Doc_Wui

My ebike saga starts with buying my GT Transeo at Performance Bikes (RIP) in 2015. Probably the best featured bike I've ever owned in my 70 years as an occasional bike rider. We saw our first ebike at the store. At 4-5X the cost of the modest GT Transeo, I noted that I could buy a good enough used car for that kind of money but I promised my wife an ebike and we found one somewhere else at 2X the cost. After seeing how much I liked her ebike, I converted my old Trek 800 to electric a month later for 500 bucks. For a retired engineer, twas an interesting task.

Since then, I've purchased 4 new (and inexpensive) regular bikes ,,,, and motorized them. N+1 applies to electrics,. We wanted folders for travel and had to try a fatbike, etc. My wife wanted something smaller/lighter than her first one The main thing though is that w/o motor assist, I'd ride alone. My wife enjoys getting out again, and the modest hills no longer deter her.

radroad

Any recommendations on ebike kits? I would love a 1K (or higher) watt hour battery kit with either hub motor or mid drive kit.

fietsbob

LBS here uses these this the 1KW motor version
So load on the battery is higher, KW/H charge length shorter..

Here buyers are mostly Hunters



..

radroad

I guess I wasn't being clear enough. I was referring to 1,000+ watt hour batteries. But this is close and it looks like a very nice kit.

Do you all think kits offer better value than prefab bikes generally speaking?

fietsbob

your turn to search

your call I don't own one.. cant project your satisfaction..

jeffreythree

For e-bikes to overtake regular bike sales, then we would need to see places like Walmart selling more e-bikes than regular bikes. No matter how much anyone advocates their use, I don't see them impacting the huge sub $100 bike market.

radroad

Big gains in year to year sales for e-bikes in the US. Nearly double the sales in the 1st quarter of 2018 compared to the 1st quarter of 2017. E-bikes are nearly 10% of all US bike sales.

https://www.bicycleretailer.com/stud...s#.W_Xl4S2ZMy5

As has been the case for several years, e-bike sales bolstered the report. Electric bikes accounted for 9.8 percent of all wholesale bike sales in the first quarter, up from 5.5 percent of the total market in the same quarter last year.

FrenchFit 

I know you're just trolling, but as a competitive racer (running) and avid cyclist ... I love a good e-bike. They are a hoot to ride, and not just for the infirm. Yes, they are going to swamp regular bike sales in the long run.

mackgoo

I don't know. I do know one thing, I get a sense of satisfaction when I catch and pass on on the flats.

mjd420nova

I'm more interested in the conversion kits. In particular, the front wheel retrofit. I am intending to mout one on the front wheel of a tri-cycle for a handicapped adult. It might be an easier route to mount the driven wheel on the rear axle. The only drawback is the cheap hand brake grips they supply with the units to interupt power to the motor when braking. Not up to the $1,500. to $3,000. price tags on the whole bike.

radroad

I doubt that the the sales data takes into account conversion kit sales. If it did, it would paint an even rosier picture for e-bike sales. Kits sound great for DIY'ers, but I prefer a prefab bike as it were, just a lot more convenient.

Kent T

Yes, the infirm and disabled have to want to get out. Being an adaptive athlete, I want my bike rides. And fight Cerebral Palsy spasticity and spina bifida to get there. I also will keep my ride analog to boot, because of my belief that the bicycle is the ultimate simple machine, and maintainable by one's self. My compromises to comfort, and to physical challenge are a MTB used as a City Bike on the trails, gearing which suits me, and a riding position which is comfortable and safe for 54 year old me. Index shifting is new to me, in the past it was road bikes and downtube shifters.

Elvo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wHoSp8RvKTg&ab_channel=Srapy

Here's a conversion kit that will get you up to 70 km/h

https://www.aden-sports.com/en/powerkit-race

fietsbob

Probably not in the Winter, Batteries don't work so well when they're cold.

Richard25

obviously. electric bike become very popular day by day.

Gresp15C

Granted, it depends on your local climate, but here in Wisconsin, most cyclists -- electric or conventional -- hang it up during the winter. It takes a little bit of motivation to ride at -10 F. But oddly enough I see more cyclists on my commute in snow than in rain. And the ones who are out there usually have a big grin on their faces, all bundled up and riding absurd knobbly bikes.

When I ask my e-cyclist friends if they plan on riding through the winter, they give the same reasons as conventional cyclists give. Cold, darkness, road salt, car traffic, special tires, and lack of proper clothing. The e-bike eliminates some, but not all, of the obstacles against cycling.

The batteries could be manageable. I don't know the specified temperature limits. The bike or its battery can be charged indoors -- at work if not at home. Operating the bike with a reasonable amount of assist may warm the batteries.

I usually don't encourage winter riding unless someone is already over the "hump" of getting into the cycling habit, which might take a year or two for many riders.

I-Like-To-Bike

The batteries for an e-bike will provide zero heat for the rider. The physical effort of pedaling a conventional bicycle does provides a semblance of heat for the rider; and when combined with appropriate cold weather clothing makes such cold weather two wheel riding less of a hardship.

Gresp15C

Oops, good catch. What I meant was, the batteries provide heat for the batteries. The heat dissipated by discharging the batteries warms them up and allows them to operate at a somewhat colder outside temperature. How much, I don't know. I've read that electric cars have to provide a way of heating the batteries when the cars are driven in the cold. IIRC the Tesla batteries contain a built-in heater. I think I read at one website that lithium ion batteries shouldn't be charged below 40 degrees, and the charging circuitry contains a temperature sensor to detect good charging conditions.

You also don't want to charge the batteries too hot. The temperature during charging affects the lifespan of the battery.

Right now, the engineers at my workplace have endless discussions about the behavior of the lithium batteries in their cars and bikes. It's fascinating technology, and not a slam-dunk to make it work well.

lkoyanagi

The Costco bike is well worth it considering the level of components, battery and frame construction.

KraneXL

If they gained acceptance it would only be due to a growing niche that needed to be filled. To a traditional cyclist, they wouldn't be of much interest.

lkoyanagi

Youre just baiting us, because your markets indicate you dont really know.

FlMTNdude

mackgoo

Bring them on. The other day I passed 5 or more while on my ride. I felt a great sense of accomplishment from that.

lkoyanagi

Read Aug. 15, 2018 issue, Bicycle Retailer, online, for a lot of sales information on ebikes. It attempts to answer the question. Tap or click on "Continued" to change pages but double tap or click on the page or icon to zoom. A little on Europe, but nothing on Asia or world from what I gather. Its fun reading so much info.

Retailers seem to consider ebikes as a bike category to track its sales and train its mechanics. Many states are sending them to the Bosch training.

radroad

The Big 3 have stepped up their game in a major way for 2019. Here's the Trek Dual Sport+ for example. The battery is beautifully integrated into the downtube and the Bosch motor is noticeably quieter than in previous gen. models. It's quieter and at a lower pitch, so far less objectionable. So both Trek and Bosch have stepped up their game big time for 2019. The Bosch motor produces no drag so it's fine to pedal home even if you wind down the battery to empty.

I'd like to see a higher top end assisted speed (perhaps 25 mph) and more batter capacity, but Trek is designing this bike for the vast majority of the country, where 20 mph appears to be the speed limit in most states.

There are a few other tids and bits I'd like to see, especially a throttle, 25 mph assisted top speed, bigger battery cap (700 watt hours+) and a few other things, but this is the model year where big three e-bikes are starting to look legit. I would give this model serious consideration and the price is far more reasonable than in years past. Trek was asking $5K! for their city e-bikes in the past! Trek and Specialized have definitely turned the corner and are finally producing quality e-bikes: