the flat and has triple the range for whatever reason.

Having said that, an IDEAL setup for me would be a 408 Crystalyte hubmotor with 72 Volts 12-20ah of Lithium battery. That battery alone would be around 2000 bucks though. You would have a practical mid range commuter with that though. Hopefully the price will drop as they become more common??